Woman Flabbergasted At Thrift Store’s Prices, Calls Them Out By Sharing 14 Examples
In the last decade, thrift hunting has become a hobby, if not a lifestyle, for many secondhand and vintage aficionados with a sharp eye for budget-friendly treasure. But people have noticed that prices for secondhand goods are getting higher than ever, and this TikToker who goes by the handle @Mrsniceguyy has had enough of it.
Captioned “I just can’t deal anymore,” the author shared a video stating that “Value Village just needs to be called out,” since they’re “getting out of control.” Mrsniceguyy then proceeds to share a couple of examples on the green screen behind her. She shows just what a ripoff their prices are for used, worn, dirty and defunct items that, according to her, don’t even cost that much brand new.
The author also created a petition “Boycott Value Village” that already has 111 signatures out of the objective 200. The petition says that pricing items higher than what they cost brand new shows the company is lazy and cares more about making a buck than offering consumers a way to shop secondhand instead of buying new.”
Scroll down to see what Mrsniceguyy had to say about Value Village below and let us know if you have noticed price increases in thrift stores!
One TikToker has had enough of Value Village thrift store pricing worn out, defunct, old and dirty items more than what they cost brand new so she called them out
Image credits: Jason F. Voll
Image credits: mrsniceguyy
Image credits: mrsniceguyy
Image credits: mrsniceguyy
Image credits: mrsniceguyy
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Image credits: mrsniceguyy
Image credits: mrsniceguyy
Image credits: mrsniceguyy
It’s no secret that the secondhand market is rising faster than ever before. In 2020, the global market value of secondhand and resale apparel was estimated to be worth 27 billion U.S. dollars. This value is not just stopping there but is projected to rise rapidly in the coming years, almost doubling in size from 2020 to 2023, before reaching a value of 77 billion dollars in 2025.
Image credits: mrsniceguyy
Image credits: mrsniceguyy
Image credits: mrsniceguyy
Image credits: mrsniceguyy
Moreover, this rapid growth is not limited to the U.S.: in 2020, The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) conducted a study in 6 countries (the U.S., France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the U.K.) for Vestiaire Collective – the online platform for luxury secondhand fashion items – and estimated that the global secondhand market should grow by 15-20% per year in the next 5 years.
Image credits: mrsniceguyy
Image credits: mrsniceguyy
Image credits: mrsniceguyy
Image credits: mrsniceguyy
So what are the reasons for the secondhand renaissance? Well, first of all, consumers are prioritizing sustainability and retailers are embracing reselling. Experts say that at this point, we are in the early stages of a radical transformation in retail.
This newly surged secondhand demand is driven by resale platforms. These digital resale marketplaces like Depop, Vinted, Vestiaire Collective, ThredUP or RealReal connect consumers with no intermediary. They are expected to go from $15 billion in 2021 to $47 billion in 2025 in the U.S. Fashion brands are joining the trend by selling their own approved secondhand pieces on their websites.
Image credits: mrsniceguyy
Image credits: mrsniceguyy
Bored Panda reached out to Sean Fowlow, the professional thrift hunter and creator of “Ridiculous Thrifter” to talk about rising prices in thrift stores. Sean said that just about everything has gone up in price. We previously wrote about his entertaining page that features “the wonderful, bizarre and insanely overpriced items” found at secondhand points from Facebook marketplace to secondhand stores and charity shops. You can check out the article right here.
“Partly because of inflation, but I would have to argue it’s mostly because of the explosion in popularity of re-selling used items on the internet for extra income. The thrift shop owners have caught on to this and are now researching the current market values of items before pricing them for sale.”
Sean explained that “for instance, several years ago a particular thrift shop would have a set price for all video games…say $3.99 each or so. Now, at most shops, you will find the more valuable games priced separately and locked in a glass showcase with a price tag of whatever it sells for currently on eBay.” The professional thrifter said that it’s the same for retro toys, collectibles, and cookware now as well. “The days of finding a treasure for cheap at a thrift store are unfortunately almost behind us,” he told us.
The author also created a petition that asks people to boycott Value Village and it already has 111 signatures
Image credits: mrsniceguyy
And here are the viral TikTok videos Mrsniceguyy shared
@mrsniceguyy I just can’t deal anymore #boycottvaluevillage #thrifting #vancouver ♬ original sound – Mrs Nice Guy
@mrsniceguyy Reply to @gracebrinkly glad to hear so many of you have already long stopped shopping there! #greenscreen #boycottvaluevillage ♬ original sound – Mrs Nice Guy
When asked if it’s common for thrift stores to sell items for a price that is even higher than what you’d pay for a brand new item, Sean confirmed that’s the case. “I’ve noticed this is happening more frequently in the past 2-3 years. Especially with the larger franchise thrift shops like “Goodwill” or “Savers/Value Village.” The professional thrifter added that his “Ridiculous Thrifter” Instagram and Facebook accounts were created to shed light on and make fun of this very thing.
“You will often find brand new or good-used conditioned items priced higher than the original retail price. Many times, they get caught being lazy by failing to remove the original price tag. For instance a pair of pants with the original store price tag of $8.99 along with the thrift store’s new price tag of $14.99. This is both frustrating and laughable at the same time.”
Moreover, Sean said that these same stores are also infamous for pricing dollar store items for more than what they were originally sold for. “For example a $1.99 “Dollar Tree” cheese grater priced for $4.99 at “Value Village” with the original “Dollar Tree” price still attached to the item haha. I have many examples of this on my account,” he said and added that “I personally call this greedy, but it makes for good content which people enjoy seeing.”
Many people agreed that prices at Value Village are indeed getting out of control
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Liucija Adomaite is a creative mind with years of experience in copywriting. She has a dynamic set of experiences from advertising, academia, and journalism. This time, she has set out on a journey to investigate the ways in which we communicate ideas on a large scale. Her current mission is to find a magic formula for how to make ideas, news, and other such things spread like a virus.
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The increase at the thrift stores is approaching insanity (here's looking at you GOODWILL). These thrift places were originally for people that are poor that could not afford to go buy new. Now I believe they have raised their price point to edge out people that are poor because those that are more fortunate have realized you can get some great deals there thanks to social media - so they are pandering to them. At least that is how it feels where I live.
Yesss exactly when the bosses realized that people were looking for a bargain instead of this is all I can afford they jacked up prices because they realized they would still sell the stuff not caring about target demograph instead looking for $$$ Edit: this is not all thrift stores though we have a rescue ministry that runs them around here that's non-profit so the what you are paying is really a donation not the price of the item
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You DO know that the salvation army uses the revenue from sales to HELP people, right? So by paying more you are HELPING people. Maybe you despise helping people. Maybe you think people should just fend for themselves so you can get stuff for practically free. Selfish if you ask me.
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I'm sorry to have to say it, but your reply would be easier to understand if you edited in some punctuation. Please.
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Honestly? I just stop reading when there's comments like that. If they can't use simple punctuation, and better grammar, there is no reason to attempt to follow along & guess.
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Boo hoo! You can't get a bargain and resell it on eBay for 10 times the amount you paid. Boo wah hoo! Bawl. Cry. Sniffle. Boo hoo
And whats even worse high end items and video games they now sell in ebay or there own goodwill auction site.. Good will had dozens of CEO's across the country all making 6 figures a year.. Non profits shouldnt be making so much money off of free donations that the community cant use
And we no longer have Good Will in Canada...at least not in Ontario anymore. There may be a few stragglers in other provinces, but I doubt it. And if Value Village doesn't make a change, they may end up going the same way, engaging in this kind of thievery.
Kitchener has some... Google before you claim stuff. Saves embarrassment
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Thievery? You open a thrift store and show us how to run it "right". We are waiting..... whats the hold up? Where is your non-thievery thrift store? That's what we thought, you are incapable.
Goodwill is pillaging the poor and low income. The very people that they are marketing their business model towards are the people they're exploiting. Poor people can only buy the color coded special discount of the week. Which is usually 50% off through the week and 75% off on Sunday, but it's also usually off season clothing with stains, rips, or hideously out of style items such as polyester wear from the 70's that no one would wear anymore. They have a set pricing schedule for all the stores over a huge area but if you live in a heavily populated poverty level area, these people will have difficulty shopping. The pricing schedule doesn't cover some of the shoes, purses, furniture, and items like that, so they're even more difficult to buy. They're also stocked with less popular donations. Before I became disabled and had a strong upper middle class income, prices were fine but it was acutely obvious afterwards. They need to make changes but would likely never feel motivated by us.
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Lol. Lies. The stuff in thrift stores all around here are super cheap. 5 bucks for VCRs that are going for hundreds on eBay. Clothes a fraction of the cost of CLEARANCE items at other stores, including Walmart!
The problem is that charities have been overtaken by avaricious CEOs retiring from Fortune 500 companies. They all insist on having a business model and spend a LOT of money made from donations paying obscene CEO high 6 figure salaries. It's ridiculous. These sleazy jerks have taken over a resource that supported my and other poor families for decades. My mom could not afford to buy us clothes at Godwill now. The Rich get richer by squeezing every dime possible out of the poor. They can amuse themselves at length lecturing the indolent lower classes. I find the prices at my local Goodwill are higher than Ikea's, Target's, or B, B&B's. It kills me how much they suck out of the organization for executive compensation- recently52+ MILLION paid to the managers and board while they paid subminimum wage to disabled workers and minimum wage to able workers. And now they have pushed prices out of reach for the people they are supposed to serve. They are not a charity, they are parasites.
If I had a way, and any crime was legal for 12 hours I would drain all their CEO's 6 figure bank accounts keep some for me because funds are tight and then start handing out some of the rest in cash here and there or biy things to help others. We could finally help the fam afford to fix pops bathroom. The floor fell in. like a good 58% of it from the sounds of it.
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No one is stopping you from opening a store, working for free, and giving everything away. So... hop to it!
Agreed. I used to get great deals at Goodwill, but recently it's been like, "Okay, I can pay X amount for a used item with a hole, or for $5, buy a brand new one without a hole. HMM."
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Stuff with holes are MORE expensive at all stores everywhere!
I agree, everything they get is donated and their prices are ridiculously high. Salvation Army is the same way. Donated items are marked up to an inflated price that is truly no more affordable than buying new.
I do not know about the Salvation Army in your area, but at least in my area yes the prices are high-ish but they have sales every day of the week with 3 out of their 5 colors on sale. 2 colors are 50% off and one color is 99 cents. It is where I do most of my shopping because it knocks the price down to a reasonable level. Also pretty much all of money goes directly to helping people and the CEO doesn't make much money. Also it has been my experience too that Goodwill is even super inflated past that of Salvation Army.
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So they shouldn't pay people to sort through all the C**P that is donated? No overhead running a store? Rent and utilities are free? It's disgusting how ungrateful people in this thread are.
Another thing that caused the increase was thrift stores realizing that people were buying and reselling items at higher prices on sites like Ebay.
So what, it's none of their business what someone does with it after it's bought, right? I'm so tired of these greedy a*s thrift stores.
Problem with that is those reselling on eBay, Facebook, etc are PROFESSIONAL RESELLERS and go "thrifting" daily to find bargains to resell on those platforms for insane profits. These same folks also comb retail store "clearance" shelves/aisles for the best markdowns to "flip" on said platforms at or just below full retail prices. And, surprisingly, get these prices. IMO, people are stupid! Especially if you paste the word "bargain" on something you want to sell.
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Yeah it is! Who the hell made you CEO of thrift stores? WTF is your malfunction? There isn't a law that says they need to charge what YOU think is "fair".
Goodwill is an awful company. I’m not surprised they rip people off.
I always felt Goodwill prices were higher than Unique (Savers stores in Chicago).
Goodwill went from being a nonprofit to being a for-profit company. This is why I will no longer support them Salvation Army is not my favorite but I know they are active in my community helping people so they get the greenlight for all my donations
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No one cares if you never support ANYONE ever again. Bye!
Yes, these "professional thrifters" that make a living, are effectively making it harder for poor people to buy second hand, because it's "trendy" to thrift shop now. Yet they don't seem to see the irony of complaining about thrift store prices....
I always look in the Goodwill book area. Books I used to pick up for $1.49 - $1.99 are now $3.39 - $4.99. Considering that GW gets almost everything they sell as donations and doesn't cost them a penny, the doubling of prices makes no sense. Pretty certain their labor costs haven't increased that much. Still find a deal now and then.
Nope. The labor costs haven't increased. Used to work for them. They're supposed to be a "non profit", yet even in the training one of the guiding principles or whatever the hell they were was "profit".
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You don't know what non profit means, do you? So inflation has skyrocketed but you feel employees at Goodwill shouldn't get raises so you can keep buying super cheap c**p. Beautiful. Such a caring person. I can't believe how selfish and greedy thrift store customers are. It's repulsive.
Dude, is your d**k really that small? Because being a huge one online won't make it bigger, nor will it make you a good person. Go play in traffic.
@Elora Danan. "We might not be "obligated," but we should care and should try to help people feel better. That's our purpose." Recognise this comment? You made it literally today. I have never seen a hypocrite as complete as you.
Why? Because she called out a lame that has way to much free time on their hands and nothing better to do with it then make offensive comments engineered to do nothing more then make people who are either simply venting about past experiences with being taken advantage of or people making well thought out and researched opinions feel like they are less then him? He obviously has to get all his built up resentment toward people who weren't handed everything on a silver platter out behind the safe anonymity of a computer because he knows if he ever tried saying these things to someone's face they would simply ensure he woke up in a hospital bed with a whole new world perspective. I know i would. So no Becky Samuel... Elora danan is not a hypocrite for standing up for people that have had to stand back up and keep moving forward after life ran them over. So take your better then thou b******t and shut the f**k up
Forgot to add that those price increases happened over the past 3-4 years or so.
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Lol, the donations sort and price themselves? You must think the employees are all volunteers. It makes PERFECT sense. What doesn't make sense is how greedy and selfish YOU are
Goodwill has been outrageous in their pricing for years. You can go and find and buy new at Walmart or hell, even Target. I bought some cheap plastic bowls at Walmart for $0.50 each. Happened into Goodwill a couple months later and found them selling the exact bowls for $1. It's ridiculous. I used to go there for fun to see what I could find but I've stopped. The only reason I was in there when I saw the bowls was because I needed to putz around before needing to go somewhere in that area at a specific time.
In addition to that, people have made a business out of buying second hand goods i.e. clothes, shoes, home items etc..and reselling them at higher prices online. This is huge, and surely the Thrift stores have caught on to this and they're not happy about it. That's what I think has attributed to them hiking up their prices..
Yes! Ours too! I loathe our local Goodwill. When we came here, a shirt was fifty cents. Now it's twenty dollars. Oh hail no.
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Awww can't get free shirts anymore?
Goodwill I used to go to almost daily. They moved it from a great location to a hard to reach location and then jacked up the prices. No longer is it fun to go there. Whereas I used to buy on every visit, I now might buy once in a blue moon. They’re overpriced and not worth it anymore.
It's unfortunate really but it is the result of our value system. Making money, having money, worshipping those who have it as if by some magic it makes them virtuous, is and has always been the very root of our value system. Leave the country for any other western nation then pay attention to the things they value through the mesages in media, then come back here and pay attention to ours. The longer you are away, the more perspective you allow yourself and it can be jarring. Nothing irretates me more than commercials that tell me to go out and buy something because I deserve it! The stupidity behind that message is that none of us deserve some product just because some company is telling us this just to sell us something. I have found the overt commecialization of our culture almost intolerable. So much so, that I got rid of television twenty years ago and haven't missed it all.
Same here goodwill used to be super cheap and i did get good stuff now i cant get jack from anywhere here and we have 3 of them
Do you remember when goodwill would have 50% off a different color stringed group of items like yellow tagged on Wednesday then the following Wednesday it would be red and so on but they done away with that long ago-and on one Sunday a month they would do specialty priced items that were in display case one time they had men's ostrich skin cowboy boots like for 275$ I was glued to the front door that morning got them for 140$
I noticed that Goodwill, in my city, didn't start jacking up their prices until Value Village opened here. Now when I thrift I seek out stores associated with other not for profit organization, otherwise I by off of Facebook and Kijiji.
Doesn't matter what they were originally intended for. They are now how many charities raise money for their cause. So not only do they want to maximize the profits that help their cause, the prices are being set by volunteers and or people that don't have experience in pricing merchandise. Go to a garage sale if you're looking for bargains.
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The prices started to go up when a ton of people especially during the pandemic decide to buy good stuff from Goodwill and then turn around and sell it for a lot more and make tons of money. I just left Goodwill and I myself do not think that people should make a ton of money off Goodwill. Sorry but they are a nonprofit organization that provides job training and other resources to help people. And since the people profiting know this blame them. It is called business. If you don't like it shop else where. Problem solved
I don't see where they're helping anybody, and their prices shouldn't be dependent on whether items are resold or not. This c**p is GIVEN to them. They're a bunch of greedy b#**ards.
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No you are the greedy selfish one. Your logic about their pricing is ludicrous. Get some help and fast.
Goodwill is FOR profit, the opposite of nonprofit. It is NOT A CHARITY.
Are thrift stores in the USA not for charity? In the UK almost all (but not all) are run by a charity and staffed by volunteers. Apart from overheads all the money goes to charity. Is it not the same in the US?
Hello SS, I have no idea why you are getting downvoted. I am originally from the UK and moved to the United States for work, family, and school. I believe that some thrift shops are run by charities or religious organizations like the Salvation Army, however, it is no way near as prevalent. Most thrift stores in the United States appear to run on donations from the public and hire people to work there.
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While this is true, the charity and religious stores are just as guilty if not more so. Salvation army for example:. Last time I went there? Plain, white, porcelain plate ($1 at $ tree) was marked at $2.99. worn out, threadbare jeans with holes on them were $12 each. Old, worn out couch, $299.00. six drawer bureau dresser with mirror, $399+. Basic lazy boy recliner/rocking chair, fabric worn thin and ready to tear, $200......
And seldom do they clean the stuff that is donated and put out. I've noticed the price differential where I live as well. I'll be damned to hell before I pay three times more for someone's filthy "anything" at the thrift store that can be had new somewhere else. Because at this point, it isn't about helping the poor any longer, its about sustaining a high profit to beable to pay the mulit-million dollar salries of these charity's CEO's. There are numerous online chariy review sites that track that information and make it public so you can decide whether they really are about the cause they claim to be, or just in it for cash to live the good life off other's good intentions. A for profit company, yes you expect that heinous behavior... but it's even more dispicable when its done off the backs of the poor, the handicapped, children, and animals.
ARE there some companies not ad charitable ad others? Sure. But the main large non-profit charities (barring a unscrupulous person) are in it to make the largest amount of money possible to help as many people as possible. NOTHING wrong with paying the CEOs a high salary. It takes someone with knowledge, abilities to run huge charities with lots of stores! As for filthy items, charities ask/beg for clean items. They don't have the manpower to clean everything. A LOT of donors donate rather than go to the DUMP. Or they're donating just for the tax write off and don't care enough to donate CLEAN and USABLE items! You need to do some research before slamming people/organizations who are trying to help There are also unscrupulous volunteers and paid workers at charities, because they recruit from the HUMAN RACE!
Do YOU have any idea of all the community programs the Salvation Army funds?! The more money they MAKE, the more people they can help! And they have to pay for the buildings, trucks if they have them, for the paid employees! There are organizations, people who will collect items and distribute them to really needy people for free. If you've destitute, look for them. Go to garage sales...
Free donations but sell for more then brand new items at walmart or dollar store. 6.99 value village sticker. Look at the bottom and see dollarama sticker for 1.50. Old blue jeans 15 to 20 bucks. 5 bucks more buy same brand brand new. Used pots and pans with destroyed teflon and no lids for exact same price as brand new at walmart. And yet all these items donated for free. I hear they have to pay rent and employees. Yes and so does walmart plus walmart has to buy the brand new items they sell and yet walmart still cheaper or same price. Wont pay rent if people stop buying over priced crap
Actually, Walmart usually owns the land and buildings they build on unless in those rare occaisions they're in a shopping center. Considering how Walmart purposely underpays, and underschedules their employee's then directs them to local social services for Food Stamps and Medicaid, I no longer shop there. In some of the southern States, they even have someone on staff in their store who specializes in directing their employees to these services. Services, that we pay for in tax for the needy. In effect, Walmart is using the social service system as their own benefits package and that I find heinous. Especially since the six Walmart heirs are usually amongst the top weathy Americans list every year or so. I won't go into how they force companies to have thier products made in China inorder to sell them in their stores.
Not just that, Wal Mart used to take out life insurance policies on employees calling it a dead peasants tax, absolutely insane. They're one of the scummiest most flagrantly greedy and morally bankrupt companies out there haha
I think they're getting downvoted because didn't the post say it was in Canada?
Even the Salvation Army pays its employees, there are some volunteers but most of the staff is paid, though the wage is very low. Had a friend who worked there.
Thrift stores here in the states are not charity based. People think they are, but they are not. They are businesses that receive free goods from donations and make pure profit. I have never seen any good/service or community outreach from the only non profit Goodwill in my state. The rest of the thrift stores near me are for profits.
Actually, some are, if you know where to look! Don't go to those that are chain stores (Goodwill, Value Village, Salvation Army, etc); DO go to those that are independent, that are affiliated with a single entity (church, hospital, etc). My experience was about five years ago, I was moving from a house to a single room. I had a small coffee maker (and still do) that was given to me by a former co-worker when she was cleaning out her late parents' home. When I picked it up, I dropped the carafe that came with it and it shattered on the floor. (At the time, Keurig was becoming a thing but it was expensive.) Went to Walmart to find a 2-4 cup carafe, they wanted $10 for it. Went to a local thrift store that was run by a church, found a slightly used one for ONE DOLLAR!! (Bought a couple of other items from there totaling at $6.)
Actually MOST are in job training programs, recent paroled individuals and people doing community service
That's the "PR" spin that is on their website & social media, & what they use to pander for donations, but if you REALLY look into the #s on their annual report, it is MUCH more profit-centric than people-centric in the VAST majority of these organizations. And while ones like Goodwill, & SalvoArmy come to mind because they are so large, the smaller, local ones are guilty too. We have a "homeless shelter, job training, life skills, faith based, ETC ETC ETC" that individuals are often court ordered to; the cost for a 3 month program (where the enrollees provide all the labor to run the shelter (cooking, cleaning, admin, etc. -all resident staffed) it's affiliated businesses (thrift store, a document shredding company , and a handyman company - all resident staffed) is $2600 paid UP FRONT before you can start the program, then while you're working in the program, fees of $3/day for bed roll, $3/day for luggage storage (cannot keep belongings at bunk),$4/day for food/shower. pure greed!
I was excited to see a Haltom thrift store open up here in Fort Worth Texas. I thought, wow a lot of helpful buys for we disadvantage people. Then I realized the merchandise is all donated, employees were rude, complicated buying process, and way over priced, dirty, smelly clothes. I don't go there anymore.
Our capitalist society/mentality created this..the most profits and getting to the top no matter what.
There is nothing inherently wrong with "the most profits". Are there unethical people? YES. EVERYWHERE. Even in these comments. But the majority of the major charitable thrift stores do more good than you could ever imagine. And nothing wrong with CAPITALISM either. You need money to hire, train, expand, invent, discover, build, research...
So true. This is why I no longer made donations to charities blindly anymore. There are some online charity rating sites that keep track of all this information, since it is all public, such as charitynavigator.org. You can see just how much their CEO's are paid, how much of their take is for overhead, and how much actually makes it to the cause they are for. These sites even rate the charities accordingly. I won't donate to any charity that doesn't get an A to A+ rating. You would choke to see how the average salary for the big charities is in the millions... that's a lot of cheap donated tee shirts that have to be sold.
They are also mentally impaired adults who can't work a regular job. They go there,work four to five hours a day and get paid a handful of dollars because they are "in a therapeutic training program"
In 20 years not one volunteer at my workplaces charity shop has been anything other than retired (including medically retired) with time on their hands. So I think “most” is an exaggeration.
I've heard this for Goodwill but do others do the same (Salvation Army, ect.)?
Capitalism aka the love of money has RUINED EVERYTHING in the United States.
I wish you could shout this! Though of course the people who most need to hear it, won't. And if they did they wouldn't recognize that it applies to them. I think I'll shout it anyway. CAPITALISM, AKA THE LOVE OF MONEY, HAS RUINED EVERYTHING IN THE UNITED STATES!!! Thank you, Sabrina!
Nah, Brandon is just a symptom, he didn't create the problem. Teddy Roosevelt was fighting the greedy corporations in the 1870s.
The horrid reality is that it is embedded in the bedrock of our culture. It is so deep within it, that in the past 30 years alone, business speak has infitrated our language. We talk using business jargon, we even stopped naming public landmarks and facilities after important people in history naming them instead after corporations and brand names. This too began roughly three decades ago. Nothing is more sickening than hearing another War Memorial civic center having its name changed to the Pepsi Arena, or a cities local baseball field renamed after some other major corporation. Even worse is how extreme capitalistic thinking and identity has changed us as a people. We don't just look down our noses at our own poor and needy, we've come to despise and hate them.
YES! Creates and encourages bad character and a dysfunctional, mentally poor society.
A lot are. I always donate my good unwanted stuff to a thrift store that funds a no-kill animal shelter. And they have decently priced stuff, but they are a lot smaller than the Goodwill or Salvation Army.
I like your comment, because you should not stop donating, only make sure your donations goes to a charity you wish to support
Yes. There are online charity rating sites that track the financial information as well as other things of charities so you can better decide if your donations are going to where they should. Nothing is more disappointing than finding out the charity you like uses too much of what is donated to pay their CEO so they can live a good life off the backs of the needy. We already have many corporations and the small top percentage of the country who do that. We certainly do not need our chairities doing it as well.
I work for a no-kill animal rescue in the UK, we are fortunate enough to have a charity shop on site (it’s actually just a big shed lol) and the donations really do make a huge difference! The money is of course essential for feed etc, but actually it gives the staff a little morale boost because it reminds you people care! Thank you on behalf of them!
After hrs of not being able to stop reading uplifting/funny things on this site though deciding I didn't want to sign up,..i than felt had in order to cheer for Winter & Susanne B's comments! Tempted to repeat & yet, yawl said it perfectly. Thks!!🥰
Value Village is in Canada. The American branch of the company is called Savers. They were sued in the US for making false claims about their charitable giving and lost. This resulted in massive store closings.
Um, actually there are Value Villages in the US too. There is one in Washington I used to go to.
Thank you. I was super confused because I've been to 2 in Spokane and I think 1 in the tricities. That was also 15-20 years ago though so maybe they changed names or closed down.....
Value Village started in WA. Their corporate headquarters is in Bellevue.
Originally, Goodwill was a place to donate so that homeless persons could work and sell to other down and out people. It has since become a for profit institution that still relies on the history of what it was to get free stuff but is actually as far from it's origin as one can get. As there are many that have seen down and out people turned away due to the prices and I've yet to see a homeless person even. be considered for employment
Goodwill is still a non-profit, but so were most insurance companies and hospitals until fairly recently. It only means that profits are not dispersed to owners or shareholders, not that corporate executives aren't paid handsomely nor that they don't build an empire by reinvesting revenue.
We have charitable shops here as in the UK, but the big stores are all corporate, and stores like Goodwill have CEOs who make vast sums of money, but often pay employees a pittance in comparison. To many, it seems like a racket. Small thrift stores operated by churches, animal shelters, Adult Care homes and the like are staffed by volunteers and keep their prices in check.
They are. But large chains that barely legally qualify as non-profit have dominated the market. Goodwill's thing is thay they help with employment services. Originally they employed disabled people, but then it got out that they were paying them less then minimum wage because they couldnt work as fast as able bodied people.
No, there's a loophole in the federal minimum wage law that allows you to pay a disabled person a lower "training wage" , kinda like the tip credit for waiters. So they can get away with it, unless a state law forbids it.
I think that's such an absurd claim on their part. Isn't every business that hires employees "helping with employment services"? They do provide employment, after all. I don't see how Goodwill can use it to declare non profit status and others can't. That would mean every, single place of business is "non profit" by that criteria.
The question is why are YOU so dense. Try looking it up before freaking out on everyone. You're wrong. Goodwill is a 501c3 NOT FOR PROFIT. You can think whatever you want about the way they do things, but their legal status is a not for profit 501c3. That means any money they make goes back "into their mission". Again, you can think that's b******t and that it's an evil company. But this info is public and it's very easy to find, I don't know why you're being so weird about this and replying to everyone about this and being a b***h about it.
Many are private. They purchase donated items BY THE PALLET at auctions and estate sales for LESS THAN PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR. AN ENTIRE PALLET full of mostly newish kitchen small appliances can go for $10 or less at a weekday auction. And the real kicker? THEY BUY THIS STUFF FROM "charities" like Disabled American Vets, DAV), United Way, Red Cross, etc. All those charities you love to donate your new clothes that you never wore but no longer fit, or nice appliances you thought you'd use but never did, and you donated them thinking they would do someone a lot of good? Those are getting sold for less than pennies, because it's all sold BY THE PALLET. I have a good friend who owns a thrift store and he and his wife DON'T gouge. They NET about $10-15 million a YEAR with one largish thrift store. It's insane.
They are supposed to be but you see, even though those volunteers aren't getting paid, management does get paid. Overall, most of the so called charitable places put less then 10°% of what they take in to a real charity or to the community. Thank you corrupt government and politicians.
Many thrift stores in the US buy items donated to churches and other charity places that received the donations but don't want to sell them themselves, so they sell in bulk to these stores. I once saw a gallon glass jar I recognized with no price on it. I asked someone how much it was for sale. They responded $3.99. I had just bought the same jar at my local supermarket the week before for $3.99 - but my jar was full of pickles!
US translates into "it's all about the money" conscience has nothing to do with it
Charity stores in Sweden pay people to work there as a part of "job training ." The stores still charge more than retail for basic Ik6stuff.
Thrift stores yes. Value village nope. Its a for profit store. They do hire the disabled but pay next to nothing
No, but you can reinvest revenue into expansion or pay your executives huge salaries and still be considered a non-profit. Harvard University is the flagship of a network of hospitals, insurance companies, etc., that is truly a massive network with astonishing net revenue. Its endowment alone is $50 billion, and that doesn't count its business assets. Harvard could offer free tuition, room and board to all of its students several times over and not eat into its endowment.
It seems to depend on what organization runs the shop. In my area, those run by rescue missions are where you can get a shirt for $3 and such. Goodwill has become useless.
My understanding from the website is that Savers stores in USA donate part of the sales to charity. They are not ran by any charity.
Not all…. Hospice is for charity to help families and those that need hospice services. We are all volunteers and our prices are never that high… I’m shocked
Value Village is Canadian. I would never shop there as they sell overpriced junk. We have dollar stores that are a lot cheaper. You can buy brand new stuff for less.
In addition to all the other problems with US "non-profit" secondhand stores that people have already mentioned: Since Salvation Army is a church, they have a history of discriminating against LGBTQ people—not so much at their stores, but at their homeless shelters. Yes, this "charity" will deny shelter to people they consider "sinners", but, you know, only that one "sin". All other sinners can stay there.
Places like value village in Canada and goodwill in the US are both for profit thrift stores. A lot of smaller outfits like ladies auxiliary or church based thrift stores are non profit, but sometimes aren't as clean (one I'd been to was carpeted and wasn't vacuumed regularly and had carpet beetles because of it) due to lack of volunteers to run them or just have no organization to the overwhelming amount of stuff. It's through no fault of their own, it's hard enough to find time to volunteer when you're struggling to work more than one job to put food on the table like a lot of people are these days.
And locally the Goodwill store allows employees? managers? somebody! to cherry pick clothing donations before they ever hit the shelves/racks to be sold. Betting they do not pay for the items they take either.
We have all kinds of thrift stores in the US. Where I live, the vast majority are run by charities, but there are a few that seem to be "for profit' enterprises. I have found that the most likely to be pure charity operations are smaller, and usually run by a church or by a focused charity...like Heart Association or Humane Society. They seek donations and use volunteers. Goodwill Industries are locally owned and operated, and there have long been allegations of workers being paid less than minimum wage, while owners receive high seven figure salaries. I think with just a little research it's possible to find a really responsible charity here in the US. That said, I called one of the charities I have used for years, and told they wouldn't come out and pick up furniture, as they were overflowing because of the pandemic... both because people were decluttering in their downtime, and because people lost housing and had to move.
I have noticed that a local Charity shop here in Massachusetts have a new feature, an enclosed glass case for 'Designer Items' such as shoes, handbags, etc. I find it amusingvthat half the time the items they feature in this case are not genuine items, but obvious knock-offs.. However, l did find a great buy there recently... They missed out big time...l found a lovely Max Mara cashmere coat for $10.00.. Anyway, l doubt it would have fit into their 'glass showcase".. Too funny. !!!!
Value Village is in Canada. Like most places, in Canada we have a mix of charity and for-profit thrift stores. For-profit stores are generally higher priced and more picky with the items they accept (and may pay you a small amount for the items they accept), charity stores are usually cheaper with more random items. Value Village definitely deserves a boycott, they advertise themselves as being a charitable organization but donate very little of the insane prices they charge. Last time I went into one I saw many items marked ABOVE the "New" price, particularly in household items like water glasses. Probably other sections as well, I just have a better idea of what those items cost new.
Many are, but not all. There are a lot of private owned thrift shops that get their items cheap at swap meets, flea markets, estate sales, p**n auctions, etc, then mark them way up in their stores. Thrifting used to be great but it’s caught the eye of exploitative capitalism, unfortunately.
Some are charities and some are not, but it is no indication of whether the prices are high. They can be high or low at both types.
Some are ran by charity but not all alot just their own greed, those ran by a charity usually well priced but also beware sometimes only .05¢ of each $1.00 goes it the charity sometimes less than that you need to check to see who is actually supporting a charity and who is getting rich selling stuff they get for free for higher than new prices.
No...Charity shops in the U.K. are run differently.. When l go home on holiday...my Mam and l often shop at the local shop where prices are very reasonable compared to the shops here in America.
Yeah I think it's different here. My husband worked for Goodwill and they hired people.
This is in Vancouver, Canada. Canada isnt much different from the states, so I understand your confusion
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They aren't staffed by volunteers. Why should they be?
About your previous comments, not everyone has infinite money and it doesn't grow on tree. It's not greedy to want lower price. It's not like asking for them to make a golden toilet 1$ some people just want to be able to have enough money to pay bills and still have enough money for food.
When I go thrifting, I always look up before buying. I can often get the same item brand new at the Walmart down the road for less than they're tying to sell it used. Also, many thrift stores are now trying to brand themselves as "antique shops" to charge more for what are just thrifted items you can still get new.
That's the whole point of the story. The point is keeping usable items out of landfills. Buying new defeats that purpose. So why are they charging more for used than what the new one cost? It's hard to be socially responsible when you have to pay more to do it...
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I only buy and drop off my used items at the Salvation Army, their money goes to help the homeless, as well Women in Need stores help desperate mothers running from abusive home life. I know the proceeds are doing good for desperate people,
Right on. People shopping at thrift stores don’t want to pay $4 for a spatula just because it’s a name brand one that retails for $15 when they can get a workable brand new one for $3.49 at walmart or for $1 at a dollar store.
The increase at the thrift stores is approaching insanity (here's looking at you GOODWILL). These thrift places were originally for people that are poor that could not afford to go buy new. Now I believe they have raised their price point to edge out people that are poor because those that are more fortunate have realized you can get some great deals there thanks to social media - so they are pandering to them. At least that is how it feels where I live.
Yesss exactly when the bosses realized that people were looking for a bargain instead of this is all I can afford they jacked up prices because they realized they would still sell the stuff not caring about target demograph instead looking for $$$ Edit: this is not all thrift stores though we have a rescue ministry that runs them around here that's non-profit so the what you are paying is really a donation not the price of the item
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You DO know that the salvation army uses the revenue from sales to HELP people, right? So by paying more you are HELPING people. Maybe you despise helping people. Maybe you think people should just fend for themselves so you can get stuff for practically free. Selfish if you ask me.
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I'm sorry to have to say it, but your reply would be easier to understand if you edited in some punctuation. Please.
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Honestly? I just stop reading when there's comments like that. If they can't use simple punctuation, and better grammar, there is no reason to attempt to follow along & guess.
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Boo hoo! You can't get a bargain and resell it on eBay for 10 times the amount you paid. Boo wah hoo! Bawl. Cry. Sniffle. Boo hoo
And whats even worse high end items and video games they now sell in ebay or there own goodwill auction site.. Good will had dozens of CEO's across the country all making 6 figures a year.. Non profits shouldnt be making so much money off of free donations that the community cant use
And we no longer have Good Will in Canada...at least not in Ontario anymore. There may be a few stragglers in other provinces, but I doubt it. And if Value Village doesn't make a change, they may end up going the same way, engaging in this kind of thievery.
Kitchener has some... Google before you claim stuff. Saves embarrassment
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Thievery? You open a thrift store and show us how to run it "right". We are waiting..... whats the hold up? Where is your non-thievery thrift store? That's what we thought, you are incapable.
Goodwill is pillaging the poor and low income. The very people that they are marketing their business model towards are the people they're exploiting. Poor people can only buy the color coded special discount of the week. Which is usually 50% off through the week and 75% off on Sunday, but it's also usually off season clothing with stains, rips, or hideously out of style items such as polyester wear from the 70's that no one would wear anymore. They have a set pricing schedule for all the stores over a huge area but if you live in a heavily populated poverty level area, these people will have difficulty shopping. The pricing schedule doesn't cover some of the shoes, purses, furniture, and items like that, so they're even more difficult to buy. They're also stocked with less popular donations. Before I became disabled and had a strong upper middle class income, prices were fine but it was acutely obvious afterwards. They need to make changes but would likely never feel motivated by us.
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Lol. Lies. The stuff in thrift stores all around here are super cheap. 5 bucks for VCRs that are going for hundreds on eBay. Clothes a fraction of the cost of CLEARANCE items at other stores, including Walmart!
The problem is that charities have been overtaken by avaricious CEOs retiring from Fortune 500 companies. They all insist on having a business model and spend a LOT of money made from donations paying obscene CEO high 6 figure salaries. It's ridiculous. These sleazy jerks have taken over a resource that supported my and other poor families for decades. My mom could not afford to buy us clothes at Godwill now. The Rich get richer by squeezing every dime possible out of the poor. They can amuse themselves at length lecturing the indolent lower classes. I find the prices at my local Goodwill are higher than Ikea's, Target's, or B, B&B's. It kills me how much they suck out of the organization for executive compensation- recently52+ MILLION paid to the managers and board while they paid subminimum wage to disabled workers and minimum wage to able workers. And now they have pushed prices out of reach for the people they are supposed to serve. They are not a charity, they are parasites.
If I had a way, and any crime was legal for 12 hours I would drain all their CEO's 6 figure bank accounts keep some for me because funds are tight and then start handing out some of the rest in cash here and there or biy things to help others. We could finally help the fam afford to fix pops bathroom. The floor fell in. like a good 58% of it from the sounds of it.
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No one is stopping you from opening a store, working for free, and giving everything away. So... hop to it!
Agreed. I used to get great deals at Goodwill, but recently it's been like, "Okay, I can pay X amount for a used item with a hole, or for $5, buy a brand new one without a hole. HMM."
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Stuff with holes are MORE expensive at all stores everywhere!
I agree, everything they get is donated and their prices are ridiculously high. Salvation Army is the same way. Donated items are marked up to an inflated price that is truly no more affordable than buying new.
I do not know about the Salvation Army in your area, but at least in my area yes the prices are high-ish but they have sales every day of the week with 3 out of their 5 colors on sale. 2 colors are 50% off and one color is 99 cents. It is where I do most of my shopping because it knocks the price down to a reasonable level. Also pretty much all of money goes directly to helping people and the CEO doesn't make much money. Also it has been my experience too that Goodwill is even super inflated past that of Salvation Army.
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So they shouldn't pay people to sort through all the C**P that is donated? No overhead running a store? Rent and utilities are free? It's disgusting how ungrateful people in this thread are.
Another thing that caused the increase was thrift stores realizing that people were buying and reselling items at higher prices on sites like Ebay.
So what, it's none of their business what someone does with it after it's bought, right? I'm so tired of these greedy a*s thrift stores.
Problem with that is those reselling on eBay, Facebook, etc are PROFESSIONAL RESELLERS and go "thrifting" daily to find bargains to resell on those platforms for insane profits. These same folks also comb retail store "clearance" shelves/aisles for the best markdowns to "flip" on said platforms at or just below full retail prices. And, surprisingly, get these prices. IMO, people are stupid! Especially if you paste the word "bargain" on something you want to sell.
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Yeah it is! Who the hell made you CEO of thrift stores? WTF is your malfunction? There isn't a law that says they need to charge what YOU think is "fair".
Goodwill is an awful company. I’m not surprised they rip people off.
I always felt Goodwill prices were higher than Unique (Savers stores in Chicago).
Goodwill went from being a nonprofit to being a for-profit company. This is why I will no longer support them Salvation Army is not my favorite but I know they are active in my community helping people so they get the greenlight for all my donations
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No one cares if you never support ANYONE ever again. Bye!
Yes, these "professional thrifters" that make a living, are effectively making it harder for poor people to buy second hand, because it's "trendy" to thrift shop now. Yet they don't seem to see the irony of complaining about thrift store prices....
I always look in the Goodwill book area. Books I used to pick up for $1.49 - $1.99 are now $3.39 - $4.99. Considering that GW gets almost everything they sell as donations and doesn't cost them a penny, the doubling of prices makes no sense. Pretty certain their labor costs haven't increased that much. Still find a deal now and then.
Nope. The labor costs haven't increased. Used to work for them. They're supposed to be a "non profit", yet even in the training one of the guiding principles or whatever the hell they were was "profit".
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You don't know what non profit means, do you? So inflation has skyrocketed but you feel employees at Goodwill shouldn't get raises so you can keep buying super cheap c**p. Beautiful. Such a caring person. I can't believe how selfish and greedy thrift store customers are. It's repulsive.
Dude, is your d**k really that small? Because being a huge one online won't make it bigger, nor will it make you a good person. Go play in traffic.
@Elora Danan. "We might not be "obligated," but we should care and should try to help people feel better. That's our purpose." Recognise this comment? You made it literally today. I have never seen a hypocrite as complete as you.
Why? Because she called out a lame that has way to much free time on their hands and nothing better to do with it then make offensive comments engineered to do nothing more then make people who are either simply venting about past experiences with being taken advantage of or people making well thought out and researched opinions feel like they are less then him? He obviously has to get all his built up resentment toward people who weren't handed everything on a silver platter out behind the safe anonymity of a computer because he knows if he ever tried saying these things to someone's face they would simply ensure he woke up in a hospital bed with a whole new world perspective. I know i would. So no Becky Samuel... Elora danan is not a hypocrite for standing up for people that have had to stand back up and keep moving forward after life ran them over. So take your better then thou b******t and shut the f**k up
Forgot to add that those price increases happened over the past 3-4 years or so.
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Lol, the donations sort and price themselves? You must think the employees are all volunteers. It makes PERFECT sense. What doesn't make sense is how greedy and selfish YOU are
Goodwill has been outrageous in their pricing for years. You can go and find and buy new at Walmart or hell, even Target. I bought some cheap plastic bowls at Walmart for $0.50 each. Happened into Goodwill a couple months later and found them selling the exact bowls for $1. It's ridiculous. I used to go there for fun to see what I could find but I've stopped. The only reason I was in there when I saw the bowls was because I needed to putz around before needing to go somewhere in that area at a specific time.
In addition to that, people have made a business out of buying second hand goods i.e. clothes, shoes, home items etc..and reselling them at higher prices online. This is huge, and surely the Thrift stores have caught on to this and they're not happy about it. That's what I think has attributed to them hiking up their prices..
Yes! Ours too! I loathe our local Goodwill. When we came here, a shirt was fifty cents. Now it's twenty dollars. Oh hail no.
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Awww can't get free shirts anymore?
Goodwill I used to go to almost daily. They moved it from a great location to a hard to reach location and then jacked up the prices. No longer is it fun to go there. Whereas I used to buy on every visit, I now might buy once in a blue moon. They’re overpriced and not worth it anymore.
It's unfortunate really but it is the result of our value system. Making money, having money, worshipping those who have it as if by some magic it makes them virtuous, is and has always been the very root of our value system. Leave the country for any other western nation then pay attention to the things they value through the mesages in media, then come back here and pay attention to ours. The longer you are away, the more perspective you allow yourself and it can be jarring. Nothing irretates me more than commercials that tell me to go out and buy something because I deserve it! The stupidity behind that message is that none of us deserve some product just because some company is telling us this just to sell us something. I have found the overt commecialization of our culture almost intolerable. So much so, that I got rid of television twenty years ago and haven't missed it all.
Same here goodwill used to be super cheap and i did get good stuff now i cant get jack from anywhere here and we have 3 of them
Do you remember when goodwill would have 50% off a different color stringed group of items like yellow tagged on Wednesday then the following Wednesday it would be red and so on but they done away with that long ago-and on one Sunday a month they would do specialty priced items that were in display case one time they had men's ostrich skin cowboy boots like for 275$ I was glued to the front door that morning got them for 140$
I noticed that Goodwill, in my city, didn't start jacking up their prices until Value Village opened here. Now when I thrift I seek out stores associated with other not for profit organization, otherwise I by off of Facebook and Kijiji.
Doesn't matter what they were originally intended for. They are now how many charities raise money for their cause. So not only do they want to maximize the profits that help their cause, the prices are being set by volunteers and or people that don't have experience in pricing merchandise. Go to a garage sale if you're looking for bargains.
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The prices started to go up when a ton of people especially during the pandemic decide to buy good stuff from Goodwill and then turn around and sell it for a lot more and make tons of money. I just left Goodwill and I myself do not think that people should make a ton of money off Goodwill. Sorry but they are a nonprofit organization that provides job training and other resources to help people. And since the people profiting know this blame them. It is called business. If you don't like it shop else where. Problem solved
I don't see where they're helping anybody, and their prices shouldn't be dependent on whether items are resold or not. This c**p is GIVEN to them. They're a bunch of greedy b#**ards.
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No you are the greedy selfish one. Your logic about their pricing is ludicrous. Get some help and fast.
Goodwill is FOR profit, the opposite of nonprofit. It is NOT A CHARITY.
Are thrift stores in the USA not for charity? In the UK almost all (but not all) are run by a charity and staffed by volunteers. Apart from overheads all the money goes to charity. Is it not the same in the US?
Hello SS, I have no idea why you are getting downvoted. I am originally from the UK and moved to the United States for work, family, and school. I believe that some thrift shops are run by charities or religious organizations like the Salvation Army, however, it is no way near as prevalent. Most thrift stores in the United States appear to run on donations from the public and hire people to work there.
Load More Replies... While this is true, the charity and religious stores are just as guilty if not more so. Salvation army for example:. Last time I went there? Plain, white, porcelain plate ($1 at $ tree) was marked at $2.99. worn out, threadbare jeans with holes on them were $12 each. Old, worn out couch, $299.00. six drawer bureau dresser with mirror, $399+. Basic lazy boy recliner/rocking chair, fabric worn thin and ready to tear, $200......
And seldom do they clean the stuff that is donated and put out. I've noticed the price differential where I live as well. I'll be damned to hell before I pay three times more for someone's filthy "anything" at the thrift store that can be had new somewhere else. Because at this point, it isn't about helping the poor any longer, its about sustaining a high profit to beable to pay the mulit-million dollar salries of these charity's CEO's. There are numerous online chariy review sites that track that information and make it public so you can decide whether they really are about the cause they claim to be, or just in it for cash to live the good life off other's good intentions. A for profit company, yes you expect that heinous behavior... but it's even more dispicable when its done off the backs of the poor, the handicapped, children, and animals.
ARE there some companies not ad charitable ad others? Sure. But the main large non-profit charities (barring a unscrupulous person) are in it to make the largest amount of money possible to help as many people as possible. NOTHING wrong with paying the CEOs a high salary. It takes someone with knowledge, abilities to run huge charities with lots of stores! As for filthy items, charities ask/beg for clean items. They don't have the manpower to clean everything. A LOT of donors donate rather than go to the DUMP. Or they're donating just for the tax write off and don't care enough to donate CLEAN and USABLE items! You need to do some research before slamming people/organizations who are trying to help There are also unscrupulous volunteers and paid workers at charities, because they recruit from the HUMAN RACE!
Do YOU have any idea of all the community programs the Salvation Army funds?! The more money they MAKE, the more people they can help! And they have to pay for the buildings, trucks if they have them, for the paid employees! There are organizations, people who will collect items and distribute them to really needy people for free. If you've destitute, look for them. Go to garage sales...
Free donations but sell for more then brand new items at walmart or dollar store. 6.99 value village sticker. Look at the bottom and see dollarama sticker for 1.50. Old blue jeans 15 to 20 bucks. 5 bucks more buy same brand brand new. Used pots and pans with destroyed teflon and no lids for exact same price as brand new at walmart. And yet all these items donated for free. I hear they have to pay rent and employees. Yes and so does walmart plus walmart has to buy the brand new items they sell and yet walmart still cheaper or same price. Wont pay rent if people stop buying over priced crap
Actually, Walmart usually owns the land and buildings they build on unless in those rare occaisions they're in a shopping center. Considering how Walmart purposely underpays, and underschedules their employee's then directs them to local social services for Food Stamps and Medicaid, I no longer shop there. In some of the southern States, they even have someone on staff in their store who specializes in directing their employees to these services. Services, that we pay for in tax for the needy. In effect, Walmart is using the social service system as their own benefits package and that I find heinous. Especially since the six Walmart heirs are usually amongst the top weathy Americans list every year or so. I won't go into how they force companies to have thier products made in China inorder to sell them in their stores.
Not just that, Wal Mart used to take out life insurance policies on employees calling it a dead peasants tax, absolutely insane. They're one of the scummiest most flagrantly greedy and morally bankrupt companies out there haha
I think they're getting downvoted because didn't the post say it was in Canada?
Even the Salvation Army pays its employees, there are some volunteers but most of the staff is paid, though the wage is very low. Had a friend who worked there.
Thrift stores here in the states are not charity based. People think they are, but they are not. They are businesses that receive free goods from donations and make pure profit. I have never seen any good/service or community outreach from the only non profit Goodwill in my state. The rest of the thrift stores near me are for profits.
Actually, some are, if you know where to look! Don't go to those that are chain stores (Goodwill, Value Village, Salvation Army, etc); DO go to those that are independent, that are affiliated with a single entity (church, hospital, etc). My experience was about five years ago, I was moving from a house to a single room. I had a small coffee maker (and still do) that was given to me by a former co-worker when she was cleaning out her late parents' home. When I picked it up, I dropped the carafe that came with it and it shattered on the floor. (At the time, Keurig was becoming a thing but it was expensive.) Went to Walmart to find a 2-4 cup carafe, they wanted $10 for it. Went to a local thrift store that was run by a church, found a slightly used one for ONE DOLLAR!! (Bought a couple of other items from there totaling at $6.)
Actually MOST are in job training programs, recent paroled individuals and people doing community service
That's the "PR" spin that is on their website & social media, & what they use to pander for donations, but if you REALLY look into the #s on their annual report, it is MUCH more profit-centric than people-centric in the VAST majority of these organizations. And while ones like Goodwill, & SalvoArmy come to mind because they are so large, the smaller, local ones are guilty too. We have a "homeless shelter, job training, life skills, faith based, ETC ETC ETC" that individuals are often court ordered to; the cost for a 3 month program (where the enrollees provide all the labor to run the shelter (cooking, cleaning, admin, etc. -all resident staffed) it's affiliated businesses (thrift store, a document shredding company , and a handyman company - all resident staffed) is $2600 paid UP FRONT before you can start the program, then while you're working in the program, fees of $3/day for bed roll, $3/day for luggage storage (cannot keep belongings at bunk),$4/day for food/shower. pure greed!
I was excited to see a Haltom thrift store open up here in Fort Worth Texas. I thought, wow a lot of helpful buys for we disadvantage people. Then I realized the merchandise is all donated, employees were rude, complicated buying process, and way over priced, dirty, smelly clothes. I don't go there anymore.
Our capitalist society/mentality created this..the most profits and getting to the top no matter what.
There is nothing inherently wrong with "the most profits". Are there unethical people? YES. EVERYWHERE. Even in these comments. But the majority of the major charitable thrift stores do more good than you could ever imagine. And nothing wrong with CAPITALISM either. You need money to hire, train, expand, invent, discover, build, research...
So true. This is why I no longer made donations to charities blindly anymore. There are some online charity rating sites that keep track of all this information, since it is all public, such as charitynavigator.org. You can see just how much their CEO's are paid, how much of their take is for overhead, and how much actually makes it to the cause they are for. These sites even rate the charities accordingly. I won't donate to any charity that doesn't get an A to A+ rating. You would choke to see how the average salary for the big charities is in the millions... that's a lot of cheap donated tee shirts that have to be sold.
They are also mentally impaired adults who can't work a regular job. They go there,work four to five hours a day and get paid a handful of dollars because they are "in a therapeutic training program"
In 20 years not one volunteer at my workplaces charity shop has been anything other than retired (including medically retired) with time on their hands. So I think “most” is an exaggeration.
I've heard this for Goodwill but do others do the same (Salvation Army, ect.)?
Capitalism aka the love of money has RUINED EVERYTHING in the United States.
I wish you could shout this! Though of course the people who most need to hear it, won't. And if they did they wouldn't recognize that it applies to them. I think I'll shout it anyway. CAPITALISM, AKA THE LOVE OF MONEY, HAS RUINED EVERYTHING IN THE UNITED STATES!!! Thank you, Sabrina!
Nah, Brandon is just a symptom, he didn't create the problem. Teddy Roosevelt was fighting the greedy corporations in the 1870s.
The horrid reality is that it is embedded in the bedrock of our culture. It is so deep within it, that in the past 30 years alone, business speak has infitrated our language. We talk using business jargon, we even stopped naming public landmarks and facilities after important people in history naming them instead after corporations and brand names. This too began roughly three decades ago. Nothing is more sickening than hearing another War Memorial civic center having its name changed to the Pepsi Arena, or a cities local baseball field renamed after some other major corporation. Even worse is how extreme capitalistic thinking and identity has changed us as a people. We don't just look down our noses at our own poor and needy, we've come to despise and hate them.
YES! Creates and encourages bad character and a dysfunctional, mentally poor society.
A lot are. I always donate my good unwanted stuff to a thrift store that funds a no-kill animal shelter. And they have decently priced stuff, but they are a lot smaller than the Goodwill or Salvation Army.
I like your comment, because you should not stop donating, only make sure your donations goes to a charity you wish to support
Yes. There are online charity rating sites that track the financial information as well as other things of charities so you can better decide if your donations are going to where they should. Nothing is more disappointing than finding out the charity you like uses too much of what is donated to pay their CEO so they can live a good life off the backs of the needy. We already have many corporations and the small top percentage of the country who do that. We certainly do not need our chairities doing it as well.
I work for a no-kill animal rescue in the UK, we are fortunate enough to have a charity shop on site (it’s actually just a big shed lol) and the donations really do make a huge difference! The money is of course essential for feed etc, but actually it gives the staff a little morale boost because it reminds you people care! Thank you on behalf of them!
After hrs of not being able to stop reading uplifting/funny things on this site though deciding I didn't want to sign up,..i than felt had in order to cheer for Winter & Susanne B's comments! Tempted to repeat & yet, yawl said it perfectly. Thks!!🥰
Value Village is in Canada. The American branch of the company is called Savers. They were sued in the US for making false claims about their charitable giving and lost. This resulted in massive store closings.
Um, actually there are Value Villages in the US too. There is one in Washington I used to go to.
Thank you. I was super confused because I've been to 2 in Spokane and I think 1 in the tricities. That was also 15-20 years ago though so maybe they changed names or closed down.....
Value Village started in WA. Their corporate headquarters is in Bellevue.
Originally, Goodwill was a place to donate so that homeless persons could work and sell to other down and out people. It has since become a for profit institution that still relies on the history of what it was to get free stuff but is actually as far from it's origin as one can get. As there are many that have seen down and out people turned away due to the prices and I've yet to see a homeless person even. be considered for employment
Goodwill is still a non-profit, but so were most insurance companies and hospitals until fairly recently. It only means that profits are not dispersed to owners or shareholders, not that corporate executives aren't paid handsomely nor that they don't build an empire by reinvesting revenue.
We have charitable shops here as in the UK, but the big stores are all corporate, and stores like Goodwill have CEOs who make vast sums of money, but often pay employees a pittance in comparison. To many, it seems like a racket. Small thrift stores operated by churches, animal shelters, Adult Care homes and the like are staffed by volunteers and keep their prices in check.
They are. But large chains that barely legally qualify as non-profit have dominated the market. Goodwill's thing is thay they help with employment services. Originally they employed disabled people, but then it got out that they were paying them less then minimum wage because they couldnt work as fast as able bodied people.
No, there's a loophole in the federal minimum wage law that allows you to pay a disabled person a lower "training wage" , kinda like the tip credit for waiters. So they can get away with it, unless a state law forbids it.
I think that's such an absurd claim on their part. Isn't every business that hires employees "helping with employment services"? They do provide employment, after all. I don't see how Goodwill can use it to declare non profit status and others can't. That would mean every, single place of business is "non profit" by that criteria.
The question is why are YOU so dense. Try looking it up before freaking out on everyone. You're wrong. Goodwill is a 501c3 NOT FOR PROFIT. You can think whatever you want about the way they do things, but their legal status is a not for profit 501c3. That means any money they make goes back "into their mission". Again, you can think that's b******t and that it's an evil company. But this info is public and it's very easy to find, I don't know why you're being so weird about this and replying to everyone about this and being a b***h about it.
Many are private. They purchase donated items BY THE PALLET at auctions and estate sales for LESS THAN PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR. AN ENTIRE PALLET full of mostly newish kitchen small appliances can go for $10 or less at a weekday auction. And the real kicker? THEY BUY THIS STUFF FROM "charities" like Disabled American Vets, DAV), United Way, Red Cross, etc. All those charities you love to donate your new clothes that you never wore but no longer fit, or nice appliances you thought you'd use but never did, and you donated them thinking they would do someone a lot of good? Those are getting sold for less than pennies, because it's all sold BY THE PALLET. I have a good friend who owns a thrift store and he and his wife DON'T gouge. They NET about $10-15 million a YEAR with one largish thrift store. It's insane.
They are supposed to be but you see, even though those volunteers aren't getting paid, management does get paid. Overall, most of the so called charitable places put less then 10°% of what they take in to a real charity or to the community. Thank you corrupt government and politicians.
Many thrift stores in the US buy items donated to churches and other charity places that received the donations but don't want to sell them themselves, so they sell in bulk to these stores. I once saw a gallon glass jar I recognized with no price on it. I asked someone how much it was for sale. They responded $3.99. I had just bought the same jar at my local supermarket the week before for $3.99 - but my jar was full of pickles!
US translates into "it's all about the money" conscience has nothing to do with it
Charity stores in Sweden pay people to work there as a part of "job training ." The stores still charge more than retail for basic Ik6stuff.
Thrift stores yes. Value village nope. Its a for profit store. They do hire the disabled but pay next to nothing
No, but you can reinvest revenue into expansion or pay your executives huge salaries and still be considered a non-profit. Harvard University is the flagship of a network of hospitals, insurance companies, etc., that is truly a massive network with astonishing net revenue. Its endowment alone is $50 billion, and that doesn't count its business assets. Harvard could offer free tuition, room and board to all of its students several times over and not eat into its endowment.
It seems to depend on what organization runs the shop. In my area, those run by rescue missions are where you can get a shirt for $3 and such. Goodwill has become useless.
My understanding from the website is that Savers stores in USA donate part of the sales to charity. They are not ran by any charity.
Not all…. Hospice is for charity to help families and those that need hospice services. We are all volunteers and our prices are never that high… I’m shocked
Value Village is Canadian. I would never shop there as they sell overpriced junk. We have dollar stores that are a lot cheaper. You can buy brand new stuff for less.
In addition to all the other problems with US "non-profit" secondhand stores that people have already mentioned: Since Salvation Army is a church, they have a history of discriminating against LGBTQ people—not so much at their stores, but at their homeless shelters. Yes, this "charity" will deny shelter to people they consider "sinners", but, you know, only that one "sin". All other sinners can stay there.
Places like value village in Canada and goodwill in the US are both for profit thrift stores. A lot of smaller outfits like ladies auxiliary or church based thrift stores are non profit, but sometimes aren't as clean (one I'd been to was carpeted and wasn't vacuumed regularly and had carpet beetles because of it) due to lack of volunteers to run them or just have no organization to the overwhelming amount of stuff. It's through no fault of their own, it's hard enough to find time to volunteer when you're struggling to work more than one job to put food on the table like a lot of people are these days.
And locally the Goodwill store allows employees? managers? somebody! to cherry pick clothing donations before they ever hit the shelves/racks to be sold. Betting they do not pay for the items they take either.
We have all kinds of thrift stores in the US. Where I live, the vast majority are run by charities, but there are a few that seem to be "for profit' enterprises. I have found that the most likely to be pure charity operations are smaller, and usually run by a church or by a focused charity...like Heart Association or Humane Society. They seek donations and use volunteers. Goodwill Industries are locally owned and operated, and there have long been allegations of workers being paid less than minimum wage, while owners receive high seven figure salaries. I think with just a little research it's possible to find a really responsible charity here in the US. That said, I called one of the charities I have used for years, and told they wouldn't come out and pick up furniture, as they were overflowing because of the pandemic... both because people were decluttering in their downtime, and because people lost housing and had to move.
I have noticed that a local Charity shop here in Massachusetts have a new feature, an enclosed glass case for 'Designer Items' such as shoes, handbags, etc. I find it amusingvthat half the time the items they feature in this case are not genuine items, but obvious knock-offs.. However, l did find a great buy there recently... They missed out big time...l found a lovely Max Mara cashmere coat for $10.00.. Anyway, l doubt it would have fit into their 'glass showcase".. Too funny. !!!!
Value Village is in Canada. Like most places, in Canada we have a mix of charity and for-profit thrift stores. For-profit stores are generally higher priced and more picky with the items they accept (and may pay you a small amount for the items they accept), charity stores are usually cheaper with more random items. Value Village definitely deserves a boycott, they advertise themselves as being a charitable organization but donate very little of the insane prices they charge. Last time I went into one I saw many items marked ABOVE the "New" price, particularly in household items like water glasses. Probably other sections as well, I just have a better idea of what those items cost new.
Many are, but not all. There are a lot of private owned thrift shops that get their items cheap at swap meets, flea markets, estate sales, p**n auctions, etc, then mark them way up in their stores. Thrifting used to be great but it’s caught the eye of exploitative capitalism, unfortunately.
Some are charities and some are not, but it is no indication of whether the prices are high. They can be high or low at both types.
Some are ran by charity but not all alot just their own greed, those ran by a charity usually well priced but also beware sometimes only .05¢ of each $1.00 goes it the charity sometimes less than that you need to check to see who is actually supporting a charity and who is getting rich selling stuff they get for free for higher than new prices.
No...Charity shops in the U.K. are run differently.. When l go home on holiday...my Mam and l often shop at the local shop where prices are very reasonable compared to the shops here in America.
Yeah I think it's different here. My husband worked for Goodwill and they hired people.
This is in Vancouver, Canada. Canada isnt much different from the states, so I understand your confusion
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They aren't staffed by volunteers. Why should they be?
About your previous comments, not everyone has infinite money and it doesn't grow on tree. It's not greedy to want lower price. It's not like asking for them to make a golden toilet 1$ some people just want to be able to have enough money to pay bills and still have enough money for food.
When I go thrifting, I always look up before buying. I can often get the same item brand new at the Walmart down the road for less than they're tying to sell it used. Also, many thrift stores are now trying to brand themselves as "antique shops" to charge more for what are just thrifted items you can still get new.
That's the whole point of the story. The point is keeping usable items out of landfills. Buying new defeats that purpose. So why are they charging more for used than what the new one cost? It's hard to be socially responsible when you have to pay more to do it...
Load More Replies... I only buy and drop off my used items at the Salvation Army, their money goes to help the homeless, as well Women in Need stores help desperate mothers running from abusive home life. I know the proceeds are doing good for desperate people,
Right on. People shopping at thrift stores don’t want to pay $4 for a spatula just because it’s a name brand one that retails for $15 when they can get a workable brand new one for $3.49 at walmart or for $1 at a dollar store.
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