Getting home from thrifting and thinking ... "why the bleeeep did I buy that"

[goldrushfinds]

Please make me feel better. Looking over what I bought yesterday (from a full day of thrifting) and wondering what was I thinking when I bought a couple of items. Must be mental fatigue after a long day results in diminished mental capacity (my mental faculties are already diminished on a daily basis, so can't afford any added drop). A shirt with marginal sell through rate and shoes with just too much sole wear. Been calling myself an idiot ever since. 

[sin-n-dex]

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@goldrushfinds wrote:

Please make me feel better. Looking over what I bought yesterday (from a full day of thrifting) and wondering what was I thinking when I bought a couple of items. Must be mental fatigue after a long day results in diminished mental capacity (my mental faculties are already diminished on a daily basis, so can't afford any added drop). A shirt with marginal sell through rate and shoes with just too much sole wear. Been calling myself an idiot ever since. 

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We could start a contest of who made the worst business decisions while sourcing...

I've probably dropped a few thousand dollars on stamp collections that were not good investments (some I figured out really quickly, others took some time when I couldn't sell the stamps from the lot).

And there are some low priced items that I thought were good a few years ago, they didn't sell very well, and my situation changed and they're costing a bit too much to ship... might be lucky to break even.

I've also taken some not so great stuff from the B&M store to try and sell. They passed off a box of stamps from a highly graded collection to me last week. My customers on eBay buy ordinary stuff and will not be into this high graded stuff. I was thinking how much work I'd have to do to make money and refused the whole collection. They took it to a stamp show today to dump on some dealer who has customers that are into stuff like that...

C.

[stainlessenginecovers]

Well; to make you feel better, you can put those shoes on the BBQ; add a little Seasoning, some Worcestershire Sauce and dig in! (treating is like a really bad steak); 

But hey; at least it's a meal.

[goldrushfinds]

Put'em between a bun with some mustard and ketchup, and anyting tastes good. I will save them for guests (yes, I am ever thoughful).

[stainlessenginecovers]

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@goldrushfinds wrote:

Put'em between a bun with some mustard and ketchup, and anyting tastes good. I will save them for guests (yes, I am ever thoughful).

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Good job! you've got the right idea! 

[inhawaii]

I do the same thing.

Some of my finds are a hit and some are a miss.

Good luck!

[slippinjimmy]

Everything I sell is basically What Was I Thinking stuff from 30 - 40 years ago.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

I've been thrifting since before ebay was a gleam in Pierre's eye, heck, since before the Internet was a gleam in Al Gore's eye, for that matter.

And I STILL drag stuff home that discloses flaws upon even a cursory inspection (which I failed to make while out and about), or which proves to be worth far less than either my phone or my supposedly fine tuned internal calibrator claimed....

Do I ask myself how I could be so foolish, with all these years of experience? Do I call myself an idiot because of this? Do I beat myself up over this? 

Well, yes, of course.

So, don't know if it makes you feel any better, but believe me, you are not alone. And all those You Tube gurus? They do the same thing, whether they admit it or not.

I just try to remind myself of the good finds I've made, and I convince myself that, despite everything, I will continue to find good stuff. Because.....to borrow from the X-Files: the stuff is out there. 

[hobby1965]

I occasionally make a purchase and I ask myself why? When this happens I put it in the category of stupid tax.

[goldrushfinds]

You've given me now upon reflection, a glimmer of self respect, and the hope that I shall refrain from the excess consumption of alcohol this evening (not a guarantee).

[wastingtime101]

Some thrifts take returns - can you return the items?

If not, donate them and write off the loss when you file your taxes. A shirt and a pair of shoes is probably a small $ loss.

Everybody makes mistakes; don't let your mistakes define you. Handle the situation then put it behind you.

In case this makes you feel better:

I'm critical of seller photos here on eBay. Bad photos and bad lighting are a pet peeve of mine. I think your photos look good and you have great lighting. Clearly you're doing something right.

[krazzykats]

I buy it and then engage in the challenging task of ignoring its existence....🤣

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Thrifting means buying an item which some one else has estimated a retail cost for which allows for their profit when you buy it.

And it means making decisions on each individual item.

This is not the way that I have ever bought significant amounts of merchandise to resell.

I am more likely to buy an item I will keep in a thrift, than I would an item I would resell.

Some people can make this way of sourcing work for them and meet their needs, but it is hard to believe anyone can avoid some "what was I thinking" purchases when they get home.

If every buying mistake you make is going to make you unhappy, you need to find a different way to source. Either a way which lowers the chance of a mistake or the cost of a mistake.

I know some sellers who have a limited number of thrifts they shop, who have predictable donors and extremely attractive merchandise, and they too have "awh crop" moments.

I am not your competitor and if someone left your inventory on my porch, I would bring it to a thrift, One has to work to hard to sell what you sell. And working that hard to sell those items does not appeal to me. But I have reached a point where few things resembling work appeal to me.

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

@goldrushfinds 

Oh hun, we've all been there in spades. Please just ditch the shoes if they're that bad and make up the money lost on something else.

     A little thrift story for you since I work at one. I have a terrible almost borderline sickness with throwing stuffed animals away that are donated.

    I play with them, put small ones in my apron pocket, wash them, name them....it's 🤪 😜 crazy. You should see my table at work, there is barbie dolls, yellow ducks, unicorn pull toy!

     I know this doesn't have anything to do with you buying poor merch, but remember it's peeps like me behind the scenes that price and put things out...pretty scary huh?

    Have a good weekend!

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@goldrushfinds  "You've given me now upon reflection, a glimmer of self respect, and the hope that I shall refrain from the excess consumption of alcohol this evening (not a guarantee)."

I'll drink to that!