- This topic has 10 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 4 months ago by
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Would I like to score a ton of high end games? Yes.
Do I want to deal with people like that? No!!!!
I’m quite happy showing up at 10am or later and see what people missed.
Oh and BTW, if I started to pull a tub of items out and clearly ask the owner if I can buy the whole tub and some grubby handed dude with a gopro mounted to his chest rabidly starts grabbing items out of said bin in my hands we will be having serious words!
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I also hate scavenging when it’s total chaos. Thus is why I hate the Goodwill bins where people fight over the bins….and I like auctions where everyone has a chance to be the highest bidder for the whole table. Its also why I like scavenging at the places everyone else overlooks.
Give me the long tail with a promise any day.
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Saw a particular unsavory Amazon seller earlier today at one of my favorite library sales, the kind where they are very clear NO SCANNERS allowed on Saturdays. This is a large and well-run sale, and I love it a little more after today because they kicked the guy out after giving him a few warnings. They even brought a uniformed cop in (granting the police station is right next door) to make sure his departure went smoothly!
There are a few instances where it can really pay to show up early, but only if there’s some organization to things. Like a number or ticket system. But mostly I think that what we see as chaos comes from desperation. Scavenging is not a good occupation if you’re desperate for things to sell right now. That’s just not how it works. Not like that’s ever stopped anyone from reselling because the barrier to entry is so low, and I can include myself in that. I remember so clearly the anxiety over waiting for items to sell and why aren’t they selling!!because I needed that extra money to pay bills. But maybe that’s my fault for not fighting it out at the savage yard sales to get the “best” items.
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I watched a couple of youngish guys slowly work their way through a thrift store’s books a couple of days back, mobile phones in hand. The emphasis on slow. Same with that Amazon scanner I suspect; attempting to replace a knowledge of books with an ISBN lookup when competing with other buyers.
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Wow, that is nuts. I used to resell video games that I bought at yard sales almost exclusively and never ever ever saw anything like that. I feel sorry for that poor lady having to deal with those idiots. There is a good reason I gave up that category, once I couldn’t walk up to a sale like a normal person and casually buy a box of games for $20-$40 any more I knew I had to branch out.
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I went to a yard sale one time where the guy advertised and had pictures of tons of vintage video games, most of it quite rare/valuable (like a boxed JVC X’Eye, if you are familiar). He said people were basically camped out at his house starting at around 5 am. I went at 9 am. I wasn’t going to fight that kind of crowd. And all that stuff was obviously already gone.
But I actually struck up a conversation with the guy and turns out he owned some really cool stuff he hadn’t put out yet. He had a Turbografx and CD add-on, as well as a bunch of Turbografx games (most still had the boxes), which he sold me for super cheap, even though he knew they were fairly valuable. I left him my number and later came back and bought a couple of pretty rare 1980s computers from him also. I made upwards of $1.5k on that deal (some still is for sale, though), while I only spent maybe $250.
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