It is so very annoying when thrift stores who receive donations begin pricing vintage goods and antique ‘finds’ and mark them up as if they are in the antique business. There went all the fun! Really?
As I understood it, thrift stores resell items donated by people who no longer see value in the items they drop off. The idea would be for the thrift store to price the item similar to other like items and sell them for a BARGAIN. Did I miss something? Did someone change the process while I was sleeping?
Is everyone a dealer now? I’ve visited three to four thrift stores recently, the ones who report excellent revenues and climbing for the methods which we have all come to love and enjoy. At HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, the people who price the items no longer price all the vases at one bargain basement price and put them on the shelf. Oh no! Now, pay close attention and you will see workers who receive DONATIONS with a smart phone searching for the price of vintage items online.
Not only do they mark the items up and separate them from their own kind, but they also print out lengthy descriptors to post along with the ‘great find’ and price accordingly. This is obscene. Everyone wants to have fun with this long-standing hobby that so many Americans enjoy everyday.
Search for the bargain, find out the online asking prices, and learn about the products you found at rock-bottom prices. Right? Did somebody re-write the rules for bargain shopping? Whether your intention is to use your finds at you own home or to re-sell at auction is not in question. It’s the joy of the ‘great find at bargain prices’ that turns shoppers into hunters and lovers of unique collections.
In the past, flea markets did the same thing. No longer could shoppers find a bargain and proudly bring home the merchandise to display in front of friends while bragging about the awesome prices. It was about the value! It was about the fun of it!
Why, Salvation Army Thrift Store, Habitat for Humanity, and GoodWill? Why did you have to steal the fun? Most donations are left by good people who want to help others. No one donates their antiques or basement clutter so that the very center who asked for their seconds would overprice and gouge the shoppers. Is the Salvation Army Thrift Store going to set the bar and become an economic inflation creator for all things vintage and fun?
People donate so thrift store will have bargains for sale – bargains the are helpful to other people. Humanity is the basis for such a plan. Where is the humanitarianism in pillaging through the kindness of others and gouging the very client it is intended to assist. Really?
Don’t you have enough C.E.O.’s in your non-profit plumpness to leave the bargains on the table? Let the good shoppers enjoy their find. Do your job!. Mark the like items alike. Put on the shelf. And leave the cycle alone. It’s not your job to determine what is worth what and how much antiques are valued. Become an antique expert and deal for real or leave well enough alone.
Everyone cannot be a dealer! Greed trumps fun everytime. Do the right thing and let the vintage hunters keep up their bargain shopping and bargain bragging.
Quartz2Quirkz 