Price Elasticity
You may be asking yourself, “What is price elasticity? Sound important.”
Well it is. Price elasticity is defined as: a measure of the effect of a price change or a change in the quantity supplied on the demand for a product or service. Now you may be asking yourself, how does this apply to our wonderful thrift store. Well, it applies in more ways than one.
A quick jaunt through our bric-a-brac section will reveal that we have a large amount stemware and glass cups on any given day. The supply far outweighs the demand. What this means is that we have to price the items in a way that incentivizes the customer to purchase them. The same goes for items that are donated in bulk. Items like clothing from a single manufacturer must be priced low enough for them to move quickly but the price also has to make sense for us as well.
There are certain items that we hold firm on when it comes to pricing. Vintage items that are less likely to be seen again or are rarer in general typically don’t fall into this model. For example, we are more comfortable letting a midcentury modern dresser sit for a little while at a higher price than say a normal ikea dresser. Why? Because we are far more likely to see more ikea dressers be donated while the demand for them is relatively low. Midcentury modern dressers are in higher demand and the supply is much lower, they aren’t making them anymore.