Saw this coming a mile away
 

Welp, it finally happened. I went to my local Goodwill store on Saturday to make a rare TV donation, and they refused to take the set. This has changed since the last time I was there, which was less than a month ago. The set in question was a 1997 25" Sanyo that I had gone through and cleaned up; other than having a tired CRT, it worked fine. I ended up giving the TV to a couple of older ladies in the parking lot who needed a TV, go figure. Inside the store, there wasn't a single TV of any type on the shelves. Gee, I wonder why! Nobody is going to donate a working flat panel TV they can sell easily for a profit. This means that my area is now one of a growing number of places where a person or family that's down on their money can no longer buy a cheap, working TV from Goodwill. This also leaves me wondering how I can re-home working sets I don't want or need, as the other large local thrift store actively disposes of donated TVs. I am at a loss; obviously I have issues with curbing working TVs. It all makes me pretty sad...

Within a couple years, you'll start to see the smaller flat panels in the thrift stores too. Nobody really wants flat panels anymore that are smaller than 32", and the going rate here on a 32" flat panel is about $80 used on CL.

Every consumer good when it hits the 15 year mark becomes about as valueless as it's going to get. The trend tends to reverse once they hit close to 30 years old and they regain acceptance as "retro". Cars are a prime example of this.

They have done it. I was at the back of a local thrift when a donation came in. I was getting ready to leave and a couple ladies in a truck had what looked like a 55" - 60" flat screen and some other stuff in the back. Lets just say that sold PDQ. I've been in several places that had flats of varying sizes. Some places still accept crt but not much. I know one Salvation Army here has pretty much stopped altogether.

How do you sell a flat panel TV for a "profit"? They depreciate pretty fast, you are lucky to get 25-35% of the new price for a used one just a couple years old.

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I would say, looking at FP ratings and reviews, that public knowledge of the short
life, and near impossible repair once they are 5 years old, the resale value of FP's
are going to drop faster than crt's did when people would buy used crt sets.

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And they call this progress. New sets now are just junk really. They need to go back to what really worked and was repairable. Real investments. Tvs worth owning.

Totally agree with you, but sadly the manufacturers have a diametrically opposite view than we do. They WANT to sell junk so they can sell you a TV again (and again, and again, and again). They see it as an annuity!

It is odd that with user ratings, product reviews becoming a larger part of the purchase
decision, that new FP sets have a pretty bad reputation for reliability, and lasting
less than 6 years. You would think there would be more call to change the direction
of the product, but it seems that the newer better expectations of the next NEW model
are outweighing the disappointment of early product failure. Or do people now look
forward to early product failure so they now have a more "legitimate" new opportunity
to SHOP ! for new crap...

A couple of years ago me and the wife drove school busses for a short time, and we
witnessed kids of high school and middle school age throwing out ipods, and breaking
phones so they could complain to their parents and quickly get a new one.... In the
case of phones, they would get new ones quicker than the company upgrade cycle...
Were they insured ? Was it parents out of pocket paying for the new one...? I do know
that on sports trips I use to listen to parents talking about their kids, and family
cell plans.... 5-600./mo. Crazy....

I think the people who drive these markets have money to burn, and they
do it as much as they can.... I don't see how though, $36,000 car, house
payment, $300./mo cell $200./mo cable, I don't see how they come up
with all that money to blow each month, year after year.....
And a - what $2,000. tv every 3 to 5 years......


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Regarding the people mentioned with all the monthly debt, they crash-and-burn immediately, if one of the earners lose their job.
Look what happened in the last 10 years or so, forclosures, evictions and such. The lucky ones, were bailed by parents or some one else. :sigh:

Yes, there certainly seems to be rampant, unbridled consumerism. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely like all the cool gadgets and shiny new products, but nobody seems to value what they already have and use it for as long as they possibly can. Or, Heaven forbid -- *do without* a non-essential product/device until they can pay for it.

Saw this coming a mile away
 

I think you hit the nail on the head here -- people actually want to always buy stuff. For some, it's an addiction the same as any other vice. But for others, I think our culture (in conjunction with Moore's Law) contributes greatly to the mindset that you aren't "hip" or successful if you don't always have the very latest electronics, cars, smartphones, etc.

You can post them in the Free section on CL. I see them all the time there.

There have been times when the local hospitals, etc have dumped ~1-2 dozen FP sets at the thrifts. Last batch were smaller 4:3 sets with respectable jack packs.

On the bleeding edge of HD broadcast, we bought a 55" Hitachi plasma back when they were lots of money. It was a great-looking set, but not natively full HD. As the years went on, things got to the point where a similar set could be had for $600 or so during the normal sale seasons. After sending it off to college with the kid, he and it returned home last summer. I had hoped it was a one-way trip. (The TV, not the kid.) We ended up donating it to a local makerspace to display the schedule for classes and upcoming events, on a continuous updated roll. It's gone off to digital signage heaven... but it's still going strong. At least I don't have to pay the electric bill for it any more.

So, not fifty years, but a good decade or so thus far.

Chip

I still see CRT TV's in the thrift stores; but, they don't appear to be moving very fast. I also see a few flat panels; but, they are usually either smaller sets or older bigger sets that people are getting rid of because they are over 5 years old.

I've pretty much stopped taking in any kind of TV, unless it's for my collection. For a number of years, I did really well with selling used CRT sets; but, they are not even worth fixing to resell anymore (even the less fortunate don't want them). A while back, I had a 20" Sony WEGA from 2002 (nice flat tube set with an extensive jack panel). I advertised it for $25 on the facebook "baby clothes and cell phones" pages and the only hit I got was some woman offering me $20, if it had the original remote. I told her that I'd take $20; but, for that price, she could buy her own $5 remote at the dollar store. I never heard another word from her, I eventually got pissed, pulled the ad, and gave the TV to the guy at the flea market for him to add to his collection of 30 similar type TV's that aren't moving. From now on, if any working CRT TV lands over here, I'll take it straight to the flea market and give it to them.

A while back, someone gave me a dead Samsung 32" LCD from 2012 and all it needed was a capacitor. I first thought about selling it; but, people around here would expect to get it for nothing and then they'd expect a lifetime warranty. Frankly, I don't have time for that crap, just to make a few dollars. So, the Sony I mentioned above came out of the living room and the Samsung took it's place. It's been working fine, my Mother is happy with it, and it will stay here until it dies.

In the old days, people didn't care how old a set was - just as long as it worked good. Now, they want the "latest and greatest" and they expect it for nothing.