This discussion started in r/PS4Deals, where someone suggested that the folks in r/Frugal might be interested as well. I didn't even know a frugal subreddit existed! Obviously, I've never posted here before, but since I've been a lifelong practitioner of "The Game of Frugality", I thought I'd share.
[I did a quick search of recent topics and found nothing similar, but if this subject has already been thoroughly covered, just let me know and I'll remove this post.]
This is how the discussion started:
The libraries where I live all have an in-house bookstore that sell donated items - CD's, DVD's, but mostly books - and at ridiculously low prices. A notable rack at one of these libraries has paperback novels priced at 2 for $0.25 - that's right, just 12.5 cents per book! The "bundles" are particularly jaw-dropping. Multiple titles by a bestselling author (read: "overstock") tied together with a string and sold for $1 or $2, often in beautiful, used-maybe-once hardcover.
And then there are the periodic "bag sales", where you purchase a bag (which can be reused for future sales) for like $5 or $7 and then can fill it to the brim with whatever the bookstore has in stock. Again, just pennies per item.
My biggest "score"? I once bought the first 5/6 seasons of "Lost" on DVD, seemingly unused and complete, for $1 per box set (a total of $5). I even asked at the front desk if they meant perhaps $1 per disc? Nope, $1 per set.
My point is, OminousG has a point. I wonder if people who donate items to the libraries here realize how little these items are sold for? That said, I still donate myself - including donating back the books I've bought from the bookstore and finished reading. It's a GREAT deal for consumers, and especially people who want to try a book or author that they otherwise would never sample at full price...
...and at least it brings some money into the library.
Win-(sorta)Win?
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The response from OminousG (who has worked in a library for 18 years) surprised me, especially when he stated:
Yep, the deals are insane, and most of the volunteers don't understand what they are putting out for sale. They don't check for worth, if its a DVD, CD, video game, they guess and they throw a price on it.
Why?
Because we get SO MUCH. If they spent the time to really see what stuff was worth, they would never be able to do it all. My library does a quarterly book sale and even with stuff marked between a quarter to dollar they still top a thousand dollars a day.
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I went on to note that because of thrift shops, garage sales, but particularly library bookstores, I have never felt the need to "upgrade" to an eBook reader - not because of the one-time expense of the eReader itself (the redesigned 2019 Kindle was just released today, at a cost of $90) but because I can actually buy physical books cheaper than eBooks, often for pennies on the dollar. True, many eBooks are "free" (though few from established professional writers) and by buying used, you don't get to read the current bestsellers... but ALL titles eventually trickle down to a used reseller platform.
It's counter-intuitive...
...and remarkably frugal!
April 10, 2019 at 07:03PM
