Inventory Resourcing

[katzrul15]

When you're out widgeting/resourcing/junking (whatever it is you call it)

......And you run across a "deal".  Do you take them "all"?  Or do you leave some for the others huddled around the area whose antennae have gone on full ALERT that there is a lady shoving armloads into her cart?

[louies1948]

do not give those people any space in your head. It is not healthy, instead think about the good deal you made and how happy your customers will be for the good deal you pass on.

[louies1948]

I repect your opinion but I do not agree ....It is a business, it puts food on the table. their is no SHAME for a hard worker.  They did nothing wrong taking them all, it is a business

[chapeau-noir]

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@nuclearomen wrote:

well, there is one exception I have @chapeau-noir - boxes/packaging supplies... "if the price is sweet my pockets are deep" 😆 - seriously, I just bought staples out of packaging tape the other day, not Duck brand I usually use, but Scotch brand, 6 rolls a box for $12 and change...that's cheaper then Amazon for same amount (22.2 yrd per roll.. I usually use Duck 50/60 yrds... but the price was great and no shipping cost), then got coupon from that for $10 off $20 of more...went right back to the isle and grabbed 3x shipping popcorn and used it....didn't buy it out, but I'm fine with deals and coupons if they benefit things I use/need on constant bases. Funny part is I didn't even plan going to staples...my wife had something she needed to get copied and I was in the car so i went in for hell of it. 

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I can get pretty bloody-minded over those, too - mostly because I KNOW they'll be bringing more from the back.  At the Goodwill I chase Z-racks coming out of the back, too.  I can be pretty shameless but I do have my limits.  I mean, I've had people ram me trying to jolt me aside from a shelf with whatever they want on it - it's usually some old dude about my age.  Fortunately, I'm both stronger and heavier than I look and I do push back.  No, you can't shove me aside so you can have ALL the widgets.  It doesn't work that way.  Sometimes it's a real battle in the destination electronics section at this one Goodwill. 

[wastingtime101]

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@katzrul15 wrote:

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If I lived closer to there, I would go apologize in person.  Should I call the manager and apologize to him over the phone? 

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Alright, I have to put on the hat I'd use if my GF was upset so I can answer this question.

If you're really feeling the need to talk with them, then call the store. Apologize and ask them to explain why it was a problem, and ask why the store doesn't set item limits per customer since this is an obvious problem for them.

But first, make sure you're OK with the possibility that the call gets you nowhere with the store and that things could feel worse after pushing the topic. Will knowing you made the attempt outweigh a possible negative outcome? If you can answer, "yes," to that, then do what you need to do.

[a_c_green]

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@nuclearomen wrote:

well, there is one exception I have @chapeau-noir - boxes/packaging supplies... "if the price is sweet my pockets are deep" 😆 - seriously, I just bought staples out of packaging tape the other day, not Duck brand I usually use, but Scotch brand, 6 rolls a box for $12 and change...that's cheaper then Amazon for same amount (22.2 yrd per roll.. I usually use Duck 50/60 yrds... but the price was great and no shipping cost), then got coupon from that for $10 off $20 of more...

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Well, there ya go. They set the price and you met the price. It doesn't matter whether 50 people bought one unit or one person bought 50 units; the outcome for the store is exactly the same, assuming that no purchase limits were in effect. No one has a right to try to apply a guilt trip to a purchase made fair and square.

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@nuclearomen wrote:

went right back to the isle and grabbed 3x shipping popcorn and used it.... 

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Um, okay, that buy-one-get-two-free deal on their popcorn is, in my experience, always in effect, 24/7/365, but I learned a lesson the last time I bought three. I had the first one in use, the second bag on stand-by upstairs, and the third one stashed in the basement for later.

I don't use the stuff anywhere near as fast as you do, so when the time came to retrieve the third bag from the basement, I had a nasty surprise. It turns out that the organically plant-based "popcorn" is delicious to various critters, and the bag had not one but two neat round holes chewed in it, with about two-thirds of the contents gone. (Apparently one hole was the Entrance and the other was the Exit, with a little pile of after-dinner mouse mints next to the checkout.) It looks like the mice had been running a special, three popcorns for the price of one, and sales were going pretty well, except for two mice fighting in the corner because one was trying to buy the whole lot... which I think is where we came in to this...

[yuzuha]

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@katzrul15 wrote:

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I am glad Dottie posted.  While I do not think taking them all was "selfish" (I was just in acquisition mode), I truly did not anticipate the reaction from the cashier.  That part still really bothers me that I upset her, as typically paying for something does not elicit that response.

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As someone who works on registers as part of my job, that cashier was WAY out of line. It is NOT a cashier's place to be critiquing a customer's purchases. Saying "oh, that brand is really great, I hope you like them!" or "we also sell a matching [X] if you would want that too" is one thing. Behaving like that cashier did? She would've been fired on the spot if she worked at my job. That was wildly inappropriate behavior on her end.

[nuclearomen]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@nuclearomen wrote:

well, there is one exception I have @chapeau-noir - boxes/packaging supplies... "if the price is sweet my pockets are deep" 😆 - seriously, I just bought staples out of packaging tape the other day, not Duck brand I usually use, but Scotch brand, 6 rolls a box for $12 and change...that's cheaper then Amazon for same amount (22.2 yrd per roll.. I usually use Duck 50/60 yrds... but the price was great and no shipping cost), then got coupon from that for $10 off $20 of more...went right back to the isle and grabbed 3x shipping popcorn and used it....didn't buy it out, but I'm fine with deals and coupons if they benefit things I use/need on constant bases. Funny part is I didn't even plan going to staples...my wife had something she needed to get copied and I was in the car so i went in for hell of it. 

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I can get pretty bloody-minded over those, too - mostly because I KNOW they'll be bringing more from the back.  At the Goodwill I chase Z-racks coming out of the back, too.  I can be pretty shameless but I do have my limits.  I mean, I've had people ram me trying to jolt me aside from a shelf with whatever they want on it - it's usually some old dude about my age.  Fortunately, I'm both stronger and heavier than I look and I do push back.  No, you can't shove me aside so you can have ALL the widgets.  It doesn't work that way.  Sometimes it's a real battle in the destination electronics section at this one Goodwill. 

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actually not here, I have multiple times gone into staples grabbed last one from shelf and asked for them to get more from the back and they don't have it, idk if that's being in WY or not but back east they always "had more" in the back lol. Usually I don't shop at staples, I order my supplies online in bulk, but every now and then I need something I ran out of and can't wait a week for it to come in mail so i hit there. Good thing is they will match Amazon on anything up to 10% and I have used that various times, I'm not paying staples over inflated prices I just bring it on my amazon app and they say "OK". 

Oddly enough, second time you said "widgets"...and I am curious, is not "widgets" graphics and/or additions for apps? How do you purchase a widget in the store? 

[mr_lincoln]

@katzrul15   If I know something will most likely sell and can get it for a price that allows a profit margin I buy it, period.  Unless of course I don't have enough money to take all available items LOL!.  I've done this on a few occasions with great success. 

[nuclearomen]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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Well, there ya go. They set the price and you met the price. It doesn't matter whether 50 people bought one unit or one person bought 50 units; the outcome for the store is exactly the same, assuming that no purchase limits were in effect. No one has a right to try to apply a guilt trip to a purchase made fair and square.

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In any situation, doesn't matter, if they are selling and you are buying then nothing else matters. Never had anyone anywhere get upset that I was buying x amount of whatever they are selling and if someone, especially a casher gets upset they can go find another job. They are a business, they sell things, money is money, no matter who or how much... ring me up and shut your mouth 🙄😆 

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Um, okay, that buy-one-get-two-free deal on their popcorn is, in my experience, always in effect, 24/7/365, but I learned a lesson the last time I bought three. I had the first one in use, the second bag on stand-by upstairs, and the third one stashed in the basement for later.

I don't use the stuff anywhere near as fast as you do, so when the time came to retrieve the third bag from the basement, I had a nasty surprise. It turns out that the organically plant-based "popcorn" is delicious to various critters, and the bag had not one but two neat round holes chewed in it, with about two-thirds of the contents gone. (Apparently one hole was the Entrance and the other was the Exit, with a little pile of after-dinner mouse mints next to the checkout.) It looks like the mice had been running a special, three popcorns for the price of one, and sales were going pretty well, except for two mice fighting in the corner because one was trying to buy the whole lot... which I think is where we came in to this...

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never had that problem, but, yes, critters love popcorn and boxes. I usually do not purchase popcorn from staples, one reason is it's too f'n much $7.50 for 1 cubic foot of popcorn? lol, can get 4 c.f. for approx $10 and free shipping - it's a fools market staples, and they rip people off all day long and have them leaving with a smile. Not to mention that 1 c.f. last me 3 shipments (4 if I'm stingy with it). Just got cause had the coupon. Really isn't anything there i need other wise.  

[chapeau-noir]

@nuclearomen  Oddly enough, second time you said "widgets"...and I am curious, is not "widgets" graphics and/or additions for apps? How do you purchase a widget in the store? 

A new application for an old term - I've heard it all my life.  Looking it up I see this:  The word was coined by George S. Kaufman in his play Beggar on Horseback (1924).

[nuclearomen]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

@nuclearomen  Oddly enough, second time you said "widgets"...and I am curious, is not "widgets" graphics and/or additions for apps? How do you purchase a widget in the store? 

A new application for an old term - I've heard it all my life.  Looking it up I see this:  The word was coined by George S. Kaufman in his play Beggar on Horseback (1924).

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@chapeau-noir yes, which explains nothing just saying where originated. If google "what is a widget" get: 

widg·et  /ˈwijit/
a small gadget or mechanical device, especially one whose name is unknown or unspecified.
COMPUTING
an application, or a component of an interface, that enables a user to perform a function or access a service.

[chapeau-noir]

@nuclearomen  a small gadget or mechanical device, especially one whose name is unknown or unspecified.

Your question limited 'widget' to something that originated with apps.  I just demonstrated that it's a lot older than that, which is borne out by the definition you cite.

It's an older term for generic gadget/object.

ETA  IT adopted 'widget' (a virtual generic gadget) as it has adopted/co-opted lots of other terms.

[katzrul15]

@

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

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@katzrul15 wrote:

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If I lived closer to there, I would go apologize in person.  Should I call the manager and apologize to him over the phone? 

---

Alright, I have to put on the hat I'd use if my GF was upset so I can answer this question.

If you're really feeling the need to talk with them, then call the store. Apologize and ask them to explain why it was a problem, and ask why the store doesn't set item limits per customer since this is an obvious problem for them.

But first, make sure you're OK with the possibility that the call gets you nowhere with the store and that things could feel worse after pushing the topic. Will knowing you made the attempt outweigh a possible negative outcome? If you can answer, "yes," to that, then do what you need to do.

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@wastingtime101 

I did call there tonight and I spoke with the guy who helped me load my car.  I apologize for upsetting his cashier and he indicated that there was no need to apologize.  He did state that he did talk to her on Thursday about her use of vulgar language, etc.  I guess he wrote her up.

I did express that it was not my intention to create and issue and he was very nice on the phone and commented that people purchase all of something, all the time.  Big cart fulls he said.

I am glad that I called him and I gave him my name and thanked him for his assistance on Thursday with loading my car and he invited me to shop with them any time.  He was the consummate professional on the phone and apologized twice for his cashier.  I wondered after I hung up if he thought I was going to complain past him or was calling to complain - I should have made it clear that I was not interested in doing those things, nor would I.

[rosachs]

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@nuclearomen wrote:

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@a_c_green wrote:

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I don't use the stuff anywhere near as fast as you do, so when the time came to retrieve the third bag from the basement, I had a nasty surprise. It turns out that the organically plant-based "popcorn" is delicious to various critters, and the bag had not one but two neat round holes chewed in it, with about two-thirds of the contents gone. (Apparently one hole was the Entrance and the other was the Exit, with a little pile of after-dinner mouse mints next to the checkout.) It looks like the mice had been running a special, three popcorns for the price of one, and sales were going pretty well, except for two mice fighting in the corner because one was trying to buy the whole lot... which I think is where we came in to this...

never had that problem, but, yes, critters love popcorn and boxes. I usually do not purchase popcorn from staples, one reason is it's too f'n much $7.50 for 1 cubic foot of popcorn? lol, can get 4 c.f. for approx $10 and free shipping - it's a fools market staples, and they rip people off all day long and have them leaving with a smile. Not to mention that 1 c.f. last me 3 shipments (4 if I'm stingy with it). Just got cause had the coupon. Really isn't anything there i need other wise. 

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When I was selling shoes, there was a box supplier I'd visit every couple of months (my SUV was only so big) - bundles of the shipping boxes I used, cases of tape, rolls of bubble wrap, and 25CF bags of packing peanuts for $20.  I'd end up with boxes stashed in the front passenger seat (leaving space to see out the window and the passenger-side mirror), center row seats flattened, third row seats flattened, and stuffed floor to ceiling.

If you packed it right, you could get around 300 boxes and two bags of peanuts into the truck at one time.  I had to plan things right - the supplier gave a better discount for larger orders, but if I bought too much, I'd have no way to get it home!  Once my youngest got his first Ranger, we'd take both trucks and I could get as much as 1000 boxes (about 3mo supply) and three bags of peanuts in a single trip!!  Didn't need it for Christmas... needed it for Spring.  Seems everyone buys new running shoes in the early spring!  🙂

-Bob.

[creativecrisis]

Did you have a right to buy what you bought? Sure. It was for sale, and you paid for it. But I think maybe the missing point is that thrift stores are one of the few places where people like your $8/hour cashier can afford to shop.

When we source at thrifts, we reduce the options for people with limited means who rely on those stores.  I think when shopping for resale, it's a good idea to be mindful of how our purchasing can affect others. Recognize that something we want (so we can make money on it) could be a need for someone else.