Couldn't haggle at thrift store!

cnlmoore

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I found a vintage 1984 Zenith chroma color at a local thrift store, marked $20 which seems really steep for such an old TV, don't you think? So I had $11 in my pocket and that's what I offered. NOPE, sorry! Really? The thing has been sitting there since November...and there are at least a dozen nicer (and cheaper) TV's on the shelves. What gives? I've donated so many things, it irks me a bit. I know that's not the spirit of giving and all, but sheesh.

Chris
 
Most of the time, thrift store clerks have very little respect when it comes to customer service. I am sure I wouldnt be very happy working somewhere like that either. Although sometimes youll find a decent employee. I bargained my Space Duel purchase down from $300 to $190 which is still high for a thrift store, but a great price for a working vector.

However, the local Goodwill constantly has sticks shoved up their cornholes. There is no rhyme or reason to their pricing. I once found a working, boxed, and complete Nintendo NES ROB bundle for 14.99, but on the same shelf, they had a discolored and dirty Super Nintendo by itself with a $19.99 "AS IS" sticker on it. Sometimes the price police needs to make arrests every now and then!
 
I remember watching a businessman from overseas attempting to purchase a PDA at Best Buy once. The exchange went something like this:

Customer: "Is this really the best you can do on the price?"
Clerk: "Sorry, sir. The price on the ticket is the price we sell for. We don't negotiate down. Store policy."
Customer: "Really?"
Clerk: "Yes."
Customer: "Really?"
Clerk: "Yes."

Customer: "Really?"
Clerk: "Yes!"

Customer: "REALLY?"
Clerk: "YES!"

Customer: "REALLY?"
Clerk: "......lemme talk to my boss and see what I can do."

Dude got it for about $100 less...
 
Most of the time, thrift store clerks have very little respect when it comes to customer service. I am sure I wouldnt be very happy working somewhere like that either. Although sometimes youll find a decent employee. I bargained my Space Duel purchase down from $300 to $190 which is still high for a thrift store, but a great price for a working vector.

However, the local Goodwill constantly has sticks shoved up their cornholes. There is no rhyme or reason to their pricing. I once found a working, boxed, and complete Nintendo NES ROB bundle for 14.99, but on the same shelf, they had a discolored and dirty Super Nintendo by itself with a $19.99 "AS IS" sticker on it. Sometimes the price police needs to make arrests every now and then!

That is messed up, but a complete ROB for 15 bucks?! aweseome
 
That is messed up, but a complete ROB for 15 bucks?! aweseome

Oh yes. ROB, Console, games, all of ROB's toys and gyros, the only thing missing was the RF adapter, which I had many of. Its one of my pride and joys.
 
Dude got it for about $100 less...

I read a story in Readers Digest a few years back about getting bargains on items, and it recommended haggling on items as a way to get a discount. It said "hey, what do you have to lose...". I've never tried it myself, but I'm sure it could work.
 
I dunno. The way I look at it is that thrift stores are there in order to help those who need it by selling used items at a discounted price. They also generate funds to help those same people. Trying to haggle down a $20 TV to $11, being unsuccessful, and then upset by it? Seems weird to me.
 
Best Buy is a great place for haggling! I got my big screen TV for $800 cheaper. Sales guy took $200 off, but I wanted a better deal. Good for me the main manager was in and came. After debating numbers he got on a terminal and then told me he can take $800 off as his best deal. Needless to say I took it! My goal was $500 off.

I negotiated on Bunn Coffee pot where it was $129, I got it for $80. Last few years I just been paying sticker than negotiate. Wife wants a NEW LCD bigscreen HDTV... I think I'll have to negotiate on that.


Kevin



I remember watching a businessman from overseas attempting to purchase a PDA at Best Buy once. The exchange went something like this:

Customer: "Is this really the best you can do on the price?"
Clerk: "Sorry, sir. The price on the ticket is the price we sell for. We don't negotiate down. Store policy."
Customer: "Really?"
Clerk: "Yes."
Customer: "Really?"
Clerk: "Yes."

Customer: "Really?"
Clerk: "Yes!"

Customer: "REALLY?"
Clerk: "YES!"

Customer: "REALLY?"
Clerk: "......lemme talk to my boss and see what I can do."

Dude got it for about $100 less...
 
That bugs me too - many thrift stores seem to have no real system to their pricing. One Goodwill near me consistently prices TV's WAYYY too high - like $79 for a 25" set, no A/V inputs and missing the remote. You can buy a new one for about that.

But, that said, $20 for a ChromaColor is a good deal - I'd go back and get it. The Zenith ChromaColor is quite possibly one the best TV's ever made. That, and the three-tube Zenith hybrids that preceded them. Fantastic picture and wonderful build quality. Definitely better than the later System3 stuff. I'd go back with more money and just buy it - you'll be happy with it.

What frustrates me the most isn't usually the prices, it's simply the LACK of stuff at many thrifts theses days. I hardly ever find TV's that aren't the boring black blob stuff of recent years. I guess all the good sets have finally dried up.

-Ian
 
A lot of times I think the workers won't haggle because they'd rather not sell it and then have to go into the back room and find something to replace it.

You can find some awesome deals. Although i think they all smell like urine and vitamins. Yuck!
 
Hell, the Goodwills around here don't even price their more desirable pieces anymore. Everything is done as an "auction" where you can place a written bid for something (that everyone can see and try to outbid), then once a week they have the auction in the store and if anyone there outbids your bid, they get it, so you'd have to be there to bid on it.

Some dumbass posted on CL last year about a free working pinball he was dropping off at Goodwill. The Goodwill guy said he got over 100 calls in the next hour, and told them they could all come by and bid on it....
 
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