So after looking online for a new bed, I thought I'd hit salvos! I just needed a frame and seen a pretty good looking timber king size frame! and then came the price tag, $475.
since when have you needed finance to buy a 2nd hand item? I couldn't believe it!
Anyone else experience crazy prices for donated stuff?
Yes Salvos seems to overprice alot of the stuff
There was a thread about this on Whirlpool. Apparently there are 2 kinds of Salvos stores, one which is run as competitive stores and others which are run like thrift shops.
/thread
Go to a poorer suburb and you will get better prices. Same goes for supermarkets
On a side note poorer suburbs have the best Cash Converters :D
I love seeing cash converters stores. Went to one at Gold Coast, expecting quality gear, was worse than the local melb ones.
Double whopper.
When it comes to supermarkets, both the price and quality drops in poorer suburbs.
I've been seeing some great Cash Converter ads on buses recently.
"Who said Cashies wasn't close?!"
An answer to a statement that no-one in the universe had even thought. That said, you can sometimes find good, cheap guitars in suburbs with lots of failed artists and yuppies. Smells like… crushed hopes and dreams.
It's mount druitt how much poorer can you get. Like I told the plumber, he was digging a whole and I asked kindly to dig us out of one. Will never happen.
@m0nkeycheese …you are so wrong ..the Salvo Store in Bundamba in Ipswich is a joke price wise ..but then again so many of the Op shops are now putting prices on items of clothing ..that are just ridiculous
The Op shops seem to have lost the reason they came about ..Op shops were so those who could not afford new clothes for themselves or thier children to be able to get clothing and shoes cheaply…Now Op shops …seem to think they are David Jones or Myer with the pricing they use these days …I did a bit of vollie work at my local Salvos store and believe me the vollies get 1st pick of the best stuff and all they are asked to pay is a gold coin
Personally I think these stores died with ebay. Before that you could find good things, but now anything of any value will be purchased and resold through ebay.
Probably good for the stores though.
or Gumtree
Some shops in wealthier suburbs are cheaper. Take jacks in Claremont. Cheaper than the one in Subiaco.
The staff in the Salvos near me are all older people. I think they remember the prices before China swamped us with cheap goods. I was looking for household stuff for a student house and it was cheaper to go to Ikea and Kmart.
YES! Sometimes it makes me so annoyed that people are unknowingly ripped off at my local op-shop, that I'd want to volunteer there so the damn prices are right!
The store near my place, all the staff look like criminals, I doubt any of the money made makes it to the cash register.
Salvos donate massive amounts of money to charity. They have agreed amounts / targets they must meet. Each store has high budgets to meet.
It is to the discretion of each store manager how they do that. Some put high prices so they have to sell less, and others put low prices to draw people in. Independent thrift shops are great as they have less pressure to meet crazy targets.
I love Salvos and Bunnies as they are generally decent quality. They are clean and easy to look through . The thrift shops, whilst cheaper are often smelly and some items are just gross. :(
Regarding beds…. Do not ever buy second hand sleeping equipment that has upholstery or fabric. There are plenty of things like parasites, body fluids, etc that can remain within a mattress and is impossible to remove short of an acid bath. Buy new, it's worth the peace of mind.
Buying bed frames etc is fine though.
Strand so basically if I decide to holiday any where ..or are rushed to hospital I should demand a new bed ?
My experience is that the pricing at Salvos is ridiculous. I have seen lots of low quality fashion items from places like Kmart priced at above what you'd pay new. Their homewares prices are silly too - I needed some glasses, but picked up matching sets from Woolworths for cheaper than I could get mismatched, used (and not of any collectors value etc) glasses at Salvos.
This has been my experience with all Perth stores, including in the lower socioeconomic areas. The only Salvos which I thought the prices were reasonable at was in Goulburn NSW.
In my experience, Vinnies, Good Sammys and Save the Children are a lot more reasonable.
I often see K-mart brand second-hand clothes (like plain T-shirts)being sold at $5-6 in Salvos.
At least money goes to a good cause.