Drifting from Thrifting

It’s been a couple of years now since I quit making the local thrift store rounds on any sort of regular basis. Things got to the point where I was buying junk every week, dragging it home, and piling it on top of the junk I had bought the previous week — and that’s when I could actually find junk. Some of my old haunts were so picked over that I hadn’t found anything good in many of them in years. I still hit them from time to time, especially whenever any of my retrogaming buddies come to town and want to go look for old video games or computer parts, but that’s about the extent of my thrifting these days.

Recently on a day off I found myself sans-kids (Susan took them to the zoo) and decided to make my old thrift run, mostly out of boredom. There’s one route I used to make on a regular basis that hit several stores all in close proximity to one another. There are thrift stores at Reno and MacArthur, 23rd and MacArthur, 23rd and Council, 23rd and Meridian, 16th and Meridian, and 10th and Meridian.

Have you ever noticed that there are some things that simply never sell in thrift stores? Whenever you go thrifting, you can always count on seeing old computer monitors and printers in abundance. I suspect computer monitors actually do sell occasionally. I could see a scenario where I was working on a project and needed an old, cheap monitor. Printers, however … I don’t see how those things ever sell. It’s a given that any printer in a thrift store is going to need new ink cartridges. When you can get a new Lexmark for $29, why would anyone spend $5-$10 on a used printer that, after investing another $30-$50 worth of ink, may or may not even work?

The latest addition to the pile of “things that will never sell” are used cable modems. At every thrift store I visited I saw between 3 and 6 used cable modems, gathering dust on shelves. The logistical problem is, when you get cable modem service, typically you also get a cable modem. You can either rent them or purchase them outright, and some places even give them to you for free when you sign on as a new customer. Most cable providers accept only a few specific cable modem brands and models, so the odds of finding one in a thrift store that’ll work are pretty slim. I don’t know where all these cable modems are coming from — donated by people that once had cable modem service and no longer do for one reason or another, I suppose — but I can’t imagine anyone buying a used one from a thrift store, ever. If you’ve ever bought a used cable modem for anything other than target practice or a paper weight, I’d love to hear about it.

7 thoughts on “Drifting from Thrifting”

  1. I, too, don’t hit the thrifts nearly as much as I used to for assorted reasons. The one odd thing I’ve noticed recently therein is that large televisions are generally more expensive than they used to be. You would think with the shift to digital television this would be the opposite but apparently not. The last time I was at a local thrift I was amused to see a 32″ CRT television on sale for $200. This was especially funny because I had bought this exact model new but on clearance for $150 back in 2005. I guess the thrifts are trying to eke the maximum profit out of people who can’t afford LCD or plasma yet, but can maybe afford more than they had.

  2. While not a cable modem, I have picked up a spare power adapter for a 2wire dsl modem/router from a local thrift store after having to purchase one of off eBay when my dad’s went out.

  3. What Ive always found funny about haunting thrift shops is how odd they price things, and generally in my favour :) becuase they just dont know the value. Some of my best retro purchases have been by complete accident and for next to nothing. Once such find was when I snagged a copy of the PC game “The Neverhood” about a year ago in a thriftshop. I actually bought and owned this game back in the 90’s and LOVED it but lost it in one of my many moves. In any event, this was the game in excellent condition in the jewel case in the ORIGINAL box with the manual for 3.99 … I also picked up the PC game, “Heart of Darkness” for 2.99 one time…I do love thrifting and when times like the above happen it makes the hours of driving from storeto store all that much more worth while :)

  4. Probably the excess cable modems come from people who switch between cable and DSL in order to get the best rates, since new subscribers always get better rates than loyal customers. But have I ever heard of anyone buying a secondhand one? No.

    I’ve bought secondhand DSL modems, since I have DSL, but finding a used one that worked more reliably than what I already had proved difficult. I finally just broke down and bought a new D-Link combo DSL modem/router/switch unit.

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