Marketing the Eggstractor

One of the things that shopping at thrift stores teach you is what has been successfully marketed and what doesn't work as a product.  Case in point is the Eggstractor.  You see it in at least every other thrift store you come across.  Why?  A great concept.  It easily separates the shell from the egg easily and neatly.  My wife says it doesn't work.  I don't know if that is true.

However, there had to be a lot of them that were sold to be able to find that many in thrift stores.  But if a product has long term value, you don't find it as much in a thrift store.

Another product of this type is the thigh master.  As I've traveled a lot I've actually used it till I joined a nationwide gym chain.  It does work as it will provide resistance on an exercise that works your thighs.  But they had to sell a ton of them because you see a lot of them.

Thank you Thighmaster, can I have another? (obscure Animal House reference)

Stay on the watch for lenses

I'm not much of a camera person but you'll often find lenses on analog cameras.  You may prefer digital now (though analog will never go completely away) but they still use lenses.  You can find Minolta, Nikon and Canon brands in many stores.

TSA and Luggage

One of the things that people often purchase for new college graduates.  Thrift shops often have a great deal of used luggage for sale.  Not a great gift but great for lots of travel.

When you think of what actually happens to your luggage when traveling it really doesn't make sense to make a large purchase.  It gets stolen, it goes on unpadded conveyer belts, it is handled by people more interested in volume of luggage handled than its care.  It is zipped, unzipped by TSA agents, it is thrown on piles, it gets pulled through all kinds of weather, it is placed in planes with all kinds of other stinky, smelly luggage.

Need I go on?  I used to travel a great deal, started off with expensive luggage and ended up (before discovering thrift stores) going to Target and purchasing cheap nylon bags.  The inexpensive nylon bags are also far easier to prod into overhead compartments if you so desire.

Kewpee

I visited the Kewpee in Lima, Ohio this week.  Wendy's was based on this chain.  It has three locations in Lima.  Its burgers are definitely better than Wendy's.  They really pay attention to the quality of the meat and the freshness of the bun.

The rest of the menu isn't special except you can get relatively fresh pie (not made on the premises).  If I remember from previous visits you can get rhubarb pie there as well.

I've eaten in a lot of burger joints including Flip burger in Atlanta.  It is a different experience at Flip, for example.  The burgers were fantastic there but it has a different vibe, playing to a hip crowd (not me).  The Kewpee is a Lima icon and what they do, they do well.  I'd like to think how much they'd explode if they catered to a different audience, added newer music and updated some of the decor.

I can almost understand why because there is a certain ambience maintained by keeping 50's era (or earlier) fixtures and tables.  You could keep that feel though and still make it a little bit better.  But then, I've never owned a burger joint so what do I know?  The other two locations look to be of 70s era but they do not have the feel of this joint.

Here's pics and one of an old red schoolhouse in the middle of nowhere, NW Ohio.  No big deal, you just don't see them very much anymore.

A Throwaway Society

As parents of children ourselves, we understand the desire to purchase the newest and greatest goods for newborns.  Resist the urge!  You can find strollers by manufacturers such as Graco, clothes by Carter at practically every thrift store in every city you visit.  Worried about germs?  Its called Lysol folks!

If you saved $500 by shopping at thrift stores and invested it for the kid you'd have...well, a lot more money.  Save $500 a year over the 18 years and I'm guessing you'd pay for college.  Or pay for a big chunk of it.

We are a throwaway society.  And that may be important if you are Mr or Ms. Green but leaving the environment completely out of it, you are throwing money away when you automatically throw it away.

Trip to Chicago

Is inflation here?  Not exactly, but I did notice an uptick in prices since my last trip to Chicago and Milwaukee.  They've started to up the prices of some high ticket items like Coach purses.  My wife likes them but frankly, I don't look good sporting a Coach purse.  I stopped that a couple of years ago.

Chicago looks like a war zone, however.  We pour millions/billions into these cities with little effect.  One of the things that caught my eye was a couple of urban renewal sites where you have nice row houses with one of them sticking out like a sore thumb because the house and lawn have not been cared for properly.  It is usually boarded up with a 6x6 foot lawn overgrown with weeds waist high.

I could use a hand powered grass clipper and mow the lawn in 15 minutes.  Apparently the recipients of such housing fail to understand that one run down house out of 10 can make the whole row look like sh*t and if these properties are privately owned it reduces the value of their property.

Frankly, it doesn't matter who the mayor, president, senator or congressperson is; throwing dollars at a problem doesn't fix every problem.

Barbie Dolls

Kids love them and you can pick them up cheap.  Usually nekkid, but cheap.  When you can pick them up for a dollar a piece it makes sense to have some around for your kids.

Videos geared toward kids are everywhere as well.  They can usually be found for around 3-5 dollars.

Found at a Salvation Army in Waukegan, IL

Bobby Hull autograph and ticket stubs and cards.

I'm not sure why people give this stuff away.  I didn't get it, I don't collect that stuff.  Found in Waukegan Illinois

Indianapolis and Chicago Trip

The first picture is a personalized Barry Sanders autograph I found for $50 in Indianapolis at a Village Discount Outlet.  The second is a $15 Burberry purse at a Unique Thrift.  I'm not sure if the Burberry is real, in fact I have no clue.

It is amazing how many fakes of a lot of things exist out there.  I found a Ben Roethlisberger official jersey and found out later it is a fake.  No problem, however, because it didn't cost me the real price!  And I'm not offended when someone points out it is a fake.

Speaking of jerseys, I also found what I think is a Milwaukee Brewers game used uniform top!  Set me back a full $5.

Chicago Bound

Headed to Chicago next week for the great thrift shops there.  I was wondering if anyone has a review of the Brown Elephant,  I think it is called.

Tommy Hilfiger, FUBU

Two of the brands you can't swing a stick around in a thrift store without hitting is Tommy Hilfiger and FUBU.  I'm not a big Hilfiger fan and FUBU may be for us, by us but I ain't us.

What does their omnipresence mean?  That they sold a lot of stuff?  That their brands don't have long term value?  That people get tired of them?

I think FUBU in particular is a style brand.  Urban tastes seem to change very often and their stuff may be getting dated.

I just posted about Ed Hardy jeans.  They may be in the same category some day.  Burberry sales may wane from time to time but the truth is they never completely go out of style.  People will be wearing Burberry clothing ten years from now.

I'm not knocking the other brands but you can learn a lot about quality, staying power and marketing by watching what does, and does not end up in thrift stores.

Ed Hardy and Seven for Mankind

Found Seven for Mankind jeans 20 again at a Goodwill in Atlanta.  They had Ed Hardy jeans for 40.  A good day because I found The Clash Compilation CD for 2.50