The Official Thrift / Discount Store Bragging Thread Part III (Sept 2018-)

[RFHansen]

@Nataku: The fire pit denim story is crazy. And the getback on those Riccis is a baller move. Hat's off to you, sir.

 

[Purplelabel]

So Nat swaps Isaia for Ricci this time.

 

[Woofa]

Okay, just a little rant on something I am starting to see alot more of recently.
Let me preface this by saying I don't doubt some of you may do this and I don't begrudge any of us to make a few bucks.
Dallas is now inundated by the "Book" people as I call them.
You know, the people who have some sort of scanning device on their phones and scan every book, one at a time.
They have gone through every thrift store and now I see them at just about estate sale I go to.
Certainly if you are polite and find some valuable books, buy them. But alot of these guys park themselves in front of a bookshelf and proceed to take off what seems like every other hardcover fiction book from my childhood and pile them up making it difficult to even look yourself.
As someone who collects book for my personal use I now assume pretty much all decent books I want will no longer be available.
And the thing is, I have no reason to think they even know what might be valuable. Also, I don't see much profit to be made on a book which costs five dollars and I don't think is worth much more than maybe seven or eight. I often wonder if there is a big book seller hiring these guys who pay them. Oddly, I rarely see them at the sales where I think the books might actually have some value, art books, older books, etc. It is the hardcover L. E. Modesitt from 20 years ago which I know I can buy off eBay for just a few dollars more but like finding in the wild.
Anyway, apologies to those who make money doing this but I rarely saw it until the last few years and it just annoys me lately.

 

[heathenist]

Okay, just a little rant on something I am starting to see alot more of recently.
Let me preface this by saying I don't doubt some of you may do this and I don't begrudge any of us to make a few bucks.
Dallas is now inundated by the "Book" people as I call them.
You know, the people who have some sort of scanning device on their phones and scan every book, one at a time.
They have gone through every thrift store and now I see them at just about estate sale I go to.
Certainly if you are polite and find some valuable books, buy them. But alot of these guys park themselves in front of a bookshelf and proceed to take off what seems like every other hardcover fiction book from my childhood and pile them up making it difficult to even look yourself.
As someone who collects book for my personal use I now assume pretty much all decent books I want will no longer be available.
And the thing is, I have no reason to think they even know what might be valuable. Also, I don't see much profit to be made on a book which costs five dollars and I don't think is worth much more than maybe seven or eight. I often wonder if there is a big book seller hiring these guys who pay them. Oddly, I rarely see them at the sales where I think the books might actually have some value, art books, older books, etc. It is the hardcover L. E. Modesitt from 20 years ago which I know I can buy off eBay for just a few dollars more but like finding in the wild.
Anyway, apologies to those who make money doing this but I rarely saw it until the last few years and it just annoys me lately.

Blame YouTube and Amazon. The scanners are checking to basically determine the price they will sell for and how fast they will sell (it’s a little more complicated but when you have the scanner it’ll basically flash green or red and they will grab anything that flashes green). I get why people do it, I toyed with it for like a week years ago but it just took the joy out of thrifting. It’s not fun at all the way it is to look for clothes and home goods. And on top of that, it makes everyone in the store hate you.

I still find great books in almost every book section I check out. It helps that I prefer paperbacks and those aren’t worth anything to flippers. I’m actually about to start a book I thrifted last week.

 

[wumpyfish]

Epiphany, I've seen them, thought it was a magnify app for the lost my glasses crowd

 

[Sartoriamo]

Okay, just a little rant on something I am starting to see alot more of recently.
Let me preface this by saying I don't doubt some of you may do this and I don't begrudge any of us to make a few bucks.
Dallas is now inundated by the "Book" people as I call them.
You know, the people who have some sort of scanning device on their phones and scan every book, one at a time.
They have gone through every thrift store and now I see them at just about estate sale I go to.
Certainly if you are polite and find some valuable books, buy them. But alot of these guys park themselves in front of a bookshelf and proceed to take off what seems like every other hardcover fiction book from my childhood and pile them up making it difficult to even look yourself.
As someone who collects book for my personal use I now assume pretty much all decent books I want will no longer be available.
And the thing is, I have no reason to think they even know what might be valuable. Also, I don't see much profit to be made on a book which costs five dollars and I don't think is worth much more than maybe seven or eight. I often wonder if there is a big book seller hiring these guys who pay them. Oddly, I rarely see them at the sales where I think the books might actually have some value, art books, older books, etc. It is the hardcover L. E. Modesitt from 20 years ago which I know I can buy off eBay for just a few dollars more but like finding in the wild.
Anyway, apologies to those who make money doing this but I rarely saw it until the last few years and it just annoys me lately.

Yeah, I've never really related to this approach. They are running on ludicrously skinny margins, so it's all about volume. I understand they make a bean, and the app takes all the guesswork out. And now and again there may be a big score. But unless they're finding a first-edition Audubon, that means they are spending their time posting massive numbers of low-margin listings, which to me is the most turgid, boring part of this whole deal. My preference is the total opposite: fewer listings, higher margins. The fun part is the dopamine rush of of the chase and the high of a stellar kop, and so repetitiveness and boredom are absolute anathema. Heck, I've just spent the past few days putting up around 140 listings of backlog, and I'm about ready to take a long walk off a short pier. 🤯

We all have our own margin guidelines, but with one exception (instaflip) I try my best not to pick up anything on which I will make less than $50 and preferably $100. I think that's pretty much impossible with books, although the pricing guidelines on the apps probably favor quick turns. But I don't like making up for margin with volume. Quite the opposite. That book thing is kinda like playing a slot machine: pulling the handle over and over hoping that at some point there will be a "ching ching". Stultifying.

But I do also recognize that there are people who thrive on simplicity and not risk-taking. They can "work" on autopilot. To each their own, or, as my old car dealer mentor used to say: "there's an a$$ for every seat". And I never look at books anyway, so it keeps those folks away from the higher-margin stuff, lol . . .

 

[tonylamerCJC]

Nataku, great finds. You hunt the way I've always wanted to.

Some non-clothing finds:

Pair of MCM table lamps in a harder-to-find red glaze. And they're big.

Someone had this old farebox that was beat to ****. I painted it and oiled the galvanized steel. I also was able to separate the old fare stickers and paste them back on the thing.

Another 1950s farmhouse sink. Took some elbow grease to strip the paint off it and polish the thing.

A cool MCM pendant light to pair with the lucite swag.

 

[Bon Vivant Life]

Okay, just a little rant on something I am starting to see alot more of recently.
Let me preface this by saying I don't doubt some of you may do this and I don't begrudge any of us to make a few bucks.
Dallas is now inundated by the "Book" people as I call them.
You know, the people who have some sort of scanning device on their phones and scan every book, one at a time.
They have gone through every thrift store and now I see them at just about estate sale I go to.
Certainly if you are polite and find some valuable books, buy them. But alot of these guys park themselves in front of a bookshelf and proceed to take off what seems like every other hardcover fiction book from my childhood and pile them up making it difficult to even look yourself.
As someone who collects book for my personal use I now assume pretty much all decent books I want will no longer be available.
And the thing is, I have no reason to think they even know what might be valuable. Also, I don't see much profit to be made on a book which costs five dollars and I don't think is worth much more than maybe seven or eight. I often wonder if there is a big book seller hiring these guys who pay them. Oddly, I rarely see them at the sales where I think the books might actually have some value, art books, older books, etc. It is the hardcover L. E. Modesitt from 20 years ago which I know I can buy off eBay for just a few dollars more but like finding in the wild.
Anyway, apologies to those who make money doing this but I rarely saw it until the last few years and it just annoys me lately.

At local bins, the book people have taken over as most aggressive. It used to be the shoe people, but the real aggressive ones all got booted permanently. There is a big book dealer who has 4 or 5 people working for him that are the main culprits, they use their carts to prevent anyone else from getting near the bins. Most of the other book people are relatively chill, but they are getting fed up with the "book cartel".

 

[sushijerk]

Okay, just a little rant on something I am starting to see alot more of recently.
Let me preface this by saying I don't doubt some of you may do this and I don't begrudge any of us to make a few bucks.
Dallas is now inundated by the "Book" people as I call them.
You know, the people who have some sort of scanning device on their phones and scan every book, one at a time.
They have gone through every thrift store and now I see them at just about estate sale I go to.
Certainly if you are polite and find some valuable books, buy them. But alot of these guys park themselves in front of a bookshelf and proceed to take off what seems like every other hardcover fiction book from my childhood and pile them up making it difficult to even look yourself.
As someone who collects book for my personal use I now assume pretty much all decent books I want will no longer be available.
And the thing is, I have no reason to think they even know what might be valuable. Also, I don't see much profit to be made on a book which costs five dollars and I don't think is worth much more than maybe seven or eight. I often wonder if there is a big book seller hiring these guys who pay them. Oddly, I rarely see them at the sales where I think the books might actually have some value, art books, older books, etc. It is the hardcover L. E. Modesitt from 20 years ago which I know I can buy off eBay for just a few dollars more but like finding in the wild.
Anyway, apologies to those who make money doing this but I rarely saw it until the last few years and it just annoys me lately.

Don’t worry. Nyc had its phase of these guys before they all figure out that most books have no resell and even if the thrift prices every book below flip value, after fees they are lugging around 40 pounds of crap everyday for like $2 an hour. Even most “collectible” taschen and rizzoli books aren’t worth flipping, and the real high dollar rare stuff is rarely going to have a bar code they can scan.

I feel like most of these dudes last a week or two and when they all realize they’re wasting time the book shelves will be nice for the regulars again.

 

[tonylamerCJC]

But I do also recognize that there are people who thrive on simplicity and not risk-taking. They can "work" on autopilot. To each their own, or, as my old car dealer mentor used to say: "there's an a$$ for every seat". And I never look at books anyway, so it keeps those folks away from the higher-margin stuff, lol . . .

I've watched a lot of YouTube re-selling content lately. I'm interested in how people are experiencing the immiseration caused by decades of bad policy. Two observations:

1) A lot of re-sellers aren't that sophisticated. You and I might be able to learn niches; a lot of these people can't. I'm not sure they're capable of learning much. I've always hated scanning and looking stuff up on your phone. But if you're not capable of knowing what's valuable, I guess you have no choice.

2) People in some parts of the States can live on almost nothing. They're proud of buying a $1 blender at a yard sale and selling it for $25. The average rent in Toronto for a 1-bedroom condo is $2500. The world of selling thrifted books for $15 is completely foreign to me because...well, what the **** does $15 do in Toronto? But in West Virginia you can probably sell those and make a living.

 

[LaundryRoom]

 

[starwarsocean]

Good start to the day

 

[eazye]

Nice! I found a stash of what I thought was costume jewelry in a Patagonia bag I thrifted a few weeks ago. Thought it was all junk till my girl put the ring on. I took a closer look because it felt heavy…

 

[eazye]

On a completely different note, any of you guys know about hardcore records? I found a big stash of minty LP's this morning. I know nothing about the genere except just a couple of names, like Millions Of Dead Cops, Verbal Assult, Youth of Today etc.

 

[double00]

On a completely different note, any of you guys know about hardcore records? I found a big stash of minty LP's this morning. I know nothing about the genere except just a couple of names, like Millions Of Dead Cops, Verbal Assult, Youth of Today etc.

i'm on a hardcore record ! but no , can't help you lol