Why Thrift Stores Kinda SUCK Now

Thrift stores used to be the place to find quirky, fun, and cheap clothing. Now with resellers, rising prices, and a shift in business, thrift shops have lost their magic. However, the rise in thrifting can still be seen as a good thing for sustainability and anti-consumerism.

#videoessay #y2k #comedy #thrift

This video was sponsored by Brilliant.

[chychy]

Also, Goodwill SPECIFICALLY just profits off of free donations by sifting through "the good stuff" and putting it up for auction online

[StayBased_]

Also worth mentioning that stores are saturated with cheaply made fast fashion clothing that isnt worth anything to anyone.

[marioluigi]

I think it's bad for those who genuinely went to thrift stores to get cheap, nicer clothes because they couldn't afford it anywhere else. Those people will buy from fast fashion now because nothing else is cheap enough.

[alexandru]

Yeah the price gouging is ridiculous and defeats the point of a thrift store

[bowlofsoup]

The moment I saw a $250 rusty camera, I knew something was wrong.

[joey]

“Only got $20 in my pocket” that’ll be 21.85 for 1 tee shirt (:

[aarontabuchi]

I still remember finding a t shirt at a thrift store that still had a Walmart price tag on it. The thrift store price was higher than the Walmart price.

[monaural.]

I’ve written off 98% of Goodwills, Salvation Army and Savers locations because of consistent and ridiculous greed prices, “skimming” from the back employee areas, and overall wishes to compete with the likes of Marshall’s and Walmart than having the traditional mindset of what a thrift store is. Estate sales and open air flea markets are the way to go.

[All-due-respect-I-disagree]

>Dollar Tree products for $5 at the thrift store

[twilightcore]

when i was a kid, i had a lot of personal home life problems that resulted in me losing a lot of my treasured collections of toys books and other things. for a few years, thrifting was the only way i could feasibly afford an old out of print toy. now they’re priced with ebay before they even go onto the shelf and only valued that high because of niche communities. it’s frustrating

[RyanOnWeather]

WHAT??!!!! YOU MEAN YOU DONT WANT A PLAIN WHITE HAYNES SHIRT WITH A STAIN ON THE FRONT FOR 7$???

[dkd]

Lack of curation is what makes thrift stores special. Sifting through tons of items and finding something valuable to you and knowing you'll pay a very low price no matter the item is makes it a rewarding experience, because everyone's tastes are a little bit different.

[spaghettijoe]

Can't believe you didn't bring up Goodwill themselves reselling most of their good products on ebay

[Resellersruineverything]

I'm sure you can tell by my name but you are 100% correct about how people who like that stuff also hate resellers.
There's one lady in my city, I call her "cart lady". She comes into VV with her sisters or whatever and they close down full lanes in the toy section. They won't let anyone in until they've picked over everything. They buy EVERY DOLL and resell them. Most aren't even worth anything. I know because I'm a collector. But they still do this like 3 times a week by my house! Their ebay must be popping off because they do it a lot.
They're also selling moldy items at full price which is such a bummer for the collectors. No one likes getting a moldy item in the mail.

[coreywiley]

Back in the 90s there was still a lot of odd unique vintage clothes from the 50s-70s...now the clothes are mostly from the 90s-10s and just look like contemporary stuff.

[prof.badfellow]

Back in the early 90s the Goodwill was a gold mine for vintage 1930-70s menswear. $0.25 neckties, $5.00 suits. Now it's just greedy sh*thole full of overpriced garbage. Remember, a good thing never lasts

[mochifist]

I’m a toy collector, and I remember in 2023 I had my most successful year when it comes to thrifting. Tons of stock and insanely cheap prices.

Fast forward to 2024 and now 2025, the prices have increased massively. I feel like I’m on Mercari or EBay rather than at a thrift store. You could literally find cheaper toys at retail stores.

[microbios]

I used to wear used clothing almost exclusively. The market has completely changed in the past 5 years, so this is no longer the case. Thrift stores are a rip-off. New clothing at Walmart or online is often cheaper and without any hassle finding my size.
The thrill of treasure hunting doesn't exist anymore at thrift stores. They are worthless at this point and serve no place in the market.

[mabybee]

It depends where you go. Trying to thrift in a gentrified urban area? Yeah, that shit’s twice as expensive as it was new even with inflation. Going to a thrift store in an old suburban Safeway near an Air Force Base on half off Thursday’s? You can buy 11 shirts, 7 pairs of pants, 3 books, a race track for your kid, a handful of trinkets for decorating the house, and a dining table, all for the price of a new pair of Nike Cortez’s.

[billbombshiggy]

Resellers. Blame them. They started filming their hustle and putting it up for all to see, and corporate saw it and now they check to see what its worth and what they could get for it.