Thrift Shop Run Yesterday

[electrolux137]

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Arlee and I wanted to avoid the noisy birthday party for 100+ attendees that was thrown by our downstairs neighbors yesterday.


 


We originally were going to drive up to Ventura, about an hour north of L.A., until we got on the freeway into a bumper-to-bumper traffic crawl. We checked the Sigalert app and saw that the congestion was all the way up the coast past Ventura.


 


So we got off and drove into Burbank instead. We had lunch and checked out a half-dozen thrift and antique shops in Burbank and Glendale, including my favorite -- the gigantic St. Vincent de Paul store in Glendale.


 


I saw a few things of interest, more than usual...


 


— Electrolux Model XXX in an antique store. The owner just raved and raved about how old and rare it was! "Such a deal" at $50 with coiled white hose, only one attachment and crumbling cord.


 


— kirby G5, pretty good condition - $45.99


 


— Hoover Convertible, pretty good condition (don't know which model) - $35.99


 


— Kirby Sentria, beautiful condition - $35.99 (which I bought)


 


— Hoover Concept 1, fair condition - $29.99


 


— Hoover Elite Cyclonic canister, pretty good condition - $59.00


 


— Kirby Ultimate G Rug Renovator brand-new in the box, ticketed at $9.99 but it was half-off day for blue tickets so it was $5.00. I got that too, maybe to use with the Sentria if I decide to keep it.


 


— Hoover Power Drive, fair condition - $12.00


 


We had a nice day, despite traffic traffic traffic at every turn. It was a mess, just everywhere. Worse than usual.

[this post was last edited: 7/16/2017-21:07]

 

[vacuumlad1650]

What a mess!
I have not been to a thrift shop in ages! I tried going to one with a fellow collector, but we found out it was under Refurbishment when we arrived.

 

[compactelectra]

That is why

Since I have been back in Southern California for a year and a half, I have avoided LA like the plague. So far I have managed to avoid going in. It was getting bad when I lived there for 21 years but hear groans when anyone from Palm Springs has to go in.

 

[vacuumlad1650]

Fred...sounds like Chicago all over again. People say it's such a nice place, but I avoid it like the plague! The closest I'll go is my Grandparents, 15 minutes from the City Limits.

 

[kenkart]

Chicago and LA

Are easy, Try Washington DC if you want to see a mess...or worse, Cleveland Ohio!

 

[TheSpiritOf76]

Charles....

I have never really liked Goodwill. We have one here in the little shopping village that I frequent, I an some people I know call it a Ill-Will....LOL...I think that says it all..


 


I am also sad to say, that those prices are all cheaper then here, these stupid thrift stores have gone buzzurk!

 

[tolivac]

Thrift stores---they now are becoming overpriced BOUTIQUE shops!

 

[human]

Boutique thrift shops

Yeah, Salvation Army has two stores here and they're as different as night and day. One is in a relatively affluent neighborhood and is labeled as a "Salvation Army Select" store. It has a sort of upscale look to it and upscale prices to match. Even though I drive by it several times a week, I only wander in there maybe once or twice a year but never find anything I feel is worth the money and they NEVER have any appliances or electronics of any sort. It's all clothing (more fashionable brands), housewares, books and nick-nacks (aka dust collectors). They're obviously catering to a different crowd than the other thrift stores in town.

The other Salvation Army store is situated adjacent to an affluent neighborhood but only blocks away from a fairly impoverished area of town. It's labeled as a "Salvation Army Family Store" and has a more typical range of thrift store offerings but I will say it's always neat as a pin, easily the cleanest thrift store in town. It's not on the way to anywhere I usually go and it closes early so I've only visited it a couple of times. The first time was when I got my Electrolux Discovery Plus, sans hose and tools, for $24. Although I didn't find the tools on the shelf, there were other miscellaneous vacuum cleaner accessories on the shelf, leading me to believe they may sell them off separately instead of keeping them bundled with the machines they came in with.

The Goodwill stores around here are a mixed bag, with the quality of their offerings and the overall condition of the stores varying greatly by location. Those closest to my house are pretty good, although it can be difficult to navigate through them. The others aren't even worth walking into, in my experience.

The largest thrift store in town, Value Village, is run by National Kidney Services and they're the only one that accepts large appliances--stoves, diswashers, etc. It used to be a really nice store and I've found some great stuff there in the past but lately it's gotten really junky. I think it is probably a reflection on the community where it's located. I still swing by there once every couple of months but the pickings are increasingly slim in terms of quality.

 

[dysonman1]

Ironic that one of the rarest machines you saw was the purple and green Dyson DC07. It was called the "Full Gear" and was sold ONLY by Dyson authorized service centers. Very few were sold in that color combination, probably less than 500 in the whole country.

 

[vacuumlad1650]

I've seen 5 or 6 of them in for service. They looked ready for the scrapper...

 

[oreck_xl]

Is it just me or were the colors on those early Dc07's more vibrant than the current crop of Dysons? I wish we could've had a DeStijl version on this side of the pond....

 

[fcs3]

Stores' prices reflect need, not necessarily greed.

These thrift shops are often located in strip malls, whose corporate owners set leasing costs high enough to satisfy their investors. This high overhead is passed along to the shop's customers as a way of keeping the store viable and open.

Also, lest we forget, Salvation Army and Goodwill run outreach and recovery programs to help their communities' less fortunate. Their stores' sales are in lieu of public donations to fund these programs.

There is undoubtedly some degree of corruption by key individuals, but not at every store.

 

[human]

Most of the Goodwill stores around here are freestanding structures with no other retail spaces attached. The Salvation Army Family Store is also freestanding in a former Eckerd Drug store but the Salvation Army Select Store is in a small strip center. I've never felt there was any corruption at the parent organizations but sometimes their prices present a questionable value proposition.

 

[gsheen]

Charles
it sounds like you had awesome fun. Their are few things I enjoy more than a good vacuum hunt. A incredible way to spend your day. I am sure you will get that sentria shining better than new,

Tom
I have one of those Dc07's Mines a Uk model , again they were never sold here just those that were brought back by people who lived in the UK.

 

[dysonman1]

Garreth

The first model DC 07 in the USA was the all floors in gray and yellow. I have the Proto type that was sent to Americans to try before the launch. They were available in three color combinations at first. The gray and yellow all floors, the purple and red model came with the hard floor tool/ carpet tool combination, then there was the purple and gray "animal" model that came with a turbo brush plus the hard floor/carpet tool. The purple and green model added an extra year of warranty, and was only sold by authorized service centers. My vacuum shop was the very first set up in the United States as an authorized Dyson sales and service. I remember going to the Dyson USA headquarters in Chicago, I brought the pink and lavender Dyson "cyclon 1000" , up the elevator, and I asked the receptionist if they had any disposable bags that would fit my Dyson. It was a riot. They had never seen one. However, the washing machine was right in the middle of the floor.

 

[dysonman1]

At The Dyson Corporate Offices.

The "Cyclon 1000" is the second production version of a dual cyclonic upright vacuum ever designed.

 

[vacuumlad1650]

"Any disposable bags to fit my Dyson"
Than maybe they wouldn't lose suction!

 

[gsheen]

Tom

Thanks for the history on dyson USA.

I have a yellow and grey dc07l from the USA, they fitted the soleplate is completely different to the UK one with a much wider opening, the brush bar is also allot stiffer bristles. its a very nice cleaning vacuum