A minor kvetch

[bbphonoguy]

Just want to air a gripe. A local antique mall had a VVXI for sale at $600.00. It was in such horrible shape that one would truly have to think about it even if it were found along the curb; no finish, no doors, no decal, and it's a late model. I used to joke that the store ought to pay someone for the favor of taking it away. Now that same mall is having a 75% off sale, and the price on the Victrola is $1200.00!!

[Jerry B.]

I guess they won't be in business very long.

[gramophoneshane]

They didn't have any genuine reproduction HMV signs for $1800 by any chance

I hope you questioned them about the price tag doubling for this so called sale, just to let them know the world isn't full of stupid people.
I think most antique malls/shops survive on the tourist trade, &/or regular customers, and any business that pulls stuff like this wont have regular customers for long. I doubt there's any better way to prove you're a dishonest business owner.
Instead of doubling the price tags & having a 75% off sale, why not leave the tags as is & have a half price sale? They still arrive at the same sale price, and keep things above board & honest.
These are the same clowns who you'll hear complain about how tough it is to run a business these days, after the doors close because no-one frequents their shop

Over here, a regular loaf of bread is about $2.50. A few bakery's reopened in one of the flood ravaged areas just outside of Brisbane yesterday, and 1 was charging $9 a loaf, & another $10. A third bakery was charging $0.80 a loaf, and if you didn't have 80c due to a lost wallet or ATM/credit cards etc, they'd give you a couple loaves for free. I wonder which of the 3 bakery's will still be in business in a years time??

[syncopeter]

It's a well-known trick of the trade to introduce price raises. Offer your articles for the normal price, with a sticker saying 'discount' and the next week asking the new increased price. Luckily for normal consumer goods customers no longer tend to fall into that trap, but with collectibles it is still a different case. I know of an antiques shop in town where I used to live, having a closing sale some years ago, offering a 50% discount. But they marked up their stuff with 90% average. It is still there by the way.