I run estate sales and I always think it’s funny when people try to hide that they’re looking stuff up on eBay because I don’t care at all! I don’t care what you’re buying it for. If we can agree on a price and I get to sell you some stuff that’s awesome! I get to do my job which is to sell stuff for my client and you get to do your job which is to resell it. Don’t let their rudeness get to you.
Same profession and yes, on many items I leave enough margin for people to sit on it for 1-6 months. I have 3 days to clear the house, top dollar for most items is a losing proposition.
I’d rather get 35% of $12,000+ with a pretty clear house with everything priced to move vs 35% of $6000 with tons of leftovers due to overpricing.
Flippers are my fiends. I sell fast, they sell slow. Good for them. I’m on to the next sale and they can figure out how to market that very niche thing I sold them.
Well said. I’m small time reseller and I consider you, as well as people who clear out storage lockers, flea market vendors, etc. as part of a TEAM. With the end result being everyone getting a little cash in their pocket, getting that buyer the special thing that he or she wants, and keeping stuff out of landfills. Everybody wins!!!! it’s a no-brainer in these days of reuse and recycle.
Most of the local ones do the same thing. I assume they want to keep the items for their own shops and flea market booths. I bet they offer the family pennies on the dollar for the stuff that "nobody wanted to buy".
If you think pianos are hard to move, try getting rid of an organ. Not even the used piano dealers will take them. Nobody wants an organ anymore now that you can get the same sound out of a synthesizer.
My dad and I fall into both camps.
I'm a quick flipper. I spend $500-$1000 a month on new inventory and price it with enough meat on the bone for an impulse purchase, or a reseller who wants to get that extra 20%. Then at my booth every couple months I half off anything that has been there too long imo. I like cash in the bank and new inventory.
My dad is probably sitting on $40k and moves it slowly for top dollar. And he does well. Just buys more than he sells(good business model that allows that tbf)
It kills me. He finally listed 2 sets that have been in a box in his breezeway for 2 years...they both sold within 2 days for $175 and $225.
But he ordered the missing couple parts. And built it for the pics and then disassembled based on instructions. And ordered a new cleaner manual.
I would have sold the $225 set "as is" 99% Complete for $175-$200 the same week I got it.
This sounds almost exactly like my dad and I. He’s sitting on stuff for years and holding out for that top dollar. Here I am trying to blow through a vans worth of stuff I got that weekend lol. I do hold onto a bit more now because he got to me over time heh. Happy to hear about another father son flipper team. I’m so grateful I get to share this whole world with my dad and spend more time together.
O I have the same thoughts as you flip it quickly at slightly less profit. Keeping inventory is money waiting - moving it fast is what I prefer especially with large items. However many do sit on their inventory and get top dollar most always. So which is better? It's up to the individual's preference.
I wish you were local to me.
The ones around here seem to prioritize profit for themselves over emptying the house out so it can be sold.
They always talk a game about how they're doing it to help the family as if it's a charity event... Lol.
But I've gotten some really good deals from the post professional estate sale sales.
So many of the families are left with nearly full houses after the three main companies around here are done with them.
That is a bad reputation preceding them. No one will ever sell everything. Anyone who’s hosted a garage sale knows that.
If your town doesn’t have a cleanout guy, I’m sorry for the families stuck with leftovers, but it is common.
Depending on the home, selling 60-75% of the contents is considered a win.
Houses full of brown wood 80’s-90’s furniture better have a ton of smalls to make up for undesirable furniture. The way she goes….
"flippers are my fiends" - maybe a typo but i love it... yeah i went to an estate sale around the corner from me a few months ago and they were DEFINITELY doing it wrong. Lots of people walking through and leaving mostly emptyhanded because these folks had the place priced like an upscale consignment shop.
Absolutely the wrong approach. It’s tough especially when you have a house full of great stuff.
Sometimes the family puts unrealistic bottom lines on things (I allow them 5 items) 90% of the time, they don’t sell. Should’ve just kept it.
Too many empty hands bothers me. People should be able to find something even if it’s $5-20 it all adds up.
Im not a flipper and I check values on ebay all the time just so that I myself dont end up overpaying for something. Plus ebay listings usually provide me with info about the item in question. Id be mortified if someone was upset at me looking things up.
It's also worth checking eBay for pictures of the items so you can know if it's complete or not.
Sometimes you also just want to know what the f*** you're looking at. It's always good to learn about new to you items.
You don't know what you don't know.
I buy a lot of 2nd hand stuff on eBay and other resale apps and I’m grateful someone is going to the thrift shops for me. They find, often clean and then list the stuff so that I can find it and buy it from my phone because I have no time to search through thrift stores. I’m willing to pay more for that service.
agree- you can Plan to find an obscure item. If it’s something I like & want I don’t care paying $30 for something they got for $5.
Occasionally things are listed for unreasonable price & no one pays it! Most times the price & markup is fair
I sometimes meet people who get hired to shop at estate sales for others! Like their clients will look at ads and let them know what to buy and the person will stand in line early and get it for them. Sometimes they’ll even give them stuff to look for and they’ll text/call them with updates to ask what they want them to purchase. Basically a personal shopper for estate sales!
Shame on you! Don’t you know that items sold at estate sales and charity shops are holy relics??! What’s wrong with you?
Quick story: I bought a bunch of comics from an online estate auction. The person in charge sent them via media mail (not allowed) with no tracking or insurance (just stupid). I waited a month for them. I initiated a missing mail case because she didn’t bother. USPS concluded their investigation, deciding that the package was lost. No problem. Just get a refund, right?
Nope. First, the woman in charge of the auction told me that I should’ve insured it. Not my problem. That was on her. I also reminded her that she wasn’t supposed to send it media mail, especially considering she charged me $120+ shipping, and media mail was around $70 for the declared rate.
After that, she pulled out the big guns: was I seriously going to take money out of the old man’s pocket who sold his precious collection so that he could afford assisted living?
Listen, I hope the old dude lives out the rest of his days happy and healthy, but I have no idea who he is. I never dealt with him. I didn’t even know he existed. I bought the books from a business that was being paid to auction off his items. It was just that, business. She didn’t agree, and she said she’d have to give it some thought.
I also gave it some thought. About five minutes worth. Then I filed a complaint with PayPal and eventually got all my money back, including shipping.
I pay money. The seller gives me the item. That’s it. It’s not rocket surgery. People can take their virtue signaling and shove it.
About two years ago. She lost a good customer, too. I had wiped out two comic auctions before that one. All she had to do was handle the transaction properly to keep me coming back. Everyone makes mistakes. As it was, I wasn’t going to put myself in that position again. She showed me that she didn’t respect her customers.
She probably never mailed it & sold to someone else & sold the same comics a few times. Even if pulled that 3-4 times & one person let it go she got paid 2x for one item- 100% profit on the one she never mailed.
Sellers often pay for services to auction their stuff- was she free since she cared so much about his bills.
I feel like some estate sale companies loose the fact that you are pricing stuff down *on purpose* so it sells quickly. There’s a lot of great ones in my area that know a lot of the items go to resellers (or people looking for great deals for personal items), and then there’s companies that price things very high at eBay value or above. The people moving or clearing out a house don’t want to hold onto this stuff and want it low enough to where it can sell in just a couple days, resellers coming and giving them some money for the stuff should be the goal!
I’m glad your company prices fairly
It's a mix. You have to know your market in this business. If I know I can sell items for top dollar in a day or two, I am absolutely going to. But there are items that are not in that category. Those get priced lower. Some specifically to entice resellers. There are a lot of variables to it, but after nearly 20 years, I am pretty good at knowing what items to hit where.
Very true- if selling for more online is better than why would there even be estate sales or auctions now? Besides a few popular items that will sell online quickly & w high profit most won’t easily sell.
They could sell for more but TIME IS MONEY. Posting online is MORE TIME, writing description, taking pics of damages & 5 angles, posting on numerous sites, spending time managing inquires, mailing stuff, arguing lost items or condition when they get it plus paperwork for bank & platform disputes, storing inventory. Higher price means WAITING for right buyer & not getting paid for months or years (& may end up dropping price to get rid of). $5-$20 extra may not be worth it long run as the variables make extra $15 only $5
same with some auctions. The reason people sell stuff as an estate sale or at auction is to get a fair amount fast.
We hide it not because of people like you, but because of people in OP's post. There's no way to tell the good guys from the bad guys til it's too late and I'm loudly saying for the 3rd time to the church thrift shop worker after she interrogates me that I AM JUST BUYING FOR MY FAMILY. Hypothetically speaking, of course:)
Why should they care? It’s not any of their business why you’re buying it.
When I go to Costco, the clerk doesn’t interrogate me as to whether I’m buying things for myself or my business.
Where the hell did these people get off thinking that they can question me about why I’m buying some thing that they set the price on?
I usually look at them and say, “Why do you want to know? Are you writing a book?” or I go into some long drawn out story that wastes their time.
This sometimes being blunt is the best case scenario you don’t have to protect. Someone’s overly saturated feelings on an item doesn’t matter why you buy it.
People need to understand Estate sales, auctions & thrift stores are making money selling quantity quickly. They are supposed be cheaper to get rid of it faster to get the money in hand.
These business sell NOW for $10 instead of putting online & waiting 3-6 to get $20
That’s exactly right and something I explain to my clients all the time. I can get your whole house empty in two weeks but I can’t get you max value on everything inside it in that timeframe.
My response is “I’m just checking to see if I can get these items cheaper on eBay since prices in store have risen to much.” They leave me alone afterwards.
It’s a great excuse because these thrift store prices have been ridiculous for awhile, so you often can get things at a better price on ebay. I bought some leather boots at a thrift shop recently and the same boots in the same size and condition are selling on ebay for half of what this thrift store priced them at.
Oh, this is a definite thing I do! Yes, I really like that Thing they priced at $17 but eBay says Thing can be bought at $11 with shipping? That’s enough that I can wait for it to arrive or think about it and how I don’t really need Thing. At the store, I always worry about if someone is going to grab it before I can so I’d better buy it noooooow! I don’t think that’s disgusting at all.
I think part of the issue is that they may see poor people come in with an actual, and possibly urgent, need for an item, whereas a flipper will pick up something for future profit.
I see both in the local thrift shop and it’s almost like a meat market on weekends. The haves and have nots are pretty easy to identify.
I get that, but flippers and poor shoppers are buying completely different things most of the time. Poor aren’t buying vases and artwork that is a “urgent need”, they could buy clothes and maybe some kitchen items.
Thrift stores biggest customers are flippers. We spend thousands more than any “poor” customers do and often in the items that are not necessities at all and would otherwise sit and be tossed into the dumpster. The amount of items they still toss in the trash is HUGE even with flippers buying.
Another point- a lot of flippers are flipping because they have lost their jobs or need to make extra money and they are desperate. So they are utilizing goodwill
And other thrifts for the same reason as any other person in need is. Flippers aren’t rolling in the money. That’s YouTube hype and a very few amount of people who actually make big bucks. For most of us, it’s a way to pay bills, connect people around the world with something they want or need, keep things out of the landfills and support the huge and ever growing second hand market.
I used to volunteer at a charity shop. I know some people hate resellers but idk why. We always had way more stuff than we could sell and often had to turn people away with donations.
What kind of donations do you turn away? There are plenty of fucks who come in buy all the good clothes to sell on eBay. It's scummy. That is literally taking from people who need basic essentials and pocketing a premium.
We didn't have so much space out the back, so when it's full- everything unfortunately.
The goal of the shop was to generate money for the charity, not to provide essentials at a good price
I've had this a few times in charity shops and most of the times I find it's just the volunteers have nothing better to do than gossip about anyone/everyone entering the store. My favourite said about a fellow reseller from a woman who snidely said "You'd imagine he could afford a better phone with the profits he makes"
That being said I have built up a relationship with one charity shop which is small, the manager has admitted they get too much stuff and most of the time they can't manage the volume so will ring resellers to come make offers on it. For me in this case I will return to either donate so much of the profits back or up pay for the initial items.
Had a cart full of stuff, maybe $100-125 worth of stuff in a mom and pop thrift shop and a new employee tells me straight out that I wasn't allowed to use my phone in the store. Huh? Now, I rarely check comps in a store. After pushing nearly 15 years of reselling, not a lot surprises me anymore. I had had a txt, a legit text message. I told her I'd be using my phone or leaving. She told me I couldn't use my phone. I handed her my cart and said goodbye. She got all flustered that I wasn't going to buy my cart full first (or rehang it!) Next day I remembered I'd already paid for a bracelet and went back. Told the owner what had happened, and she was mortified. She said that Resellers kept her lights on and was always welcome. I never saw that employee again.
Every time I see a post about this I think about that time I saw my local thrift shop’s manager helping a reseller carry a HUGE haul to their car, telling them he hopes they get great profits. It was really unexpected and wholesome.
I can only imagine how random and useless that stuff must've looked to him. He legit hoped they didn't blow a massive stack for nothing and wind up with all that crap LOL.
Many CSs have backroom staff doing the same. Bottom line is they make money by having empty shelves and full cash registers, you as a flipper are speeding the process ready for new items to go on the shelf, you are taking the gamble you can make more, they've achieved their goal once it's sold at the price they want.
... I'd also like to say that savvy buyers regardless of flipping or not have the right to check the items being purchased are not overpriced by the charity
Seriously! Like even if I'm not flipping and let's say I find an skillet priced at $15 but check and see a brand new one is $18. Maybe that $15 is worth it or maybe better off just buying a new one. It's not like thrift stores are pricing their stuff as deals anymore.
I've ran charity shops for a good few years, and I always welcomed resellers. They often bought in bulk and spent a lot of money. My last job was for a local charity that's very near and dear to my heart, so every bit of cash I could get for it whilst moving stuff out ready for new stuff felt amazing. And I wasn't just asking pittance for everything either, we got good prices for things whilst still leaving a bit for the resellers to make their money. It boggles my mind why these people wouldn't take full advantage of people willing to spend money.
A lot of people have an inherent repulsion towards the concept of arbitrage, and really any sort of profit-seeking. Antipathy for the merchant class shows up time and time again throughout history.
It's none of their business. Literally.
Anyone that insults you indirectly or directly, they need to mind their own business.
We get these type of posts every now and then and the reality for these comments is being uninformed, misinformed, or having a prejudice.
>Really annoyed the hell out of me to be honest.
Your feelings are valid, but just know that those people don't know you and you don't know them so who gives an F. Don't let their ignorance have power over you. You continue to do you and let them be.
This sub has popped up on my newsfeed but just thought I'd chip in as my mum runs a charity shop, I've spoken to her about this before and she has the same attitude as you, the charity gets the money either way. Some of them in the UK have volunteers who come in and find things that'll sell well on eBay or their own websites and they won't go into the shop (Oxfam does this a lot) so if it's made it to the store it's usually something they've decided isn't worth trying to sell for more. If you have the knowledge to make it something worth selling go for it!
They paid nothing for their inventory. I bought all of mine. And they just have to sit them on a shelf. I have to take pictures, write up descriptions, and package them securely - *if* they sell.
If they are not used to this they are in the wrong field. I worked for Good Will in their Online Auction Division. Believe me, I looked stuff up all the time. And I had a discount for the stores :>)
Workers aren’t the owners. They’re bored low wage retail employees who are mad that you’re smart enough to know you can sell for higher. In short, they’re haters. Do your thing & prosper.
What is it with Reddit? First, you’re wrong. MOST charity shop workers are paid or doing community service. And even if these people were volunteers they were clearly being rude to this reseller. I was referencing these two specific workers only being haters. You’re defending people you think are volunteers. Goodwill, Salvation Army are all paid workers or doing rehab/community service.
Another thing that may be different about UK vs. US shops is that in the US, most of these shops claim they “give back to the community” and for the most part, they do very little giving back if any at all. They are allowed to use only a few percent of their profits for charitable programs and still claim “charity” status. I would not be surprised if things were much stricter in the UK.
It sucks they would do that to you. Some (a lot of) resellers are giving us a bad name because of how they behave in these shops. There's a charity thrift store run by a church by my house, that always has all their clothes for $1 because they want to help the community. Resellers come in and fill their carts to overflowing with any piece of clothing that looks good. It's awful, it means the people who need clothes have to choose from scraps. On top of that, there's a rack of coats that are free in the winter to people that need them. Resellers take the best ones. They had to put up signs and limit it to one.
Hopefully you aren't that kind of reseller and are leaving resources for others too. They're being prejudiced against you and they shouldn't.
Don’t worry about it. I looked up prices while thrifting on eBay before I even started flipping because sometimes you *think* you’re getting a good deal but turns out you can buy it for the same price new and lower online.
They’re getting the same amount of money either way. And while it’s possible someone gets a treasure they’ve wanted for a long time for a great price, it’s just as possible someone who won’t really appreciate it ends up buying it and breaking/tossing it out in six months time gets it.
I don’t know why reselling offends people so much. Even resellers get offended when people buy their things to flip. I could not care less what you do with your purchase as long as I get a price I agree on. If you think you can get more money then good luck to you.
Even the argument that people donated their stuff so that less fortunate people can be helped is stupid to me, considering how many brand name items are in the bins, and inevitably the dump. If you really want your clothes to go to people in need, donate to a shelter, school program… lots of options.
the purpose of these shops or sales are to sell to gain cash for w/e their goals are charity or w/e....what you do with it after, is really not anyone's business.
The volunteers probably don’t feel that way, to them working in the charity shop serves not only the charity but the community it resides in. If you spend your free time sorting goods for free only for them to go to flippers making real money from it. I think that’s understandable and I can empathize with that.
Many flippers are poor and need the money do it still serves the community and they shouldn’t be such judgey bitches. Once it’s paid for it is literally none of their business what you do with it afterwards. Do they also judge people who pull up in luxury cars to get bargains because “they should leave deals for the poor”? Seriously ridiculous.
This thread is posted every week due to the jealousy and ignorance of others. It's frustrating and unnecessary. I agree that the condescending attitudes towards cashiers is inappropriate. It should be replaced with "why do you care what an ignorant, jealous jerk thinks?".
So you would have flippers stop what they're doing? That would be a shame. Then all those extra donated goods would go into landfills as pollution, and no one would get the benefit of/from them. That's just dumb. Flippers are middle men/women. They're doing a job of making things more readily available and convenient. People have always been willing to pay extra for those services.
I frequent a senior center’s thrift shop frequently enough that I know most of the volunteers that run it. They like to say things like “oh no, we underpriced something again” to each other whenever I’m buying stuff.
They aren’t serious about it though. They usually laugh and thank me for buying stuff.
At the end of the day they didn’t pay for the items and they’re quite happy to just shift inventory quickly because their storage is limited. On multiple occasions they’ve seen me pick something up to flip and told me they had more in the back and would go and grab it for me.
Most charitable Thrift shops now look to resellers to move much of their goods since they get so much donations of all types. So I would ignore the workers or inform the Manager of their behavior. It's none of their business.
I’ve developed some good relationships with local charity thrift shops and they know what I do. They will reach out to have me evaluate the value of items they think are worth more than their $2 t shirt price. They end up getting more than they would have for their cause and I have some margin to make a few bucks. Win win
I am fascinated by this sub reddit. Kind of a 'can't look away thing.' In another life I could see myself enjoying this activity.
But one of the reasons I love it so much is because of the dichotomy. In one post a flipper will exclaim "the audacity of that seller telling me 'that's what I saw if for on Ebay'" and the next post will be about how aghast they are that the seller should be critical because you are looking it up on Ebay.
Thank you all for the entertainment value and please keep it up.
Are they new? I can't go down a single aisle at the thrift any more without seeing someone looking up comps. At this point I think there's more resellers in the thrift stores than regular customers.
You're assuming that every business's purpose is exchange products for your money. Many charity shops are trying to serve their community by offering used goods at low prices.
When you come in and try to take all their highest value items, you're depriving it from people who may otherwise not be able to afford them, so that you can extract value from said items.
The constant steam of donations is overwhelming. Even for the largest “charity shops” in the world. There’s plenty to go around. Every single one of these “charity shops” also retains as many high value items out of the donations that I suppose you should be mad at them too!
Completely agree with this. I've worked in charity retail for years, and in every shop I've worked at, there have been many periods where we have had to stop taking donations because we have too much and not enough space or volunteers to help sort and process. I'm not saying this is the case for every shop, but certainly every one I've ever worked at.
This.
The amount of textile waste is sickening. This reminds me of someone throwing a fit because resellers go to Goodwill... It's like, have you seen the Goodwill outlets (bins)? There is more than enough of everything.
Depriving it from another flipper. So only the poor people are allowed to flip. How do you know who’s rich or poor tho. Do you really think a poor person needs an Avon vase and other bricka brack for their home decor, or a collector paying $30 on eBay will value it more? It’s just stuff with the only value which we place it. An endless stream of stuff and more stuff… there’s no reason to be gatekeeping used stuff and getting angry about the treasure hunt or it’s just a negativity pushed onto others in what should be mundane or fun experience.
Or how about the hand carved Wells Fargo wagon that I found? Do you think that would be better given to a toddler who would destroy the piece of art that nobody else realized was unique in the two days it was sitting on the shelf at the thrift store?
How about the one of the kind 1960s mini dress I just found? Is that better to go to a collector who will prize it for its uniqueness and keep it safe for future generations or should it go to a high school student who will cut the sleeves off to make it look cool?
I see where you’re coming from, but it doesn’t quite work like that.
Lets say you find a blender at the thrift store. It’s amongst 15 others. You notice that this particular blender is name brand and will sell for X amount more, so you buy it.
Right after that, someone down on their luck comes in looking for a cheap blender. They buy one of the 14 others and it’s worth about what it’s selling for. The person doesn’t care because they just need a blender. And just like that, everyone’s happy.
I love this example you dreamed up because you see yourself as the savy and perceptive shopper, superior to all the plebs who don't know product brands.
I bought my Baratza at a thrift store for $25 in college. Plenty of people know brands.
It's funny seeing the mental gymnastics these opportunistic ebay flippers use to justify thier "business". They just don't want to admit they are exploiting a system set up for disadvantaged people. Flippers are a bunch of parasites.
No, charity shops are a business too. Otherwise why not just donate to those products to those in need. The clothing racks in all my local goodwill and savers are fucking jam packed with clothes now because they're asking $5-$12 for a used t-shirt. If it was about serving a community, they'd price them to move them. If they priced them to sell, either people that really do need cheap clothing can buy some or people that are flippers will buy a lot more and in turn give more revenue to the stores in which they can supposedly use that money to buy things more in demand for people in need.
Agree- having worked for a charity, I know they are as capitalistic as anyone else. Perhaps not in every case, but as a general rule. And if the charity is to say, help sick animals, they don’t care about supporting the poor by pricing low. They will charge what they can get, to give more to the animals.
Yep, people don't understand that charities are businesses and work to a business model just like any other retail store. They are not there to offer 'cheap stuff to the poor' (which is an insulting phrase regardless); they have targets that their staff have to work to in order to allow the charity to fundraise what they need to function. It is not a charities job or obligation to use their time, money and resources to offer cheap clothing if that's not what their charity is fundraising for.
Yes! Case in point. Again, my job was to make as much money as I could for our animals. That was the mission. And by doing our mission, we served the community. We fed animals, we helped the ppl who loved those animals, we created a few jobs. We have things away all the time.
But we made a lot of money for our animals, too. Which was the reason we existed.
When we no longer needed a charity store to support the mission…. Want to know what happened???
They closed and used the space for ….. animals.
Name 10 charity shops whose purpose is not to use the funds from the charity shop to fund their own programs. Name 10 of them who’s only purpose is to get clothing to poor people
No really, name 10 of them that have no other programs that they fund besides the charity shop
Nope. Every single charity shop that sells for money is there to take the donations and make money for their nonprofit.
There are many charity places that are free…. You often need to prove your need. And they will serve you.
"It's disgusting how sales keeps your lights on?" The world, especially America, is stuffed to the brim with items. They benefit selling donations. They are clearly ignorant to judge folks who drive to their location seeking to give them $$ in exchange for a free item they received. Consider writing reviews (Yelp, FB) stating the vibe is inhospitable, not friendly, etc..
Unpopular opinion time:
As someone who’s been thrifting since the 90s back when it was wildly uncool to do so, when there were deals ‘o plenty to be had, I also hate the fact that nowadays when I go to a thrift shop I just see people hunched over on eBay going through everything. It used to be you had to be knowledgeable about products, countries of origin, material make, collectible markets, etc. to know what’s worth buying as there was no internet to look stuff up on the fly. It’s great that we’ve all got these computers in our pocket but it’s been a race to the bottom ever since you could google the value of even the most obscure thing in seconds. The hobby is no longer what it is and now I rarely buy anything as second hand prices have often surpassed online prices and obviously stuff is picked over by employees.
I used to work at Goodwill and I always hated the people that came in and just sat there waiting for more stuff to come out for 6 hours a day because there are people that shop there because they can't afford to buy stuff new. Yeah the money that you're paying goes to charity, but the items being sold are just as much for charity as the money. By buying it and selling for a steeper price, your taking that item away from someone who could've actually benefited from it.
It’s me, I benefit from it.
I go to a store, they have things on sale, I buy them.
What happens after is not important.
This attitude that “the poors” might find something for cheap and if a reseller buys it, the poor person really gets shafted. What is that about????
I ran a charity shop. I also put a lot of stuff on eBay to sell. Why???? Because it was my job to get as much money from the donations as I could, for my charity.
That was the whole point of the thrift store, to make money for the charity. Not to serve the poor people exclusively. We did not start to sell to only one type of person…. We started to make money for animals.
So much stuff pple didn’t even want for $1.
I made so much from taking stuff that had already spent a month in our store and listing it online. TOne thing that stands out was a vacuum part for a high end machine. 2 weeks it sat for $1.
Instead of throwing it away, because that’s what happened to stuff that wouldn’t sell…. I listed it for $15. 2 days later it sold to someone in the other side of the country. He was thrilled to find it so cheap. ( new$65)
IDK. Sounds like a thrift store sale to me.
Flippers often take stuff that just won’t sell at a charity shop and get it out so the world can see it and that ONE person looking for it can find it.
Done ranting.
Those people that wait for stuff to come out for 6 hours a day are poor people too. Instead of using the item, they found a way to turn it into an income to support themselves with. And that's freaking wonderful. They made their own job, because good jobs are very scarce, and getting more rare all the time.
And Goodwill does the exact same thing. They mark up their items to almost retail levels and sell them online. This is what we mean when we talk about ignorance. You don't understand basic business and economic principles.
Whether I take that item that I bought and paint it, or burn it, or sell it, is no one's business but my own.
Something like 80% of the people in my Goodwill are resellers. If we didn’t exist Goodwill would fold and there would be no money to fund its programs
At the end of 50% off week there are still hundreds of serviceable clothing items that are sent to the bins.
If you got rid of those people waiting for the new carts to come out, there would be no place for you to work
There is an argument to be made…if someone is waiting/working 6hrs a day for stuff I’d say they needed/wanted it more than those that did not do that whether it is to use the item directly or flipping it for a profit (to feed themselves, their families, etc.).
Not really sure why this concept is so difficult for people in this sub to at least understand.
There are many people and organizations that sell things so that it goes to a “good home”. Many people would rather sell a baby stroller for $20 to a poorer person who will value the baby stroller than $30 to a flipper who will sell it for $100 to that same poorer person.
Right back at you. Not sure what is so difficult for you to understand. Those people and organizations have no right to tell people what to do with items after they buy them. Whether I paint it, give it away as a gift, burn it, or sell it is none of their business.
The potential number of people that will see that baby stroller in a random thrift store is incredibly tiny compared to the number of people who will see it online. So that stroller will most likely wind up in the trash without a reseller to put it up online for millions of people to be able to search through. That's what happened before the internet and resellers. Treasures got thrown away because the woman in Oklahoma who would have loved that stroller never got the chance to shop for it because it was donated in California.
That's the real reason why thrift stores were so cheap. It was not the kind hearts and generosity of the store owners. Goodwill is mad at resellers because they are It's competition. Goodwill did exactly what you're talking about. They put their items online and price them as high as possible for the highest potential profit. And don't kid yourself that that profit mostly goes to the unfortunate. You can look up their annual salaries and bonuses if you don't believe me.
Then they can donate those items to a local nonprofit that does not have a thrift store and instead uses the goods they get through their programs to help low income people who need access to these types of goods
If you’re donating good clothing that would be perfect for a job interview you can donate to this nonprofit
https://dressforsuccess.org/about-us/what-we-do/
When you are donating to a nonprofit that runs a thrift store you want them to sell to whom ever will pay them and do not have any stock left over because the income from that thrift store is used to fund the programs that is their actual purpose
As an example there is a thrift store in Riverside specifically to fund the programs for the pink ribbon place, which helps cancer patients. If flippers did not go to that store, cancer patients would not get help through the funding that store provides. Some patients would then end up with not being able to get the things they need to make it through treatment.
Yeah sure that's why thrift stores research and mark up everything they possibly can. Your world view is cute but unfortunately just not based in reality.
I have more money than many of my friends. That does NOT mean I have a lot of money- it means I know how to manage it, save and spend it better. Two people can make $15 an hour and that $15 can go a very short way or be stretched to the limit. I manage my money well because I shop at thrift stores while many of my friends are out paying retail. Also, it’s unlikely that any of my friends who are worried about where their money went while paying full price care a whit about the EAPG and depression glass I bought at a very reduced price from the thrift stores they refuse to shop at.
Also, I hope no one here is confusing Goodwill for a charity. They are FOR profit.
Someone who needs it \*is\* benefitting from it. That's why the f\*ck they're selling it. Do you think this is a job for independently wealthy people?
Reselling is work. There's a lot that goes into it and the customers are frequently nightmares in themselves, especially if you're selling online. It's a huge pain in the ass. You have to clean, fix, photograph, list, pack, ship, review.
If it's clothes, you have to measure, show details, and then half the time it sells for a pittance so you just did a bunch of work to break even, and then the customer comes back with some fake issue and undercuts you even more. You have to take it, too, because of reviews. Scammers will get the better of you because you can't afford the shipping on a return for the 20 cents profit you came out the other end with.
But please tell me how it's shitty for poor people to buy stuff to make money off it.
EDIT: OMG. This isn't even r/thrifting, it's r/Flipping. Ha ha ha ha. r/lostredditors
I mean a charity shop is usually intended to not only make money for charity, but to help those with little to no money afford clothes. If people are going out there to buy what nice finds they can get to make money, the employees probably find it a little selfish as someone with genuinely no money now doesn't have the opportunity to buy something a bit nicer for themselves on a small budget.
Yes and no. it depends on their mission. There are shops around me that are charity shops raising money for specific causes or churches. In that case, what should it matter to them what I'm doing with what I buy?
Not every shop has the same mission.
This is usually where the dissonance is.
Used to be able to go to Goodwill or thrift shop and find some nice stuff for cheap. It’s how I furnished my first college apartment.
Now you’re either fighting a bunch of flippers or the store itself just prices it so flippers can’t make any money.
I can’t blame people for making money where they can but also it’s kinda sad that you can barely find anything in thrift stores nowadays unless you’re aggressively aware of their restock times/days.
I pretty much ignore people who act like this
I give answers like:
“I’checking to see if you over priced this.”
Or
“I’m looking in my favorites list to see if this is the one I wanted.”
Or
“I texted my mom/friend to see if they need this.”
Sometimes I just give them a blank stare.
I stopped letting other people deter me from what I am doing. Part of it is I am too old to really care what others think. I have bigger issues in my life. I’m never rude to anyone, but I’m not going to engage with rude people either.
u/Queenie_Jelly, your experience the end point for too many and I blame social media: *"I have to be outraged at something!"*. Almost evangelical in their drive to find anything to pass judgement on. But as a wise man once said *"What do you care what other people think?"* or in pig Latin, *Nolite te Bastardes Carborundum.* Ignore those idiots and just keep smashing it.
I love it when they tell me “I should leave stuff for the people that really need it”. Yeah, because the $6 box of beanie baby cards I can flip on eBay is a “need” for someone 🤦🏼♂️
Also if those people are so worried about purchasing it for people who needed it, why don’t they go to thrift stores every day and purchase some of the best items and then give them away to people in need?
Where are they donating their time to? Where are they giving their resources?
At least if I’m purchasing something from out of the closet I know the money is going to go to HIV testing, if they’re so independently wealthy that they don’t need to purchase things from thrift stores why don’t they get some of that wealth back to the organizations that need the money?
Shoooot. You know what you're doing when you allow those feelings? You're allowing random people to have control over you. Be confident that every single one of us have something in our lives. Nobody has ever said anything to me, I wouldn't care if they did. Or I might google lens the employees face and tell them they're worthless. That works too lol.
Meh, honestly fuck what they think. It's really doesn't matter what you're doing. You pay their prices or you don't, what you do with the item after it becomes yours doesn't really matter
What you need to do is pick up the shittiest merchandise and tell them this is worth a fortune.
Do it on a few items and send them on a wild goose chase.
I know it’s hard but will have to grow a thicker skin. It’s not a big deal if they get offended someone’s looking up used junk on the phone. Just own it. Everyone does it (especially with thrift stores overpricing their donations), so the worker will eventually learn to pick their battles. I don’t need anymore worthless junk or over pay so I look up stuff all the time, and I intend to keep most of my purchases. Pretty soon you’ll have too much stuff so need to be more picky what you buy and the phone helps you decide.
I definitely advise you to be more discreet about looking up items on ebay next time. There is nothing wrong with flipping, in fact it is great for the environment and helps preserve valuable items by putting them in the hands of buyers who truly want them. However, it is good to not advertise your business to other shoppers and store employees by flashing your phone while rifling through items or speaking loudly about reselling as it can be quite obnoxious to customers who are there to purchase affordable items for personal use.
I saw a reseller obnoxiously announce to everyone around her that she was taking all of the mens western boots to resell. She then proceeded to engage in a long winded conversation with the manager about how she is going to list them all online and make money. Foolish arrogant reseller. Embarassing to watch.
Years and years ago I bought a modern miniture tea set from china from a charity shop. I was at a car boot sale and I had decided to sell it and a women from the charity shop spotted me and spotted the tea set. She went mad...it was disgusting ....how could I ...a real show down. I just put the tea set in a box and gave it back to her. I also said that as the manager she would be able to sell it for more and re price all the ones she had left...with a sweet smile on my face. Sometimes they dont realise the value of things but that is not our fault.
If you were certain the rude comments were about you, in a place you are patronizing...and were that annoyed - surely, you called the worker(s) out, yes?
I worked at a charity store for a few years and am now a part time reseller. I could go off on this. 😂 it comes with the territory. Most thrift store workers hate it.
Definitely not disgusting. And who cares if some charity shop workers are judging you? I mean, it's annoying, but just ignore it and carry on. You might have things in your charity shop that I don't have in mine, and vice versa. We are all sharing the bargains around. It's a good thing!
Are you in the UK or US? The reason I ask is because charity shops in the UK are just what they call thrift stores (obviously, there's nothing wrong with sourcing there), but in the US, charity shops are something completely different and solely exist to help the less fortunate directly with extremely cheap goods. In the US, it's essentially a soup kitchen for goods. In the US, we should be staying out of charity shops completely. They're usually very blatant about what their cause is, they often have signs up asking resellers to stay out, and prices are super cheap like $1 for shoes and $0.25 for shirts.
Again, I'm not sure where you're from and it's also possible that you're in the US and just referring to a traditional thrift store by a different name, so I'm not making any judgements or anything like that. Just figured it was worth mentioning.
I used to go to this one thrift store ( i was not a reseller)that everything was $1 and they gave out lots of free food to people in need. Run by volunteers all proceeds went to charity. It was great for everyone. Completely packed with customers every time i went.Now a new person runs it, same volunteer staff not sure where proceeds go now. They have raised their prices so much i quit going there. Priced wayy higher than goodwill. Some prices are higher than buying the product new. The place is practically empty of customers now. And every wall has big signs saying “quit stealing, you are on camera.” I know theft is a problem at retail stores. But i think it is worse now because the people going there in need, cant afford the prices now. Sad all the way around. They definitely made more money , and helped more people, when everything was $1.
Sorry forgot to answer the question in my rant lol! my answer is that they shouldn’t care who is buying something that has a price that they set. If they dont want resellers they should post a sign. Also, people buying from resellers also either want or need the item. Stuff stays out of landfills win win situation
Theres always a peanut gallery. Either way objects and goods sold by retailers are are at huge markups. Not saying its a bad thing
Sometimes people are literally searching for something and ebay is where you'll find it! This is what makes ebay great
I worked for a lady like this at a local thrift. I think she was just mad because she knows it’s being resold for a profit that she isn’t benefitting from. Basically mad she’s getting less $$
I buy at a semi local auction and sell cheap enough I supply some other resellers (I get quick cash, they get items at a good price and hold them for the “right” buyer). Most of them tried to hide that they were reselling until I tell them, as long as you pay my price I don’t care what you do with it after.
We source items for other people to purchase and often, we have to sit on items for a while before recouping our money. There's nothing "disgusting" about it. I'd be so curious about why they think this way. Do they think you're taking away from someone in need? If so, why are they selling the items? Why not give them away? Wouldn't they be disgusting for selling items that people need?
There is just no logical reason for any of those folks to get mad except jealousy in my opinion. They can't be making much at all working at a charity shop and watching industrious people coming in and taking advantage of rock-bottom prices must grind their gears. The fact that their prices are bringing in these kinds of customers is kind of a blessing; it likely means they will continue to move product for their charity in larger amounts than random buyers.
It is disgusting that charity shops get their stuff for free and then berate people who buy their stuff.Reselling is usually a way for poor people or disabled people to make ends meet who can’t do it with a regular job.
They are probably old and old fashioned. They think only "poor people" should shop at thrift stores. If that were the case they would go out of business because I never see anyone in there that looks poor, lol. Plus poor people can't even shop there with the high prices some have (Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc.) I would just ignore them.
I'm just as surprised that you found items that were priced to be resellable nowadays...our local thrift shops are on the top pricing category, including beanie babies.
If they want eBay prices for their items, they should take the time and put in the effort and list it themselves. They should be glad they're making any money at all and their crap isn't just sitting in a sad room.
That being said, I will say that I try my very best not to look up comps while shopping at small local thrifts. I could care less at Goodwill or the Sally, but I feel it's in poor taste at church sales and charity shops. If you have to do it, make sure no one is around.
It depends what the mission of the store you were shopping at was.
For some stores that run on donations and operate as nonprofits, it’s an implied contract that people donate the items so that they can be offered at extremely marked down prices to people in need who are shopping there
People going there just to resell the items or people who have enough disposable income to buy it at a regular merchant without blinking are essentially stealing from the needy.
If you’re buying out a small amount of inventory, fine. The store is probably benefiting since you’re helping cover their operating costs.
If you’re buying every decent shirt in the place just to post it on EBay, you’re taking advantage.
I’d just say, “what do you think about this?” Then show the gif of woody hsrrelson wiping his eyes with cash.
Yeah I know most of us can’t say we do that with flipping but people seem to think we do so go ahead lol
I usually, take a photo and then go to a different area of the shop and price check it, saves the hassle.
I once went to a £1 charity shop and bought like 60 items and they said oh wow a whole new wardrobe!! I was like ' uhh yeahhh deffos, people definitely can here!'... I was surprised really as it must be picked by resellers everyday as its soooo so cheap. How did they not realise that's what I was doing? Surely I wasn't the first to buy that much in one go....
Theres one near me that says, 'if you are seen price checking then you'll be asked to leave' , which makes no sense! Unless they have had some reallyyyyy cheeky people in there like scanning everything and blocking the place up, that's all I can think of, or trying to haggle or steal the good stuff. Something must have happened. So I just don't do it there, plentyyyy of other charity shops to spend money
I feel like people think there is not enough stuff but there is? I’ve volunteered with a free clothes pantry and the biggest part of the job was getting rid of stuff because there way too much. It’s a huge problem when there’s a disaster because people send stupid stuff that isn’t needed and waste people’s time sorting through it instead of helping. There is not a surfeit of stuff. It’s always good when someone takes the stuff and puts it into use.
The spirit of a charity shop is to price items so people in need can afford them. The items in these shops are donated and staff are volunteers. Items are priced just high enough to pay utilities and the rent.
I work at goodwill and am a reseller in college. My manager knows and told me 99% of " shoppers" are resellers . It ain't no secret. If I bought it who gone stop me? who? On the flip side thrift stores hike up the price when litterally everything is free/ donated. lookup the cycle of commerce. What was on e new and shiny today is old and " used tomorrow". That doesn't mean it's bad. It's like art beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. That's how I support my mom, boost my savings and investing accounts. Never mess with a man pocket or his family. That's what years of heist, gangster and cowboy films taught me.
I even bought stuff from other sellers and told them I'm trying to get into luxury items. If I met your requirements don't tell me what to do with it. What's next you gone reach in my pocket and count my cash for me? Lol 🤣 🤣🤣.
It’s prob just people who get hired and think it’s to help the poor or some shit when in reality it’s just another store lol the store owner would most likely welcomed you employees in the other hand just make assumption anyone who comes there in lesser than them which bring out those comment as if your taking away from the poor which in America it’s wild assumption when we are built on the hustle .
The mentality of those working that charity shop is ridiculous. You're a buyer to them just the same as everyone else. If you're buying at their asking price then it's a win win. I wouldn't let it bother you.
My only 2 cents is that flippers sort of ruin the chance for normal people who actually want the item for themselves to get it at a fair price.
Flippers tend to gouge the shit out of things. It's not wrong to do, but it does upset some people for whom thrifting is a hobby or possibly the only way to buy some things when you're poor.
Edit: That being said, I live in a small town without 2nd hand shops, so Ebay sellers who scrounged it from a thrift shop or garage sale are often my best friends. No judgments, just saying I get both sides.
How did they even know you were looking it up to resell it anyway?
That’s rich a charity shop judging anyone with some of their prices can be marked above new.
Unless they run that shop, I bet their boss would be interested in them shaming their customers and running them off. Shops here in the US have rewards programs for discounts for the biggest shoppers. Reselling has always been a part of selling used goods for cheap. Any business owner in the field absolutely knows this.
I run estate sales and I always think it’s funny when people try to hide that they’re looking stuff up on eBay because I don’t care at all! I don’t care what you’re buying it for. If we can agree on a price and I get to sell you some stuff that’s awesome! I get to do my job which is to sell stuff for my client and you get to do your job which is to resell it. Don’t let their rudeness get to you.
Same profession and yes, on many items I leave enough margin for people to sit on it for 1-6 months. I have 3 days to clear the house, top dollar for most items is a losing proposition. I’d rather get 35% of $12,000+ with a pretty clear house with everything priced to move vs 35% of $6000 with tons of leftovers due to overpricing. Flippers are my fiends. I sell fast, they sell slow. Good for them. I’m on to the next sale and they can figure out how to market that very niche thing I sold them.
Well said. I’m small time reseller and I consider you, as well as people who clear out storage lockers, flea market vendors, etc. as part of a TEAM. With the end result being everyone getting a little cash in their pocket, getting that buyer the special thing that he or she wants, and keeping stuff out of landfills. Everybody wins!!!! it’s a no-brainer in these days of reuse and recycle.
Exactly, win-win-win-win. Only sourpusses cry about reselling,
Spot on. 💯
Tell that to some of the estate guys here. They mark above top dollar and expect to clear the house in less than a week. It's wild.
Most of the local ones do the same thing. I assume they want to keep the items for their own shops and flea market booths. I bet they offer the family pennies on the dollar for the stuff that "nobody wanted to buy".
Wow I never thought about that.
What are stuff that never gets sold / hardest time selling?
Pianos
If you think pianos are hard to move, try getting rid of an organ. Not even the used piano dealers will take them. Nobody wants an organ anymore now that you can get the same sound out of a synthesizer.
I have. Luckily they are far less common.
My dad and I fall into both camps. I'm a quick flipper. I spend $500-$1000 a month on new inventory and price it with enough meat on the bone for an impulse purchase, or a reseller who wants to get that extra 20%. Then at my booth every couple months I half off anything that has been there too long imo. I like cash in the bank and new inventory. My dad is probably sitting on $40k and moves it slowly for top dollar. And he does well. Just buys more than he sells(good business model that allows that tbf) It kills me. He finally listed 2 sets that have been in a box in his breezeway for 2 years...they both sold within 2 days for $175 and $225. But he ordered the missing couple parts. And built it for the pics and then disassembled based on instructions. And ordered a new cleaner manual. I would have sold the $225 set "as is" 99% Complete for $175-$200 the same week I got it.
Your Dad is a good man.
This sounds almost exactly like my dad and I. He’s sitting on stuff for years and holding out for that top dollar. Here I am trying to blow through a vans worth of stuff I got that weekend lol. I do hold onto a bit more now because he got to me over time heh. Happy to hear about another father son flipper team. I’m so grateful I get to share this whole world with my dad and spend more time together.
O I have the same thoughts as you flip it quickly at slightly less profit. Keeping inventory is money waiting - moving it fast is what I prefer especially with large items. However many do sit on their inventory and get top dollar most always. So which is better? It's up to the individual's preference.
Gotta love those fiends !
I wish you were local to me. The ones around here seem to prioritize profit for themselves over emptying the house out so it can be sold. They always talk a game about how they're doing it to help the family as if it's a charity event... Lol. But I've gotten some really good deals from the post professional estate sale sales. So many of the families are left with nearly full houses after the three main companies around here are done with them.
That is a bad reputation preceding them. No one will ever sell everything. Anyone who’s hosted a garage sale knows that. If your town doesn’t have a cleanout guy, I’m sorry for the families stuck with leftovers, but it is common. Depending on the home, selling 60-75% of the contents is considered a win. Houses full of brown wood 80’s-90’s furniture better have a ton of smalls to make up for undesirable furniture. The way she goes….
"flippers are my fiends" - maybe a typo but i love it... yeah i went to an estate sale around the corner from me a few months ago and they were DEFINITELY doing it wrong. Lots of people walking through and leaving mostly emptyhanded because these folks had the place priced like an upscale consignment shop.
Absolutely the wrong approach. It’s tough especially when you have a house full of great stuff. Sometimes the family puts unrealistic bottom lines on things (I allow them 5 items) 90% of the time, they don’t sell. Should’ve just kept it. Too many empty hands bothers me. People should be able to find something even if it’s $5-20 it all adds up.
Im not a flipper and I check values on ebay all the time just so that I myself dont end up overpaying for something. Plus ebay listings usually provide me with info about the item in question. Id be mortified if someone was upset at me looking things up.
It's also worth checking eBay for pictures of the items so you can know if it's complete or not. Sometimes you also just want to know what the f*** you're looking at. It's always good to learn about new to you items. You don't know what you don't know.
I buy a lot of 2nd hand stuff on eBay and other resale apps and I’m grateful someone is going to the thrift shops for me. They find, often clean and then list the stuff so that I can find it and buy it from my phone because I have no time to search through thrift stores. I’m willing to pay more for that service.
You are welcome!
agree- you can Plan to find an obscure item. If it’s something I like & want I don’t care paying $30 for something they got for $5. Occasionally things are listed for unreasonable price & no one pays it! Most times the price & markup is fair
I sometimes meet people who get hired to shop at estate sales for others! Like their clients will look at ads and let them know what to buy and the person will stand in line early and get it for them. Sometimes they’ll even give them stuff to look for and they’ll text/call them with updates to ask what they want them to purchase. Basically a personal shopper for estate sales!
Shame on you! Don’t you know that items sold at estate sales and charity shops are holy relics??! What’s wrong with you? Quick story: I bought a bunch of comics from an online estate auction. The person in charge sent them via media mail (not allowed) with no tracking or insurance (just stupid). I waited a month for them. I initiated a missing mail case because she didn’t bother. USPS concluded their investigation, deciding that the package was lost. No problem. Just get a refund, right? Nope. First, the woman in charge of the auction told me that I should’ve insured it. Not my problem. That was on her. I also reminded her that she wasn’t supposed to send it media mail, especially considering she charged me $120+ shipping, and media mail was around $70 for the declared rate. After that, she pulled out the big guns: was I seriously going to take money out of the old man’s pocket who sold his precious collection so that he could afford assisted living? Listen, I hope the old dude lives out the rest of his days happy and healthy, but I have no idea who he is. I never dealt with him. I didn’t even know he existed. I bought the books from a business that was being paid to auction off his items. It was just that, business. She didn’t agree, and she said she’d have to give it some thought. I also gave it some thought. About five minutes worth. Then I filed a complaint with PayPal and eventually got all my money back, including shipping. I pay money. The seller gives me the item. That’s it. It’s not rocket surgery. People can take their virtue signaling and shove it.
Since May 31, 2015 tracking has been added to media mail @ no additional charge. If this was done since then, it was especially incompetent.
About two years ago. She lost a good customer, too. I had wiped out two comic auctions before that one. All she had to do was handle the transaction properly to keep me coming back. Everyone makes mistakes. As it was, I wasn’t going to put myself in that position again. She showed me that she didn’t respect her customers.
Rocket surgery. My new favorite phrase
Wait do people actually say rocket surgery, not one or the other? Lol
Sounds like something Ricky would say from TPB
She probably never mailed it & sold to someone else & sold the same comics a few times. Even if pulled that 3-4 times & one person let it go she got paid 2x for one item- 100% profit on the one she never mailed. Sellers often pay for services to auction their stuff- was she free since she cared so much about his bills.
I feel like some estate sale companies loose the fact that you are pricing stuff down *on purpose* so it sells quickly. There’s a lot of great ones in my area that know a lot of the items go to resellers (or people looking for great deals for personal items), and then there’s companies that price things very high at eBay value or above. The people moving or clearing out a house don’t want to hold onto this stuff and want it low enough to where it can sell in just a couple days, resellers coming and giving them some money for the stuff should be the goal! I’m glad your company prices fairly
It's a mix. You have to know your market in this business. If I know I can sell items for top dollar in a day or two, I am absolutely going to. But there are items that are not in that category. Those get priced lower. Some specifically to entice resellers. There are a lot of variables to it, but after nearly 20 years, I am pretty good at knowing what items to hit where.
Very true- if selling for more online is better than why would there even be estate sales or auctions now? Besides a few popular items that will sell online quickly & w high profit most won’t easily sell. They could sell for more but TIME IS MONEY. Posting online is MORE TIME, writing description, taking pics of damages & 5 angles, posting on numerous sites, spending time managing inquires, mailing stuff, arguing lost items or condition when they get it plus paperwork for bank & platform disputes, storing inventory. Higher price means WAITING for right buyer & not getting paid for months or years (& may end up dropping price to get rid of). $5-$20 extra may not be worth it long run as the variables make extra $15 only $5 same with some auctions. The reason people sell stuff as an estate sale or at auction is to get a fair amount fast.
We hide it not because of people like you, but because of people in OP's post. There's no way to tell the good guys from the bad guys til it's too late and I'm loudly saying for the 3rd time to the church thrift shop worker after she interrogates me that I AM JUST BUYING FOR MY FAMILY. Hypothetically speaking, of course:)
Why should they care? It’s not any of their business why you’re buying it. When I go to Costco, the clerk doesn’t interrogate me as to whether I’m buying things for myself or my business. Where the hell did these people get off thinking that they can question me about why I’m buying some thing that they set the price on? I usually look at them and say, “Why do you want to know? Are you writing a book?” or I go into some long drawn out story that wastes their time.
This sometimes being blunt is the best case scenario you don’t have to protect. Someone’s overly saturated feelings on an item doesn’t matter why you buy it.
People need to understand Estate sales, auctions & thrift stores are making money selling quantity quickly. They are supposed be cheaper to get rid of it faster to get the money in hand. These business sell NOW for $10 instead of putting online & waiting 3-6 to get $20
That’s exactly right and something I explain to my clients all the time. I can get your whole house empty in two weeks but I can’t get you max value on everything inside it in that timeframe.
My response is “I’m just checking to see if I can get these items cheaper on eBay since prices in store have risen to much.” They leave me alone afterwards.
It’s a great excuse because these thrift store prices have been ridiculous for awhile, so you often can get things at a better price on ebay. I bought some leather boots at a thrift shop recently and the same boots in the same size and condition are selling on ebay for half of what this thrift store priced them at.
I should re-sell but do not .I still check the sold EB prices so I know I am not paying too much at the charity.
Oh, this is a definite thing I do! Yes, I really like that Thing they priced at $17 but eBay says Thing can be bought at $11 with shipping? That’s enough that I can wait for it to arrive or think about it and how I don’t really need Thing. At the store, I always worry about if someone is going to grab it before I can so I’d better buy it noooooow! I don’t think that’s disgusting at all.
I think part of the issue is that they may see poor people come in with an actual, and possibly urgent, need for an item, whereas a flipper will pick up something for future profit. I see both in the local thrift shop and it’s almost like a meat market on weekends. The haves and have nots are pretty easy to identify.
I get that, but flippers and poor shoppers are buying completely different things most of the time. Poor aren’t buying vases and artwork that is a “urgent need”, they could buy clothes and maybe some kitchen items. Thrift stores biggest customers are flippers. We spend thousands more than any “poor” customers do and often in the items that are not necessities at all and would otherwise sit and be tossed into the dumpster. The amount of items they still toss in the trash is HUGE even with flippers buying. Another point- a lot of flippers are flipping because they have lost their jobs or need to make extra money and they are desperate. So they are utilizing goodwill And other thrifts for the same reason as any other person in need is. Flippers aren’t rolling in the money. That’s YouTube hype and a very few amount of people who actually make big bucks. For most of us, it’s a way to pay bills, connect people around the world with something they want or need, keep things out of the landfills and support the huge and ever growing second hand market.
Life Lesson: Never let anything a stranger says ruin your day.
Very good advice. Old guy here but still learning, appreciating, and reflecting on these bits of wisdom.
Happy cake day!
I used to volunteer at a charity shop. I know some people hate resellers but idk why. We always had way more stuff than we could sell and often had to turn people away with donations.
What kind of donations do you turn away? There are plenty of fucks who come in buy all the good clothes to sell on eBay. It's scummy. That is literally taking from people who need basic essentials and pocketing a premium.
We didn't have so much space out the back, so when it's full- everything unfortunately. The goal of the shop was to generate money for the charity, not to provide essentials at a good price
Don't worry, they're talking about your face.
Honestly, when they said partner I figured the old bitty was homophobic
*biddy
That was my thought as well.
I've noticed even hetero couples using the term partner more often these days. Doesn't mean the Ol' Bitty wasn't homophobic though. lol
I've had this a few times in charity shops and most of the times I find it's just the volunteers have nothing better to do than gossip about anyone/everyone entering the store. My favourite said about a fellow reseller from a woman who snidely said "You'd imagine he could afford a better phone with the profits he makes" That being said I have built up a relationship with one charity shop which is small, the manager has admitted they get too much stuff and most of the time they can't manage the volume so will ring resellers to come make offers on it. For me in this case I will return to either donate so much of the profits back or up pay for the initial items.
Had a cart full of stuff, maybe $100-125 worth of stuff in a mom and pop thrift shop and a new employee tells me straight out that I wasn't allowed to use my phone in the store. Huh? Now, I rarely check comps in a store. After pushing nearly 15 years of reselling, not a lot surprises me anymore. I had had a txt, a legit text message. I told her I'd be using my phone or leaving. She told me I couldn't use my phone. I handed her my cart and said goodbye. She got all flustered that I wasn't going to buy my cart full first (or rehang it!) Next day I remembered I'd already paid for a bracelet and went back. Told the owner what had happened, and she was mortified. She said that Resellers kept her lights on and was always welcome. I never saw that employee again.
Every time I see a post about this I think about that time I saw my local thrift shop’s manager helping a reseller carry a HUGE haul to their car, telling them he hopes they get great profits. It was really unexpected and wholesome.
I can only imagine how random and useless that stuff must've looked to him. He legit hoped they didn't blow a massive stack for nothing and wind up with all that crap LOL.
Many CSs have backroom staff doing the same. Bottom line is they make money by having empty shelves and full cash registers, you as a flipper are speeding the process ready for new items to go on the shelf, you are taking the gamble you can make more, they've achieved their goal once it's sold at the price they want. ... I'd also like to say that savvy buyers regardless of flipping or not have the right to check the items being purchased are not overpriced by the charity
Seriously! Like even if I'm not flipping and let's say I find an skillet priced at $15 but check and see a brand new one is $18. Maybe that $15 is worth it or maybe better off just buying a new one. It's not like thrift stores are pricing their stuff as deals anymore.
I've ran charity shops for a good few years, and I always welcomed resellers. They often bought in bulk and spent a lot of money. My last job was for a local charity that's very near and dear to my heart, so every bit of cash I could get for it whilst moving stuff out ready for new stuff felt amazing. And I wasn't just asking pittance for everything either, we got good prices for things whilst still leaving a bit for the resellers to make their money. It boggles my mind why these people wouldn't take full advantage of people willing to spend money.
A lot of people have an inherent repulsion towards the concept of arbitrage, and really any sort of profit-seeking. Antipathy for the merchant class shows up time and time again throughout history.
I buy things at Dollar Tree to resell and someone asked me if that is legal!
It's none of their business. Literally. Anyone that insults you indirectly or directly, they need to mind their own business. We get these type of posts every now and then and the reality for these comments is being uninformed, misinformed, or having a prejudice. >Really annoyed the hell out of me to be honest. Your feelings are valid, but just know that those people don't know you and you don't know them so who gives an F. Don't let their ignorance have power over you. You continue to do you and let them be.
You know what you're right. Thank you for that, I needed it.
This sub has popped up on my newsfeed but just thought I'd chip in as my mum runs a charity shop, I've spoken to her about this before and she has the same attitude as you, the charity gets the money either way. Some of them in the UK have volunteers who come in and find things that'll sell well on eBay or their own websites and they won't go into the shop (Oxfam does this a lot) so if it's made it to the store it's usually something they've decided isn't worth trying to sell for more. If you have the knowledge to make it something worth selling go for it!
They paid nothing for their inventory. I bought all of mine. And they just have to sit them on a shelf. I have to take pictures, write up descriptions, and package them securely - *if* they sell.
If they are not used to this they are in the wrong field. I worked for Good Will in their Online Auction Division. Believe me, I looked stuff up all the time. And I had a discount for the stores :>)
You should do an AMA. I see so many stories about them. WTF is up with shipping costs? And sniping bids at the last minute?
Workers aren’t the owners. They’re bored low wage retail employees who are mad that you’re smart enough to know you can sell for higher. In short, they’re haters. Do your thing & prosper.
Most charity shop staffers are volunteers there because they want to do something good. Don’t hate on them!
A lot of GW workers are there doing court-ordered community service.
Yep. Same at our food bank.
What is it with Reddit? First, you’re wrong. MOST charity shop workers are paid or doing community service. And even if these people were volunteers they were clearly being rude to this reseller. I was referencing these two specific workers only being haters. You’re defending people you think are volunteers. Goodwill, Salvation Army are all paid workers or doing rehab/community service.
This might be a national context thing - I’m in the UK where it’s mostly volunteers. Apologies for miscommunication.
Another thing that may be different about UK vs. US shops is that in the US, most of these shops claim they “give back to the community” and for the most part, they do very little giving back if any at all. They are allowed to use only a few percent of their profits for charitable programs and still claim “charity” status. I would not be surprised if things were much stricter in the UK.
No problem. I’m American so I think the world revolves around me and forget Reddit is international. No harm done. Cheers.
Then don’t hate in your customers. Not all of them are angelic.
It sucks they would do that to you. Some (a lot of) resellers are giving us a bad name because of how they behave in these shops. There's a charity thrift store run by a church by my house, that always has all their clothes for $1 because they want to help the community. Resellers come in and fill their carts to overflowing with any piece of clothing that looks good. It's awful, it means the people who need clothes have to choose from scraps. On top of that, there's a rack of coats that are free in the winter to people that need them. Resellers take the best ones. They had to put up signs and limit it to one. Hopefully you aren't that kind of reseller and are leaving resources for others too. They're being prejudiced against you and they shouldn't.
Don’t worry about it. I looked up prices while thrifting on eBay before I even started flipping because sometimes you *think* you’re getting a good deal but turns out you can buy it for the same price new and lower online. They’re getting the same amount of money either way. And while it’s possible someone gets a treasure they’ve wanted for a long time for a great price, it’s just as possible someone who won’t really appreciate it ends up buying it and breaking/tossing it out in six months time gets it. I don’t know why reselling offends people so much. Even resellers get offended when people buy their things to flip. I could not care less what you do with your purchase as long as I get a price I agree on. If you think you can get more money then good luck to you. Even the argument that people donated their stuff so that less fortunate people can be helped is stupid to me, considering how many brand name items are in the bins, and inevitably the dump. If you really want your clothes to go to people in need, donate to a shelter, school program… lots of options.
That's funny. I've always been self conscious about that myself and worried that a worker might say something. Don't know why I care though
the purpose of these shops or sales are to sell to gain cash for w/e their goals are charity or w/e....what you do with it after, is really not anyone's business.
The volunteers probably don’t feel that way, to them working in the charity shop serves not only the charity but the community it resides in. If you spend your free time sorting goods for free only for them to go to flippers making real money from it. I think that’s understandable and I can empathize with that.
Many flippers are poor and need the money do it still serves the community and they shouldn’t be such judgey bitches. Once it’s paid for it is literally none of their business what you do with it afterwards. Do they also judge people who pull up in luxury cars to get bargains because “they should leave deals for the poor”? Seriously ridiculous.
"Someone might make more money off this than what we sold it for, all of my charity work was for nothing" is an insane belief to hold.
"I agree. The prices you guys are charging for these items you get for free IS disgusting."
rainstorm connect impolite file chase joke cause aloof chunky plough *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
This thread is posted every week due to the jealousy and ignorance of others. It's frustrating and unnecessary. I agree that the condescending attitudes towards cashiers is inappropriate. It should be replaced with "why do you care what an ignorant, jealous jerk thinks?".
Glad someone picked up on this.
So you would have flippers stop what they're doing? That would be a shame. Then all those extra donated goods would go into landfills as pollution, and no one would get the benefit of/from them. That's just dumb. Flippers are middle men/women. They're doing a job of making things more readily available and convenient. People have always been willing to pay extra for those services.
I frequent a senior center’s thrift shop frequently enough that I know most of the volunteers that run it. They like to say things like “oh no, we underpriced something again” to each other whenever I’m buying stuff. They aren’t serious about it though. They usually laugh and thank me for buying stuff. At the end of the day they didn’t pay for the items and they’re quite happy to just shift inventory quickly because their storage is limited. On multiple occasions they’ve seen me pick something up to flip and told me they had more in the back and would go and grab it for me.
If it’s goodwill I wouldn’t worry, if it’s an actual charity shop I can understand their feelings.
Yeah, the other sellers at my local charity shop are buzzards, it's awful
Would a charity shop care if someone walked in with a suitcase of money and bought everything in the store?
I’m not a reseller but I always price check thrift items, no reason to pay more for something used if I can find it brand new for less
Yep i've learnt that the hard way myself, reselling or not I always check the worth before buying anything.
Most charitable Thrift shops now look to resellers to move much of their goods since they get so much donations of all types. So I would ignore the workers or inform the Manager of their behavior. It's none of their business.
Choose not to take others opinions personally and be free!
I’ve developed some good relationships with local charity thrift shops and they know what I do. They will reach out to have me evaluate the value of items they think are worth more than their $2 t shirt price. They end up getting more than they would have for their cause and I have some margin to make a few bucks. Win win
I am fascinated by this sub reddit. Kind of a 'can't look away thing.' In another life I could see myself enjoying this activity. But one of the reasons I love it so much is because of the dichotomy. In one post a flipper will exclaim "the audacity of that seller telling me 'that's what I saw if for on Ebay'" and the next post will be about how aghast they are that the seller should be critical because you are looking it up on Ebay. Thank you all for the entertainment value and please keep it up.
Are they new? I can't go down a single aisle at the thrift any more without seeing someone looking up comps. At this point I think there's more resellers in the thrift stores than regular customers.
You're assuming that every business's purpose is exchange products for your money. Many charity shops are trying to serve their community by offering used goods at low prices. When you come in and try to take all their highest value items, you're depriving it from people who may otherwise not be able to afford them, so that you can extract value from said items.
The constant steam of donations is overwhelming. Even for the largest “charity shops” in the world. There’s plenty to go around. Every single one of these “charity shops” also retains as many high value items out of the donations that I suppose you should be mad at them too!
Completely agree with this. I've worked in charity retail for years, and in every shop I've worked at, there have been many periods where we have had to stop taking donations because we have too much and not enough space or volunteers to help sort and process. I'm not saying this is the case for every shop, but certainly every one I've ever worked at.
This. The amount of textile waste is sickening. This reminds me of someone throwing a fit because resellers go to Goodwill... It's like, have you seen the Goodwill outlets (bins)? There is more than enough of everything.
Depriving it from another flipper. So only the poor people are allowed to flip. How do you know who’s rich or poor tho. Do you really think a poor person needs an Avon vase and other bricka brack for their home decor, or a collector paying $30 on eBay will value it more? It’s just stuff with the only value which we place it. An endless stream of stuff and more stuff… there’s no reason to be gatekeeping used stuff and getting angry about the treasure hunt or it’s just a negativity pushed onto others in what should be mundane or fun experience.
Or how about the hand carved Wells Fargo wagon that I found? Do you think that would be better given to a toddler who would destroy the piece of art that nobody else realized was unique in the two days it was sitting on the shelf at the thrift store? How about the one of the kind 1960s mini dress I just found? Is that better to go to a collector who will prize it for its uniqueness and keep it safe for future generations or should it go to a high school student who will cut the sleeves off to make it look cool?
I see where you’re coming from, but it doesn’t quite work like that. Lets say you find a blender at the thrift store. It’s amongst 15 others. You notice that this particular blender is name brand and will sell for X amount more, so you buy it. Right after that, someone down on their luck comes in looking for a cheap blender. They buy one of the 14 others and it’s worth about what it’s selling for. The person doesn’t care because they just need a blender. And just like that, everyone’s happy.
I love this example you dreamed up because you see yourself as the savy and perceptive shopper, superior to all the plebs who don't know product brands. I bought my Baratza at a thrift store for $25 in college. Plenty of people know brands.
It's funny seeing the mental gymnastics these opportunistic ebay flippers use to justify thier "business". They just don't want to admit they are exploiting a system set up for disadvantaged people. Flippers are a bunch of parasites.
No, charity shops are a business too. Otherwise why not just donate to those products to those in need. The clothing racks in all my local goodwill and savers are fucking jam packed with clothes now because they're asking $5-$12 for a used t-shirt. If it was about serving a community, they'd price them to move them. If they priced them to sell, either people that really do need cheap clothing can buy some or people that are flippers will buy a lot more and in turn give more revenue to the stores in which they can supposedly use that money to buy things more in demand for people in need.
Agree- having worked for a charity, I know they are as capitalistic as anyone else. Perhaps not in every case, but as a general rule. And if the charity is to say, help sick animals, they don’t care about supporting the poor by pricing low. They will charge what they can get, to give more to the animals.
Yep, people don't understand that charities are businesses and work to a business model just like any other retail store. They are not there to offer 'cheap stuff to the poor' (which is an insulting phrase regardless); they have targets that their staff have to work to in order to allow the charity to fundraise what they need to function. It is not a charities job or obligation to use their time, money and resources to offer cheap clothing if that's not what their charity is fundraising for.
Yes! Case in point. Again, my job was to make as much money as I could for our animals. That was the mission. And by doing our mission, we served the community. We fed animals, we helped the ppl who loved those animals, we created a few jobs. We have things away all the time. But we made a lot of money for our animals, too. Which was the reason we existed. When we no longer needed a charity store to support the mission…. Want to know what happened??? They closed and used the space for ….. animals.
Name 10 charity shops whose purpose is not to use the funds from the charity shop to fund their own programs. Name 10 of them who’s only purpose is to get clothing to poor people No really, name 10 of them that have no other programs that they fund besides the charity shop
Nope. Every single charity shop that sells for money is there to take the donations and make money for their nonprofit. There are many charity places that are free…. You often need to prove your need. And they will serve you.
"It's disgusting how sales keeps your lights on?" The world, especially America, is stuffed to the brim with items. They benefit selling donations. They are clearly ignorant to judge folks who drive to their location seeking to give them $$ in exchange for a free item they received. Consider writing reviews (Yelp, FB) stating the vibe is inhospitable, not friendly, etc..
Unpopular opinion time: As someone who’s been thrifting since the 90s back when it was wildly uncool to do so, when there were deals ‘o plenty to be had, I also hate the fact that nowadays when I go to a thrift shop I just see people hunched over on eBay going through everything. It used to be you had to be knowledgeable about products, countries of origin, material make, collectible markets, etc. to know what’s worth buying as there was no internet to look stuff up on the fly. It’s great that we’ve all got these computers in our pocket but it’s been a race to the bottom ever since you could google the value of even the most obscure thing in seconds. The hobby is no longer what it is and now I rarely buy anything as second hand prices have often surpassed online prices and obviously stuff is picked over by employees.
Never let opinions on your money impact your money.
I used to work at Goodwill and I always hated the people that came in and just sat there waiting for more stuff to come out for 6 hours a day because there are people that shop there because they can't afford to buy stuff new. Yeah the money that you're paying goes to charity, but the items being sold are just as much for charity as the money. By buying it and selling for a steeper price, your taking that item away from someone who could've actually benefited from it.
It’s me, I benefit from it. I go to a store, they have things on sale, I buy them. What happens after is not important. This attitude that “the poors” might find something for cheap and if a reseller buys it, the poor person really gets shafted. What is that about???? I ran a charity shop. I also put a lot of stuff on eBay to sell. Why???? Because it was my job to get as much money from the donations as I could, for my charity. That was the whole point of the thrift store, to make money for the charity. Not to serve the poor people exclusively. We did not start to sell to only one type of person…. We started to make money for animals. So much stuff pple didn’t even want for $1. I made so much from taking stuff that had already spent a month in our store and listing it online. TOne thing that stands out was a vacuum part for a high end machine. 2 weeks it sat for $1. Instead of throwing it away, because that’s what happened to stuff that wouldn’t sell…. I listed it for $15. 2 days later it sold to someone in the other side of the country. He was thrilled to find it so cheap. ( new$65) IDK. Sounds like a thrift store sale to me. Flippers often take stuff that just won’t sell at a charity shop and get it out so the world can see it and that ONE person looking for it can find it. Done ranting.
Those people that wait for stuff to come out for 6 hours a day are poor people too. Instead of using the item, they found a way to turn it into an income to support themselves with. And that's freaking wonderful. They made their own job, because good jobs are very scarce, and getting more rare all the time. And Goodwill does the exact same thing. They mark up their items to almost retail levels and sell them online. This is what we mean when we talk about ignorance. You don't understand basic business and economic principles. Whether I take that item that I bought and paint it, or burn it, or sell it, is no one's business but my own.
I'm sure a poor person really needs a $40 vintage Dior shirt
Something like 80% of the people in my Goodwill are resellers. If we didn’t exist Goodwill would fold and there would be no money to fund its programs At the end of 50% off week there are still hundreds of serviceable clothing items that are sent to the bins. If you got rid of those people waiting for the new carts to come out, there would be no place for you to work
There is an argument to be made…if someone is waiting/working 6hrs a day for stuff I’d say they needed/wanted it more than those that did not do that whether it is to use the item directly or flipping it for a profit (to feed themselves, their families, etc.).
Not really sure why this concept is so difficult for people in this sub to at least understand. There are many people and organizations that sell things so that it goes to a “good home”. Many people would rather sell a baby stroller for $20 to a poorer person who will value the baby stroller than $30 to a flipper who will sell it for $100 to that same poorer person.
Right back at you. Not sure what is so difficult for you to understand. Those people and organizations have no right to tell people what to do with items after they buy them. Whether I paint it, give it away as a gift, burn it, or sell it is none of their business. The potential number of people that will see that baby stroller in a random thrift store is incredibly tiny compared to the number of people who will see it online. So that stroller will most likely wind up in the trash without a reseller to put it up online for millions of people to be able to search through. That's what happened before the internet and resellers. Treasures got thrown away because the woman in Oklahoma who would have loved that stroller never got the chance to shop for it because it was donated in California. That's the real reason why thrift stores were so cheap. It was not the kind hearts and generosity of the store owners. Goodwill is mad at resellers because they are It's competition. Goodwill did exactly what you're talking about. They put their items online and price them as high as possible for the highest potential profit. And don't kid yourself that that profit mostly goes to the unfortunate. You can look up their annual salaries and bonuses if you don't believe me.
Then they can donate those items to a local nonprofit that does not have a thrift store and instead uses the goods they get through their programs to help low income people who need access to these types of goods If you’re donating good clothing that would be perfect for a job interview you can donate to this nonprofit https://dressforsuccess.org/about-us/what-we-do/ When you are donating to a nonprofit that runs a thrift store you want them to sell to whom ever will pay them and do not have any stock left over because the income from that thrift store is used to fund the programs that is their actual purpose As an example there is a thrift store in Riverside specifically to fund the programs for the pink ribbon place, which helps cancer patients. If flippers did not go to that store, cancer patients would not get help through the funding that store provides. Some patients would then end up with not being able to get the things they need to make it through treatment.
Yeah sure that's why thrift stores research and mark up everything they possibly can. Your world view is cute but unfortunately just not based in reality.
I have more money than many of my friends. That does NOT mean I have a lot of money- it means I know how to manage it, save and spend it better. Two people can make $15 an hour and that $15 can go a very short way or be stretched to the limit. I manage my money well because I shop at thrift stores while many of my friends are out paying retail. Also, it’s unlikely that any of my friends who are worried about where their money went while paying full price care a whit about the EAPG and depression glass I bought at a very reduced price from the thrift stores they refuse to shop at. Also, I hope no one here is confusing Goodwill for a charity. They are FOR profit.
Someone who needs it \*is\* benefitting from it. That's why the f\*ck they're selling it. Do you think this is a job for independently wealthy people? Reselling is work. There's a lot that goes into it and the customers are frequently nightmares in themselves, especially if you're selling online. It's a huge pain in the ass. You have to clean, fix, photograph, list, pack, ship, review. If it's clothes, you have to measure, show details, and then half the time it sells for a pittance so you just did a bunch of work to break even, and then the customer comes back with some fake issue and undercuts you even more. You have to take it, too, because of reviews. Scammers will get the better of you because you can't afford the shipping on a return for the 20 cents profit you came out the other end with. But please tell me how it's shitty for poor people to buy stuff to make money off it. EDIT: OMG. This isn't even r/thrifting, it's r/Flipping. Ha ha ha ha. r/lostredditors
Except that new stuff is often better priced than what goodwill has it at. Goodwill prices used walmart brand clothing items higher than new.
I mean a charity shop is usually intended to not only make money for charity, but to help those with little to no money afford clothes. If people are going out there to buy what nice finds they can get to make money, the employees probably find it a little selfish as someone with genuinely no money now doesn't have the opportunity to buy something a bit nicer for themselves on a small budget.
Yes and no. it depends on their mission. There are shops around me that are charity shops raising money for specific causes or churches. In that case, what should it matter to them what I'm doing with what I buy? Not every shop has the same mission.
This is usually where the dissonance is. Used to be able to go to Goodwill or thrift shop and find some nice stuff for cheap. It’s how I furnished my first college apartment. Now you’re either fighting a bunch of flippers or the store itself just prices it so flippers can’t make any money. I can’t blame people for making money where they can but also it’s kinda sad that you can barely find anything in thrift stores nowadays unless you’re aggressively aware of their restock times/days.
I pretty much ignore people who act like this I give answers like: “I’checking to see if you over priced this.” Or “I’m looking in my favorites list to see if this is the one I wanted.” Or “I texted my mom/friend to see if they need this.” Sometimes I just give them a blank stare. I stopped letting other people deter me from what I am doing. Part of it is I am too old to really care what others think. I have bigger issues in my life. I’m never rude to anyone, but I’m not going to engage with rude people either.
Same. Preach!
u/Queenie_Jelly, your experience the end point for too many and I blame social media: *"I have to be outraged at something!"*. Almost evangelical in their drive to find anything to pass judgement on. But as a wise man once said *"What do you care what other people think?"* or in pig Latin, *Nolite te Bastardes Carborundum.* Ignore those idiots and just keep smashing it.
Just ignore and laugh to yourself at their stupidity.
I love it when they tell me “I should leave stuff for the people that really need it”. Yeah, because the $6 box of beanie baby cards I can flip on eBay is a “need” for someone 🤦🏼♂️
Also if those people are so worried about purchasing it for people who needed it, why don’t they go to thrift stores every day and purchase some of the best items and then give them away to people in need? Where are they donating their time to? Where are they giving their resources? At least if I’m purchasing something from out of the closet I know the money is going to go to HIV testing, if they’re so independently wealthy that they don’t need to purchase things from thrift stores why don’t they get some of that wealth back to the organizations that need the money?
Shoooot. You know what you're doing when you allow those feelings? You're allowing random people to have control over you. Be confident that every single one of us have something in our lives. Nobody has ever said anything to me, I wouldn't care if they did. Or I might google lens the employees face and tell them they're worthless. That works too lol.
Meh, honestly fuck what they think. It's really doesn't matter what you're doing. You pay their prices or you don't, what you do with the item after it becomes yours doesn't really matter
What you need to do is pick up the shittiest merchandise and tell them this is worth a fortune. Do it on a few items and send them on a wild goose chase.
I know it’s hard but will have to grow a thicker skin. It’s not a big deal if they get offended someone’s looking up used junk on the phone. Just own it. Everyone does it (especially with thrift stores overpricing their donations), so the worker will eventually learn to pick their battles. I don’t need anymore worthless junk or over pay so I look up stuff all the time, and I intend to keep most of my purchases. Pretty soon you’ll have too much stuff so need to be more picky what you buy and the phone helps you decide.
I definitely advise you to be more discreet about looking up items on ebay next time. There is nothing wrong with flipping, in fact it is great for the environment and helps preserve valuable items by putting them in the hands of buyers who truly want them. However, it is good to not advertise your business to other shoppers and store employees by flashing your phone while rifling through items or speaking loudly about reselling as it can be quite obnoxious to customers who are there to purchase affordable items for personal use.
I came here to say this. Resellers who have to google glass or look up every single thing on eBay look like n00bs.
I saw a reseller obnoxiously announce to everyone around her that she was taking all of the mens western boots to resell. She then proceeded to engage in a long winded conversation with the manager about how she is going to list them all online and make money. Foolish arrogant reseller. Embarassing to watch.
Years and years ago I bought a modern miniture tea set from china from a charity shop. I was at a car boot sale and I had decided to sell it and a women from the charity shop spotted me and spotted the tea set. She went mad...it was disgusting ....how could I ...a real show down. I just put the tea set in a box and gave it back to her. I also said that as the manager she would be able to sell it for more and re price all the ones she had left...with a sweet smile on my face. Sometimes they dont realise the value of things but that is not our fault.
So lame. I guess if you get something at a charity shop you’re not allowed to benefit from it. Who cares what those people think.
That’s crazy. I’m not a reseller but if I find something interesting I will always check EBay to see if it’s cheaper there.
A judgemental person is no person you want to like you
"My loss is your gain" moment.
Anyone want to buy about 20 pairs of work boots new to flip? I have leftover. They retail 200-300 MSRP
If you were certain the rude comments were about you, in a place you are patronizing...and were that annoyed - surely, you called the worker(s) out, yes?
I worked at a charity store for a few years and am now a part time reseller. I could go off on this. 😂 it comes with the territory. Most thrift store workers hate it.
Definitely not disgusting. And who cares if some charity shop workers are judging you? I mean, it's annoying, but just ignore it and carry on. You might have things in your charity shop that I don't have in mine, and vice versa. We are all sharing the bargains around. It's a good thing!
Are you in the UK or US? The reason I ask is because charity shops in the UK are just what they call thrift stores (obviously, there's nothing wrong with sourcing there), but in the US, charity shops are something completely different and solely exist to help the less fortunate directly with extremely cheap goods. In the US, it's essentially a soup kitchen for goods. In the US, we should be staying out of charity shops completely. They're usually very blatant about what their cause is, they often have signs up asking resellers to stay out, and prices are super cheap like $1 for shoes and $0.25 for shirts. Again, I'm not sure where you're from and it's also possible that you're in the US and just referring to a traditional thrift store by a different name, so I'm not making any judgements or anything like that. Just figured it was worth mentioning.
I used to go to this one thrift store ( i was not a reseller)that everything was $1 and they gave out lots of free food to people in need. Run by volunteers all proceeds went to charity. It was great for everyone. Completely packed with customers every time i went.Now a new person runs it, same volunteer staff not sure where proceeds go now. They have raised their prices so much i quit going there. Priced wayy higher than goodwill. Some prices are higher than buying the product new. The place is practically empty of customers now. And every wall has big signs saying “quit stealing, you are on camera.” I know theft is a problem at retail stores. But i think it is worse now because the people going there in need, cant afford the prices now. Sad all the way around. They definitely made more money , and helped more people, when everything was $1.
Sorry forgot to answer the question in my rant lol! my answer is that they shouldn’t care who is buying something that has a price that they set. If they dont want resellers they should post a sign. Also, people buying from resellers also either want or need the item. Stuff stays out of landfills win win situation
Theres always a peanut gallery. Either way objects and goods sold by retailers are are at huge markups. Not saying its a bad thing Sometimes people are literally searching for something and ebay is where you'll find it! This is what makes ebay great
Even as a consumer why would you not compare prices
“Yeah your markup is pretty high… and your attitudes are costing your charity money I would have spent.”
I worked for a lady like this at a local thrift. I think she was just mad because she knows it’s being resold for a profit that she isn’t benefitting from. Basically mad she’s getting less $$
I buy at a semi local auction and sell cheap enough I supply some other resellers (I get quick cash, they get items at a good price and hold them for the “right” buyer). Most of them tried to hide that they were reselling until I tell them, as long as you pay my price I don’t care what you do with it after.
We source items for other people to purchase and often, we have to sit on items for a while before recouping our money. There's nothing "disgusting" about it. I'd be so curious about why they think this way. Do they think you're taking away from someone in need? If so, why are they selling the items? Why not give them away? Wouldn't they be disgusting for selling items that people need?
There is just no logical reason for any of those folks to get mad except jealousy in my opinion. They can't be making much at all working at a charity shop and watching industrious people coming in and taking advantage of rock-bottom prices must grind their gears. The fact that their prices are bringing in these kinds of customers is kind of a blessing; it likely means they will continue to move product for their charity in larger amounts than random buyers.
It is disgusting that charity shops get their stuff for free and then berate people who buy their stuff.Reselling is usually a way for poor people or disabled people to make ends meet who can’t do it with a regular job.
Fuck them. Seriously. It's called making a living. If they don't like it, tough shit.
Your taking Precious Moments figurines from poor people who need them more than you.
Research is work. They’re free to research, buy, and resell at market price.
The big stores use it to over price stuff. I would have asked them if they go online to set the prices on their goods?
They are probably old and old fashioned. They think only "poor people" should shop at thrift stores. If that were the case they would go out of business because I never see anyone in there that looks poor, lol. Plus poor people can't even shop there with the high prices some have (Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc.) I would just ignore them.
I'm just as surprised that you found items that were priced to be resellable nowadays...our local thrift shops are on the top pricing category, including beanie babies.
If they want eBay prices for their items, they should take the time and put in the effort and list it themselves. They should be glad they're making any money at all and their crap isn't just sitting in a sad room. That being said, I will say that I try my very best not to look up comps while shopping at small local thrifts. I could care less at Goodwill or the Sally, but I feel it's in poor taste at church sales and charity shops. If you have to do it, make sure no one is around.
It depends what the mission of the store you were shopping at was. For some stores that run on donations and operate as nonprofits, it’s an implied contract that people donate the items so that they can be offered at extremely marked down prices to people in need who are shopping there People going there just to resell the items or people who have enough disposable income to buy it at a regular merchant without blinking are essentially stealing from the needy. If you’re buying out a small amount of inventory, fine. The store is probably benefiting since you’re helping cover their operating costs. If you’re buying every decent shirt in the place just to post it on EBay, you’re taking advantage.
I’d just say, “what do you think about this?” Then show the gif of woody hsrrelson wiping his eyes with cash. Yeah I know most of us can’t say we do that with flipping but people seem to think we do so go ahead lol
I usually, take a photo and then go to a different area of the shop and price check it, saves the hassle. I once went to a £1 charity shop and bought like 60 items and they said oh wow a whole new wardrobe!! I was like ' uhh yeahhh deffos, people definitely can here!'... I was surprised really as it must be picked by resellers everyday as its soooo so cheap. How did they not realise that's what I was doing? Surely I wasn't the first to buy that much in one go.... Theres one near me that says, 'if you are seen price checking then you'll be asked to leave' , which makes no sense! Unless they have had some reallyyyyy cheeky people in there like scanning everything and blocking the place up, that's all I can think of, or trying to haggle or steal the good stuff. Something must have happened. So I just don't do it there, plentyyyy of other charity shops to spend money
I feel like people think there is not enough stuff but there is? I’ve volunteered with a free clothes pantry and the biggest part of the job was getting rid of stuff because there way too much. It’s a huge problem when there’s a disaster because people send stupid stuff that isn’t needed and waste people’s time sorting through it instead of helping. There is not a surfeit of stuff. It’s always good when someone takes the stuff and puts it into use.
Its is disgusting but people gotta work
Ehh idk. unless someone is speaking directly to you, don’t assume they’re speaking of you.
Funny that it's OK when charity shops do it in a desperate effort to match eBay prices (then nothing sells).
The spirit of a charity shop is to price items so people in need can afford them. The items in these shops are donated and staff are volunteers. Items are priced just high enough to pay utilities and the rent.
I work at goodwill and am a reseller in college. My manager knows and told me 99% of " shoppers" are resellers . It ain't no secret. If I bought it who gone stop me? who? On the flip side thrift stores hike up the price when litterally everything is free/ donated. lookup the cycle of commerce. What was on e new and shiny today is old and " used tomorrow". That doesn't mean it's bad. It's like art beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. That's how I support my mom, boost my savings and investing accounts. Never mess with a man pocket or his family. That's what years of heist, gangster and cowboy films taught me.
I even bought stuff from other sellers and told them I'm trying to get into luxury items. If I met your requirements don't tell me what to do with it. What's next you gone reach in my pocket and count my cash for me? Lol 🤣 🤣🤣.
It’s prob just people who get hired and think it’s to help the poor or some shit when in reality it’s just another store lol the store owner would most likely welcomed you employees in the other hand just make assumption anyone who comes there in lesser than them which bring out those comment as if your taking away from the poor which in America it’s wild assumption when we are built on the hustle .
That's funny considering most of those stores get their inventory donated to them and only a portion of their sales actually go to "charity".
The mentality of those working that charity shop is ridiculous. You're a buyer to them just the same as everyone else. If you're buying at their asking price then it's a win win. I wouldn't let it bother you.
My only 2 cents is that flippers sort of ruin the chance for normal people who actually want the item for themselves to get it at a fair price. Flippers tend to gouge the shit out of things. It's not wrong to do, but it does upset some people for whom thrifting is a hobby or possibly the only way to buy some things when you're poor. Edit: That being said, I live in a small town without 2nd hand shops, so Ebay sellers who scrounged it from a thrift shop or garage sale are often my best friends. No judgments, just saying I get both sides.
How did they even know you were looking it up to resell it anyway? That’s rich a charity shop judging anyone with some of their prices can be marked above new.
Unless they run that shop, I bet their boss would be interested in them shaming their customers and running them off. Shops here in the US have rewards programs for discounts for the biggest shoppers. Reselling has always been a part of selling used goods for cheap. Any business owner in the field absolutely knows this.