Why in the world are thrift stores MORE expensive than brand new items?!?

I'm sure we've all wondered it...why are thrift stores so expensive these days? Why do thrift store prices keep going up when their inventory is FREE?! Well, we're diving into that today. If you want to learn more about the dark side to thrift stores, there is more content below you can check out for all things thrifting!

Videos mentioned/recommended:

Timestamps:
00:00 - Buying new is now CHEAPER?!
1:09 - Where do thrift stores get their inventory?
2:49 - Goodwill profits and donations (it's scammy)
6:31 - Why thrift store prices keep going up
8:06 - Who's to blame for this?
11:50 - Shop small! Even when you thrift!
13:47 - Bloopers

SHOP MY FAVES!

SHOP MY GEAR

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[TravelSoMuch]

Please do not give a blanket recommendation to "donate to women's shelters instead." I worked in a home for teen moms for over 5 years and waaaay too many people dropped off things without even calling first. With limited storage space, we'd either have to pay for an extra large garbage bin, or we'd have to pay to bring on an extra hourly employee for a few hours a month so she could haul loads of things we couldn't use to thrift stores (yes, they usually went to those big-name thrift stores because the local ones didn't have storage space either). As a small charity run entirely on donations, this took away funding that could have gone to helping these teens in ways that they could actually benefit from.

I once even had a woman try to donate a car seat, which I told her we legally couldn't accept. She got in her car and drove off without it. That car seat couldn't even fit in our trash can!

So please, for any small charity, call ahead and be mindful of what you're donating. Even though the teen girls I worked with were in a shelter, they were still not wanting to wear your granny clothes. Sometimes, donating to a big name actually is the best option.

[Gopher]

I was at Value Village this morning with my daughter and was shocked by the prices. Old coats for $40 plus, and plastic sunglasses for $25!! Im sticking to small thrift stores for now on.

[lilygoht]

I moved out of the biggest city in my province a few months ago (temporarily), and one of the best things ever is being within walking distance of a thrift store. It's technically a part of a chain, but it's a small one, and the prices are DIRT CHEAP. Like, lots of stuff for less than a dollar. It's a perfect place to go get random art supplies or stationary. There are a lot of newcomers where I live, and new families, so I notice that most of their stock is rotating more often than bigger thrift stores and they get tons of business because people are actually buying it and using it. It's truly the last bastion of well-priced thrift.

[chrstopherblighton-sande]

As I was growing up my family relied quite heavily on thrift stores (or charity shops as we call them) because we didn't have much money. It makes me angry to think that people in our situation today, might be struggling even to buy second hand due to inflated prices!! Thank you for challenging this phenomena with this super helpful video.

[raquels.]

Thank you for this video! I stopped shopping and donating at goodwill for all these reasons, and thankfully found an amazing thrift store even closer to me where the prices are AWESOME. I now shop and donate there all the time. The most *expensive* thing I've ever bought there was around $5. And because their prices are so low I trust that the items I donate have a higher likelihood of being sold and not ending up in a landfill.

[peacefrog]

I am so glad that you are talking about this. We have a small thrift store and even there the prices are going way up in prices. So a lot of times I skip it and walk away. Thank you again for sharing this

[stevefisher]

Just like everything else....corporate greed

[Huggible]

I work at a small local thrift store that helps the community by furnishing homes for people transitioning out of homelessness by using donated items. We've had to increase our prices because of inflation, but i also very much agree with your point of selling more for less than less for more. Resellers do make a huge impact on this factor, but it also brings me so much joy seeing an average customer find "that thing" they were looking for at a discount. Some of the things donated are literal garbage (ex. Cracked or missing cds) so the other part is going through the actual inventory because people don't want the guilt on themselves throwing away the item. Therefore it increases our costs of time and manpower. But yes, still keep donating to the little guys and always try giving away the item first if you can before donating. I can attest that not all donations make it to the floor or get bought 🥲

[calicofloof]

This is a great video and love the info you share. Similarly, I feel really annoyed whenever I peep Patagonia's used gear site and they are re-selling items for maaaaybe a 25% discount off the original price. And just like goodwill, these items are donated back i believe.

[moldovanca]

This infuriates me on so many levels:
1. Growing up these stores literally saved our family. All of our clothes and school supplies were from value village and it makes me SO angry that kids growing up in the same situation now don’t even have that option.
2. My old lady soul loves old stuff; old furniture, teacups and now I literally cannot afford them! My husband pointed out a beautiful wooden desk (not cardboard bullshit covered in a “wood” sticker) and I fell in love-until I saw the price. It was $300!! And this wasn’t even vintage! It was from the 90s!
It makes me angry that I can’t shop my conscience (second hand) and that poor families (like ours was) are priced out of even used stuff! Fuck this “economy”.

[scarlettsugar]

My fav place to donate here is the SPCA thrift shop. Proceeds go to the running/supporting the local no kill SPCA animal shelter. We did a massive decluttering over several weeks and donated so much stuff. My fav part was going in weeks later and seeing the majority of our stuff on the floor AND it being very reasonably priced. An expensive/like new winter coat we donated was priced at $7. I love knowing someone in need can grab a quality winter coat here in the mountains for cheap going into this winter.

[kleptomelly]

One of the things that always irks me when I see it at a thrift store, compost buckets. Our local waste hauler gives out free countertop buckets for people to put their food scraps in since CA has a mandate on green waste. I see these buckets all the time at our thrift stores.

[TheFeralFarmgirl]

A lot of times, I just set out a "FREE" box out by the road. Most of the time, the whole box is gone by the next day.

[vegemitegirl]

I do donate to op shops/thrift stores but I almost never buy clothing there for me. Why? Simple. I rarely find anything that fits as I'm a 6'0" girl with a 6'4" armspan. Yes, the joy of being tall. To get clothing I either make it or, when I'm in our state capital, go to 2 particular department stores which have tall clothes, and search their tall clearance racks. My clothes are worn to death and then repaired endlessly.

[holaclaudia]

Completely unrelated but I'm loving the blue hair 💙

[xanimexartxloverx]

I only donate to local places because I know the profits go to local shelters ✅️ Also, i really think they should have a bigger and different area for sorting all the used stuff. 😭

[tiarnaanderson]

One thing to note about smaller thrift stores, is that they often don't have opening hours accessible to everyone.

[ashleystanley]

Thanks for making this video! It's very important to consider who you're donating to, and what you're donating. Participating in clothing recycling (mail in programs) and upcycling is an important step to consider before donating to Goodwill. For me currently, there aren't any local thrift stores besides Goodwill and the Salvation Army. Habitat ReStore is a better option for large items (furniture, hardware/home improvement items). I try to be mindful of what I donate to Goodwill. One positive note is that in my area, Goodwill hasn't raised prices very much. There are household and decorative items for 10-25 cents, and I've gotten pretty decent clothing items for $5-7. I don't buy very many items there, but if I need something specific I check to see if it happens to be available.

[bethn]

A lot of small thrift stores are also nonprofits, but local ones! So when you shop at them, you have a greater impact on your local community.

For example, one in my hometown is employed by people with disabilities, and the profit is used for those with more severe needs who are unable to work or care for themselves.

One in the town where I currently live helps fund tempory housing assistance for those who are unhoused or unemployed, and other related services meant to help them find long term stable housing and employment.

[FatraBbits]

Prices in thrift stores near me have gone up a bit but “vintage” items and natural materials items are ridiculously high. There are quite a number of shoppers here who resell their purchases as a “side hustle.” So the Charity owned thrift stores with Volunteer staff have raised prices significantly in part to make more and deter reselling.