My earlier post today brings me to two things I’ve been noticing lately.  Thrift stores really aren’t thrifty anymore. Depending on what you buy there, they may be dangerous as well.

They appear to be setting their prices based on the asking prices on e-bay.

As for e-bay pricing lately…. don’t get me started.  Look at this sanity challenged individual’s offering:

SINGER 99 SEWING MACHINE BENTWOOD CASE KEY TABLE ATTACHMENTS KNEE BAR 1924

In case the buy it now is over, here’s the punchline – $719.99. On “Sale” from $899.

Some people seem to think that e-bay and sewing machines are their retirement plan.  (For even more entertainment, check out this seller’s other items.  Regular (non-centennial) model 15s for $300.  A 222 for $1700.)

I think a kidney may be a better bet.

The ad is riddled with untruths, poor spelling and grammar, and simply wrong information.  I would caution anyone against buying a machine serviced by someone who spells timing with 2 “m”s as well.

A 99 is not rare, though the older ones are definitely harder to find, and knee-bar ones harder still.  Singer cannot give you a date a machine was “born”, only the date a series of serial numbers was issued.  Case in point, the machine I bought this weekend has a serial number that was allocated in 1948, but has a centennial badge on it.  Singer’s Centennial is 1951.  How is that possible?  It took them that long to make and ready for sale that many machines.  Centennial badges were only put on machines as they went out the door. It could have been on a machine that was allocated in 1948, like the model I have here, or it could have been on a model with a serial number allocated in 1951.

The only thing missing in his ad is the word “industrial strength”, but he’s got that in the ads for the 15s and 201s.  I assure you, the machines he’s selling are not industrial machines.  Using one for industrial strength work will destroy the machine, and generally make you pretty grumpy.

Anyway, more on centennial machines in another post.

I digress.

Asking prices are not indicative of the value of an item.   You can list something for whatever you want.  If no one buys it, you can’t say that the item is worth that.  A realtor turned sales coach once told me “there’s only one reason that something doesn’t sell.  The price is wrong for what it is.”

If you’re going to use a source like e-bay to determine a price, you have to base the price on what the e-bay one actually sells for. That’s right, it means doing a little more work than a simple search on e-bay.  You need to watch the auctions and see what people are willing to pay.  In some cases too, those prices will be a little high, because of the auction fever.

The second problem I’ve been finding – fire and shock hazards.  A person needs to very carefully examine any machine they intend to purchase from there, and not just because they’re final sale items.  These stores seem to be under the impression they can sell anything to people and not be held responsible if it’s unsafe.

This is actually untrue.  As a business especially, you can’t limit your liability, especially when it comes to negligence.  Selling something that is unsafe, especially if you’ve been informed of the fact can leave you open to a lot of legal problems.

Say for instance that I buy a machine.  I don’t look at the wiring, because I don’t know that I should.  After all, I’m buying from a store, right?  I bring it home, plug it in and use it.  It starts a fire because the wiring is degraded and faulty.   Or worse yet, I go to sleep with it plugged in  (Which is contrary to the owner’s manual for most sewing machines, by the way.  You did read that in your manual, right?  Oh, you didn’t get one with your thrift store machine?  hmm….) and it burns my house down.  Hopefully I get out in time.

I’ve read on websites where people state that a machine with cracked or bare wires can ground against the metal body of a machine and shock the operator too.  I’m not sure how big this risk is to an average healthy human, but consider someone with a heart or other health issue, or with a pacemaker operating that machine.  This isn’t something to play games with.

Believe it or not, I have recourse against the store.  Or, I guess pessimistically, if the worst happened, my estate would have recourse.

This is why a car dealership can’t sell a vehicle that has known safety issues – legally.

I had a talk with an arrogant … uhm…. manager at one of the well known thrift store chains in Edmonton about a month ago.  I  mentioned that a machine that I had seen sitting there was actually dangerous.  It was a Necchi Nova, circa 1950s or 1960s, if memory serves.  The wiring insulation was cracked and missing.  It was actually bare wire in several places.  The cord had been professionally repaired (note: heavy sarcasm) with masking tape, and the end of the plug had been replaced with one of the screw on ones you see at the hardware store.   The wiring problems went all the way up into the motor.  The motor would need to be rebuilt inside and out.  This machine had quite obviously had a pretty hard life. It was in a retro type cabinet, looked 1960s-ish.   The punchline on the machine? $200.

Someone might actually pay $200 to burn their house down, or literally get the shock of their life!.

I had begun the conversation with him, initially hoping to get the price reduced to something reasonable, but also to let him know that there was a lot of personal and property risk with that machine.  I was prepared to take the work on, because I knew how to, but Joe average novice seamstress/seamster shouldn’t be doing it, or operating the machine without the motor being rebuilt and the wiring changed.  At the very least, there should be a warning that the machine needed some professional help.

I mentioned that the price of rewiring a motor ran in the $100 to $150 range.  This was based on what I’ve seen on various sites.  His comment was that he’d rebuild it himself then.  Oh yeah, this was going to be a good conversation.  I could already tell.

The manager told me that they would inform anyone who bought the machine that it needed to be rewired, and at the price it was at, that no one other than a collector would buy it.

K,.. how had I gotten a machine out of that same store probably a month before that without anyone telling me to inspect the wiring?  In fact, the girl I talked to that day said she hadn’t even realised there was a sewing machine in that cabinet.  So much for the warning.

Also, If an item doesn’t sell at a thrift store after a certain amount of time, the price is reduced.  So while no one would likely buy the machine for the $200 they were asking (remember above?  The only reason something doesn’t sell is….?),  what happens when someone sees that machine reduced to $100?  or less?  What if they don’t know to look at the wiring? Seems like a hell of a deal until your house is on fire, or you get the shock of a lifetime.

For the record, the machine is still there, a month later, at the same price.  I’d say it’s due to be reduced anytime.  I sure hope that the right person gets the machine and rewires it.  I’ve done my due diligence.

He also mentioned that it was the customer’s responsibility to check the machine out, and that they weren’t responsible if the machine was a fire hazard.   He went out of his way to mention that they were no different than a car dealer, that used cars were buyer beware.

While this is true (the buyer beware part), as I mentioned above, car dealers can’t sell something that’s unsafe.  Neither can a thrift store.  Think about baby car seats, cribs, and things like that.  They can’t sell them if they’re recalled, and just say buyer beware.

The risk of burning down a house, or hurting someone is part of why you really don’t see a lot of “repair” shops actually repair things anymore.  They replace parts.  Can a sewing machine pedal be repaired instead of replaced?  If it’s a bake-lite button foot, it can.  Some of the other ones as well I’m sure.  Will a shop do it?  Nope.  They’ll sell you a new pedal for $40 (cdn) or so.   Can a motor be rebuilt?  Absolutely.  Will a shop do it?  Nope.

They’d like to sell you a new machine.  True.  In theory, there’s enough markup in selling a new machine to make this worthwhile.  I’ve heard repair shops say this isn’t the truth.  Maybe when you add in all of the accessories for the new machine, it becomes worth it.

Most people won’t pay the hourly rate to have their pedals repaired.  True.   Assume about 1 hour to tear down and rebuild a bake-lite pedal.  (I’m talking the complete visit and clean each carbon disc, and reassemble)  That $40 replacement looks more attractive now doesn’t it.

If a repair person rebuilds your motor and it burns your house down, they are liable.  Why would a thrift store who knowingly sold something that was a fire hazard not be? Why would a trained repair person not take the risk of rebuilding a motor, and yet a thrift shop can get away with selling you a machine with bare wires to the motor?  Someone has been mis-informed.

I’d say this particular thrift store has grown too big for its britches. I, for one, will not be darkening their door from here on out, and all of my donations will be going to a non-profit instead of this one which is truly for profit only.

It is a shame though, because I’m still looking for 7 of the Singer Sewing Reference Library books, and they had been a really great source up to this point.