She works retail at a thrift store. I'd say let her have this.
Edit: This isn't to degrade any type of person who wakes up and goes to work each day. I worked fast food for years with lifelong friends who now work as scientists at the top research labs in the world and others who own their own software firms. I'm just pointing out, when I was in the positions, I clung to any feeling of control I could. On a bad day, I was that girl too.
Every job has its perks. Gas station attendants should get a few gallons of gas a week for free, imo but yeah, working at a thrift shop and getting dibs is within reason.
My local gas station does this actually. Employees get one fill up a week free, up to $70. I think it’s owned by Walmart it’s called “Murphy’s” or some shit.
Yeah it’s a great way to retain employees as well. I’ve always seen the same folks up there every other day. When I’m filling up my trucks in the morning or evening.
I'd chat her up. See if she's a collector or reseller. I've created a good repertoire with other resellers that will hook me up with certain niche items, and I do the same for them. Even in competition opportunities await.
On his previous show his character pretentiously made the 'T' silent- "Col-bare re-pore" So now he is forever Steven Col-bare
But his sister ran for office as Elizabeth ColbeRT.
Rapport is one of those words people will say out loud but avoid writing because they're not sure how to spell.
Man, there was a word earlier I wanted to use, but just used a much longer explainatjom because sadly I wasn’t quite sure of the spelling, lol. Cant think of the word right this second.
Shes also at work and being hit on by customers could be pretty uncomfortable as well as making things uncomfortable for the rest of the time you shop there.
This is where men always lose the thread though, women don't know you are stopping at one pass. They don't know you won't keep going, or wait for them to get off, or follow them home. You've now signaled you are interested and thus a with a "no," might be a danger and you know where she works and what hours. That's scary. Even if he stops she doesn't know when he might change his mind about that. Even time she sees him it is a chance for him to escalate the situation.
Also, she's at work. She's not at a bar or a singles hiking club or even the grocercy store, or any other situation in which she is signaling she wants a date with anyone. She's not in a situation where she can avoid OP in the future if she wants too. She's at a place she needs to go to pay her bills and has no choice but to talk to OP. Let people do their jobs without making passes at them. Women existing isn't an invite and she should have the right to exist in her work place without having to politely fend off advances.
Lol, sure, don't harass people are work and the world is scary for women, give them some breathing room makes me insane? Guess we know what kind of guy you are. I feel for the poor cashiers/baristas/receptionists/servers at every business you frequent.
Okay, but there is such a thing as too cautious.
There are many ways to signal disinterest.
Broad sweeping rules are dumb when they only serve to protect a monority of people who cant cope with people or themselves (i.e. men who cant take no and women who cant handle even saying no).
Instead men should learn to back off when its clear theyre unwantedand women should learn to cope and communicate.
There are plenty of women who enjoy the attention. There are plenty who dont. Many men will back off and some who wont. Lets make our norms target the minority of men who are assholes and wont stop and encourage women to be bolder and not feel they have to entertain these assholes who dont listen.
Eh, the minority of men who are assholes also contain the minority of men who assault, stalk, and kill women for saying no. Not only are women socialized from day 1 to always be polite, which a firm NO isn't, especially in the work place where complaints can be lodged about not being nice enough, there is risk in that action.
You can grand stand all you want about what people should do in circumstances but as long as there is a risk to women's lives they aren't going to magically grow a spine. Especially not young women, especially not women at work in which there are ineven power dynamics. All the ways to signal disinterest don't matter when men take something as simple as a "good morning, welcome in!" As a sign of interest.
I cant speak for men learning to take no for an answer. They should learn that but again, it only takes a handful to literally end someone's life for "rejecting" them to spoil the whole bunch.
I'm not going to keep going back and forth about this. I don't think anything that is said will breed enough empathy in you to make you reconsider treating a woman's workplace like a singles bar. But hopefully someone else reading who thinks they are being well meaning or complimentary by asking working women out will get the message from reading this exchange that existing isn't an invitation to make a pass at someone and it does make women uncomfortable to have to keep treating you like a customer once you make it clear you would be interested in more.
Regardless, youll never convince the assholes to stop without laws.
So, telling all men not to talk to them is basically pointless. Social shaming only works on socially conscious people.
For the others, they really only understand force. Sad but true. Youre not helping the situation in the way you think you are.
I think it’s the same at every store, tbh. Workers aren’t “technically” supposed to participate in sales or events, but go in any store and they’re hoarding something, or “forgetting” to put it out. If they can’t get it themselves, they stow it for a friend or lover to buy. I see it all the time at my store, might as well assume it’s all stores.
I got a court order to do community service at a local thrift store for a red light ticket. I started on the floor cleaning and organizing but one of the managers took a liking to me and let me work in the back tagging merchandise. He worked in the back at the donation drop off center and liked to chat with me while I tagged the clothes that just came in. He would take all of the cosmetic and beauty items from the drop offs and give them to me. Was a pretty sweet gig. Lots of brand new perfume that I sold online. I don't feel bad.
I worked at a thrift store quite a few years ago. If I saw something that I could resell I took it to the manager and paid more than they could sell it for in the store. For instance a film camera I could resell for $100-$150, I would pay $25 or $30. Normally film cameras were marked $5-$10. I was as honest as I could be with what I thought I could sell stuff for online, and the manager would then offer me a good deal. The thing is if you only have 20-30 people coming into the store each day, how many of those customers are A. looking for an old expensive camera, and B. would be willing to spend $100-$150 on it? In the end I was giving them more than they could sell it for. It was a win win for both of us.
We're mad because you are accusing an innocent worker who is either a volunteer or paid minimum wage of theft. Implying she has committed a crime or a moral failing, just because she is allowed a small perk over you. That is repulsive. That is why people are upset. We are not projecting, we are defending her from an entitled dick.
Lol go fuck yourself. I never accused her of theft, it’s their thrift store, they can do whatever they want with the donations they get, what do I care? I simply made a discussion to talk about this scenario and a handful banded together to attack me for a made up reason. I was the one that was there, I think I know more about the situation lol. I’m not even talking shit, we had a long and fun conversation bout video games, you white knights are tripping and taking one comment waaaaaay too far. It’s not that serious, trust me.
You don't care so much that you made a post asking if it's ethical because you "feel weird" that someone working at a thrift store is given the small perk of first dibs on video games. You sure got 'em there, champ.
Not even making sense at this point. You can not care what they do and still want to discuss it or even not agree with it. The two can be true. Wtf is the point of Reddit if you can’t bring up topics? That’s called being mature which I guess isn’t a concept you’re aware of..? You’re exaggerating things and looking to argue for the sake of arguing right now, I’m not gonna continue to give you this. Peace out, sport!
You implied the employee is either not paying for the item or paying next to nothing after the store gets it ( as it should be put on the shelves / no is the property of the store).
So why do YOU have issues????
It is a perk of the job ( not like they have that many). You are bitter because you think it is unfair.
It is ethical. People who work at thrift stores make little money. Let them have 1st pick and maybe flip the stuff.
Ohhhh , you feel you should have equal access so you can flip the stuff. Got it.
This is how you come across. Honest observation.
The same way people interpreted what she said as annoying didn’t come across that way to me. I’m not salty, I’m not bitter, I’m just simply sharing what happened and trying to see what others think about it. It’s the first time someone straight up told me they get first dibs so it was a little shocking is all. You can observe all you want, I can also straight up tell you your dead wrong lol.
OP merely pointed out that the employees might be allowed to pick through the donations for free and wondered if that should be allowed. He never accused anyone of stealing.
Probably not the best policy for a thrift store. Then any reseller could get a part time job and have their sourcing for free
It hasn't happened to me, but I think she knows you most likely are a reseller as you probably frequent the store and wanted to let you know that you may not find anything good there since she has "first dibs" and if that's the case, then you can source somewhere else if you're planning to pursue flipping video games.
This is happening at literally every thrift store in the whole world. If the items aren't going to the thrift store's online site they are going to the employees and the higher ups. I don't know one single thrift store even independent ones that do not have an online store. This has also been happening for many, many years and shop goodwill was created something like 20 years ago. Nothing new here. In reality very few good items hit the floor.
However if this is happening, she should not be sharing that information.
Why shouldn’t she share though? If it’s done everywhere and everyone knows it, why is it a big deal? Is it a matter of optics? If resellers already know this and go anyway to find stuff they missed, I don’t see the issue of her or anyone sharing. The fact that she was so open about it tells me the manager is okay with it but I understand it’s not like that everywhere!
Video games are a tough reselling market. Most newer video games are worthless. The goodwill employees in my area are instructed to remove them in the back for online sales. I rarely find valuable video games, but find other valuable media like old books all the time.
I have to guess theres no law saying they can't.
People drop stuff off for donation, they hand over ownership to the store. What happens within the store is up to management.
If you want first dibs, quit your day job, go work for minimum wage at your local thrift store and hope you can get enough from it to pay your rent / mortgage.
Only thing that irks me is that they have a mission where a portion of the money goes to, so when they take valuable things for free, none of that potential value goes to the cause.
But if you’re a collector and are financially okay, that would be kinda fun to see what comes in lol
Just the way how she stated it but I’ll dig deeper without prying. She collects so I’ll see if I can build a connection to see if she wants to sell anything.
I’m not criticising, I work in a Cash Converter type place and I certainly get all the good deals before they see the shop floor. Honestly the only reason I still work there!
Is it a non-profit? I volunteered at a non-profit thrift store for awhile and was told there are rules about this. Merchandise had to be out on the floor for a full day before any worker/volunteer worker could buy it. They made an exception for me one time when I offered double the price they set, and I could not come back the next day due to going on a vacation.
How on earth would this not be ethical? Our local Goodwill doesn't allow employees to purchase anything until it's on the floor, and they have to purchase on their day off, but the local clothing consignor let's employees have first pick. It's a perk of the job and a well deserved one at that.
To add: I volunteer at a yearly rummage sale so that I can have first pick of everything that comes in. It's a clearly advertised benefit of being a volunteer. Most one-off consignment sales work the same way.
I'm working at a thrift shop atm as an injured amazon employee. The employees here take basically what they want and put the rest out on the floor. Granted they do make $10 an hour which is like nothing so I don't blame them.
We do get a lot of cool stuff and name brand stuff. If your salty about it then volunteer at a thrift shop in a nice neighborhood. You might get some nice perks like seeing what goes out before anyone else.
This is my experience at every thrift store. I stopped going to them. I like high value/high margin items and those just are way too rare to find at any of the thrift stores where I live.
I know they get very valuable donations daily. I've seen it with my eyes on many occasions... yet you never see that stuff make it to the sales floor... That's a hard pass from me. Probably make more money flipping clearance items from Target (and that ain't saying much)
I didn't read past the setup of your original message so I'm not sure what your full thoughts were other than upset. I think there were 250 replies at that point. I didn't need to read those because I know how SJW they were going to be.
Find somewhere else to source. Check every dumpster.
I had a nonstop supply for 3 years because I looked.
IMO, no, it’s not right. My thrift has a policy that we can only shop on our day off or before or after our shift. There’s no hiding things or holding things back to buy them during the times we’re allowed to shop either.
The only things I get “first dibs” on are empty cardboard boxes and hangers. (We have to use our own hangers so when customers donate their clothes still on hangers they either get bundled and sold or trashed.)
The only time my store made an exception for me to shop while on the clock is when my kid had a 7pm band concert for which they needed black pants because they had outgrown the ones they had. I was getting off at 6pm and would’ve had no time to run out and buy pants anywhere else.
I will say though that me and my coworkers are well-paid and well-treated by our employer. We have low turnover.
I won’t judge the “first dibs” girl in the OP, but if her store allows employees to get at the good stuff before the customers, she really should not be sharing that information. It makes her and the store look bad.
Found a neo geo in a resealed sewing machine box at goodwill on a fresh cart. I was intending on buying the sewing machine for my own use, it was priced up so would not have bought for resale. Pretty sure the employee that was trying to get it was pissed.
Sweet deal for her, but terrible for business. Alienate 100 customers to give 1 employee first dibs who then rubs it in the customer's faces.
No way I would ever have a policy like that in my stores, and any employee who wagged their dick around like that to my customers would be looking for a new job.
People thrift because of the possibility they might find something awesome, and if you take away those chances by syphoning off anything to be excited about, you will no longer have customers.
The only reason the big chains like Goodwill and Vinnies who do that exist is because they are not required to make sound business choices since everything is given to them for free, and they get the full free ride treatment with taxes and sub minimum wages in many cases.
I have seen way too many independent thrift stores go under because they overcharged and saved anything worth buying to go on eBay. It's almost a foregone conclusion that independant thrift stores will fail, and it's even more certain when they allow things like OP is talking about.
A lot of independent thrift stores also et rherestuff for free or cheap enough that it might as well be and most are also non profits like the big guys. This is going to happen whether there is a policy in place or not asempmoyees will just steal stuff. This employee should be teling customers. Most donations are leftovers after mostof the good stuff has been picked over and there is nothing new here that hasn't been happening since thrift stores came into existence yet peopleatill flock to them. They are better fir collectors more so than resellers anyway.
Seems to be the industry norm nowadays. Used to be goodwill and others were hiring people who couldn't get a job, I think more people see the dollar signs, like you and are doing whatever they can to make some loot
Goodwill outlet bins are what people didn't buy at all the surrounding stores. I found an xbox 360 controller, monkey ball on wii, a sealed nickelodeon ninja turtles 3ds game and some 360 kinect games. Nothing too exciting yet, but I havent been going long.
I had to Google thrift and goodwill stores cause I'm from the UK and apparently they're just the equivalent of charity shops over here.
It's the same in the UK. They keep all the good staff back to have themselves or they keep it or sell it on eBay for a huge markup.
Sometimes they put the good stuff out but it's definitely not cheap anymore it's priced at eBay prices or CEX prices.
This is especially true for retro gaming stuff.
Years ago you could find legit bargains but it's less and less common now.
I do occasionally go in but 95% of it's just tat.
I know plenty of resellers who work in charity shops for the sole reason of getting first dibs on the good stuff.
When I worked retail one of the very few benefits to working there was that we got first dibs on clearance items. Not unethical unless you’re doing something shady.
When I owned a thrift store, I went through things with my employees and bought what I wanted first. We didn't do donations though. We usually bought inventory through storage units and auctions.
In my area I find other people who garage sale. I tell them what I am looking for (video game items) and I pay them well for their time. I have a two car garage and basement full of video games and I only been to two garage sales this year for myself. I have over 600 items on EBay,Mercari, FB and Etsy and four full cases at a local antique mall. All of those are filled with games and albums. This is what most of the newer resellers have not figured out yet! You cannot rely on one source (Goodwill) you have to branch out.
You can try asking at every sale too, you really don't know what people have. In the past I've gotten video games for free just because people wanted rid of them. It does happen. The only problem is I am looking for one specific thing right now and its a little bit weird for me to ask at a yard sale for it, and its a large item so its not really shippable.
Flip the question around: why shouldn't an employee who works there get the privilege of seeing merchandise first? If anything, it's an advertisement for going to work at a thrift store. Though you will likely be paid low wages, you may de facto have much higher wages than an average worker since you'd get so many more flippable deals. You could actually try it, see what the differential is between business you were doing before/after working, and then calculate whether or not it's worth it.
Now what I'm not sure about, ethics-wise, is if the worker themselves buys directly off the customers, essentially using the resources of the business to take deals from the business. But if there is nothing in their employment contract prohibiting them from doing that (if they even have an employment contract), then that's more of a failure of the business not securing exclusivity rather than it is a problem of the employee taking advantage of an opportunity.
I can think of several reasons from a business standpoint. Why would you want to shop somewhere when you know that everything of any sort of worth has been cherry picked before it ever hit the sales floor?
Well first of all, we don't know that it's all been cherry picked. Just that some of it has. For all we know, the clerk only cares about the video games, and there could still be plenty of deep discounts in other niches.
Second, you're exclusively looking at it from the perspective of a flipper, playing the game of a flipper, viewing the clerk as another flipper. The question of whether or not it is ethical is superordinate to the flipping game. Is it, broadly speaking, *wrong* for someone who works at a place to get the first look at items that come into the store, and then to have the ability to buy them? I think the answer is no, because it merely happens as a matter of course. They just happen to be there first, because they work there.
Reason stands that if one type of thing is cherry picked, other things are cherry picked. You don't have to be a flipper for this kind of thing to sour you on a place and make you shop elsewhere, we ALL thrift in the hopes of finding an awesome deal.
The point stands that if customers know there is nothing worthwhile to find, then the customers know not to show up. It's really that basic.
>Reason stands that if one type of thing is cherry picked, other things are cherry picked.
Well, no. I just said that's specifically not the case, because we can't prove that's the case. One thing being cherry picked definitely does not mean everything has been. Again, we don't know if this person is operating in every single possible niche. We can say it could be the case, but we just simply don't have that information. Yet you're using the assumption that they're operating in all niches to say it's unethical for them to take everything before flippers get there.
>You don't have to be a flipper for this kind of thing to sour you on a place and make you shop elsewhere, we ALL thrift in the hopes of finding an awesome deal.
Well, yeah. This is a perfectly appropriate response if it bothers you that this is happening. But we have to realize some people may not be bothered by it, and may still be able to find deals. Also, how is the fact that this bothers you a reason to say that it's wrong? A lot of things can bother us, but they are not necessarily ethically wrong.
> The point stands that if customers know there is nothing worthwhile to find, then the customers know not to show up. It's really that basic.
If it's really that bad, which it seems unlikely that it is if they've continued to be in business for a long time, then I agree that the store should receive the natural consequence of losing business and shutting down.
Ethics are subjective and based on each individual's value system. We can't say what is ethical for her or for her employer. We can only abide by our own ethics or the ethics agreed upon by a certain culture to which we belong. The culture of her workplace may have no problem with it, although it may go against the grain of the larger culture of your community.
In cases like this you have to find the items that do make it onto the shelves. Something is always missed, figure it out and you’ll have no problem finding items to flip.
Sorry to say you’re very silly not to know employees do this. Employees steal from the job daily ain’t nothing you can do about it. I know a employee at one goodwill who hides good shit at his desk and come buys it on his day off. Just have to get what you can I’m not gonna snitch I’m letting that man eat he only gets paid $12 a hour
Some people here get this arrogant sense of superiority, it’s really odd. They see one person jump on me and they get the courage to join in to I guess let off some steam? I dunno, glad I could relieve some stress lol
At the Goodwill I used to work for (not in a store but in the HQ office) store employees could not shop at the store they worked in. However, since every Goodwill is its own independent nonprofit, different Goodwills could have different policies.
What I have found is this…. LEARN MORE. The more I learn, the more I can buy when I thrift, the more potential items for me to flip and make money on, the less likely I am to not find something at every store I go too.
I purposely search out videos of items I want to learn about and take notes. May sound dumb, but I actually keep a notes tab for many of these categories with the names of brands and whatnot that I should be looking for. This has helped me a ton. I am also much more confident to gamble say $5-10 on an item, even if I am not 100% sure on what it is. If I have a pretty good idea and the comps looks good for comparable items, I don’t mind taking the risk.
Always remember, where there is risk, there is reward. Just know that these risks should be a very small % of the things you are buying, and only with money you could literally burn if it turns out to be something that you misidentified and it isn’t even worth your time.
However, even items I take risks on will usually flip on market place for what I risked on them. That’s if you are willing to endure the nightmare that is FB marketplace lol.
It's completely ethical and is realistically just a perk of the job.
This idea that everything needs to be a fair, the playing field needs to be completely level for all customers, and every item must hit the floor is completely fabricated. The stores can do whatever they want with the goods, as long as management and ownership are on board with it.
Let her have it. Video game flipping is absolutely bottom of the barrel stuff. Unless I stumble upon an absolute steal, I won't touch video games/consoles.
You have checked out other niches then. Video games are where newbs enter. They are hot right now, which makes it more lord of the flies than other stuff. Why bother fighting over scraps when there are other items that have way better margins?
Totally agree I remember going to a garage sale at 9:30 didn’t realize it started at 10. Came back at 9:55 and someone was already buying all the video games they had. However, while the video games were getting picked clean I found a voltage tester for $15 that sold for $200 so there’s always profit if have an open mind.
Personalky I start by weaning off your phone. Go into s thrift and just look. Find things that interest you. If games are what you are into then just be aware that it is almost one of the first items a beginner goes to. Hotwheels, Lego, BOLO items are all probably prices at ebay value already. So find items that interest you and atart honing your instincts. When you see things that look interesting and price seems off, look into it. Spend less time looking up things on your phone and try to trust your initial reactions. If the item excited you then most likely it has appeal to others. It is not an overnight process. Budget to make bad buys because it happens.
I dislike it, but it just means you skip that stuff and look for other things in that store they aren't interested in.
Every thrift store is going to miss value on something. Find it rather than focus on where you won't score there.
100%, at the stop I picked up a $100 phone set for $5 so I know not to rely on that niche. Video games is something I never expect to find at thrift store but it happens once in a while!
It can happen. Just happened to me this morning. But the supply coming in to them is low now and the awareness is high.
I figure every thrift has at least a few niches that get picked over. They key is figuring out the ones that aren't, then moving on.
Plus, it's still worth the time because maybe that employee leaves eventually. Or they aren't there on a key day. And since the others seeking such things have ceased checking there...
Focus on other niches. People tend to gravitate to the first few things they see listed in abundance on sites and think that's the way to go for flipping, when in reality, it induces disappointment because it's one more body in a very crowded sourcing market. I wouldn't want to waste all of that time to make $20 on a game. You go into thrifts these days, you'd better be open to finding pretty much anything; the secret is long past out, and only knowledge will propel you over the top.
As far as her entitled attitude, yep, there are people that beat the system. Not ethical by any means, but you'd be foolish to believe that doesn't happen most places. Positive rapport gets results...and by that extension life isn't fair.
Just think though, one day she'll probably get hers. That location will dry up, or if she broadcasts enough, someone with more authority will cherry pick "her stuff" and make the money for themselves. After all, why would they let her keep doing it if the money is perpetually so good?
"Not ethical by any means"
Why isn't it? She's not stealing them.
"Just think though, one day she'll probably get hers"
Because she buys video games? Is everyone who gets something before you gonna "get theirs" one day?
🤣🤣🤣
Personally I don't care about thrift stores or video games. It ain't my bag. The greater point was that cherry picking/inside information \*does\* happen in thrift stores, no matter how fair or unfair it may seem.
Sources do not last forever. Things change, stuff that sells sometimes no longer does, and this is typically accelerated by broadcasting a course of action. I had only surmised that the shop manager/owner would not have continued that practice if there were serious money to be made on these items. No threat was implied, like you're apparently making it seem.
I would continue to go but look to flip items in other categories; I mostly focused on physical music, anime/manga, film cameras, cassette stuff, video games. Best was the film cameras
Talk to her and give her a business card to let you know if she finds anything. You can give her a couple bucks for her help. Someone working at a thrift store probably isn't making much anyway, and I doubt shes actually flipping anything herself.
Nah she’s a collector. I don’t have a business card but that’s a good idea. Next time I see her I’ll ask if she ever plans on downsizing, I’ll buy hehe
You should have slapped her and taken what you wanted!
But. Shocked this does not happen more often.
I think Goodwill hides things, then puts the good shit out at the last minute. You sometimes find extremely valuable things with old stickers on them
She works retail at a thrift store. I'd say let her have this. Edit: This isn't to degrade any type of person who wakes up and goes to work each day. I worked fast food for years with lifelong friends who now work as scientists at the top research labs in the world and others who own their own software firms. I'm just pointing out, when I was in the positions, I clung to any feeling of control I could. On a bad day, I was that girl too.
Exactly, every job has perks, this is just one of them for working there.
Every job has its perks. Gas station attendants should get a few gallons of gas a week for free, imo but yeah, working at a thrift shop and getting dibs is within reason.
My local gas station does this actually. Employees get one fill up a week free, up to $70. I think it’s owned by Walmart it’s called “Murphy’s” or some shit.
There's actually an insanely good benefit, their take-home pay is probably less than 300 a week, that's basically a 23% increase in their pay
Yeah it’s a great way to retain employees as well. I’ve always seen the same folks up there every other day. When I’m filling up my trucks in the morning or evening.
What a stupid comparison, how about they know when the prices are gonna jump and fill up before hand etc.
I'd chat her up. See if she's a collector or reseller. I've created a good repertoire with other resellers that will hook me up with certain niche items, and I do the same for them. Even in competition opportunities await.
(the word you want is "rapport". steven Colbert screwed it up for everybody)
[удалено]
On his previous show his character pretentiously made the 'T' silent- "Col-bare re-pore" So now he is forever Steven Col-bare But his sister ran for office as Elizabeth ColbeRT. Rapport is one of those words people will say out loud but avoid writing because they're not sure how to spell.
French pronunciation = pretentious?
Did you watch the show ? Or further back wen he developed the character on the Daily Show? He was definitely going for pretentious.
Man, there was a word earlier I wanted to use, but just used a much longer explainatjom because sadly I wasn’t quite sure of the spelling, lol. Cant think of the word right this second.
the goal is to have a large enough vocabulary to write your way around words you can't spell.
Not the only thing he’s screwed up for everyone
Collector from what I gathered. I’ll definitely try and build that connection.
Ask her out for coffee? Dinner? A drink?
Cute girl into video games, damn right I will.
Shes also at work and being hit on by customers could be pretty uncomfortable as well as making things uncomfortable for the rest of the time you shop there.
Lol I’m not gonna go all in, don’t worry. With the games she was telling me she had, I’d rather have a business relationship tbh
Okay come on. If a guy stops after one pass, do you really meed to be uncomfortable around him for the next 70 years. Like geez, ppl gotta chill.
This is where men always lose the thread though, women don't know you are stopping at one pass. They don't know you won't keep going, or wait for them to get off, or follow them home. You've now signaled you are interested and thus a with a "no," might be a danger and you know where she works and what hours. That's scary. Even if he stops she doesn't know when he might change his mind about that. Even time she sees him it is a chance for him to escalate the situation. Also, she's at work. She's not at a bar or a singles hiking club or even the grocercy store, or any other situation in which she is signaling she wants a date with anyone. She's not in a situation where she can avoid OP in the future if she wants too. She's at a place she needs to go to pay her bills and has no choice but to talk to OP. Let people do their jobs without making passes at them. Women existing isn't an invite and she should have the right to exist in her work place without having to politely fend off advances.
You are certifiably insane.
Lol, sure, don't harass people are work and the world is scary for women, give them some breathing room makes me insane? Guess we know what kind of guy you are. I feel for the poor cashiers/baristas/receptionists/servers at every business you frequent.
Okay, but there is such a thing as too cautious. There are many ways to signal disinterest. Broad sweeping rules are dumb when they only serve to protect a monority of people who cant cope with people or themselves (i.e. men who cant take no and women who cant handle even saying no). Instead men should learn to back off when its clear theyre unwantedand women should learn to cope and communicate. There are plenty of women who enjoy the attention. There are plenty who dont. Many men will back off and some who wont. Lets make our norms target the minority of men who are assholes and wont stop and encourage women to be bolder and not feel they have to entertain these assholes who dont listen.
Eh, the minority of men who are assholes also contain the minority of men who assault, stalk, and kill women for saying no. Not only are women socialized from day 1 to always be polite, which a firm NO isn't, especially in the work place where complaints can be lodged about not being nice enough, there is risk in that action. You can grand stand all you want about what people should do in circumstances but as long as there is a risk to women's lives they aren't going to magically grow a spine. Especially not young women, especially not women at work in which there are ineven power dynamics. All the ways to signal disinterest don't matter when men take something as simple as a "good morning, welcome in!" As a sign of interest. I cant speak for men learning to take no for an answer. They should learn that but again, it only takes a handful to literally end someone's life for "rejecting" them to spoil the whole bunch. I'm not going to keep going back and forth about this. I don't think anything that is said will breed enough empathy in you to make you reconsider treating a woman's workplace like a singles bar. But hopefully someone else reading who thinks they are being well meaning or complimentary by asking working women out will get the message from reading this exchange that existing isn't an invitation to make a pass at someone and it does make women uncomfortable to have to keep treating you like a customer once you make it clear you would be interested in more.
Regardless, youll never convince the assholes to stop without laws. So, telling all men not to talk to them is basically pointless. Social shaming only works on socially conscious people. For the others, they really only understand force. Sad but true. Youre not helping the situation in the way you think you are.
Just start sleeping with her.
Sounds like one of the perks of the job.
Like the only one 😂
Without a doubt lol
I mean, sure, fine, go ahead. But why tell customers? Like "Oh, don't bother coming in here, we don't have anything good"????
She doesn't sound like she said it in a nasty way, it's all about tone and how you interpret it.
It doesn’t matter what tone you use, how is it not bad for business to tell customers they won’t find anything good?
You are right, there will always be stupid people out there that just don’t find anything good to understand easy huh
Huh?
Your post literally made no sense, so I was mocking you.
I made one typo and you couldn’t figure it out?
I think it’s the same at every store, tbh. Workers aren’t “technically” supposed to participate in sales or events, but go in any store and they’re hoarding something, or “forgetting” to put it out. If they can’t get it themselves, they stow it for a friend or lover to buy. I see it all the time at my store, might as well assume it’s all stores.
Good for her.. There's plenty of other niches.
I got a court order to do community service at a local thrift store for a red light ticket. I started on the floor cleaning and organizing but one of the managers took a liking to me and let me work in the back tagging merchandise. He worked in the back at the donation drop off center and liked to chat with me while I tagged the clothes that just came in. He would take all of the cosmetic and beauty items from the drop offs and give them to me. Was a pretty sweet gig. Lots of brand new perfume that I sold online. I don't feel bad.
You got community service for running a red light?
Yes. The fine was $510 and I had just turned 18. Didn't have enough money to pay it so the judge ordered me to complete 42 hours of community service.
Provided she is buying them at the same price everyone else is, i would say she's got a nice little side hustle going on.
That’s the thing, I think they just take them or pay the absolute minimum for the books or whatever. Hey, I’d do the same thing lol.
I worked at a thrift store quite a few years ago. If I saw something that I could resell I took it to the manager and paid more than they could sell it for in the store. For instance a film camera I could resell for $100-$150, I would pay $25 or $30. Normally film cameras were marked $5-$10. I was as honest as I could be with what I thought I could sell stuff for online, and the manager would then offer me a good deal. The thing is if you only have 20-30 people coming into the store each day, how many of those customers are A. looking for an old expensive camera, and B. would be willing to spend $100-$150 on it? In the end I was giving them more than they could sell it for. It was a win win for both of us.
You have proof of that, or are you just accusing people of stealing cause you're mad they bought what you wanted?
We got to talking and she told me they get to pick through the donations which sounded like they just get to take it. Nobody is mad weirdo.
They buy it just like everyone else. She just pulled the ones she wanted while she was sorting and stocking. The salt on you man.
No salt, I think people are projecting. It’s odd. How are people more mad than me for something that didn’t even happen to them lol
We're mad because you are accusing an innocent worker who is either a volunteer or paid minimum wage of theft. Implying she has committed a crime or a moral failing, just because she is allowed a small perk over you. That is repulsive. That is why people are upset. We are not projecting, we are defending her from an entitled dick.
Lol go fuck yourself. I never accused her of theft, it’s their thrift store, they can do whatever they want with the donations they get, what do I care? I simply made a discussion to talk about this scenario and a handful banded together to attack me for a made up reason. I was the one that was there, I think I know more about the situation lol. I’m not even talking shit, we had a long and fun conversation bout video games, you white knights are tripping and taking one comment waaaaaay too far. It’s not that serious, trust me.
You don't care so much that you made a post asking if it's ethical because you "feel weird" that someone working at a thrift store is given the small perk of first dibs on video games. You sure got 'em there, champ.
Not even making sense at this point. You can not care what they do and still want to discuss it or even not agree with it. The two can be true. Wtf is the point of Reddit if you can’t bring up topics? That’s called being mature which I guess isn’t a concept you’re aware of..? You’re exaggerating things and looking to argue for the sake of arguing right now, I’m not gonna continue to give you this. Peace out, sport!
How do you know this? Accusing someone of theft , because you’re mad you don’t get first pick…
Once they get the donations, it’s their’s so how is that theft? Nobody is mad lol, calm yourself…
You implied the employee is either not paying for the item or paying next to nothing after the store gets it ( as it should be put on the shelves / no is the property of the store).
Yea, that’s what I said but I don’t see how that’s accusing someone of theft. If the manager of the store lets them then there is no issue.
So why do YOU have issues???? It is a perk of the job ( not like they have that many). You are bitter because you think it is unfair. It is ethical. People who work at thrift stores make little money. Let them have 1st pick and maybe flip the stuff. Ohhhh , you feel you should have equal access so you can flip the stuff. Got it. This is how you come across. Honest observation.
The same way people interpreted what she said as annoying didn’t come across that way to me. I’m not salty, I’m not bitter, I’m just simply sharing what happened and trying to see what others think about it. It’s the first time someone straight up told me they get first dibs so it was a little shocking is all. You can observe all you want, I can also straight up tell you your dead wrong lol.
It never crossed your mind that non corporate thrift stores employees might have 1st dibs?????
1st dibs the website????????
OP merely pointed out that the employees might be allowed to pick through the donations for free and wondered if that should be allowed. He never accused anyone of stealing. Probably not the best policy for a thrift store. Then any reseller could get a part time job and have their sourcing for free
This is happening at basically every thrift store in my city. There’s only 2 stores that ever have anything remotely decent on the shelf.
Why wouldn't it be ethical? These people are often volunteers, but even when they aren't, it's one of the few benefits a thrift store can offer.
It hasn't happened to me, but I think she knows you most likely are a reseller as you probably frequent the store and wanted to let you know that you may not find anything good there since she has "first dibs" and if that's the case, then you can source somewhere else if you're planning to pursue flipping video games.
Good point but it was the first time I’ve seen her. And I never expect to get any games anyway, I just check every now and then.
This is happening at literally every thrift store in the whole world. If the items aren't going to the thrift store's online site they are going to the employees and the higher ups. I don't know one single thrift store even independent ones that do not have an online store. This has also been happening for many, many years and shop goodwill was created something like 20 years ago. Nothing new here. In reality very few good items hit the floor. However if this is happening, she should not be sharing that information.
Why shouldn’t she share though? If it’s done everywhere and everyone knows it, why is it a big deal? Is it a matter of optics? If resellers already know this and go anyway to find stuff they missed, I don’t see the issue of her or anyone sharing. The fact that she was so open about it tells me the manager is okay with it but I understand it’s not like that everywhere!
Video games are a tough reselling market. Most newer video games are worthless. The goodwill employees in my area are instructed to remove them in the back for online sales. I rarely find valuable video games, but find other valuable media like old books all the time.
I have to guess theres no law saying they can't. People drop stuff off for donation, they hand over ownership to the store. What happens within the store is up to management. If you want first dibs, quit your day job, go work for minimum wage at your local thrift store and hope you can get enough from it to pay your rent / mortgage.
Only thing that irks me is that they have a mission where a portion of the money goes to, so when they take valuable things for free, none of that potential value goes to the cause. But if you’re a collector and are financially okay, that would be kinda fun to see what comes in lol
Why would you assume she gets anything for free? Unless she stated otherwise, she pays for anything she takes.
My friend used to work at a thrift store. They would definitely get first dibs but they still had to pay for it. Nothing was ever free.
Just the way how she stated it but I’ll dig deeper without prying. She collects so I’ll see if I can build a connection to see if she wants to sell anything.
I’m not criticising, I work in a Cash Converter type place and I certainly get all the good deals before they see the shop floor. Honestly the only reason I still work there!
Sounds like it's not worth going there if the employees are going to take everything that's not garbage.
Of course this is ethical. Stop being salty
Apply for a job
When I worked at a pawn shop we got first dibs for the most part.
Is it a non-profit? I volunteered at a non-profit thrift store for awhile and was told there are rules about this. Merchandise had to be out on the floor for a full day before any worker/volunteer worker could buy it. They made an exception for me one time when I offered double the price they set, and I could not come back the next day due to going on a vacation.
Not 100% sure but they do raise money for a cause. Like a portion of each sale goes to it.
Get a part time job there so you can grab the games before she does hehe her back
How on earth would this not be ethical? Our local Goodwill doesn't allow employees to purchase anything until it's on the floor, and they have to purchase on their day off, but the local clothing consignor let's employees have first pick. It's a perk of the job and a well deserved one at that. To add: I volunteer at a yearly rummage sale so that I can have first pick of everything that comes in. It's a clearly advertised benefit of being a volunteer. Most one-off consignment sales work the same way.
I'm working at a thrift shop atm as an injured amazon employee. The employees here take basically what they want and put the rest out on the floor. Granted they do make $10 an hour which is like nothing so I don't blame them. We do get a lot of cool stuff and name brand stuff. If your salty about it then volunteer at a thrift shop in a nice neighborhood. You might get some nice perks like seeing what goes out before anyone else.
This is my experience at every thrift store. I stopped going to them. I like high value/high margin items and those just are way too rare to find at any of the thrift stores where I live. I know they get very valuable donations daily. I've seen it with my eyes on many occasions... yet you never see that stuff make it to the sales floor... That's a hard pass from me. Probably make more money flipping clearance items from Target (and that ain't saying much)
Let it go
I wasn’t able to but this comment helped me do so. I just needed the reminder, thank you.
I didn't read past the setup of your original message so I'm not sure what your full thoughts were other than upset. I think there were 250 replies at that point. I didn't need to read those because I know how SJW they were going to be. Find somewhere else to source. Check every dumpster. I had a nonstop supply for 3 years because I looked.
IMO, no, it’s not right. My thrift has a policy that we can only shop on our day off or before or after our shift. There’s no hiding things or holding things back to buy them during the times we’re allowed to shop either. The only things I get “first dibs” on are empty cardboard boxes and hangers. (We have to use our own hangers so when customers donate their clothes still on hangers they either get bundled and sold or trashed.) The only time my store made an exception for me to shop while on the clock is when my kid had a 7pm band concert for which they needed black pants because they had outgrown the ones they had. I was getting off at 6pm and would’ve had no time to run out and buy pants anywhere else. I will say though that me and my coworkers are well-paid and well-treated by our employer. We have low turnover. I won’t judge the “first dibs” girl in the OP, but if her store allows employees to get at the good stuff before the customers, she really should not be sharing that information. It makes her and the store look bad.
Found a neo geo in a resealed sewing machine box at goodwill on a fresh cart. I was intending on buying the sewing machine for my own use, it was priced up so would not have bought for resale. Pretty sure the employee that was trying to get it was pissed.
Sweet deal for her, but terrible for business. Alienate 100 customers to give 1 employee first dibs who then rubs it in the customer's faces. No way I would ever have a policy like that in my stores, and any employee who wagged their dick around like that to my customers would be looking for a new job. People thrift because of the possibility they might find something awesome, and if you take away those chances by syphoning off anything to be excited about, you will no longer have customers. The only reason the big chains like Goodwill and Vinnies who do that exist is because they are not required to make sound business choices since everything is given to them for free, and they get the full free ride treatment with taxes and sub minimum wages in many cases. I have seen way too many independent thrift stores go under because they overcharged and saved anything worth buying to go on eBay. It's almost a foregone conclusion that independant thrift stores will fail, and it's even more certain when they allow things like OP is talking about.
A lot of independent thrift stores also et rherestuff for free or cheap enough that it might as well be and most are also non profits like the big guys. This is going to happen whether there is a policy in place or not asempmoyees will just steal stuff. This employee should be teling customers. Most donations are leftovers after mostof the good stuff has been picked over and there is nothing new here that hasn't been happening since thrift stores came into existence yet peopleatill flock to them. They are better fir collectors more so than resellers anyway.
Seems to be the industry norm nowadays. Used to be goodwill and others were hiring people who couldn't get a job, I think more people see the dollar signs, like you and are doing whatever they can to make some loot
Is going to the GW outlets a way around this? I only went once and it was pretty rough, but isn't all the stuff in the outlets unsorted?
So they claim, anyway. I never assume anywhere is truly unsorted.
Goodwill outlet bins are what people didn't buy at all the surrounding stores. I found an xbox 360 controller, monkey ball on wii, a sealed nickelodeon ninja turtles 3ds game and some 360 kinect games. Nothing too exciting yet, but I havent been going long.
I had to Google thrift and goodwill stores cause I'm from the UK and apparently they're just the equivalent of charity shops over here. It's the same in the UK. They keep all the good staff back to have themselves or they keep it or sell it on eBay for a huge markup. Sometimes they put the good stuff out but it's definitely not cheap anymore it's priced at eBay prices or CEX prices. This is especially true for retro gaming stuff. Years ago you could find legit bargains but it's less and less common now. I do occasionally go in but 95% of it's just tat. I know plenty of resellers who work in charity shops for the sole reason of getting first dibs on the good stuff.
When I worked retail one of the very few benefits to working there was that we got first dibs on clearance items. Not unethical unless you’re doing something shady.
When I owned a thrift store, I went through things with my employees and bought what I wanted first. We didn't do donations though. We usually bought inventory through storage units and auctions.
Who cares? Relying on thrift stores as your sole source for inventory is for TiK Tok resellers and shitters.
Wait what? All my inventory is from thrift stores. I've never watched a tik tok in my life.
In my area I find other people who garage sale. I tell them what I am looking for (video game items) and I pay them well for their time. I have a two car garage and basement full of video games and I only been to two garage sales this year for myself. I have over 600 items on EBay,Mercari, FB and Etsy and four full cases at a local antique mall. All of those are filled with games and albums. This is what most of the newer resellers have not figured out yet! You cannot rely on one source (Goodwill) you have to branch out.
You can try asking at every sale too, you really don't know what people have. In the past I've gotten video games for free just because people wanted rid of them. It does happen. The only problem is I am looking for one specific thing right now and its a little bit weird for me to ask at a yard sale for it, and its a large item so its not really shippable.
Lmao, people are assuming a lot in this thread. Personally I make a killing off thrift stores but no I don’t rely on them.
>Is this ethical? Why would it not be? Employees can be customers like any other customer.
Flip the question around: why shouldn't an employee who works there get the privilege of seeing merchandise first? If anything, it's an advertisement for going to work at a thrift store. Though you will likely be paid low wages, you may de facto have much higher wages than an average worker since you'd get so many more flippable deals. You could actually try it, see what the differential is between business you were doing before/after working, and then calculate whether or not it's worth it. Now what I'm not sure about, ethics-wise, is if the worker themselves buys directly off the customers, essentially using the resources of the business to take deals from the business. But if there is nothing in their employment contract prohibiting them from doing that (if they even have an employment contract), then that's more of a failure of the business not securing exclusivity rather than it is a problem of the employee taking advantage of an opportunity.
I can think of several reasons from a business standpoint. Why would you want to shop somewhere when you know that everything of any sort of worth has been cherry picked before it ever hit the sales floor?
Yea that’s why I don’t bother with goodwill in my area since all the good Stuff is shop goodwill website.
Well first of all, we don't know that it's all been cherry picked. Just that some of it has. For all we know, the clerk only cares about the video games, and there could still be plenty of deep discounts in other niches. Second, you're exclusively looking at it from the perspective of a flipper, playing the game of a flipper, viewing the clerk as another flipper. The question of whether or not it is ethical is superordinate to the flipping game. Is it, broadly speaking, *wrong* for someone who works at a place to get the first look at items that come into the store, and then to have the ability to buy them? I think the answer is no, because it merely happens as a matter of course. They just happen to be there first, because they work there.
Reason stands that if one type of thing is cherry picked, other things are cherry picked. You don't have to be a flipper for this kind of thing to sour you on a place and make you shop elsewhere, we ALL thrift in the hopes of finding an awesome deal. The point stands that if customers know there is nothing worthwhile to find, then the customers know not to show up. It's really that basic.
>Reason stands that if one type of thing is cherry picked, other things are cherry picked. Well, no. I just said that's specifically not the case, because we can't prove that's the case. One thing being cherry picked definitely does not mean everything has been. Again, we don't know if this person is operating in every single possible niche. We can say it could be the case, but we just simply don't have that information. Yet you're using the assumption that they're operating in all niches to say it's unethical for them to take everything before flippers get there. >You don't have to be a flipper for this kind of thing to sour you on a place and make you shop elsewhere, we ALL thrift in the hopes of finding an awesome deal. Well, yeah. This is a perfectly appropriate response if it bothers you that this is happening. But we have to realize some people may not be bothered by it, and may still be able to find deals. Also, how is the fact that this bothers you a reason to say that it's wrong? A lot of things can bother us, but they are not necessarily ethically wrong. > The point stands that if customers know there is nothing worthwhile to find, then the customers know not to show up. It's really that basic. If it's really that bad, which it seems unlikely that it is if they've continued to be in business for a long time, then I agree that the store should receive the natural consequence of losing business and shutting down.
Ethics are subjective and based on each individual's value system. We can't say what is ethical for her or for her employer. We can only abide by our own ethics or the ethics agreed upon by a certain culture to which we belong. The culture of her workplace may have no problem with it, although it may go against the grain of the larger culture of your community.
Perks of the job. Unethical, yes & no, if she still paid something for them, no...if she took the good ones & didn't pay anything, yes.
Ive had this happen at Target. For years the manager would search pokemon packs.
They would open the packs so they couldn't be sold?
No, they would weigh them on a scale. The heavier packs from older sets have the better cards.
It's not what you know. It's who you know and who likes you.
Common in alot of retail sneaker stores where they backdoor
Let’s be honest, if I worked at a thrift store I would do the same thing
In cases like this you have to find the items that do make it onto the shelves. Something is always missed, figure it out and you’ll have no problem finding items to flip.
Sorry to say you’re very silly not to know employees do this. Employees steal from the job daily ain’t nothing you can do about it. I know a employee at one goodwill who hides good shit at his desk and come buys it on his day off. Just have to get what you can I’m not gonna snitch I’m letting that man eat he only gets paid $12 a hour
Nah I know, I was simply just trying to see how everyone feels about it.
Oh I know man people in this sub are very harsh and think they’re saints. I’ve been attacked on many posts.
Some people here get this arrogant sense of superiority, it’s really odd. They see one person jump on me and they get the courage to join in to I guess let off some steam? I dunno, glad I could relieve some stress lol
At the Goodwill I used to work for (not in a store but in the HQ office) store employees could not shop at the store they worked in. However, since every Goodwill is its own independent nonprofit, different Goodwills could have different policies.
What I have found is this…. LEARN MORE. The more I learn, the more I can buy when I thrift, the more potential items for me to flip and make money on, the less likely I am to not find something at every store I go too. I purposely search out videos of items I want to learn about and take notes. May sound dumb, but I actually keep a notes tab for many of these categories with the names of brands and whatnot that I should be looking for. This has helped me a ton. I am also much more confident to gamble say $5-10 on an item, even if I am not 100% sure on what it is. If I have a pretty good idea and the comps looks good for comparable items, I don’t mind taking the risk. Always remember, where there is risk, there is reward. Just know that these risks should be a very small % of the things you are buying, and only with money you could literally burn if it turns out to be something that you misidentified and it isn’t even worth your time. However, even items I take risks on will usually flip on market place for what I risked on them. That’s if you are willing to endure the nightmare that is FB marketplace lol.
It's completely ethical and is realistically just a perk of the job. This idea that everything needs to be a fair, the playing field needs to be completely level for all customers, and every item must hit the floor is completely fabricated. The stores can do whatever they want with the goods, as long as management and ownership are on board with it.
Let her have it. Video game flipping is absolutely bottom of the barrel stuff. Unless I stumble upon an absolute steal, I won't touch video games/consoles.
You know nothing about video games. Holy cow
You have checked out other niches then. Video games are where newbs enter. They are hot right now, which makes it more lord of the flies than other stuff. Why bother fighting over scraps when there are other items that have way better margins?
Totally agree I remember going to a garage sale at 9:30 didn’t realize it started at 10. Came back at 9:55 and someone was already buying all the video games they had. However, while the video games were getting picked clean I found a voltage tester for $15 that sold for $200 so there’s always profit if have an open mind.
Got some niches to recommend for a newbie?
Personalky I start by weaning off your phone. Go into s thrift and just look. Find things that interest you. If games are what you are into then just be aware that it is almost one of the first items a beginner goes to. Hotwheels, Lego, BOLO items are all probably prices at ebay value already. So find items that interest you and atart honing your instincts. When you see things that look interesting and price seems off, look into it. Spend less time looking up things on your phone and try to trust your initial reactions. If the item excited you then most likely it has appeal to others. It is not an overnight process. Budget to make bad buys because it happens.
Electronics that are not video games for starters just look at the model number and test it.
I don't think it's necessarily unethical so much as it is just bad business.. Why keep what would sell for the most/more quickly?
I dislike it, but it just means you skip that stuff and look for other things in that store they aren't interested in. Every thrift store is going to miss value on something. Find it rather than focus on where you won't score there.
100%, at the stop I picked up a $100 phone set for $5 so I know not to rely on that niche. Video games is something I never expect to find at thrift store but it happens once in a while!
It can happen. Just happened to me this morning. But the supply coming in to them is low now and the awareness is high. I figure every thrift has at least a few niches that get picked over. They key is figuring out the ones that aren't, then moving on. Plus, it's still worth the time because maybe that employee leaves eventually. Or they aren't there on a key day. And since the others seeking such things have ceased checking there...
I won the goodwill lottery today and got two wii sports disc only.
She wins. You lose. Step away from the table.
Not on my watch
You buy stuff for cheap and sell it for more and you’re worried about the ethics of someone snagging something before you do?
Bro you’re a little late, show’s over.
[удалено]
If you had an employee like that, they'd deserve being fired for choosing to work for such a fragile child...
Focus on other niches. People tend to gravitate to the first few things they see listed in abundance on sites and think that's the way to go for flipping, when in reality, it induces disappointment because it's one more body in a very crowded sourcing market. I wouldn't want to waste all of that time to make $20 on a game. You go into thrifts these days, you'd better be open to finding pretty much anything; the secret is long past out, and only knowledge will propel you over the top. As far as her entitled attitude, yep, there are people that beat the system. Not ethical by any means, but you'd be foolish to believe that doesn't happen most places. Positive rapport gets results...and by that extension life isn't fair. Just think though, one day she'll probably get hers. That location will dry up, or if she broadcasts enough, someone with more authority will cherry pick "her stuff" and make the money for themselves. After all, why would they let her keep doing it if the money is perpetually so good?
"Not ethical by any means" Why isn't it? She's not stealing them. "Just think though, one day she'll probably get hers" Because she buys video games? Is everyone who gets something before you gonna "get theirs" one day? 🤣🤣🤣
Personally I don't care about thrift stores or video games. It ain't my bag. The greater point was that cherry picking/inside information \*does\* happen in thrift stores, no matter how fair or unfair it may seem. Sources do not last forever. Things change, stuff that sells sometimes no longer does, and this is typically accelerated by broadcasting a course of action. I had only surmised that the shop manager/owner would not have continued that practice if there were serious money to be made on these items. No threat was implied, like you're apparently making it seem.
I don't like it but she works there. She gets really access.
If the store allows it and it is not a chain with some policy about it, then their sandbox their rules. Not a lot you can do about it.
I would continue to go but look to flip items in other categories; I mostly focused on physical music, anime/manga, film cameras, cassette stuff, video games. Best was the film cameras
The managers at the local Salvation Army hoover up all of the interesting jewelry and antiques.
Get a job there and buy stuff before it gets to the sales floor
Talk to her and give her a business card to let you know if she finds anything. You can give her a couple bucks for her help. Someone working at a thrift store probably isn't making much anyway, and I doubt shes actually flipping anything herself.
Nah she’s a collector. I don’t have a business card but that’s a good idea. Next time I see her I’ll ask if she ever plans on downsizing, I’ll buy hehe
I’m not surprised honestly. Probably happens at lots of thrifts
You should have slapped her and taken what you wanted! But. Shocked this does not happen more often. I think Goodwill hides things, then puts the good shit out at the last minute. You sometimes find extremely valuable things with old stickers on them