Kuron's Christmas Bargain - BlitzCoder.net

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Socoder -> Off Topic -> Kuron's Christmas Bargain
Tue, 14 Nov 2023, 19:13
Kuron	Ole' Kuron stopped by the Salvation Army to see if they had any Christmas stuff out yet. Literally only two items in the store. I saw this and bought it for $9.00 Perfect shape, looks like it has never been used and lights up and is beautiful. Still being sold and sells for $130 Linkage. (Jay added : Amazon Link )
Tue, 14 Nov 2023, 19:13
Kuron	Just looked at the receipt. With my senior discount and my military discount, I ended up getting it for $7.00
Tue, 14 Nov 2023, 23:37
Jayenkai	Maybe it's just me, but I'd feel really bad about taking what could conceivably be over a hundred dollarpounds from charity, like that. If nothing else, I'd've handed them a twenty quid note, and told them to keep the change. -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''
Wed, 15 Nov 2023, 05:33
Kuron	I will be happy to give you their address if you would like to make a contribution. I happily support my local Salvation Army. It is the best run one I have ever encountered and my stepson happily goes to their church. Very good friends with the employees and the Major at this store. Good folks that do a lot of good. Every year, I (like the rest of my family) drop money into the bucket at Christmas time because of how much The Salvation Army helped my family in the past, when nobody else would. When my great-grandfather had a heart attack and could not work, my great-grandmother had to stay home and take care of him, Local churches would NOT help, local family were way too poor to help. The ONLY people that would help them was an out of town church and The Salvation Army. I am the third-generation from that time and because of what they did for my family I happily support them (and am happy to share my testimony with them as to why I support them) and what is wonderful with the Salvation Army is any money given stays locally in the community to help the people who need it. This year, and last year, instead of cash (which I am short of), I have given them 1oz silver bars which are worth quite a bit more than the normal donation right now. I have also volunteered at The Salvation Army starting back when I lived in Florida. Wifey and I both were going to volunteer at ours here, until wifey's health went bad and she can't really walk anymore and my health has gone south. Thrift stores are places where people always find bargains, but Ole' Kuron finds one and suddenly he is evil and taking something from charity, WTF? I bought a couch from The Salvation Army right after getting here and it was 25 cents. Dang good shape and it had been there for months before I moved here and continually marked down. I paid what they were asking for it. They were happy to see it go. Places like this price things based on what it will sell for and they price it to move. This, like all overpriced supposed "collectibles" churned out by The Bradford Exchange (Franklin Mint, etc.) and the limited 120 crafting days, which was released in 2017 and had literally ZERO demand and they are still selling via the official site over six years later, because it is simply NOT worth what they are charging and hardly anybody bought it. The ONLY people who generally buy this stuff at the price they charge are elderly who are easily taken advantage of and think this crud is actually worth something and get hooked by the marketing gimmicks (usually stuffed in catalogs or magazines (in some cases TV ads)) and the 3 or 4 (sometimes more) equal monthly payments. As somebody who worked closely with my buddy Jeff who was a buyer/seller, McDonald's toys were usually more collectible and valuable than supposed collectibles like this. That said, I had no idea of the price when I bought it and did not look at the label which was hidden inside the pouch that holds the battery pack. Given that the thrift store got it for FREE, they made nothing but pure profit! Also zero idea if it even worked when I bought it, nor did they. Before moving here, damn near everything I owned or Carolyn owned that I could take to the local thrift store in TN was taken there. When her Dad died in Mississippi, everything the man owned we took to the local thrift stores. Never ask for tax receipts, just donate to donate. Heck, her Dad's mobility scooters (he had two and new spare batteries for both) were worth $9,000 each. I think they priced them at $80. Since moving here, I have taken a LOT of my belongings to the Salvation Army. Heck, one day I took 8 guitar cases that were almost new. We have a couple of music stores here where I could have sold the cases. I generally do NOT sell things I do not want. I donate it to the Salvation Army. Once my truck gets out of the shop, I have a new bed frame to take to them and a few other things. Since moving here, I have also bought an expensive sewing table for wifey, dresser for the stepson, recliner and a few other pieces of furniture and some tools from The Salvation Army. Again none of this good enough for Jay. Much easier for him to look down his nose at Ole' Kuron. I am on an extremely fixed income and suffered a loss of over $350,000 when Carolyn died and lost damn near everything I owned and everything Carolyn and I had worked for all of our lives to be set for our retirement. I am doing the best I can. Sorry it is not good enough for you, Jay.
Wed, 15 Nov 2023, 05:51
Jayenkai	I just find it really frustrating when people big up how awesome their "awesome deal" from a charity shop is. It really gets my goat. Especially when I (frequently) hear tales such as "they mischarged me! I got a bargain!" ... nnnnnghh... RAWR!!!! As for Salvation Army, they took about 3 van-loads from our old house, and one of the guys is actually from the SA depot near where we moved to. Presumably, once everything's unpacked and we realise we've still too much, we'll be seeing him again. -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''
Wed, 15 Nov 2023, 17:31
Kuron	If they price things too high, it will not sell. They get everything for free, so it is all profit and goes to help folks! Salvation Army is a legit charity, unlike Goodwill which is for-profit and goes to pay paychecks! They really research things before they price them and look for what things actually sell for (and are not simply listed for) on the auction sites. This is the higher end of pricing for seasonal decorations at a thrift store. One of the highest priced seasonal items I have seen at a thrift store. If they priced it any higher, it would likely still be there. I wouldn't have paid it, as it simply isn't worth it. Quality wise, this is stuff you get at Walmart for under $20, used to get at Five Below for $5 and Pre-Trump could get at the Dollar Tree for $1.