Bad Deals (And One Good One)

Today let's talk about thrifted auctions that can be bad deals, like this Gütermann thread lot. I'm always on the lookout for Gütermann thread, as it's strong, never frays, and I think it's the best you can buy. I did bid on this used lot, which started out at $9.99, but quickly surged out of control as other bidders swarmed it. I dropped out at my maximum, which was $15.00. The lot ended up selling for $128.23 plus shipping, which was a bad deal.

Why? These are about a hundred spools, so it looks good, only they're used, so you don't really know how much thread you're getting. You can buy brand-new Gütermann thread in bulk pretty cheaply if you catch it on sale; right now JoAnn is selling 26 spool collections for $19.99, and a 42 spool basic colors notebook collection for $49.99.

Then there is condition, and how it is described in the auction listing. For this crocheted blanket the condition was said to be "used but good with spots." A close up picture showed one small dark spot that looked like soiling or rust transfer.

Here's the problem: see those big circular patches of pink in the center white panel? My eye tells me those are not photo shadows. They look to me like bloodstains someone tried to wash out and failed to remove, which if I'm right is probably why the blanket was donated. If you see large discolorations on an item and they're not mentioned in the listing, that's a red flag (no pun intended) and a bad deal no matter what you pay for it.

Here's a good deal: a lot of new and like-new themed journals, which run anywhere from $9.99 to 14.99 each. I bid $9.99 for the entire lot, which is about .99 each, and I'll probably win it* because there are very few bidders for journals.

*Nope, actually someone outbid me at the last second. :)

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