More High Prices.....NO SALE!

[Big Daddy Audio]

Was ina Goodwill yesterday (Happy Valley) and saw a fairly nice looking Pioneer SX-750.  This is a stereo receiver from the late 1970's - not top of the line, but respectable.

I figured I would give it a look-see, and noticed that many of the knobs were missing, the dial lights were out, the meter lights were out, some of the function lights were out, and the price was marked at.....

$49.99

This receiver, on eBay, goes for under a hundred, generally in the $60 - 90 range.  In those cases, they are complete, fully working, and will often include an owner's manual.

First - the lights on these receivers are a pain to find and replace.  Kits are available, but they are about $20.00 or so.  The knobs go for $8-20 on eBay (which might make you think you could cannibalize the one at Goodwill) but many of the knobs were already missing.

Essentially, you'd be into this receiver for about $150-180 before it got to the condition of the units on eBay, and it's worth about half of that.

NO SALE, Goodwill.

Lower your prices.  Of course, Some "person" will go in and see this and figure he's getting a great deal and drop the coin. 

And the cycle continues.

[FleaQueen]

It never ceases to amaze me the crazy prices some of these thrifts put on things.

An obviously fake D&G bag will start at $49.99 or more, when you can get them at Columbus Flea Market for $20.

A kitchy 4-foot high cd holder with a resin rendering of the Blues Brothers was at a local thrift priced at...

....

wait for it...

...

...

$749.99 

Needless to say, it never moved. 

The good news is that there's a lot of stuff the workers (most of whom probably make minimum wage, and a good number of whom can't even speak English) don't recognize as having any value.

Like the Roseville basket I got for $25, or the Pucci dress I got for $4 or the nineteenth century flow blue platter I got for $2.

www.fullservicebohemian.blogspot.com

[Big Daddy Audio]

Like they say, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. 

I've also had situations like that.  There were two tape decks for sale - a Sanyo and a Nakamichi.  Both worked.  The Sanyo was $14.99 and the Nak was $7.99.  The Sanyo was worth $15 and the Nak about $150.  Needless to say, I bought the Nakamichi.

The name "Nakamichi" was not familiar, so they thought it was an off-brand.

As an aside, Nakamichi made the best consumer-oriented tape decks ever.

[rosie]

Ah, but isn't that all part of the fun of thrifting? Finding the real gold and not being fooled by the glitter?

My pet peeve is when they actually go so far as to put a sign on the item, "sells for xx on ebay". Well, SELL IT ON EBAY THEN! If you actually think the items worth it, you have a moral responsibility to the charity and to the item's donor to get the best price for it. And if you don't really think it's worth that then why try and con someone else into paying over the odds?

[valleythriftshopper]

It never ceases to amaze me the crazy prices some of these thrifts put on things.

An obviously fake D&G bag will start at $49.99 or more, when you can get them at Columbus Flea Market for $20.

A kitchy 4-foot high cd holder with a resin rendering of the Blues Brothers was at a local thrift priced at...

....

wait for it...

...

...

$749.99 

Needless to say, it never moved.

My thrifts have had some ridiculously priced items, but that is the worst I have ever heard of.  Actually the thrifts here would be fine if the regional managers would stop telling them to hike up the prices all the time.  One day I will go in and the prices are good, the next day suddenly all the prices have gone way up and I know that there has been a visit from the RM. 

[brianrhc]

Right! I'd like to hear from TS managers about how their pricing rules are set, because they seem not to have a rational approach. Most TSs I see have stuff stacked in the aisles because they price items too high, and so no one buys, and so customers get tired of slogging thru the jammed aisles, and so they have poor cash flow.... Either price it reasonably or have all-store %-off sales regularly!

[Sir Thrift-A-Lot]

You know, I have never seen something outrageously overpriced in any of the thrifts. Any overpricing that I have seen has been in Value Village & it has not been significant & has been on clothing with tags & Pyrex. I don't look at everything though.

My Goodwill is amazing though. They don't take donations instore & everything is shipped in from outside the downtown core.

[Jay2TheRescue]

You're lucky Thrift-A-Lot, as here you can find items with their Dollar Store price tags on them, and the thrift has priced the item at $5 or $6.  Why would I purchase said item @ a thrift for that price, when I can clearly get it at the Dollar Store for $1?  Often times I will see items that can be purchased at regular retail for the same price, or cheaper than the thrifts have used items priced.

I agree with the cluttered stores and blocked aisles mentioned by Brian.  There are a few that way here.  Prices so high, that you can barely walk through the store, and in one case, the store had 5 or 6 parking spaces in front of the store filled, and covered (poorly) with tarps.  Why not mark these items down and sell them, instead of them getting ruined outside, and then eventually paying to haul them off in the dumpster?

[GatorDude]

I feel your pain.  My cities thrift store chain has been systematically identifying collectibles like cameras and marking them up to ebay prices and beyond.  And, then, when you buy a camera for say $20 to $50 in good faith, take it home, test it, and find out that it doesn't work, they won't give you store credit. 

Considering that they got the item for free from a donor, I think it's ridiculous that they are going to charge $20 to $50 for decent film cameras and then not allow exchanges.  I'm not going to take the risk.  If you won't take a return, price is at $10 to $20 max. 

[Big Daddy Audio]

The Goodwills around here will give store credit on a return as long as the price tag is still on the item, you have the receipt, and it's within 14 days.

It's a fair policy, not great, but fair.

[Jay2TheRescue]

That sounds reasonable to me, but whenever I shop at thrifts, I either test the item in the store, or the item is worth the price, even if it didn't work.

[Big Daddy Audio]

I feel your pain.  My cities thrift store chain has been systematically identifying collectibles like cameras and marking them up to ebay prices and beyond.  And, then, when you buy a camera for say $20 to $50 in good faith, take it home, test it, and find out that it doesn't work, they won't give you store credit. 

Considering that they got the item for free from a donor, I think it's ridiculous that they are going to charge $20 to $50 for decent film cameras and then not allow exchanges.  I'm not going to take the risk.  If you won't take a return, price is at $10 to $20 max. 

There's NO WAY to test a camera in a store (unless you happen to have a pack of the POLAROID FILM you'll need for the POLAROID CAMERA that you seek).  You have to get the film and batteries, snap the shots, get the film processed and printed, and see the results.

There was a decent digital camera on sale at the Goodwill on Greenway and 35th Ave, AND I happen to have the memory card and batteries that would work.  I inserted the things, but the camera didn't work.  It wouldn't write the pictures to memory or the CCD was shot.  All photos simply showed as black.  Whatever it was, the camera would need repair, and it just wasn't the kind of camera you'd repair - you'd donate it to Goodwill.

They should improve their policy to allow returns for store credit for items that must be tested (like cameras and electronics), or PRICE THEM ACCORDINGLY ($5-10).

FWIW   

[GatorDude]

Exactly!  I was able to get a Polaroid PZ2001 camera for $5.  It was great.  But, I took some decent pictures with it and it was a fair price.  But, $20+ for non returnable.  No way!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8172689/film_camera_review_polaroid_pz2001.html?cat=15

It would be cool if more thrift stores would set up a testing area.

[Punk Glam Queen]

You know what drives me crazy? The obviously fake designer handbags with outrageous prices! Even after trying to educate them and show them why they are counterfeit, the price remains the same. What's worse is there are task forces to get these things off the streets, but the thrifts seem to be off limits. (In their defense, they aren't the producers, and are small potatoes in relation to those the task forces go after.) however, they are selling something considered contraband. And it's hideous once you delve into the world of counterfeits and learn how they are produced... I won't shock you with the true stories that have been investigated and reported on, but if you do a little research you'd never want a fake. I don't understand paying for something so cheaply made under horrific conditions instead of saving to buy a "real" designer handbag, often found cheaply in the thrift stores or consignment shops. I've found great vintage and new designer bags for a fraction of the real cost. They need to make a free bin for those atrocities or something, it just seems ethically wrong for a charity shop to continue the cycle. Oops sorry, didn't mean to rant! It's just one of those things one always encounters and leaves me scratching my head.

[Jay2TheRescue]

With fake items, its hard to say.  The people pricing usually don't know enough about the items to tell a fake from a genuine article, but when someone comes saying that the item is fake, and they should sell it for $5 instead of $50 - Well, how are they to know if you are being honest, or are you just trying to score a genuine article for $5?

Yes, it does bother me to find counterfeit/reproduction items priced as genuine, but all you can do is let it sit.  If nobody buys it they will be forced to lower the price, or sit on it.