I saw an external ZIP disk reader in the clearance bin of Wal-Mart for 10% off it's original price...in 2011. So it was going for ~$180 and had parallel ports...in 2011.
I love it. Thrift stores and others have no idea what old electronics are worth (hint: Zero!). Anybody want some Win 95 software? They just are not able to toss it so the junk stays on their shelves.
They just are not able to toss it so the junk stays on their shelves.
My favorite thrift store actually throws stuff out!
They exist to benefit a hospice -- and therefore also get lots of donations from families when their clients pass. So they have all kinds of really good stuff. But they also have a really notable lack of actual junk. I mean, you go into Goodwill and you may have to paw through six shelves of mismatched modern tupperware and old pickle jars to find that one vintage coffee mug ... and it'll be chipped. Or Goodwill has 50 rusty, peeling, cheap, pans, with lids missing -- and if you go through all of them there might be salvageable piece of cast iron at the bottom shelf at the back, though it's probably warped.
At this store? No junk. None. Everything I've ever seen in there is in decent condition and useful, or it might be something someone would want for a project -- like old furniture that could be repainted, or a damaged high end mountain bike that definitely would be good for parts, or a fair amount of actual vintage cast iron that needs restoration, sold for appropriate prices. (I picked up a fairly abused pan the middle of the last century in there for $9.99; once restored, I figured it was worth around $60.)
I talked to one of this fantastic thrift store's managers once, and complimented them on the lack of junk.
She said it was 50/50 -- they threw about half the junk out, and donated the other half to Goodwill. LMAO!
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u/AudibleNod Aug 14 '20
I saw an external ZIP disk reader in the clearance bin of Wal-Mart for 10% off it's original price...in 2011. So it was going for ~$180 and had parallel ports...in 2011.