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While it is a disputed claim, the Chinese word for “crisis” is frequently presented as being composed of two Chinese characters signifying “danger” and “opportunity” respectively.
So too this crisis. I spoke in a previous post of scoring a treasure trove of resellables at an Amazon pallet sale. I’ve brought in thousands and haven’t listed half of the stuff. What Amazon won’t let me sell, I’m listing on ebay. Among the items I bagged were a 10-pack of 3M N95 masks, Medical mouth (like drs wear in operating room) masks with filter inserts, supplements including antioxidants, colloidal silver, 3 ear and forehead (no touch) thermometers. If only they knew.
Most I’m keeping. But I listed one of the thermometers and it was sold in about 5 minutes. Also picked up a 1000 pack of hypoallergenic disposable gloves that disappeared. Could have gotten a to more but listed them before the “crisis” was declared.
With the present situation, people don’t want a bunch of strangers showing up at their front yard, petting their dog, coughing on their kids, handling their stuff. So it’s a yard sale drought, that’s for sure.
So what will people do with their unwanted items. Everyone’s in a giving mood, so they’ll end up at thrift stores. Maybe some of those store will be so swamped with donations that they won’t be able to process it all and skim off the cream for online sales. That would mean more resellables on the floor – maybe. As a bonus,there will probably be fewer buyers in the thrift stores because everyone’s fearful (not without some reason) that everything is suspect of Covid infection. So put on your mask and gloves and start patrolling thrift stores. Hit the sower when you get home and keep your finds in a sealed garbage bag in your garage until you can spread them out in the sunshine some warm day which will go a long way to partially eliminate any microbial threats. The hype is mostly overblown. But the disease is real so follow doctor’s advice.
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I agree with the basic sentiment, a situation like this presents opportunities as well as risks. Here in central PA I can’t do my regular sourcing because all the thrift stores and antique malls are closed down (some of the malls are trying to sell stuff online with local pick up, but I haven’t seen anything at bargain prices so far). I might try buying on ebay, etsy etc, but I’m really under no pressure to do so. We have plenty of inventory here to list and with the 50,000 free listings through March and another 50,000 in April, listing is basically free (except for the store subscription, which is offset by shipping supplies and the reduced FVFS and postage savings).
One thing I’m hoping to do, beyond listing and reorganizing my shipping and photo areas, is to spend some time thinking out of the box as to what else I can do to increase sales during this time.
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I sell on ebay and Amazon. Ebay sales have remained pretty static. But I’m getting a healthy uptick in Amazon sales. Of course right now Amazon is not accepting FBA incoming shipments and concentrating on materials to aid the crisis. But last I heard, they will begin accepting FBA in about a week. Of course the situation is fluid so who knows.
Anything you have that would help protect medical professionals is a guaranteed sale withing an hour of listing if the price is anywhere near reasonable.
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Yeah, I would probably not risk getting sick at the moment. I think the next 4 weeks will really show how wide spread this virus is. It’s much bigger than the official numbers. Most stores around us are in lockdown even if you wanted to go shopping.
There will be lots of opportunities in the coming weeks.
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Yes. I bought them before the “crisis” broke on the news. I knew they were worth more than the buck I paid for them and thought I might have a use in some crisis or future crisis (yes I guess I am a little bit of a prepper). When I heard they were in short supply I decided to hang on to them until I hear of a specific pressing need and then personally hand them over to someone I know needs them for the good of all – especially professionals. I didn’t want to just drop them off at the first medical facility I drive by that might be one of the few that are already overstocked. I have resisted listing them as they’d likely be snapped up by some super-prepper who will add them to their already unrealistically overstocked stockpile of apocalypse preps.
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The opinions on the macro-prognosis are all over the place. I found the youtube link Jay and Ryanne spoke of (Dr. Campbell coronavirus update) very informative. Fills in lots of the voids in most sources that just say stay home and always be washing your hands. It could be over a year. In that time, some may need to bring in resellables. If precautions are taken, it’s not much more dangerous than giving a carload of elementary kids a ride to school. Follow guidelines. If not wearing gloves (and even if you are), don’t touch anything you don’t have to. Open doors with your sleeved elbow or carry a paper towel to grasp a doorknob. If you can’t buy a mask, wrap a bandanna around your mouth and nose. You could turn this into a fashion statement. Bag used items into a new trash bag before loading them into your trunk or vehicle. Keep them there at least a week as experts say the amount of virus decreases (half life) over time. Dr. Campbell covers this in meticulous detail. After venturing into questionable territory, strip off all clothing and seal into a trash bag (not laundry hamper) until you have time to do a load. Shower off thoroughly. Antibacterial soap is said to offer no advantage over non antibacterial – because COVID is caused by a virus unaffected by antibacterials. I use Kirk’s Unscented castile soap. Pretty much available only online. Also a good shampoo. And of course, practice social distancing. If someone looks like they’re about to sneeze or are coughing, get out of the room if you can. Cover your mouth with whatever’s available (sleeve, collar – whatever). Don’t worry about offending anybody. If they aren’t aware of the danger they might pose, maybe your reaction will awaken them to it. Sometimes “political correctness” is incorrect.
Oh, and don’t forget to decontaminate your shoes – especially the soles. Medical personnel serving at the ebola outbreak in Africa a few years back had a shallow pan of bleach they would have everyone step in before entering or leaving the medical treatment facilities.
Walk that line along with others and I think you’ll be OK.
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I love thrifting as much as everyone else here, but thrift stores in general need to remain closed for as long as possible during this time. My local thrifts have been shut for a few weeks. How long will they remain closed? Hopefully for at least 2 months. Even opening up again in May would be extremely optimistic. Encouraging a steady stream of thrifters and bargain shoppers to touch and re-touch questionable used goods in an enclosed space during this time is not the way to go. Thrifts, auctions, estate sales, any place involving crowding and used items needs to stay shut for as long as possible.
I don’t understand how the hype is overblown? They’re setting up a temporary morgue outside of a hospital in Manhattan:
Makeshift morgue for coronavirus victims set up outside NYC hospital
The media hasn’t taken this seriously enough until it went downhill over the past few weeks. During the first few months of the crisis, they were downplaying what was happening in China.
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