Thrift store pricing increases again?

[stonevintage]

Seems like the thrift stores are getting a little greedy.  Price increases averaging 15% per year for the last 3 years, especially on general clothing and speciality or NWT items.

A used pullover sweatshirt or pair of used sweatpants here was 3.95 three years ago.  Now, they're all asking 5.95-6.95.  Run of the mill, no name brands.

Decor items.. with the Ross "compare at 9.99 stickers",  yours for a great bargin of 4.99.   I guess here, half price of what item was new - is their best deal to offer.  Apparently, items fallen out of trend have no impact on their pricing considerations.  Lots of owl and elephant figurines of all shapes and sizes getting donated now cause they're over - but still marked at on trend prices. 

 Don't they know, before these new items were donated - they were likely offered at half price or better in the retail store before they did their shelf pull and donated them???

Anyone else notice yet another price jump in the last month or so?  The winter clothes just coming out now have about a 30% jump in last years pricing:(

[mistwomandancing]

---

femmefan1946 wrote:

I've never eavesdropped enough to be sure, but based on a few things friends have said and what I heard at church, some charities will accept vouchers from churches.

I was a little surprised when one friend asked me to go to the grocery with her (her husband was out of jail and looking for her) and she had a 'voucher' from her Catholic priest, for the local supermarket.

---

Many of our churches here also help parishioners when they run into a time of need as well.  They have funds set up for this aid.  I don't know about whether they hand out vouchers, or how it works, but if somebody can't pay their heat bill and are getting threatening "or else" letters, they can get help.  I'm sure it would apply to a family who needed a bit more for their groceries that month, a bit more for gasoline for the car to get dad to work until his next paycheck, etc.  And I don't think a person or family has to provide document proof that they are *poor*... just that they've run into a problem lately and need a bit of help at this time.

I've heard occasionally about Goodwills (and I'm sure others) who will donate special *before opening hours* shopping times and bins of goods to segments of a community who have exprienced a flood or other disaster in their area.   

[18704d]

"Emerald,  I think it's time you consider that a resellers time and effort has some value.  Not to mention what they pay in addition for listing fees, selling fees, losses and shipping."

---------

eBay?  Nope.

I buy all those profitable things at thrifts, just to resell locally.

I'm in 4 antique malls.  I spend almost 5 thousand dollars a year in booth rents.

Those mall owners aren't rich.  3 of those malls are single family entrepreneurs.

This means I'm creating 4 or 5 local full time jobs (me and their other dozen or so vendors).

And I'm doing it with donations meant to help others....

fwiw,

Lynn

[mistwomandancing]

---

@18704d wrote:

And I'm doing it with donations meant to help others....

---

You scalawag! 

[lemarcheaupuces]

---

@emerald40 wrote:

---

@lemarcheaupuces wrote:

---

@emerald40 wrote:

but your thought of barring the many in need to prevent a few better off folks from getting in.  

__________________________________________________

From what I have read here and observed it is much more than a few.

And from speaking with my husband unless you have regulations in place, then you are not properly serving the truely needy.

---

i have been retired since 2004.

only way i can do it (still far from actual retirement age) is to lead a frugal life.

i find better deals at retail shops than at thrift shops when it comes to every day items.

just moved.

went to the dollar tree store.

bought a broom, mop, small garbage can, dust pan and hand broom and a lot more...

all for $1 each.

saw the same garbage can at the GW; $1.99...

bought a pillow at walmart $3.99.

looked at prices at the GW... $6.99 and all stained... grossed me out...

it pays off to know that thrift shops are not always the cheapest.

and more often than not, they are not the cheapest.

that is the sad part...

---

I wonder if donations are drying up.  Or the only ones they are getting are unsellable items.

Or someone got there ahead of you and picked over all the good stuff.

I have read where some know exactly when the trucks are coming in with donations and are there waiting for them.

---

no idea.

i see plenty i would buy at thrifts:

collectibles, household stuff, clothing... that i will not buy.

simply because prices are not competitive.

IF...

"brand new" costs "only" a little more, then i will buy brand new.

too bad for the thrifts.

my prices on ebay and other venues are cheaper than most thrift shops.

i can hardly afford to buy jewelry in thrift shops.

i can buy silver jewelry cheaper at my jewelry store.

they let re-sellers go through their weekly purchases.

they charge per the gram (regardless of the maker).

i can pick and choose.

you seem to be too concerned about re-sellers.

i can tell you that 50% of the stuff never makes it to the shelves.

at least resellers pay for the stuff.

last place i lived in Florida.

in 5 years (GW store), 2 instances; the whole staff got fired for stealing.

[stonevintage]

Your not sure what my first paragraph has to to with anything?  Every thrift store, every resale store and every pawn shop has the choice. Offer the item locally or list it on the internet.  More than equal footing since we pay for the goods at the local level.

They are a business with an ambition to make the best $ for effort for the items they receive.  They have knowledge and make their decisions accordingly.  Thrift stores no longer have niave volunteers pricing goods. 

They have every pricing tool we do and the playing field is level.  Point of this post was that they are pushing now... clearly exceeding former price markups of 3-5% per year to adjust for inflation and jumping to 15% or greater.

[lemarcheaupuces]

---

@18704d wrote:

"Emerald,  I think it's time you consider that a resellers time and effort has some value.  Not to mention what they pay in addition for listing fees, selling fees, losses and shipping."

---------

eBay?  Nope.

I buy all those profitable things at thrifts, just to resell locally.

I'm in 4 antique malls.  I spend almost 5 thousand dollars a year in booth rents.

Those mall owners aren't rich.  3 of those malls are single family entrepreneurs.

This means I'm creating 4 or 5 local full time jobs (me and their other dozen or so vendors).

And I'm doing it with donations meant to help others....

fwiw,

Lynn

---

you are brave.

not sure i could do a booth ever again.

was in as many as 6 in Florida.

today all i can handle is a case 6x6 and i do pretty well.

5000 yearly for 4 spaces. that is cheap.

in this area would be more like $10000.

in florida where i used to live would have been even more plus 10% on sales.

i just no longer have the energy and motivation do handle a booth.

then again when i go to a mall (favorite places to shop at, especially the ones that are a thrift/antiques combo), vendors are leaving left and right.

always plenty new vendors to fill up the empty the spots.

but just wondering about business?

[stonevintage]

ersatz - great post.  Your experience shows:)  Seems like the thrifts are confused with their identities the last few years.

  If they were sellers in any other competative arena, the "Oh well" "If it's priced too high, that will resolve itself over time when it gets marked to 1/2 price" wouldn't work.

[stonevintage]

Hey!,  My donations are meant to help others too.  In fact, I donate twice in many cases.  Once when I pay for an item and again when I donate it back to the same place I bought it from.  

Cool to see these items don't last more than a day or two in the store before they're resold again... Shows I must have good taste right lol... shipping's just a killer:(

[wolfbyte]

---

@frock_my_world wrote:

...The stores that mark items up too high quickly become so packed that it is a bicep workout just to peruse the racks and those items just sit there until they have a big sale or the color tag they have goes on sale.  Many times I see those same stores have to basically deal with the reality that they have overpriced and they do across the board reductions just to begin regularly moving merchandise again...

Agreed. Case in point, you see good, unsold merchandise from the Goodwill ending up at their Outlets to be sold by the pound. Had their racks been more accessable and the items more attractivley priced to begin with, I have to believe that much more could have sold sooner and for more.

[stonevintage]

---

@sg51 wrote:

 The role of a charity thrift store is to maximize income for the charity, not to provide cheap clothing for the needy.

It's unlikely an outsider has much insight into whether the prices are too high or too low.

That's right.  I worked for this thrift for almost 3 years.  But, I'm a buyer too.  So, I guess you're the outsider. 🙂

---

[stonevintage]

"Then they would have a voucher that show they qualify".  Lol, to you live in Beverly Hills?

[rolenboy01]

---

@emerald40 wrote:

---

@rolenboy01 wrote:

---

@emerald40 wrote:

---

@lemarcheaupuces wrote:

---

@emerald40 wrote:

---

@getitright1234 wrote:

---

@emerald40 wrote:

---

@rolenboy01 wrote:

---

@emerald40 wrote:

---

@oleander1993 wrote:

Very generous of you. But I wouldn't worry if the furniture is sold to someone in real need of it or sold to someone else and the money from that sale used to help people in need. I think you could feel good about giving either way. 

---

No, what bothers me is when it is priced pennies on the dollar, a reseller takes advantage of it, and the only person that benefits is him.

---

Resellers don't have a right to eat or what? How do you know they aren't down on their luck as well or is it that you don't care?

---

Resellers who are not poor enough to qualify for assistance should either source  their inventory elsewhere, of at least pay a fair amount for them,  not off the backs of people who donate these items or the ones who truely need them.

---

You do know, resellers make donations as well, right! 

---

Or they could alert the clerk when something is priced too low.

---

not sure who said that but just ridiculous.

perhaps we should alert people at yardsales, antiques shops etc... too.

i spent thousands of $ at thrift shops (since 1990 well over 100k).

i have lost money on thousands of items.

i have redonated thousands of items i bought to the thrifts.

so NOT going to feel bad if i am scoring on 1 item.

1 item makes up for all the others and helps me buy more from the same thrift shops.

it keeps the cycle going.

---

___________________________________________________________

I said that and also commented on what does a thrift, where the items are donated on the premise that it will go the poor, have to do with yard sales and especially antique shops?

As to the rest of your comment I do not see anything altruistic about buying items and hoping to resell it at a profit and when that does not work out you dump it back on them.

---

I spend hundreds of dollars each year at the thrift store and so do a lot of people I know, the only way these places will stay afloat is if people that aren't poor come in and spend quite a bit of money period, furthermore a lot of people donate because they DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH THE ITEMS they are doing it with the specific intent that is going to "help the poor" as you claim, if that happens great but the main reason people are doing so is because they don't want to deal with the items for whatever reason.

---

You are correct.  There are some who do not want to deal with the items and just looking for a place to dump it.  But I wonder the reason why?  Maybe because it is cheaper than going to the dump.

I am talking about a whole different scenario - people like me who donate top quality merchandise so that others can benefit.  

---

NO there are people who donate top quality merchandise because they don't want to deal with having a yard sale or an estate sale for their loved ones belongings, this stuff isn't trash the people are just lazy or too busy to do anything else with it, you act like you are the only person who donates quality merchandise and you act like the only people who donate quality merchandise do it "so others can benefit" NOT TRUE.

[rolenboy01]

---

@stonevintage wrote:

I get deals at my local thrift store. I do not try back room tactics.  It's really not my problem how the thrifts operate or how they supplement their employees income with discount on goods.  I still get deals. That's how I still justify shopping at them for my personal needs.

I put the value on a scale, it's my job to know a deal when I see one.  What I consider a deal (because of my research and personal need at the time) may not be an item that is attractive at all to other buyers.  Sometimes, I buy cherry finds, something that would be attractive to any reseller that knows the value.

I go to the thrifts twice per day.  That is my investment in getting what I consider the occasional deal.  Knowledge is required. Time is spent.   The manager understands this cycle and knows that I give back also (I donate back everything I purchase that isn't for personal use if it doesn't sell).... she welcomes all resellers because they do the same.

It may be different elsewhere, but here - we're a pretty happy symbionic group:)

---

emerald40 refuses to understand it, I am given discounts because I shop at the local thrift store so much, they like me and value my business, they certainly don't act like I am "taking away" from someone because quite frankly they have so many donations, they have to constantly keep things moving, they always have so much clothing they have to keep atleast 5 large racks outside.

[stonevintage]

Ha! Yep.   The only top quality merchancise we got in the time I worked at the thrift were donations from the upper/middle to upper class.  These donations were only directed to our charity thrift because their accountants at tax time told them to donate only to us.

That, because in addition to getting the federal donation write off, with donations to our thrift, they also got equal state tax write offs.  This, because of their specific Idaho only charity work that heavily involves youth from running the adoption program and troubled youth inhouse programs FOR the state.  

No great leap here for goodwill to the less fortunate.  It's all about what benefits them and their lifestyle.

[nowthatsjustducky]

Idaho Youth Ranch, I presume?