Thrift Store Stupidity!!

TheHeef

TheHeef

CAGiversary!
Feedback
9 (100%)
For all I hear in the Thrift Store Thread and see firsthand in the "thrift" stores by my house, I'm surprised I haven't seen a Stupidity thread for Thrift Stores.

Some of the prices I've seen for games at thrift stores have been just as bad as I've seen on Craigslist, so it only makes sense to have this...and if one already exists, let me know.

Vent already! Tell us about your idiotic thrift store experience!
 
I'm 99% sure my Goodwill prices video games based on size and it really pisses me off. A slim PS2 is $9.99, while a fat one is $29.99. Single disc PS1 games are $3.99, but 2 or more discs and it's $7.99. Same goes for movies, as well. The smaller the item, the cheaper it is. It's good for some occasions, but most of the time, it doesn't work out in your favor.
 
The one nearest to me apparently doesn't care much about condition, either. I once saw a fat PS2 there with no controllers and the front panel of the disc drive torn off. They were STILL asking $40 for it!
 
All my thrift stores are usually pretty good at pricing. I don't think I've seen any media overpriced really, but they were trying to sell this one VHS for $80 once. I don't remember exactly what the title was, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't worth the cheap plastic it was recorded on.
 
I don't have any chain thrifts. Only a small local one. Upside, anything i get there is extremely reasonable most times, and they will haggle.

Downside, they almost never have anything good. Best thing Ive got there was a deck only snes for $2 and that was months ago.

I envy you people with your multiple thrift stores. -_-
 
I have a few local thrift stores, or "resale shops", that I refuse to go into anymore because I can't stand the rotten smell of old baby clothes. *Shivers*
 
The Goodwill here sucks so bad, the best thing I found was Dukes of Hazard suspenders which was located next to a pair of panties big enough to use as a table cloth.
 
My goodwill sucks. They sell n64s for 25 still and want 8-10 for old sports games.
I have better luck with other thrift stores or consignment shops. I have a secret consignment shop that I don't let anyone know about. I pick up games for 1-3 dollars all the time at it. Pawn shops around me used to be real good but they have wised up and no longer sell every game for 10 bucks.
 
At least you guys don't have a local video game chain store that purposely stalks out empty retail spaces in the same plaza's that have goodwill's in them. This basically kills my chances of getting anything good from any goodwill in the area or anything at all gaming related for that matter. You know its all going into their store and they are reselling it at 50% more than ebay prices.

Honestly I am just better off using ebay if there is an old game that I really have to have, we don't have a heck of a lot of thrifts here, and they are all 45 min away from me. Plus they are scattered so there is time involved getting to each location from the last, by the time I drive to the locations and visit them all, and come up empty handed 95% of the time (for games).. we are talking I would have to dedicate an afternoon to just thrifts and thrifts only. I could be taking the money spent on gas and time (time is money) and just putting into bidding on well priced ebay auctions and getting what I want instead of buying shovelware or old sports games, which if I find games, is what I will find 100% of the time. Every single local store and pawn shop that sells video games is so overpriced even when I compare to ebay that it isn't even worth me visiting them. I really have to watch ebay values because the local market and ebay are 2 completely different things, after all I don't want to pay too much for something when I can get it online in a few clicks delivered to my door. Its different if I happen to be passing through the area, but usually when I am passing through its Sunday, which means almost every thrift is closed.

The only place I can get cheap old games around here is yard sales, and the amount of old games at sales is rapidly drying up. I already have a big collection of games, so really, I don't NEED any more NES, SNES games etc.. Thankfully I buy other things at yard sales and I go with another person from my family so I can justify the time and gas spent on them. If I find games it just happens to be a bonus. I can't really go for other things at thrifts because around here they charge more than retail stores for clothing and other items are beyond usable and in terrible condition.
 
Meh, I never find anything good at my local thrift stores. Nothing but old dis only sports ps1 games for 15 bucks Or systems with no cables. I did find a ddr mario mix at a thrift store but they wanted 50 bucks and it was in horrid condition.

That and im sure several people hit those stores up to find video game stuff it just sucks. And it makes me extremely jelly when I see what others are finding at their local thrift stores.
 
I've voiced my complaints about Goodwill in numerous other threads here, so I won't rehash much. Basically, if Goodwills business model is to price items at market value in order to increase profits or whatever, then close the retail stores, convert them into donation only centers, sort the items that can be sold for a premium on Amazon and eBay, sell everything else in bulk, and throw the trash in the trash.

The prices at Goodwill and Savers here have gotten out of control, they tag consoles with no wires, controllers, or games at $30! and I'm talking like stuff NO ONE would want like original X-Box and PS1. Granted, none of it sells, and I know for a fact that Savers dates their price tags and after a month they do box up the $30 X-Boxes, $8.99 Mario and Duckhunts, and $10.99 Madden 2005's, and sells them in bulk to other charities who send the stuff overseas. I'm not exactly sure what Goodwill does with items that don't sell, but I suspect it's a similar situation.

Now I'm not opposed to capitalism, but Goodwill is a non-profit, they are funded at least partially by my tax dollars, so I really don't get the reasoning behind their high prices, especially since their retail outlets are really only there to give jobs to the mentally handicapped which is what their goal actually is, so if they think they're going to compete with Target just to pad the pockets of the local CEO, then fuck them.
 
[quote name='spmahn']
Now I'm not opposed to capitalism, but Goodwill is a non-profit, they are funded at least partially by my tax dollars, so I really don't get the reasoning behind their high prices, especially since their retail outlets are really only there to give jobs to the mentally handicapped which is what their goal actually is, so if they think they're going to compete with Target just to pad the pockets of the local CEO, then fuck them.[/QUOTE]

What portion of your tax dollars are going to fund Goodwill?
 
The point of goodwill is to provide jobs and a place to buy cheap stuff for the poor and bargain hunters. Considering the clientele and the people that work there, I'll cut them a break for not knowing the latest prices for video games. :roll:

I love how when people find rare games worth $40 for $1, they're so quick to brag about what a score it is, yet, when the same ignorance of video game prices goes the other way, people are so quick to call shenanigans on goodwill.

You can't have it both ways.

Do some of you people ever stop to think that maybe the world doesn't revolve around you?
 
[quote name='confoosious']The point of goodwill is to provide jobs and a place to buy cheap stuff for the poor and bargain hunters. Considering the clientele and the people that work there, I'll cut them a break for not knowing the latest prices for video games. :roll:

I love how when people find rare games worth $40 for $1, they're so quick to brag about what a score it is, yet, when the same ignorance of video game prices goes the other way, people are so quick to call shenanigans on goodwill.

You can't have it both ways.

Do some of you people ever stop to think that maybe the world doesn't revolve around you?[/QUOTE]

Goodwill's mission has never been to provide cheap stuff for the poor or for bargain hunters. Their reason to exist is to help the mentally handicapped by providing them with jobs and teaching them skills. Profits from the retail stores along with donations, and funding from local, state, and federal government. From what I've seen, the general focus of the retail arm has shifted away from bargain hunters and more towards higher end suburbanites.

The fact that they seem unwilling or unable to price items reasonably (and no, I don't necessarily mean dirt cheap either) indicates to me either A. Overhead costs of running the retail store have increased dramatically and is eating into the money that the need to fund the job training or B. Greed. If the answer is A. than just do what I said, kill the retail arm, and sell stuff online. In every Goodwill I've ever been to, the handicapped people only work in the back sorting items and accepting donations, so it wouldn't impact them at all. If the answer is B. then fuck you, you're a fucking charity!
 
Outside of video games that are priced too high, the stuff I see in goodwill are all pretty low in price. I don't know what you expect them to price things at.

I've also found video games priced way too low. So, like I said, it goes both ways.
 
[quote name='confoosious']Outside of video games that are priced too high, the stuff I see in goodwill are all pretty low in price. I don't know what you expect them to price things at.[/QUOTE]

I see CRT TV Sets at $50 and up, busted furniture with stains priced at hundreds, broken stereos and record players at $20 and up, ripped stained jeans and shirts, usually in the $10 - $15 range. Garbage ipod accessories in the jewelry counter usually around $30. Ludicrous prices definitely aren't relegated to just the video games. The only real good deals I ever get at Goodwill anymore are books, and sometimes Audio CDs and records.
 
[quote name='confoosious']then stop shopping there.[/QUOTE]

I generally don't anymore, there are a few local ones that I won't step foot into anymore, and maybe one that I still find good prices at every once in a blue moon, and even then 99% I'm in and out in 5 minutes.
 
[quote name='confoosious']No need. You've already proven you don't understand anything so it's best to just ignore.[/QUOTE]

Finally, a good idea for once, now where's that button.....
 
[quote name='spmahn']I have absolutely no idea, but that's not the point. My local Goodwill organization doesn't specify where there funds come from, but other chapters to specify that money does come from the state, local, and federal government http://www.goodwillnne.org/?faq-item=goodwill-funded .[/QUOTE]

So because they get some state grants you think that Goodwill should give you awesome deals on video games?

Honestly, if the store doesn't price things low enough, don't shop there. I have seen a cycle at many thrift stores where they lower prices to move items faster, then start raising prices to get more money. Eventually the prices go back down. I make it a game with myself to find awesome deals they miss when they are pricing things on the high end.

It really seems like you take your flipping thing a bit to seriously. If you aren't having fun it probably isn't worth it.
 
[quote name='yourlefthand']So because they get some state grants you think that Goodwill should give you awesome deals on video games?

Honestly, if the store doesn't price things low enough, don't shop there. I have seen a cycle at many thrift stores where they lower prices to move items faster, then start raising prices to get more money. Eventually the prices go back down. I make it a game with myself to find awesome deals they miss when they are pricing things on the high end.

It really seems like you take your flipping thing a bit to seriously. If you aren't having fun it probably isn't worth it.[/QUOTE]

I learned to my great aggravation not to take him seriously. It's best you do the same. If you want to understand, read the why are NES games so expensive thread. Doesn't understand a thing.
 
[quote name='spmahn']Their reason to exist is to help the mentally handicapped by providing them with jobs and teaching them skills.[/QUOTE]

And yet you wonder why their prices are retarded.

It's also a place to work off mandatory Community Service. I did my 50 hours at one back in the day. There weren't any mentally challenged folks on staff when I was there...not even hiding in the back like Santa's little dwarves. Just some old ladies and those who speak English as a non-language.
 
[quote name='yourlefthand']So because they get some state grants you think that Goodwill should give you awesome deals on video games?

Honestly, if the store doesn't price things low enough, don't shop there. I have seen a cycle at many thrift stores where they lower prices to move items faster, then start raising prices to get more money. Eventually the prices go back down. I make it a game with myself to find awesome deals they miss when they are pricing things on the high end.

It really seems like you take your flipping thing a bit to seriously. If you aren't having fun it probably isn't worth it.[/QUOTE]

Why is it that everyone assumes that when you complain about prices that are too high, that you are ostensibly saying that you should be entitled to proces that are too low? I don't expect to find $1 copies of Final Fantasy 7 , but I don't expect to find $60 copies either. That's why I said that I would be fine with REASONABLE prices, but it seems like everything at Goodwill is either priced so cheap it's a steal or laughably overpriced, which is why I don't shop there too much anymore. Flipping games has nothing to do with anything.
 
[quote name='Kerig']And yet you wonder why their prices are retarded.

It's also a place to work off mandatory Community Service. I did my 50 hours at one back in the day. There weren't any mentally challenged folks on staff when I was there...not even hiding in the back like Santa's little dwarves. Just some old ladies and those who speak English as a non-language.[/QUOTE]

my local thrift actually does employ strictly mentally handicapped people. It can be a little.. uncomfortable? at times. lol.
 
I was at my local GW the other day, was talking to one of the managers. I was telling him how I wanted one of their items a while back but it was priced too much at $35, and how a CAG bought the same item in a different GW for $20.

The manager proceeded to tell me that one of the reasons why some items can be higher than others is because of the cost of rent and other overhead costs that are not covered by grants/funds from the govt.
Which is why some games/electronics tend to be a bit higher at my GW than a GW in Jacksonville, FL which has cheaper overhead.
 
Simple - Goodwill Outlets almost always have special days when certain items are discounted. I was there this past week and didn't get any major gems, but my copy of Ecco Tides of Time for GG, Tetris for NES and NFS 3 for PS1 all for 2.50 a piece at half off.

Yeah, I see stuff there that's over priced, like an OG Xbox for $60, but I just pass on those. The Salvation Army store near me NEVER has anything game related.

I guess I can't complain.
 
[quote name='spmahn']Goodwill's mission has never been to provide cheap stuff for the poor or for bargain hunters. Their reason to exist is to help the mentally handicapped by providing them with jobs and teaching them skills. Profits from the retail stores along with donations, and funding from local, state, and federal government. From what I've seen, the general focus of the retail arm has shifted away from bargain hunters and more towards higher end suburbanites.

The fact that they seem unwilling or unable to price items reasonably (and no, I don't necessarily mean dirt cheap either) indicates to me either A. Overhead costs of running the retail store have increased dramatically and is eating into the money that the need to fund the job training or B. Greed. If the answer is A. than just do what I said, kill the retail arm, and sell stuff online. In every Goodwill I've ever been to, the handicapped people only work in the back sorting items and accepting donations, so it wouldn't impact them at all. If the answer is B. then fuck you, you're a fucking charity![/QUOTE]

I see the same prices that people on here say, old disgusting bedding for $20, coats for $30 and up, overpriced electronics, $70 CRT TV's, old ratted jeans for $6-10 that you couldn't even use for rags etc...

I have a feeling the fact that it is all overpriced is just a nail in the coffin for them, since if its overpriced, no one is buying, and if no one is buying then they can't fund the upkeep of their stores, therefore prices just get higher, and still no one buys.

I have another theory, people who are actually in need get credits or vouchers to spend at these stores, am I correct? Because I have seen people redeem vouchers around here in the past. Ok I think they have this stuff overpriced so that the general public will not buy it and when someone comes in with a voucher for say a winter coat, that the person with the voucher will actually be able to get what they need.
 
Yesterday was honestly the first time I have ever seen a "mentally handicapped" person working at GW. I think he had Downs Syndrome. He was stocking shelves. Most of the employees around here are 20-40 somethings with no problems at all and a few older people.
 
[quote name='SaraAB']I have another theory, people who are actually in need get credits or vouchers to spend at these stores, am I correct? Because I have seen people redeem vouchers around here in the past. Ok I think they have this stuff overpriced so that the general public will not buy it and when someone comes in with a voucher for say a winter coat, that the person with the voucher will actually be able to get what they need.[/QUOTE]

Nope. Its just greed by the thrift store management.
 
:rofl: The earlier part of this thread was a riot, but this last half....eh not so much.

I too have seen some insane prices for games and game systems at Goodwill and Salvation Army. Thing is, people still buy these items many times around here. Why? They're still cheaper than the independent game stores here on many of those items. Case in point: I found a copy of Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver for PS1 last week at a lil indy thrift store. It was priced at $3 or so. The local shops would want $5-6 for the same game.

Did I complain about GW and SA pricing their donated stuff too high for my liking? Yep. Did it help? No. All it did was let me vent a lil frustration, but complaining(especially on the internet) gets ya nowhere. But it definitely is a good way to relieve stress.:D
 
The local shops would probably want $15 for legacy of kain here, as they want 14.99 for a copy of Thrillville for the PS2, which you can get at gamestop for $1.99.

No I don't shop at these places, so its not like I am shopping there and complaining, my SA does have bins of stuffed animals for 29 cents each so once in a while I will stop by and look through the bins for stuff that is resell worthy or just old plush that I may want for myself. That is about the only shopping I do at the Salvation army. I have walked into goodwill's but I can't remember the last time I actually bought any thing at any of them, actually I probably never have.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']
Did I complain about GW and SA pricing their donated stuff too high for my liking? Yep. Did it help? No. All it did was let me vent a lil frustration, but complaining(especially on the internet) gets ya nowhere. But it definitely is a good way to relieve stress.:D[/QUOTE]

More or less, this was my point of starting the thread. That, and the fact that Craigslist is just becoming one big page of stupidity IMHO.

No, griping on the internet does nothing. But at the end of a day of disappointment, it's a little comforting to know you're not the only one annoyed.

Case in point...decided to go the SA near my house and saw a case for Def Jam: Fight for NY for GC. Asked the lady to get a closer look. Not only was the game case beaten to holy hell, it wasn't even the right game in the case!

See? Thrift Store Stupidity isn't just limited to money!
 
There is something about venting about the overpriced-ness of your local thrift..

Also I love talking about specific stores on here, even though I rarely actually do, where else can I vent about my local Play and trade selling common saturn games for $90 each!!
 
[quote name='confoosious']The point of goodwill is to provide jobs and a place to buy cheap stuff for the poor and bargain hunters. Considering the clientele and the people that work there, I'll cut them a break for not knowing the latest prices for video games. :roll:

I love how when people find rare games worth $40 for $1, they're so quick to brag about what a score it is, yet, when the same ignorance of video game prices goes the other way, people are so quick to call shenanigans on goodwill.

You can't have it both ways.

Do some of you people ever stop to think that maybe the world doesn't revolve around you?[/QUOTE]

Goodwill inventory is provided by the community. Their consumers are that same community, yet they overprice their items. This is stuff they get for free.

Before you go defending Goodwill google the salary of their top brass. Then google salvation army's executive pay and compare.
 
Given the prices here, if you do a little hunting at the retail stores you can get clothing for much cheaper than what Goodwill or the SA charges. Their mission obviously isn't to provide lower income families with clothing and other items at cheaper prices than retail. They are a store just like any other store, except what they get is for free and they sell for more than regular clothing stores do while dealing in used clothing. I have found more pairs of womens jeans than I can use for under $10 a pair just by shopping retail, at that price you can't justify buying a good for rags only pair from the SA for $8. I have even been able to root out cheap jeans (under $10) in Macy's of all stores. Kmart and Sears both have 2.99 or 3.99 clearance racks of clothing at times, and this past weekend Kmart marked what they had left down to 1.99 an item and there were plenty of wearable items left. My mom and I both have a huge stack of pants/jeans, and we never pay more than $10 a pair, most of the time $5 or under. We do buy second hand, but we get our stuff from yard sales where jeans are anywhere from 25 cents to $2 a pair.
 
Yea, a lot of times the thrift stores charge like close to 10 bucks or more for some jeans in good condition...and usually JC Penny or such have sales on the weekends and you can get a brand new pair for just a few bucks more...

Oh yea and that reminds me something really bugged me to death. An Arc Thrift out in the suburbs had a bunch of new Hot Wheels cars and were asking 6 dollars for each one! While all the retail stores are selling them for under a buck. Poor kids...
 
Excuse the terrible quality, all I had with me was my phone.
oT6FE.jpg

BETY2.jpg


The kicker: there were 3 of them

I know not to bother going back to this store ever again.
 
Yep, looks like a typical Savers to me. Everything is either dirt cheap or so expensive you can't even believe what you're seeing.
 
Sam's club here has Men's jeans for $13.98 if you don't mind their brand. You can probably get a better brand cheaper, elsewhere though if you look around. For Women's jeans, I haven't paid more than $10 for a pair in many, many years.
 
[quote name='faa8146']Excuse the terrible quality, all I had with me was my phone.
oT6FE.jpg

BETY2.jpg


The kicker: there were 3 of them

I know not to bother going back to this store ever again.[/QUOTE]

Was the sticker seal still intact? It would be really bad if it was a refurb :drool:

With the fan that dusty though you can tell it's seen some use; I've passed on overpriced PS2s like that for years.
 
[quote name='TiKi2']Goodwill inventory is provided by the community. Their consumers are that same community, yet they overprice their items. This is stuff they get for free.

Before you go defending Goodwill google the salary of their top brass. Then google salvation army's executive pay and compare.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, in some ways I can respect flippers and retro stores more than Good Will; if you have to pay $20 for a game to get it in inventory, you're only pulling in a fraction of the $30-40 sale price as profit. Good Will though is milking it for all its worth, they want to price like a business and resupply like a charity.
 
Fatty PS2- filthy, vents caked with dust. no controllers or cables. $20
See through purple Gameboy Color- $8

This is the same GW I got a PS2 slim with cables for $5 and the Target edition GBA for $5
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top