When it comes to shopping, most people love getting deals. The idea of a thrift store is to provide this service to people who can’t afford to pay expensive retail prices and want a cheaper option for everyday items.
As a reseller, I get a lot of criticism for shopping at thrift stores to resell items. I understand people’s point on this because some thrift stores today are way higher priced than what they used to be, and many people say that it is the resellers’ fault for driving prices, but that’s not true.
Since COVID-19, thrift stores bumped up their prices based on several different things, including paying staff and inflation. Big thrift store companies such as Goodwill and Salvation Army target the reseller community by raising their prices, but that only hurts their community. Many lower-income residents rely on second-hand stores because they don’t have much money to spend, living paycheck to paycheck.
Most thrift stores have the same mission, even if they are competing with one another . Everyone wants to help save the planet and do their part in recycling. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the viral video of the landfill in Chile. The landfill has made national news because the clothing landfill was so massive that there were thousands of pounds of clothes going to waste. Almost perfectly good clothing that could have gone to other countries that really need the clothing instead of rotting into the ground.
My favorite thrift store to shop at is Many Hands Thrift Market. They have five locations in Iowa, and all the money they raise goes toward their mission in Haiti, where they are building schools and hospitals. I had the great opportunity to job shadow at a couple of their facilities and I was very impressed on how they run their business. Most of the work is done by volunteers and if you work a certain number of hours, you can earn yourself a trip to their missionary in Haiti.
There are some things that I will buy from retail stores rather than thrift stores just because I want it new, for example, socks and underwear. The best way to find clothes at retail stores is to go straight to the clearance racks and see if there is anything that fits your style. I would never pay full price for clothes because I can either go to the clearance racks or go to a thrift store.
As a reseller, thrifting is different from sourcing. Thrifting is looking for items and clothing that you would use in your everyday life. Sourcing in reseller terms is when we go out to stores and look for items to resell. If I were to go into a thrift store and look for items, I call it sourcing. If I were to go into a retail store and look for items to resell, I call it retail arbitrage. Many resellers take advantage of clearance racks at department stores to flip items on Amazon. They are known as Amazon FBA resellers.
In conclusion, I prefer thrift stores over retail stores, not only to help save the environment, but it also saves you some money in the long run. Support local second-hand businesses because they have a mission to serve everyone.
