Rude employees ~I buy too much!

OldSowBreath

Sr. Member
Mar 18, 2009
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" I know you think its funny I buy all this jewelry... but the supermodels need stuff for photo shoots".

Fixed.
 

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Beachkid23

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Oct 26, 2013
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I walked in today and they said no jewelry sorry! I said that's ok, i just came here to say HI!

He laughed and said hello! And we had a normal conversation. It was strange but nice.
 

ARC

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Aug 19, 2014
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I walked in today and they said no jewelry sorry! I said that's ok, i just came here to say HI!

He laughed and said hello! And we had a normal conversation. It was strange but nice.

Awww... a love story in the making. :P

J/k ... glad to hear.
 

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ARC

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Well the good side is...
Get to know them well... perhaps they will share "insights"..."deals"... or suspect good bags etc.

But for pete sakes... DO NOT ever tell anyone there what you have been finding.
Nothing will seal your fate / finds faster.

Bragging to them to get acceptance will only set you up for the fall of scores.
They will tell their friends... others whatever.
And those good deals will be gone.
 

ARC

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I saw a guy once at a thrift store...
He had a loop and a magnet...
Like showing off he was checking everything with the magnet real blatant like.

Several others asked him... "whats the magnet for" ?

In full glorified stage presence he would explain so all around were looking at him listening etc. to "show off" like big shot smart guy.

I gave him a glare like... you idiot.
 

ARC

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Aug 19, 2014
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When someone asks me what I am looking for...
I say name brand jewelry...
Which...
Is true... ALSO. heh

And my magnet is on the DL...
No one sees me use one.

Trade secret as far as I am concerned.

Been doing long before anyone besides pawn shops and jewelers really.
 

kcm

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The answer is quite simple. Next time they harass you about buying all the jewelry or coming in so often, just mention the fact that you are one of that store's best and most reliable customers. Then mention how it would be such a shame if the store lost such a customer because he didn't feel welcomed there. Depending on their reaction, you could go on to say how you wonder how the manager (call him by first name!) will react when he finds out I'm taking my business (and money!) elsewhere.
 

kali_is_my_copilot

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Feb 10, 2014
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Lol AARC are you in TX by any chance? At one of my regular thrift stores there's a guy just like that who shops there. In fact every time I've gone there for about a month (except this last time) he was already there when I walked in. He will take almost all of any junk bags they have and then stand there looking them over with a magnet and a loupe, one day he did that for 30-45 minutes and was also putting bags back, taking them back out of the basket they were in, and sighing loudly (these are $2 to $5 MAX each). The whole time he's standing at the counter he's talking loudly to whoever is helping him about what he's looking at, what he's looking for *on* it and what that means, etc. Also an employee told me the other day that once he looked at a ton of stuff but only ended up having her hold a few things that he wanted to buy, one of which she really liked and had commented on. That ended up being the only thing he purchased that day and what she described made it sound like he did that just to be a jerk. I had managed to snag a small 18k watch out from under him but it has been slow for me there recently with him beating me to everything. The last time I went in he was nowhere to be seen and they had just put out a ton of jewelry, I made out like a bandit.
 

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ARC

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Thrift stores here are crazy...
at a few of the better ones there will be a line outside MOST days with 50+ people waiting for it to open.
That beings said... they are usually there for whatever sale is going on.

The GW's and SA's are primarily hawked hardcore.
At several they have early morning auctions as well... where they sell by the pound....
And by 6 foot tall container...
These tend to bring all of the dealers out of the woodwork and stores are constantly picked clean...

Like vultures here.

Groups of people stand at the back room doors waiting for the "new carts" to be pushed out...
as soon as the double doors make that sound its like a dinner bell for the vultures...
They attack the new cart full and tear it apart within seconds it is cleared of anything remotely of value.

bags of jewelry show up in a box to the front counter.
Which last up there in less time.
And sell for way more than 5 bucks...
Like 2 SMALL bags for 30 etc...
And they usually are sold to the first person who touches them.
 

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Beachkid23

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We have one thrift store the people wait in line for. I normally do really well at this but there's two people that are so rude when I see them standing in line I don't even bother going because I don't have a chance and it sets my blood pressure through the roof so I just don't go when I see them. That being said I went there yesterday and this lady normally buys the jewelry bags but I guess she struck out lately because I bought one yesterday and the day before and she was in the store. Not much in them except for a smart watch that was worth $90 and 14 k jade earrings. I'm happy with that, I guess she's looking for bigger stuff though if she's leaving them now.

Our salvation army knows what they're doing, but they will price silver and gold and put it in the case. Which is what I like however it's hot I prices but I was looking for names anyway sign stuff. And friday its half off. Goodwill it's not even worth going to. A waste of breath just walking in the door. Everything goes to their auction and it's not good.

The mom-and-pop stores are where it's at however season starts this weekend for the next six months and there will be get gated community sales everywhere. Some weekends or 12 or 15 of them. So thrift store prices for me are done time to pay yard sale prices for gold. I won't go to the store now for probably more than once a week. Jewelry half off day on Friday morn then likely.

Thank you for all the posts though, it really helps with what I'm looking at and trying not to get myself upset off of their reaction. Just give me another way of looking at stuff I guess. Thank you! [emoji106]🏾
 

trdhrdr007

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Nov 1, 2009
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If it makes you feel any better compared to my neck of the woods you live in thrifting paradise. Garage sale season here runs from April through September with anywhere between 5-20 sales a weekend. Most of those are the usual baby clothes & junk. We have a Goodwill, a Salvation Army & 2 thrift stores. Any of the obviously good stuff ends up overpriced. We have 4 estate sale companies in the area and between them we average 1-2 sales a month. On top of all that there are a LOT of retired university employees that have good pensions that are "in business" that think they are doing well if they make enough profit to pay for booth rent at the local antique mall.....which drives up prices.
 

WhiteTornado

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Well the good side is...
Get to know them well... perhaps they will share "insights"..."deals"... or suspect good bags etc.

But for pete sakes... DO NOT ever tell anyone there what you have been finding.
Nothing will seal your fate / finds faster.

Bragging to them to get acceptance will only set you up for the fall of scores.
They will tell their friends... others whatever.
And those good deals will be gone.

That's true for any treasure hunting, whether it be thrift stores, metal detecting, or even parking lot finds :tongue3:
 

Beans

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I saw a guy once at a thrift store...
He had a loop and a magnet...
Like showing off he was checking everything with the magnet real blatant like.

Several others asked him... "whats the magnet for" ?

In full glorified stage presence he would explain so all around were looking at him listening etc. to "show off" like big shot smart guy.

I gave him a glare like... you idiot.

I know that guy. Must be one in every GW. Hey everybody look at what I know.
 

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Beachkid23

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Oct 26, 2013
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If it makes you feel any better compared to my neck of the woods you live in thrifting paradise. Garage sale season here runs from April through September with anywhere between 5-20 sales a weekend. Most of those are the usual baby clothes & junk. We have a Goodwill, a Salvation Army & 2 thrift stores. Any of the obviously good stuff ends up overpriced. We have 4 estate sale companies in the area and between them we average 1-2 sales a month. On top of all that there are a LOT of retired university employees that have good pensions that are "in business" that think they are doing well if they make enough profit to pay for booth rent at the local antique mall.....which drives up prices.


I know, this area is really nuts as far as sales and thrift store goes. It's about to get crazier. I do wish you good luck on finding stuff though. I hope you find some good stuff to keep your self going back for more.

My parents want me to move up where my sister lives outside of Greenville South Carolina. But I don't think I can bring myself to do it. It is a very nice area however where she lives is probably way worse than what you have. At least from the times I've been up there visiting. So I'll just stay put here for a while
 

DFW_THer

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I saw a guy once at a thrift store...
He had a loop and a magnet...
Like showing off he was checking everything with the magnet real blatant like.

Several others asked him... "whats the magnet for" ?

Generally speaking, I agree with you. I will say that there is one thrift store i frequent where they know that I buy gold and silver, and the lady is always very helpful and happy to show me the new stuff, or what she thinks is gold or what I might like. Magnet test, the whole nine yards, right in front of her. There are a couple customers that have even brought in an acid kit before--now that is just wrong! But the point I'm trying to make is, depends on the thrift shop. If it's really low key, and you have a great relationship with the jewelry clerks, go for it. If it's a big goodwill, high employee turnover, or the jars are really hot, never EVER talk about gold or silver. I simply say I'm addicted to jewelry or that I'm a part time treasure hunter, full time hoarder. That's it.
 

kcm

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Yes, the acid test is going just a wwweeeee bit overboard! However, it would depend on their prices as to whether I would bring in a loupe. Also, in my younger years, I never needed a loupe. Things have changed now. I almost need a loupe just to pre-sort my coins! Keep trying to find an affordable form of magnification that can take pics, that also has good depth of view.

To give you an idea of my eyes now, I can no longer shoot a bolt action rifle with scope. Why? Because after every shot, by the time I load another round and look through the scope again, my vision has changed enough to where I need to re-focus the scope! AAARRRGGGGGG!!!!!!!
 

trdhrdr007

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Nov 1, 2009
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I know, this area is really nuts as far as sales and thrift store goes. It's about to get crazier. I do wish you good luck on finding stuff though. I hope you find some good stuff to keep your self going back for more.

My parents want me to move up where my sister lives outside of Greenville South Carolina. But I don't think I can bring myself to do it. It is a very nice area however where she lives is probably way worse than what you have. At least from the times I've been up there visiting. So I'll just stay put here for a while

I've been mostly retired since I hit 40. Have been doing the thrift/garage/estate thing part time ever since. I do fairly well but only because I source 50-70% of my inventory through local contacts I've built up over the years.
 

b3y0nd3r

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"He thinks it's ridiculous that I buy everything that's good and save nothing for anybody else."

I agree. The whole purpose of the store is to provide things cheaply to people that don't have much.
 

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