The Thrift Near Miss thread

[SlowCoder]

Not a near-miss, but more of a probably near-near miss story, as I'm sure the merchandise wouldn't have lasted long at all.

 

My wife and I have only recently (3 months or so?) started hitting GoodWills. Actually, we make an affair of it. Sometimes we'll go out on the weekends, and sometimes we'll take a 1/2 day together and go thrifting. Today was a Monday.

 

A couple of months ago we were at the GW in the "rich" section of town. I saw a basket full of N64 and SNES games, all of the labels in excellent shape. And only $2.99 a piece. I quickly looked them up on eBay thinking maybe I could flip them. Based on their going prices, it probably wouldn't have been worth it for my time. So I left them there, in their basket, in the same spot. I wasn't looking to collect an N64.

 

We left to go to another GW in the center of town. Wife went to look at the clothes and dishes, I went to the electronics. On the shelf sat an almost perfect N64, complete with 1 controller (the joystick still tight) and power, but no composite cable. Darn. But it was $20. So I bought it, especially having seen the games at the other GW.

 

Back to the other GW we went. Luckily for me, probably because it's a Monday, the other games were still there. Bought them up, along with the SNES games, for about $35 total ($21 for the N64 games). Note that the games ranged from $2 to $5 plus on eBay, and even more for a couple, so I don't think I got ripped overall.

 

Decided to run to GameStop to look for a N64 video cable. Bought one for about $13 (figured I couldn't do much better on eBay shipped).

 

I've found in the time I've been looking, that my GWs seem to split everything up, and spread them around the city. So, I'm sure there was probably a SNES console too, but who knows where that went? I bet it was in spiffy condition, considering the condition of the N64 and all the games.

 

All in all, I spent less than $60 for everything, and I'm happy with my N64. I since won a game lot on eBay containing some games that each go for $10-$20, all for $20 shipped. If I were to decide to sell, I'm sure I could double my money.

[+jd_1138]

A couple of years ago at a local charity thrift store fundraiser there was a Magnavox Odyssey 2 in its original box with all the cables, with the joysticks, owner's manual, and the warranty card. And there were 5 or 6 games with it. $10 for the whole shebang. I wasn't into the classic gaming hobby back then, so I passed it up. I'm sure a collector probably bought it, so it probably went to a good home.

 

I used to see ColecoVisions and Ataris up until 5 years ago. The classic game consoles are all picked over in this area, at least. You don't see them too much anymore around here, except for the occasional loose Combat or ET cartridge here or there. You can occasionally find them on Craigslist, but for more than thrift store prices.

 

Also, you can get some bargains on ebay if you buy from local sellers, so you don't have to pay $30 for shipping. But just make sure they allow local pickup.

[SlowCoder]

So I made a stop by one of the local GW shops today. They've had this beat up, worn out Genesis displayed in their checkout window for a few months for $20. It's all scratched up, and the volume and power buttons are all wobbly and loose. I figured I'd offer the guy $10. Well, you know the tag they put on all of their items that tells the date it was displayed? Now it says Oct 11. I KNOW its been there much longer. Anyway, I told the guy I wouldn't pay the price they're asking due to the condition. Guess I'll periodically check in on them and bug them, until they've either sold it to someone else, or it sits until they'll take the price I'm offering.

[Lendorien]

So I made a stop by one of the local GW shops today. They've had this beat up, worn out Genesis displayed in their checkout window for a few months for $20. It's all scratched up, and the volume and power buttons are all wobbly and loose. I figured I'd offer the guy $10. Well, you know the tag they put on all of their items that tells the date it was displayed? Now it says Oct 11. I KNOW its been there much longer. Anyway, I told the guy I wouldn't pay the price they're asking due to the condition. Guess I'll periodically check in on them and bug them, until they've either sold it to someone else, or it sits until they'll take the price I'm offering.

 

One of the Goodwills in town here has a Palm IIIe in their case for 45 dollars. Seriously it's worth 10 dollars or less.

 

Sometimes their pricing is stupid.

[SlowCoder]

Sometimes their pricing is stupid.

 

Agreed. But I can understand it, too. Think of the amount of stuff they have to sift through on a daily basis. They probably just lump consoles and games as a single category and price them all at, example $20. That might be average for a 2600, but perty dern good for a N64. But this same store had a GameCube for $40. I've been considering getting one of those too, but something just doesn't feel right at this store. I haven't priced out GameCubes, as I'm not really that interested, so I don't know what they're running for. They don't hold a history for me. The only reason I think I'd want one is to complete out my Nintendo collection.

[+jd_1138]

Sometimes their pricing is stupid.

 

Agreed. But I can understand it, too. Think of the amount of stuff they have to sift through on a daily basis. They probably just lump consoles and games as a single category and price them all at, example $20. That might be average for a 2600, but perty dern good for a N64. But this same store had a GameCube for $40. I've been considering getting one of those too, but something just doesn't feel right at this store. I haven't priced out GameCubes, as I'm not really that interested, so I don't know what they're running for. They don't hold a history for me. The only reason I think I'd want one is to complete out my Nintendo collection.

 

$40 is too much for a GameCube. You can get them for $29 at EB Games/GameStop with power supply, video connections, and one Nintendo controller. The ones I've bought at EB/GS for nephews have always been in great shape. The GameCube is a great system (actually has better specs than the PS2) with lots of great titles. Plus it's such a small, neat system with the handle on it.

[Lendorien]

Ok, Time to revive this thread. I messed out on an unboxed copy of the Genesis game Musha. I saw it at Goodwill and passed it up because I didn't know it was worth anything and I'm trying to watch my spending. Doh. I need a smart phone.

 

As an aside, a goodwill here has a boxed original Intellivision in their showcase for 149.99. Seriously?

 

Anyone have any stories from the past year?

Edited November 7, 2011 by Lendorien

[vcoleiro1]

I actually volunteer at a thrift shop 2 days a week. I sort all the stuff people donate to determine what goes into the shop and what gets tossed in the dumpster.

It's amazing how generous people are with stuff they donate - gameboys in there case with games, mobile phones, brand new stuff etc. It's also amazing what people donate (Like boxes on condoms or my fav: a colostomy bag)

 

I volunteer for one of the few thrift shops in my state (Victoria, Australia) that actually except electronic/electrical goods as these need to be electrically certified. Fortunately we have someone who is trained to test this stuff and tag it. That said , most thrift shops do not accept electronic//electrical goods, and when they receive this stuff (usually waiting for the sorter in the dignified manner of one major pile at the front of the shop) , are you ready to cringe, they throw it away.

[SlowCoder]

I volunteer for one of the few thrift shops in my state (Victoria, Australia) that actually except electronic/electrical goods as these need to be electrically certified. Fortunately we have someone who is trained to test this stuff and tag it. That said , most thrift shops do not accept electronic//electrical goods, and when they receive this stuff (usually waiting for the sorter in the dignified manner of one major pile at the front of the shop) , are you ready to cringe, they throw it away.

While I think it's crap that most of your shops just toss out what is probably a good deal of perfectly workable stuff, I guess I could see the store's side of it, too. I they were to sell something that was damaged, and hurt someone, that store/company would be liable. In contrast to your experience, what we have here is stores that sell things as "untested", just like eBay, and if you buy it, and it doesn't work, there's no returning it.

 

In that case, you'd almost want to open your own shop and take all the donated electronics to test and repair yourself. Think of the money that could be made by selling 2nd hand, but perfectly functional, equipment? That's the kind of place I might go to if I had a stereo component die, and I wanted to replace it with something of the same model or era ... or heck ... to just go there and find something cool and new to tinker with!

[Metal Ghost]

I have a sudden urge to hit the Rescue Mission store on my way home tonight!

[vcoleiro1]

@SlowCoder

 

Yeah it does suck that a lot of stores cannot sell second hand electrical equipment (in Australia) and just throw it away. Unfortunately it's the law here in Australia that states that a shop cannot sell second hand electrical equipment without it being tested and electrically certified. As you can imagine most thrift stores are run by volunteers who dont have the qualifications to do the certification. The thrift shop I work for is lucky in that in does have someone who is qualified to do it.

 

Even though we do have someone who can test this stuff there has been cringe worthy moments, like when I arrived for a shift to find people had left a mountain of donations outside including Tv's, stereos, radios (one looked to be a new Grundig) etc. Unfortunately it had rained heavily and everything was full of water and had to be thrown out.

[Lendorien]

Well at the thrift stores, especially the non-profit ones, electronics go like crazy. Not so much the VCRs, but speakers, stereos, game equipment, etc. They go like crazy.