Op-shops.

[apmd]

Hi all, from Adelaide, South Australia. We have the usual range of op-shops: Salvos, Goodwill, Red Cross, etc. I do an irregular hunt through some of them, looking for the odd, low cost treasure, usually to no avail. There is very little difference between one shop and another, each containing lots of clothes, books, crockery, glassware, jig-saw puzzles, furniture, etc., etc. On rare occassions, I have found bargains- they do exist, although not often. When donations come in to these shops, they are sorted in the back room, and it is here that the "good stuff" is filtered out- this gear goes into the show cases, with appropriate high prices. I was in an op-shop recently, and watched as the manager compared an item with a similar one in an antique magazine- and priced it accordingly. To me, op-shops are just that- shops for the opportunist, which we all are. All the gear in these shops are donations, and the workers are volunteers.
Antique and second-hand shops, on the other hand, usually pay bottom dollar, and charge top dollar, for their material- that's capitalism. That's OK, but op-shops should be just that- op shops.

Everyman is born a Capilatist- and an opportunist. So I guess I'm an opportunist capitalist- but then, aren't we all.

Cheers.
apmd.

 

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[spartacus53]

Welcome to T-net. You're right about your assessment about your op shops. Hopefully some items will fall through the cracks and you will get them for pennies on the dollar. Keep the faith and happy hunting.

 

[SteveDodds]

Do you have a copyright on the term op-shop?
I think I'm gonna start using it.

 

[apmd]

Hi Steve.
No, there is no copyright on "op-shop" (from opportunity shop). It's a term used over here to describe the shop that certain charities use, (Salvation Army, Goodwill, Red Cross, etc.), to sell donated items to the public. Feel free to use the term. I don't know why they are so called- perhaps the opportunity for the charity to get rid of all the dross they accumulate, or for the opportunity for somebody to grab a bargain- rare, but it as sometimes happens.