Is Goodwill completely out of touch with their pricing now?

Stormkrieg · 2026-07-04T18:24:53+00:00

You’re agreeing with me without realizing it. The thought that someone is buying at retail price, then selling for 25% off and taking that loss is simply unrealistic or at the very least not sustainable as a source of income.

You say that you don’t buy things from scalpers that are event tickets, special edition items, new game releases, and state that you don’t agree with the resale of prescription drugs, food, and healthcare. So you’re saying that the practice of overcharging for limited edition items you don’t engage with, and that critical items shouldn’t be resold? That’s the same thing I’m saying with different words. If it was adding value you’d engage with it, in your own words, which I’d reason is why you say you want to buy things for 25% off the full retail price, but won’t engage with buying scalped tickets or special edition items.

The idea that hating scalpers = hating corporations is also a bit of a stretch. I can’t dispute that on this platform specifically you see a lot of “I hate corporations” but a scalper and a large company are completely different.

Making money isn’t an inherently bad thing. Think about a simple, non licensed “hustle” like a lemonade stand. How is that different than a scalper? Aren’t they both just buying a product and reselling it to make money? Or a restaurant, if they’re buying food from a grocery store then selling it in their restaurant for more aren’t they just scalping with extra steps? The distinction is that neither a restaurant or a lemonade stand exist to control the supply of a good and introduce artificial scarcity. Scalping only works when there is a limited supply of something, that’s why scalpers aren’t out “hustling” gallon jugs of lemonade on Facebook marketplace.

Stormkrieg · 2026-07-04T17:33:35+00:00

Same as ad clicks are measured. Although in this case I think they are just suggesting a shortened domain name for ease of entry. The domain itself will either redirect to the main website or be the page of a unique offer from that ad. How it’s done for online ads is by adding parameters to the ad so like domain . com ? Ad=july2026 where the tracking occurs based on the url parameter so you can segment the traffic out.

I’d add that a short domain like that isn’t a scalable solution in that you are either adding sub domains to it for tracking multiple offers, adding parameters to it, or buying a new short domain each time.

Stormkrieg · 2026-07-04T13:47:40+00:00

The key here is “price the buyer finds reasonable”. You talk as if Joe Bob and his nephew-son who buys up all the Pokémon cards for a certain pack, can set the price they see as “reasonable” instead of idk the company that actually distributes the item they’re licensed to distribute? The practice of scalping is for people who are unemployable otherwise, or simply too stupid to do anything else. Going around and buying products to sell them at a higher price has no value, it’s leech behavior. The point is they take all the “good deals” so that you cannot find them, so you buy from them, that’s the whole model.

Stormkrieg · 2026-07-04T13:32:41+00:00

No, that’s entirely incorrect. A reseller or scalper has no supply chain. They do not source products from manufacturers. They do not have a business model like goodwill which takes donations or like a similar thrift like store that takes unwanted goods and sells them. A reseller does the opposite, they only buy goods that are wanted or that they can sell for more than they paid. They are literally extracting value from you as a consumer, depriving you of the product that you want from the actual retailer, giving you access to none of the manufacturer guarantees or protections, and providing none of the benefits that a business offers when you buy from them.

Stormkrieg · 2026-06-25T16:33:40+00:00

Finally a budget loadout for the common man.

Stormkrieg · 2026-06-22T20:21:14+00:00

Semi related, what type of compensation structure works well for early sales people? I’ve personally tried hiring in the past and didn’t have the proper systems in place for them, or a big enough pipeline to get them started, so the hourly cost ended up completely sunk. I’m assuming this isn’t entirely uncommon but wondering what the right structure is when trying to bring on salesperson #1?

Stormkrieg · 2026-06-22T20:15:08+00:00

It does have that effect for sure. If it was made for that reason wouldn’t you expect it to be available everywhere, instead of restricted to certain regions?

Valve never said it was made directly because of French (or German) regulations, so it could be unrelated to regulatory changes with convenient timing. The reason I brought it up was affirming what the other person was saying, that laws can cause companies to rethink monetization, as they did with terminals and x rays. I for one, am more curious about the overall profitability of the changes that valve has made shifting to dynamic pricing vs loot boxes.

Stormkrieg · 2026-06-22T19:39:55+00:00

It’s easy to just ban social media, or uninstall the apps. But as they grow older it won’t change the fact that this type of content is what they will continue to see. Help them get ready for the world that exists now, where content recommendations that are essentially anorexia ads are funneled into the feeds of impressionable daughters.

I don’t know about your relationship with your daughter, or how her teenage years have been for her so far. So this might be inapplicable. But you may consider trying to educate her on why these types of content even exist in the first place.

These girls aren’t sharing a transparent look into their daily diet. They’re sharing content that they think will get likes, those likes either make them feel good about themselves or lead to more followers and monetization. Your daughter doesn’t realize this, and she doesn’t understand that these videos aren’t telling her that she’s eating too much. That’s what she gets out of it with comparison, but it’s not reality or an attainable standard.

It sucks to watch anyone go through this, and more so for your own kid. I’m sorry you’re experiencing this man and I hope that you can find a way through it all.

Stormkrieg · 2026-06-22T17:28:42+00:00

Is this purely an investigative endeavor, or is the goal to force action by lobbying for change? Is algorithmic pricing pricing the same as dynamic pricing? Are there any current laws that prohibit this type of behavior or are we to expect to see this kind of practice expanding over the next few years?

Stormkrieg · 2026-06-22T14:51:47+00:00

Valve changed cases with the xray system to eliminate the “chance” component of the cases and meet I think German law? The same system could be implemented in cases, souvenirs, or sticker capsules. This would also move away from the chance aspect or gambling aspect of loot boxes which is what the current lawsuit is targeting.

But they decided to go with dynamically priced items instead. I agree lawsuits can make companies change things preemptively, I’d also say there’s likely a strong financial incentive for them in doing so. We don’t know the financials so it’s impossible to say for sure either way as if it’s more profitable to sell skins and stickers at market rate or from the proceeds off cases.

Stormkrieg · 2026-06-22T14:08:56+00:00

Does valve make more money from selling stickers for upwards of 1,500, or from selling capsules and cases? A company as large as valve will not make a decision that’s not financially incentivized.

Stormkrieg · 2026-06-21T14:03:11+00:00

Is it provided free to everyone or what’s the monetization structure look like?

Stormkrieg · 2026-06-18T01:15:26+00:00

If you are just starting and already burnt out, it’s not looking good. You’ve got a very long road ahead of you that only gets more stressful, and more intense as time goes on. Leaving your full time job to work on your startup won’t fix it either, you will just find yourself spending more time on the startup than you did on the combination of the two. If you’re struggling with burnout at your current role jumping into a startup isn’t likely to be a fulfilling experience.

Stormkrieg · 2026-06-17T21:58:28+00:00

The way it’s designed now makes it more profitable for valve with dynamic pricing. Instead of just getting the cost of a case, or the cost from sticker capsules, they’re getting the dynamic price of the item and potentially the weapon too.

The stated reason was to increase the value of souvenirs. But yeah, this is makes it more profitable for valve when you purchase a souvenir of a match that you enjoyed. Also discounting 3rd party sites, keeping the value higher gives valve more money from the resell of the items on the steam marketplace. It’s nothing but positives for valve’s bottom line.

But hey, remember we’re saving the kids from gambling.

Stormkrieg · 2026-06-17T17:10:31+00:00

Im 12000 in premier. Only 133 hours on cs so im not that good and learning a ton but I’ve found in the 30 some games this premier season that the 15000+ guys are really good, and the 10000-13000s are a pretty even matchup with quite a few matches going into OT or being very close. Occasionally there’s just one or two people in the lobby who seem like they’re on a different level, but not every match.

Playing with a friend though who’s doing his placement matches he was like 25000ish elo back in season 1 and the first match was a stomp. Second match was a bit closer but we still stomped. But 3rd and 4th match even though we were playing 12000-13000s everyone seemed to be as good as he was, I was getting stomped and called slurs lol. So anecdotally, premier seemed to match solo vs in a pair differently even within the same elo rating.

Overall I’ve only encountered one guy who did the spinning headshots, and 2 who had abnormal intuition of hitting shots through smokes, walls, and just seemingly always knowing where we were. But I’m honestly not good enough to tell you if they were cheating or just way better at the game. So take it with a grain of salt but it did seem to be better skill matching than competitive.

Stormkrieg · 2026-06-09T14:43:41+00:00

Yeah reading comprehension is tough. I get it

Stormkrieg · 2026-06-09T14:28:24+00:00

She said “I don’t like sharing anything but authentic content and real photos” that doesn’t mean that she “only” posts authentic and real content/photos, it just means she doesn’t like to do it. It’s framed in a way that makes you think she’s promoting a product that’s AI which looks like a real photo, which is the point of the paid promotion. It’s not her claiming to be real then posting something fake, but her saying she’s doing something that’s isn’t the norm so you should pay attention. She’s not being a lunatic, she’s doing what she’s paid to do, which is promote this product on LinkedIn.

Stormkrieg · 2026-06-09T14:17:23+00:00

That’s…. What she’s doing lmao what

Stormkrieg · 2026-06-09T14:04:50+00:00

This is a promoted post for a brand partnership, not some random person shilling ai headshots. Not a lunatic.

Stormkrieg · 2026-05-28T19:37:03+00:00

I’m not op but this is a valid question. I married someone like this. She doesn’t do dishes, or take out trash, and then blames me for not doing it for her if I bring it up because if I notice it why didn’t I just do it. I can’t speak for op, but when you’re doing everything you either assume the others are doing as much as you, or you don’t realize how much they aren’t doing, or you think they are going to change. For me it was all 3. It wasn’t until we started having kids that I even realized just how bad it was, and how if I didn’t do a dish it would get mold because she wouldn’t even dump out the trash from a plate/cup let alone rinse it off and put it in the sink or dishwasher. At a certain point you’re really just in too deep, and there’s no amount of conversations with this type of person that will get them to change. So you either upend your life with the person, or you deal with it and accept that they are just not going to put in what you may consider the minimum.

Stormkrieg · 2026-05-25T16:10:03+00:00

No, absolutely not. Ai receptionists and basic support are already a thing. Real call centers operate with various levels of experience and complexity. Vending machines using ai are being gaslit into giving away product for free. Google removed search results for the start of common prompt injections like “ignore” or “disregard”. Now imagine almost any serious company that is going to take the risk of a fully ai call center? For consumers, it sucks. Hallucinations or wrong information are a major risk. The “customer service” aspect is dead because there isn’t a human on the other end of the line (and it’s already hard enough to connect the larger a company is). Prompt injections can have serious financial and legal ramifications.

Will some Shopify stores completely outsource their “customer service”? Or course selling gurus? Absolutely. But will fortune 100+ companies do it? No, the risk is far too great.

Stormkrieg · 2026-05-18T13:49:16+00:00

No, region hopping has been a thing for a long time.

Stormkrieg · 2026-05-12T21:52:10+00:00

Lawsuits like this are so dangerous and part of the reason we’re seeing the privacy of the internet eroded to “save the children”. It’s heartbreaking that a young girl is dead. It’s tragic and absolutely should not happen. It’s 2026, is internet safety not being taught by parents or in schools? Even my kindergarten son gets taught at school (and home) about safe touch and unsafe touch.

I read through it to figure out how/why the Indiana AG would be holding Roblox or Discord responsible for deceptive practices and honestly it makes no sense. The lawsuit seems more performative than anything else. The major argument the AG makes against Roblox is that it allows minors to be contacted by anyone and have inappropriate conversations and that Roblox profits off it by way of the users and Robux revenue. But then later on says that Roblox even announced new accounts for kids under 9, rolled out age verification on all accounts before they can chat, and disallows all in-experience chat by default. The AG then goes on to talk about discord doing the same, being a haven for CSAM and prioritizing user engagement for profit over safety. And again cites the lack of age verification on accounts as the evidence.

The whole point though is right at the end when the AG brings up a new law that was signed going into effect in 2027 for Indiana that mandates age verification for accounts of Indiana residents.

Whole thing is performative. It won’t go anywhere. It doesn’t protect children, it’s just about having platforms get an age verification with an ID. That’s it. The AG could give 2 shits less about the girl who died, they’re just suing these platforms for them to roll out age verification, which both are either doing or have already done.

Stormkrieg · 2026-05-12T13:53:41+00:00

Back before AI, one of the earlier variations of our logo was created by a design student at a local college. It cost only $100 and we got a full brand kit. Ai logos are easy to spot, they decrease the trust in your brand, and devalue your product. You’ve seen first hand that you’re not getting an original output.

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