Inflation/Deflation
I have written about inflation for years, for example here, here, here, and here. There are Dollar Stores and copies everywhere, though recently the prices were raised to $1.25, a 25% increase. Lots of stuff to buy, cheap.
The Story of Stuff A must-see documentary by Anne Leonard.
Today’s paper informed me of development which is the logical end of “stuff”, before it’s discarded: Liquidation. I knew it existed, but not the volume. “The liquidation market in this country has more than doubled since 2008 and reached $688 billion in 2021.”
From the Press Democrat:
The store receives liquidated items from such retail giants as Amazon, Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s and Wayfair on a weekly basis that are less than $50. They range from pet food and children’s clothes to duvets and some food items, such as flavored almonds.
The twist is its pricing operates on a sliding scale based on the day of the week. All items on Tuesday are priced at $6, then on Wednesday at $4, Thursday at $2 and Friday at $1. Everything left on Saturday is just a quarter so the inventory can be all cleared for next week.
Prices going down instead of up? Deflation.
Apparently this new store is so popular that one must reserve a cart on line to be able to shop, and there are long lines to get in. All this, despite the fact that this is a fairly affluent area. But but….cheap stuff.
Well, this is America, a country who’s biggest holiday is Black Friday.
Are there stores like this in your area? Does the concept appeal to you? Do you need more stuff?
Apologies for the short diary; we are very involved in preparing for our mini-vacation trip this week. Consider this as an open thread.
