A Research Project Of Sorts

I had a professor in college who once said, "Sometimes you have to do homework in order to do your homework." This was in reference to an assignment in that class that was set up in which answering certain questions required more research than the format and instructions suggested. I have not been in school since December 2008. However, even in "real" life I have found truth in that statement.

Take for instance my volunteer position at a thrift store in my hometown. For a while, our manager wanted to be the only one to price clothing. However, it became necessary for her to authorize someone else to do it. When things at the store became such that said person could not take care of the pricing either, the manager delegated the task to me.

One of the factors I have been taught to take into account when pricing something is brand. For instance, a blouse of a brand that could be found at JCPenny would be worth more than one of a brand found at Wal-Mart. It's easy to price an item with the brand in mind when I have seen/heard of the brand but not so easy when I haven't. (Being the kind of business that we are, there's no telling what will come in on any given day, so there's always the chance of coming across an item of a brand that neither I nor the manager has ever heard of. In a case like that, I'll go by other factors, such as condition of the item, design, and/or what comparable items that have been priced are going for.)

The way it is at this point, I'll generally price one or two items at a time and then put them out. While stuff is at least getting out, I feel bad that it's not getting out as quickly as it normally does when I'm merely putting stuff out that someone else has priced. So, in an attempt to be more efficient, I have decided to look up some brands to see which ones are expensive and which ones aren't so expensive. (So far, I've done most of my research on the respective sites of JCPenney and Wal-Mart. I might look up comparable stores as well.) I've made lists of both. I may study them a bit so that I won't have to look at them a lot and I can get stuff priced faster.

I never thought I would ever need to do research for a position like this. But if that is what is in the best interest of the business, so be it, especially if it pertains to a responsibility that I have in it.  Hopefully, my "aim" for the right price will get better as I go along.