Thrift Store has a Video Game Sale, Guess What Happens...

[teh_lurv]

This Reddit thread has been making the rounds online:

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/madisonwi/comments/4y6i8u/another_st_vinnys_video_game_sale_gone_wrong/

 

I'm sadly not surprised in the least this happened, I see it regularly at a lesser extent at my local thrift stores & yard sales.

[Keatah]

Some of my local stores do similar, though on a smaller scale. I don't shop there as frequently because of that. Why should I? All I see is junk..

[Austin]

Damn, that's a shame. I know re-sellers are all over these things like hawks, but to take baskets throughout the store and to dump everything they see into them without a second thought is seriously scumbag level stuff. The sad part is, the thrift store in question is defending this activity on their Facebook page, and in their statements it's easy to tell they are prioritizing the money. I understand a business needs to make money, but there are ways to do it without pissing off your customers (for instance, how about putting the product out on the floor year round instead of stashing it away for an annual "event" that seems to do the video game enthusiasts little to no good?). If they really are OK with re-sellers getting most of the good product, an option is to deal with them behind closed doors. Out of sight, out of mind for the rest.

[BassGuitari]

Ha, Madison WI. I've been to the places they're talking about. Bummer to hear about this though.

[Blazing Lazers]

Both store and reseller are equally worthy of condemnation over this. The store should know that allowing this behavior can only serve to anger customers and lead them to stop patronizing or worse, stop donating to them. Intentionally setting aside certain item, and probably allowing them to be poached, is also very shortsighted.

 

As for the reselling man-child, his name and reputation are mud all over the Web, and rightly so. He'll undoubtedly lose some business over this, at the very least. Surely what meager profit he might hope to see from his shenanigans isn't going to be worth whatever long term consequences emerge from his behavior...

[jhd]

We don't have St. Vincent's stores here in Canada, and, happily, I have never seen a thrift shop here do something idiotic like a short-time, specialized sale for a particular market. Video games appear on the shelves all year long (albeit in small numbers).

 

That said, there are very few used game shops in this city, so I doubt there would be quite as many professional re-sellers to compete against.

[fiddlepaddle]

I've seen something similar with library book sales (and CDs and movies). The best simple solution I've seen is when they have someone knowledgeable go through the inventory before the sale and pull out the rare and known-high-value titles and set them aside for a silent auction, or post them online or sell some other way. The downside is you have to find that knowledgeable person (and trust them), and probably pay them. And it takes more time and coordination.

 

Or, price all newly donated games at $10 this month, $5 next month, and $1 the month after that...

 

Or, price them high at 10am, half price at noon, 75% off at 2pm.

 

None of these will completely eliminate the problem because there is always going to be some benefit to anyone who has better knowledge of the market, and to anyone who is willing to work harder because of the profit.

 

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to force everyone to act polite, and therefore doing so costs money and/or time.

[Zookeeper]

C'mon crash, hurry up and get here!

[jhd]

I've seen something similar with library book sales (and CDs and movies). The best simple solution I've seen is when they have someone knowledgeable go through the inventory before the sale and pull out the rare and known-high-value titles and set them aside for a silent auction, or post them online or sell some other way. The downside is you have to find that knowledgeable person (and trust them), and probably pay them. And it takes more time and coordination.

 

In my experience, this is now very common with large (library and charity) book sales. The institution will have a relationship with one or another local dealer who will separate out the more valuable items. One major, annual, local sale even has a separate area set aside for the "rare and valuable" titles. Of course even experts cannot review EVERY book that is donated, so some rarities do manage to slip into the regular sale area.

 

This was not always the case, however. I recall being at a library sale in the early-1990s and encountering an acquaintance who was a professional bookseller. Happily, we were looking for different things, so we were not directly competing for the same stock (e.g. I have no interest in the literature or poetry books that he was buying).

[+GoldenWheels]

Yeah to just bin shit and then see if it's any good? I don't care if it's for your living or not, that's a jerkoff move.

[The Usotsuki]

We've got a St. Vincent de Paul near me - I don't think they even *sell* old video games. About 95% of their stuff is clothes, and the rest is books and some old cassettes and VHS tapes...

[HoshiChiri]

Y'know, if they know this happens, maybe they could plan around it- get a group of local collectors together to, basically, do the exact same thing. Especially if they work out a plan ahead of time to buy everything, even the junk- so if the reseller tries to complain, they can point out that "unlike you, we didn't grab all this to cherry-pick... we're just deciding who's buying what."

 

It'd be pretty epic.

[Omega-TI]

Y'know, if they know this happens, maybe they could plan around it- get a group of local collectors together to, basically, do the exact same thing. Especially if they work out a plan ahead of time to buy everything, even the junk- so if the reseller tries to complain, they can point out that "unlike you, we didn't grab all this to cherry-pick... we're just deciding who's buying what."

 

It'd be pretty epic.

 

ROTFLMAO! If you guys do this, please film it and post the video here. I'd love to see the reactions of those greedy re-sellers getting screwed over with their own tactics. You could always offer to sell them any rare ones you find and greatly inflated prices afterwards!

[Flojomojo]

Sooooooo sick of artificial scarcity.

[Keatah]

I avoid all that artificial scarcity crap. Even on Apple II material.

[omegadot]

That seems rude anywhere regardless of how you justify it. I don't think it's worth a haul like they got to be an ass. Really I don't think any haul is but what they posted on Facebook isn't even that great. What a total waste of energy.

[thadsilverfox]

Bwahahahaha...I'm not sure how they stay in business with some of those prices. You can get most of that stuff cheaper on eBay with no sales tax.

[Flojomojo]

Bwahahahaha...I'm not sure how they stay in business with some of those prices. You can get most of that stuff cheaper on eBay with no sales tax.

Maybe they stay in business from stealing* from thrift shops and marking it up for their store or eBay.

 

*you know what I mean

[thadsilverfox]

 

I'm not sure how with those prices.

[Bixler]

Do these people have no shame whatsoever? Can you imagine a mother or father with their child who came to look for one or two (hopefully) cheap, fun, older games to play, and they get virtually chucked out of the way by greedy resellers looking to most likely barely make a living off of this crap? Leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. I'm really glad that this kind of thing doesn't happen with comic books (from my experience, anyway).

 

Makes me glad that I do all of my retro game shopping on private forums, game swapping marketplaces, and eBay. Good grief.

[icemanxp300]

Y'know, if they know this happens, maybe they could plan around it- get a group of local collectors together to, basically, do the exact same thing. Especially if they work out a plan ahead of time to buy everything, even the junk- so if the reseller tries to complain, they can point out that "unlike you, we didn't grab all this to cherry-pick... we're just deciding who's buying what."

 

It'd be pretty epic.

 

What does it matter? If you went to a sale and found 5 Air Raids for $5 each. How many would you take? How many would you resell? Lastly how much would you sell them for!

 

Collector or not only an idiot will turn down free money!

 

This started as a hobby for me but after I amassed a basement full of games I now sell most everything I buy as I already have it. I still go out looking for stuff and if I see "a deal" I'm buying it whether or not I already own it. When I see a $50 game for $5 and I already own it, that is like looking at $40 of free money. I'm buying it to resell.

 

Anyone who says they will leave a huge deal is most likely a liar. All this reseller shit annoys me as essentially EVERY collector is a reseller. I just bought a GameCube off a local "collector" and he has ads on craigslist every day. He told me his wife says he is a reseller and he told here he is not because he is a frugal collector who buys lots cheap and sells off what he doesn't need.

 

Hey guess what, that is reselling! That's exactly what I do. So does that mean I'm not a reseller? Just because I sell much more than I keep these days does that some what morph me from collector to reseller? NO I am both, have always been both, and likely will always be both!

 

Now for an answer to the topic. You take it you buy it! Simple. You put it in your bin you bought it. Anyone seen hoarding stuff to keep from other potential buyers that later put back will be banned from making any purchases.

[fiddlepaddle]

 

...I see a $50 game for $5 and I already own it, that is like looking at $40...

 

I'm glad you're not my accountant.

[icemanxp300]

 

I'm glad you're not my accountant.

 

Please elaborate? If I pay $5 for it and spend $5 in gas and sell for $50. I'm making $40. Don't really get your comment.

[HoshiChiri]

 

What does it matter? If you went to a sale and found 5 Air Raids for $5 each. How many would you take? How many would you resell? Lastly how much would you sell them for!

 

Collector or not only an idiot will turn down free money!

 

This started as a hobby for me but after I amassed a basement full of games I now sell most everything I buy as I already have it. I still go out looking for stuff and if I see "a deal" I'm buying it whether or not I already own it. When I see a $50 game for $5 and I already own it, that is like looking at $40 of free money. I'm buying it to resell.

 

Anyone who says they will leave a huge deal is most likely a liar. All this reseller shit annoys me as essentially EVERY collector is a reseller. I just bought a GameCube off a local "collector" and he has ads on craigslist every day. He told me his wife says he is a reseller and he told here he is not because he is a frugal collector who buys lots cheap and sells off what he doesn't need.

 

Hey guess what, that is reselling! That's exactly what I do. So does that mean I'm not a reseller? Just because I sell much more than I keep these days does that some what morph me from collector to reseller? NO I am both, have always been both, and likely will always be both!

 

Now for an answer to the topic. You take it you buy it! Simple. You put it in your bin you bought it. Anyone seen hoarding stuff to keep from other potential buyers that later put back will be banned from making any purchases.

 

You see a $50 game marked $5, and imagine $40 profit. I see a 'making an online listing, finding a box, packing it up, driving it to the post office, waiting for paypal to clear the funds'- in other words, it's a hassle. For Air Raids? Sure, that's a much bigger profit margin. Get something to flip in a lot with something I wanted? Sure, that's fine. But actively purchasing things I don't need to sell for money to buy more things I don't need? I'd rather just play my games. (For this scenario, I'd tell the guy his game is worth $50- or at least 'more than $5'.)

 

Anyway- the rub in this situation is the store advertising a big sale to collectors that they can't participate in because they allow resellers to pick up, quite literally, the entire inventory. It's mostly being butt-hurt, but there's some truth to the idea that the store shouldn't allow it if they want to foster goodwill in that market. Imagine going to a big community yard sale advertising lots of games, and being told upon arrival that the some other guy who got there when you did get first picks, and he proceeds to slowly buy everything that isn't Madden. And you're not even allowed to look at the games until he's done. You might be a lil' butt-hurt over your wasted time, too.

 

I don't see what's wrong with the suggestion that the collectors pool their resources to use the same tactics- like you said, only an idiot turns down free money. The stores clearly want the titles, so if the collector's get there first, they can sell to the stores for a profit. Fair is fair. If nothing else, the ensuing battle of angry gamers might prompt the store to actually change up their policies.

[icemanxp300]

 

I don't see what's wrong with the suggestion that the collectors pool their resources to use the same tactics- like you said, only an idiot turns down free money.

 

Exactly.

 

 

What does it matter?

 

Those collectors are still going to "resell" some of it. That was my entire point!

 

 

 

You see a $50 game marked $5, and imagine $40 profit. I see a 'making an online listing, finding a box, packing it up, driving it to the post office, waiting for paypal to clear the funds'- in other words, it's a hassle. For Air Raids? Sure, that's a much bigger profit margin. Get something to flip in a lot with something I wanted? Sure, that's fine. But actively purchasing things I don't need to sell for money to buy more things I don't need? I'd rather just play my games. (For this scenario, I'd tell the guy his game is worth $50- or at least 'more than $5'.)

 

When I said $50 I was referring to local sale of $50 not $60 ebay prices. But even still if I see a game that sells for $50 shipped on ebay for $5. It will literally take me 1 minute to test it, 1 minute to take a few pics and drop on my computer, like 4 minutes to do a listing and 3 minutes to pack and ship. You are talking 10min tops to do it all. I buy boxes in bulk. at anytime I have hundreds of boxes different sizes I get for $.35 each.

 

So yeah if I pay $5 for it, $5 in gas (if I don't get anything else), $7 in fees, and $3 to ship. I still make $30 for 10 minutes work. If I am already out looking for games it is free money.