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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!

Image credits: Jason F. Voll

Image credits: mrsniceguyy

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Image credits: mrsniceguyy

 

Image credits: mrsniceguyy

Image credits: mrsniceguyy

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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

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Image credits: mrsniceguyy

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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

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Image credits: mrsniceguyy

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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

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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