Yesterday I had minor surgery. All went well. It was just a bump on my forehead that has been there for many years. On my way home I stopped at a consignment store just to get my mind off of my worries. The doctor said it wasn't cancerous but he was sending it to the lab to be sure. So, of course, I was worrying.
As I was wandering in the store I overheard a woman who had brought in something to resell. The woman who worked there asked what she wanted for it. She told her a price and said, "That is what I paid for it. That is what it is worth."
Obviously, it was a well worn object. So the saleswoman asked, "How long ago did you buy it?"
The woman said, "Two years ago."
No matter what the saleswoman said, she could not convince this woman that her object wasn't worth exactly what she paid for it two years ago.
Anyone who has been to the second hand stores, consignment stores and yard sales here would have to laugh at this brief bit of conversation because that is the prevailing attitude here of the sellers.
I went to a yard sale last weekend and it was the same thing. Objects were priced far above what they would have cost new in the stores. For people like me who love to shop this way, it is a big disappointment. I don't have many disappointments here but this is a biggie for me. I have to wait until I go back to the States in the summer to do all my shopping. But at least this conversation put a smile on my face and made me forget about the dreaded CANCER word.
I think some people here do not see their things in their true light. duh! I have noticed that in the houses we rent. Furnishings should be recovered or replaced - but the owner does not see it. Pat Y
ReplyDeleteHi Pat, I have experienced that too. It is very hard to be objective about our own things. p
DeleteMe too! I bought a Croft & Barrow (Kohl's) tank top at Mia's and probably paid more for it used than if I had purchased it on sale at Kohl's. But I needed another top, so what choice did I have??
DeleteHi Donna, That is the problem. We don't have many choices so it is a seller's market. p
DeleteI would probably do what my daughter did and rent a property unfurnished, then furnish it myself over time.
ReplyDeleteGood idea. Unfurnished places are less expensive but furnishing one is very expensive. p
DeleteOh my. What is there to even say to that? The poor lady who works at the store. I bet she deals with this often. Do let us know the results of the test.
ReplyDeleteMelinda
Hi Melinda, Good to hear from you again. I bet that woman has to deal with problems like that all the time. And for sure I will tell you the results of the test. Thanks for writing. p
DeleteMy daughter decorated modestly with furniture and bought things mostly used a little at a time and ended up selling or giving her large furnishings away for the most part only keeping special antique pieces and art from various trips throughout the time she traveled all over Central America, Mexico, and the Carribean which she had shipped back to the States once she landed a new life here. Really her largest purchases were a mattress and box springs, and a couch the rest she bought used or new on the cheap end.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting. Sounds like she must have had some very interesting things in her collection. p
DeleteOh yes, Love this about Mexico. You get to see old worn out stuff priced as high or sometimes even higher than if it was brand new!
ReplyDeleteI recently had a woman tell me about a dog sweater she had gotten for her dog. She decided that she didn't like it but seeing my little dog she thought it would fit him perfectly and offered to sell it to me. I asked her how much she wanted for it and she told me she had paid 100 pesos for it last year. So again, I asked her "how much do you want for it?" she told me she just wanted what she had paid, 100 pesos! I guess she thought she was being nice since she was not trying to make money off selling a USED dog sweater??
Tammy
Thanks Tammy. Just another example of what it is like in this area. p
DeleteI wonder if people are thinking that since the item might not be easily available in a local store in little Ajijic, it's worth a premium because it's there? Or maybe they think every foreigner has lots of money so they won't care?
DeleteJimS.
Seattle
Hi JimS. Good to hear from you again. I believe both those things are true and also a big part of it is that people overvalue things that belong to them.... p
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