Anodyne
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
 
The Honorable Member For South Wellington checks in (excerpted from a larger email dialogue):

"[F]or most people VV is a cheaper place to throw things away than the dump, and the only place in town where you can be pretty sure of getting a decent T-shirt for under 5 bucks. And I'm sure the charities are very happy with their cent on the dollar, which adds up to a lot more than say nothing. People like Wal-Mart because it's cheaper than Zellers and better run. I condemn Wal-Mart's bad practises, but I have no pity for all the crappy local operations they put out of business. Value Village performs its gatekeeper of junk function with more efficiency than say the Sally Ann (which I'm much more opposed to on purely philosophical grounds, enforcement of religion being more distasteful to me than the profit motive) and which has had to improve its thrift store in response. People don't shop at VV because they think it's going to charity, they shop there because it's a thrift store where one has at least a chance of finding what one wants. And books are only a small section of the store. But I must admit to really enjoying (and spending money in) a lot of businesses whose very existence offends you, like those cash only instant mall bookstores with factory flats of books, book warehouse type places etc. Your store is one of the few small proper bookstores that don't treat me like a shoplifter if I stay longer than ten minutes....I'm more interested in useful randomness than ethical practice, as far as books go..."
- posted by cjb @ 8:25 PM


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