Local GW Going Downhill Fast

[huntsman53]

That is why I don’t even bother going anymore.

Same here! The local and somewhat local G.W. stores never seem to have anything worth buying to make a profit or otherwise. Besides, they have regulars that are there when they open in the morning, who hang out for hours or come back when they know new items are going to be put out. I don't have that kind of time to put into hanging out at G.W.'s, so I think I will start going to any weekday Garage/Yard Sales and if I score some decent items, then I will try selling at the Flea Markets on the weekends. I have a friend that does it and he usually makes out fairly well.

 

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[Rodbuster209]

Here in my area the local GW would occasionally put out a jewelry jar, I bought a few with no luck, but recently went by there and they took all the jewelry area out and said it is all being sold online. Oh well. Good luck!

 

[Beans]

Mine has hit bottom and has been there for quite awhile. I still go because now it is a me vs GW. See if I can find what they miss on pricing. Does not happen much because the person who does the toy prices is also a semi collector. They are not suppose to hold out but of course they do, we all know that or at least suspect it.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

The thrift stores in my area are checking the silver and gold jewelry more closely. Not promising for future visits!

 

[trdking]

I have not been into a GW for years Same old smelly find nothing experience until 2 weeks ago when I was in Phoenix Stopped by 2 and must admit I did find 14 Crystal stemware for a dollar each. everything else and second store was a bust. All in all not worth the time. And BTW GWs are for profit, they do not support anything that I know of. I stay away Yard sales are my thing.

 

[boogeyman]

My local GW was used barcoded stickers for years. They also jacked up the prices years ago. It is funny to go in there and see DVDs that you know came from the local Dollar Tree sitting there with a $3.50 price tag on them. The same with books that are obvious leftovers from a yard sale with a $1.67 price on the back and a yard sale 25 cent sticker on the front. A while back they raised the book prices even more. It used to be $1.67 for paper back and $2 something for hard back. Now they seem to price them by what the book is, with some being in the $5 and up range.They also have a policy stating that they will not sell you any item that does not have a barcode sticker on it. If you see something that you want that doesn't have a sticker, they state that they will not price it for you at that time. Basically that it has to come off the floor to be priced and then will be returned to the floor later. They did, however, violate that rule and price a book for me while I was there.

Knowing they pull that, I found a book I really wanted with no tag. Threw it in a cart & proceeded to load the cart up full. Second item was the book. "You can't get the manager to put a tag on it?" "No?, Have a good day. Out the door I went, leaving the cart there. They never pulled that again since. As long as I don't get the new girl. And yes I got the book the next day with a discount! Didn't know at the time they have a day when ole farts & vets get a discount. Sometimes a little social engineering goes a long way.

 

[scott9050]

I had a really good day yesterday with just a few items. I was not finding much when I carefully searched the dinnerware section. I saw these plates and bowls that were black with grey glazing on the inside. I thought to myself "Made in China Walmart special" but since I was not finding anything else, I turned one over. On the bottom it said 'Jars' and then 'Made in France". Hmmm, not Chinese. I did a quick search on the internet and found these exact dishes for sale:

https://www.amara.com/us/ranges/tourron-grey-tableware

Final count: 6 Tourron Dinner Plates - Gray
6 Tourron Dessert Plates - Gray
5 Tourron Salad Bowls - Gray
1 Tourron Serving Bowls - Gray

I paid .99 for each plate and bowl and $6 for the serving bowl for a total of $23. Retail on these is $834 and all look new with no chips or cracks. Realistically I should be able to get somewhere from $200-$250 for the lot.

I also managed to find 6 red Fiestaware saucers with teacups, but it paled in comparison to these.

 

[GibH]

All I can say is good luck with their auctions too. I've won 2 auctions. The first I paid priority shipping on, they waited a week to ship it.

The second was a fairly valuable signed/numbered print. Shipping was $21.00 and the handling fee was $13.84. The box arrived, and I could hear broken glass. I wrote them about it 5 days ago, never heard anything back. I opened it today to see how bad the damage was. The only packing material used was a few lengths of packing paper. I'm pretty pissed.

 

[Paleo_joe]

A buddy of mine also got hosed on GW auctions

 

[Beans]

Wow, GW charges a handling fee on their auctions! Greedy organization arn't they?

 

[BC1969]

How? What do you buy and resell jewelry, etc...

I hang out by a certain pawn shop and tell people I'll pay double what they offer..
Yeah, yeah.. Sue me lol

 

[GibH]

I hang out by a certain pawn shop and tell people I'll pay double what they offer..
Yeah, yeah.. Sue me lol

 

[Johnnybravo300]

Alot of what gw is about is virtue signaling. They tell you you're shopping experience will be better if they hire employees that cant tie their own shoes and they squish around in crap filled diapers while you shop? New marketing technique?
Somehow full grown adults begging for soda pop change is supposed to make me feel good about myself? So irritating, I usually just wait in the car while my wife goes in.
It's probably easy to skim money off paychecks of people they hire and no one knows the better!

 

[Johnnybravo300]

Best time to go is definitely after diaper changing time. The air can get pretty thick right before that time comes!

 

[Beans]

There are two gw where I live. The employees do not seem to be disabled in any way. Maybe at first that is the way it was, and gw still rides on that train? One store even has a security guard that follows people around. Ok, lock the doors we are missing a broken plastic spoon, nobody gets out till it is found. The markings say $9.99 on it, check you pockets make you did not accidentally put it in your pockets.

 

[Beans]

I hang out by a certain pawn shop and tell people I'll pay double what they offer..
Yeah, yeah.. Sue me lol

Is it illegal to do that? I often thought about standing by the ts donation door and say, "I will give you a couple of bucks for what you got".

 

[Johnnybravo300]

Yeah ours hires challenged people and some are almost fully there, some arent so much and are almost helpless to do anything but sit. Almost seems like they are being exploited "for the cause".
It's probably about getting them out in the world and having experiences and all that but almost seems like a day care at times. They will park the most extreme cases around the store in wheel chairs and put name tags on them like they are working. I always say "Oh, they have the displays out!" and my wife gets mad at me.
They have the whole operation down really well for maximum profit and no sterling EVER gets through.

 

[BC1969]

Is it illegal to do that? I often thought about standing by the ts donation door and say, "I will give you a couple of bucks for what you got".

If it is, I'm not aware of it.
I told them to put up no loitering signs.
They did.
Too bad I was on the public sidewalk.
You can't trespass someone from public.
They really hate me now.

 

[scott9050]

Yeah ours hires challenged people and some are almost fully there, some arent so much and are almost helpless to do anything but sit. Almost seems like they are being exploited "for the cause".
It's probably about getting them out in the world and having experiences and all that but almost seems like a day care at times. They will park the most extreme cases around the store in wheel chairs and put name tags on them like they are working. I always say "Oh, they have the displays out!" and my wife gets mad at me.
.

That can work out for you though. The Pyrex bowl sets I found last week had the price on the bottom bowl which I and the cashier assumed was the price for the set. It was not until last night when I unpacked them that I realized each bowl had a price on the bottom. My $10 set was really $30 and my $6 set was $16.

 

[GibH]

All I can say is good luck with their auctions too. I've won 2 auctions. The first I paid priority shipping on, they waited a week to ship it.

The second was a fairly valuable signed/numbered print. Shipping was $21.00 and the handling fee was $13.84. The box arrived, and I could hear broken glass. I wrote them about it 5 days ago, never heard anything back. I opened it today to see how bad the damage was. The only packing material used was a few lengths of packing paper. I'm pretty pissed.

To be fair, GW of Minnesota shipped promptly and refunded the money for the art.

It was GW of South Texas that takes a week to ship, or 5 business days as they put it.