Sunday, November 19, 2006
Treasure hunt goods
Hello,
Cheap, exotic, rare find ?
What do flea markets and thrift stores have in common ? Interesting goods ! These interesting goods are usually secondhand, some are brand new and unused but nevertheless all are secondhand. What is most interesting is the strange and unknown collection of handed over items. Such a varied display of so called collectors discards at one place has never failed to attract the treasure hunters over the years, and people who visited them would tell about the treasures they discovered and at bargain prices too !
The flea market at the old Sungei Road is still there, albeit on a smaller scale, and the goods are not as varied and interesting as before. So is the one at Club Street, just as unexciting.
On the other hand the thrift store run by The Salvation Army along Serangoon Road is very big. They have a slogan which goes something like this, If anything is too good to throw away give it to us. With Singaporeans being so affluent one can see why their shop is so big. Four dollars for two VCDs or CDs plus a third free entices one to come close and scan the titles. And yesterday one would see some appealing items but today one may not, sold; that is what may happen. And car park is free too. If anybody needs to kill time this is the place to visit.
While The Salvation Army get unwanted items free, there is one company which pay for all these items. It is Cash Converter. People deliver things to them and they pay for them with peanuts. That explains why their goods are lower or low priced too. All the same their shops are like The Salvation Army thrift stores, offering a sort of arena for treasure hunters.
The main difference between The Salvation Army thrift stores and the Cash Converter shops is that the earnings from the former goes to charity while that from the latter do not. Maybe that explains why more people would rather give to The Salvation Army than sell toCash Converter.
Forget the Pasar malam stalls which used to be very popular; their goods though interesting cannot match the prices of the One dollar per item shops anymore. And they seem to be mutating into travelling food stalls which are getting popular with their variety and novelty of food items. That remains the attractive part.
One friend asked another, "Why do you want to buy that lousy old picture for ten dollars ?" The friend replied, "It is true that the picture is old and lousy. But the frame that comes with it would cost me near a hundred dollars; it will suit my 3000 pieces jigsaw puzzle picture perfectly !"
Have a nice day
Ronald
Cheap, exotic, rare find ?
What do flea markets and thrift stores have in common ? Interesting goods ! These interesting goods are usually secondhand, some are brand new and unused but nevertheless all are secondhand. What is most interesting is the strange and unknown collection of handed over items. Such a varied display of so called collectors discards at one place has never failed to attract the treasure hunters over the years, and people who visited them would tell about the treasures they discovered and at bargain prices too !
The flea market at the old Sungei Road is still there, albeit on a smaller scale, and the goods are not as varied and interesting as before. So is the one at Club Street, just as unexciting.
On the other hand the thrift store run by The Salvation Army along Serangoon Road is very big. They have a slogan which goes something like this, If anything is too good to throw away give it to us. With Singaporeans being so affluent one can see why their shop is so big. Four dollars for two VCDs or CDs plus a third free entices one to come close and scan the titles. And yesterday one would see some appealing items but today one may not, sold; that is what may happen. And car park is free too. If anybody needs to kill time this is the place to visit.
While The Salvation Army get unwanted items free, there is one company which pay for all these items. It is Cash Converter. People deliver things to them and they pay for them with peanuts. That explains why their goods are lower or low priced too. All the same their shops are like The Salvation Army thrift stores, offering a sort of arena for treasure hunters.
The main difference between The Salvation Army thrift stores and the Cash Converter shops is that the earnings from the former goes to charity while that from the latter do not. Maybe that explains why more people would rather give to The Salvation Army than sell toCash Converter.
Forget the Pasar malam stalls which used to be very popular; their goods though interesting cannot match the prices of the One dollar per item shops anymore. And they seem to be mutating into travelling food stalls which are getting popular with their variety and novelty of food items. That remains the attractive part.
One friend asked another, "Why do you want to buy that lousy old picture for ten dollars ?" The friend replied, "It is true that the picture is old and lousy. But the frame that comes with it would cost me near a hundred dollars; it will suit my 3000 pieces jigsaw puzzle picture perfectly !"
Have a nice day
Ronald
# posted by chunmu @ 5:56 PM 
