posted on December 17, 2000 03:07:17 AM
I don't know where you folks are at but you will seldom find a "needy" person shopping at our overpriced thrift shops.
They are hoping for the rich to buy the used stuff that they have priced at retail.
We have church and community groups that give clothing and household goods to the low income, elderly, and people who have been burned out of their homes.These are the truly needy.And these are where we donate the appropriate items especially but not limited to children's clothing.
Back on topic, your best buys will be found by truly hounding every yard sale, rummage sale,and small auction. Look especially for the unusual items that there aren't 10,000 of already on ebay. And as has been already said, do your homework and start to specialize. For instance if you have a lot of books in your area then study about grading and condition, then study what topics are selling on ebay. Same goes for any category that you can find cheaply in your area.
posted on December 17, 2000 04:03:07 AM
deco100: I know what you mean about your statement. There is a Salvation Army store near me. This store was built when all of the land around it was nothing more that sparsely used farmland. Then, 15 years later, it found itself in the middle of the largest commercial land boom in the region. It's now surrounded by Walmart, Target, Lowes, Sam's Club, Circuit City, etc. You name it, it built there. So, here's this little SA store surrounded by the mega stores. I've in been the store twice. All of their prices are severely overinflated. No needy person would ever be able to afford anything there and, the major problem is that the things for sale are sub-garage sale items. Absolute Junk. The second time I was in there I saw a Radio Shack Color Computer (around 18 years old) priced at $800. Yeah right. Cheap polyester clothing was priced around $30 an outfit. Ridiculous.
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As for what started this topic... Dman is correct. Buy something you know and know very well. Otherwise you'll end up with a load of items you can't sell. A close friend of mine keeps attempting to make his big break into ebay. He buys lots of items, many at auctions, and goes way outside his sphere of knowledge. One problem is that he believes auctioneers. They hype the item, he gets excited, and then he pays for it in the end.
I've been with him at auctions and I normally have to calm him down and explain why it's not a good deal. Then when I'm not with him he goes back into his old mode. I'm the type of person who looks at the auction newspaper listings and research closing bid prices on ebay to know what people are legitimately willing to pay. I then dump the listings that match as closely as I can gather to the items at the auction directly into my Palm-type handheld computer. I'll usually dump in search results pages and a few specific auction pages. This way I can directly compare the item sitting on a table with something that has been on ebay and closed at a good price. I can be an informed bidder and be confident I've got a good potential seller or pass on it if it was misrepresented.
For items that pop up unannounced, I stick to things I know or have done a lot of research on. I've always been a good speculator. It's quite rare that I get stuck with something. Some things I'll hold to sell for the right season. I may have got a good price on something because people are not in that thinking mode for the item because of seasonality.
In summation, reearch and know the items.
luvmy2bears... You are the same person who stared another thread complaining about the PayPal credit receiving limit and you specifically said... That just isn't fair!!!! I'm not a business. I shouldn't have to have a business account!
Now you say in the original posting in this thread... "I am going to start digging around in thrift stores and "antique" shops for stuff to sell on ebay I think. But I don't really know what kind of stuff to pick up.
In your experience, what seems to sell well?"
You really have to decide if you are a business or not. If you're selling you are a business acting in the capacity of a sole-preprietor. The IRS and your state taxing authority will be happy to provide you with a great deal of material as to why you are and may even write you some fan mail if you are successful. You can't have it both ways. Don't complain about being charged business fees in one thread and then start another asking how to get items to sell to make money.
[ edited by avaloncourt on Dec 17, 2000 05:24 AM ]
posted on December 17, 2000 05:00:02 AM
On the other side of the coin...I am a single Mom with 3 kids who was just lucky enough to stumble into a computer. I have always bought at Thrift Stores...(because I had to) and got into Antiques by finding things at Garage Sales and Thrift Shops to find out later they were worth money. I have a real...Job..but this suppliments my income and makes me able to afford things so that my childrens sad eyes are not focused on whatever they can get at a thrift shop. I am not taking away from anyone..I am giving to my Kids..
I have to go but.. you will find me buying whatever jewel I can get my hands on at any thrift shop
Dialin4dollars
posted on December 17, 2000 06:15:47 AM
I worked at a thrift store and everything cariad said is true. Heck, the manager and assistant manager had a co-cosignment store on the side. NOTHING worth any value made it to the floor.
posted on December 17, 2000 06:54:46 AM
Mr. Jim - In another time and place I would agree with you - BUT not really today.
We have a Mission Thrift Shop in town, in fact the largest, and the funds supposedly go to feed the local hungry - BUT the folks who get the $600 suit you gave, or wear the $50 Macys’s blouse, or get a buy on a decent piece of furniture are not dealers, and they are not the needy, they are the people who run the shop and their friends.
If, hypothetically, you gave a unique item to them, you will never see it on their floor. It is hidden in the back for select friends, or for the owner's own home.
We over heard a conversation one day at the Mission Thrift shop between the director and a customer/friend of theirs, where the director told her, that she had just what she needed for her new condo in the holding room in the back.
7 or 8 years ago, when we actually took time to search the Missions and Thrift shops for unique items, we immediately noticed, particularly at the above mentioned Mission Store, but at one other also, that after we had made a couple of buys in a given product area, that all of the sudden all that type of product just disappeared, and wasn't seen on their floor again. Since we own an antique store, and they know who we are, we presumed that they assumed the type of items we were then buying were valuable, and they began hoarding these for themselves. I'll bet today they have a store room full of this junk, that has absolutely no value in today's market!
We sought to turn in these disreputable stores, but after checking, none of the local churches support or have anything to do with the largest one - and there doesn't seem to be any regulations governing these type of places.
Mr. JIM – what about the stay at home Mom, with little money, who uses these types of places to find product she can afford to sell on line to help contribute to her family’s income?
NOW - to the hungry, poor Mother with three children on welfare who can only afford to shop at the Missions. I am sure there are some of these, but most of the poor I see are shopping at Wal-Mart, and wouldn't consider buying their clothes or such at a Mission. (False Pride).
SO, if I were given to shopping these places for product I'd not have any qualms regarding it. As an experienced business person, and very active on line, I don't feel it is worth my time for the few items I'd ever find of real value - and doesn't provide any type of constant source of product which is necessary to sustain a strong, constant business.
I do applaud you sentiments - it is just unfortunate they aren't necessarily true.
posted on December 17, 2000 08:29:45 AM
We presume it's inadvertent.
Assertions that people, any person, shouldn't expand commerce by searching out all legal opportunities for buying from willing sellers and selling to willing buyers, such assertions are assertions of the devil who would keep people dependent upon charity.
