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In Central PA there is a chain of thrift stores called “Community Aid”. One location — in Selinsgrove — is boasted as the largest thrift store in the US. I frequent locations of this chain because there is always a plethora of hats and Wednesdays are half off days.
Yesterday I went to the newly opened location in Harrisburg (it was Wednesday but for some reason this location is only doing half off days every other Wednesday *grumble grumble). When checking out with my selection of 26 hats the clerk stated, “promise me you’re not buying these to resell.” Of course I said no even though all of the hats will probably be on eBay by the end of the day. I do not feel bad about essentially lying because, in my opinion, it is really not his (or the store’s) business in how I conduct my…business.
In addition to being caught off guard by the question, it also irritated me. So what if I am buying the items to resell? Certainly I am not the only person in that store — even at that exact second — purchasing things to make a profit. It is not as though my purchase will not benefit one of the charities the store supports. In the past I have seen some stores limit purchases on things such as shoes because shoes are a commodity and good, inexpensive shoes can be hard to come by some times for people. BUT despite me buying 26 hats, there were probably still 300+ hats in the store perfectly fine for other people to buy/wear.
Somewhat related, I have also seen posts on craigslist where the seller will state, “not selling to any resellers. I would rather give it away for free than have someone profit from it.”
I don’t know…it’s stupid. Sorry for the long post, just a weird principle some people/stores have I suppose.
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AJ, I’ve been to the one in Selinsgrove a few times…it IS huge LOL Couldn’t make it to the grand opening of the one in Harrisburg, but hope to get there within the next few weeks sometime.
I can pretty much guarantee that clerk that a hefty percentage of his buyers either sell online and/or at flea markets, antique malls etc…I don’t know of any thrift stores that prohibit resellers from buying there. Sounds like the clerk is new….shouldn’t be too long before he can identify his regular resellers by sight, and hopefully he’ll learn not to say anything about it.
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Community Aid in Lancaster limited me to buying 10 hats the last time I was there. Other locations limit purchases to 2 pairs of shoes (which I understand but the shoe inventory is limited most days).
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+1. it also bugs me when people don’t want to sell to you if you are re-selling. WHY?? i’m paying the price you’re asking, what does it matter what i do. they don’t ask people “you’re not going to hoard all these are you?”. it’s really silly.
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Similarly, I have overheard a seller at a yard sale/flea market being offered a price and he/she responds, “no, cause I could sell it for ($X amount) on eBay.” I wish someone would say such to me because I would be quick to say, “then you should probably do that.”
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Haha, I’ve totally said that to yard sale runners and to annoying lowball offers on ebay when they say something along those lines.
The other line I get on ebay on low offers is ” I can buy this all day for $10 at Walmart”. So I say “wow that’s a great deal. You should totally go do that!”.
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“they don’t ask people “you’re not going to hoard all these are you?””
LOL! Reminds me of some neighbors I’ve mine that I see at my local rummage sales. One time one of them purchased 3 large old (but sorta nice) lamp shades, saying “I have no idea what I’m going to do with these”. It took all my strength to keep my mouth shut (“so why the *#$*% are you buying them?”
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More seriously, I’ve come to the conclusion that the “not wanting to sell to resellers” thing is due to two issues:
a) part of the purpose of some independent thrift stores (and church rummage sales) is to provide a place for the needy to purchase clothing and other things at a low price. And, while there is never any shortage of clothing/shoes overall, I can understand why they might not be thrilled to have someone who is not anywhere close to destitute swoop in at opening time to grab all the high quality stuff (I always go straight for the LL Bean boots myself), and leaving needy folks with all the crap. Although I sympathize with this point of view, I now have two answers that I give myself: (1) If this were really a problem, the truly needy would be lining up at the rummage sales early right there with me. (2) If we’re talking about altruism here, how about thinking about resellers as people who are working very hard to make a living, and what’s wrong with supporting that?
b) I think there is a misconception that resellers, by getting a 10x or higher return on some items, are making humongous profits with very little effort – almost cheating in a way. The problem is that this view not only doesn’t take into account the overall amount of work it takes to sell online (photographs, shipping, etc), but the amount of sourcing time it takes to find those “unicorn” high return items, and the tons of lower-return items we end up selling (and even mistakes we sell at a loss) that the high return items have to make up for.
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For the record, most thrift stores (independent and chain) are set up to sell things to make money. Then they use that money to help their respective charitable missions. So the whole point is to earn profit just like any business. They just happen to use their profits for good.
We’ve never had a thrift store limit our purchases no matter how much we buy since we’re paying the price they want. Obviously if they’re worried about resellers taking advantage of cheap prices, they would raise the prices. This is what many Goodwill stores have done.
We have been to a tiny handful of church thrifts who operate out of the back of churches. They have weird hours and usually only open four or five hours a week. These places are more aimed at helpful provide clothing to people in dire straights. They usually dont have much stuff. I always feel like finding clothes is the smallest problem that people have in this country.
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Some people, thrift store employees included, believe that thrift shops exist solely to provide low-cost goods to the community. This is certainly part of the mission of thrifts, but if people buying for personal use were the only shoppers, the stores would quickly become overwhelmed with donations/inventory.
People holding yard sales are probably irked because they know that with a little more work (<– actually, a lot more, but they perceive it as a little) they could get more money for an item, and you’re reminding them of that by buying it… or because something they perceived as having no value suddenly seems to have more when a reseller buys it, and it feels like they’ve been had (even though they set the price!)
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I’m probably in the minority, but I’ve always thought it was odd that the public assumed “the poor” would be delighted to buy their old stuff at a thrift store. Especially since there is no guarantee you will find what you need on any given day. People that are poor usually also have transportation issues and inflexible job schedules. They don’t often have the time and means to keep showing up at thrifts to hunt for truly useful items.
If the thrift stores were really trying to get useful items in the hands of the less fortunate, they’d give them needed items for free, like the food pantry does. But the thrifts don’t because they are running a business, just like all of us, and want to see profit to fund the other things that are important to them, (like job and childcare programs, which are probably going to be more helpful to the poor than someone’s old, dirty shoes).
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I think the dual mission statement of a thrift store/organization — whether stated or implied — is to raise money to support charitable causes (and services) as well as offer inexpensive items (used or sometimes new) to not only lower income brackets but ALSO people in search of a good deal.
Sorry if this thread turned into a socioeconomic conversation, as I originally intended to point out a minor annoyance I experienced at a single store with one employee. I shop and buy at many thrift stores throughout Central PA and beyond and it is always the best experience (even if I don’t end up finding much).
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I’ve experienced this attitude quite a bit here in south Florida. I’ve had people refuse to sell to me at yard sales because they suspected I was a reseller. They didn’t even ask. Some people have a problem with anyone else making a profit, yet they have no problem giving their money to giant corporations that are also making a proft.
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I’ve experienced that here in CT too. For those who don’t know CT has some very wealthy areas, but some really poor areas too. I’ve heard some of these wealthy people say “I’ll just donate it to get the tax write off” but they don’t realize you can’t receive the full retail value of items that are donated. Some of the goodwill stores in CT have shirts marked at $75 dollars and sofas at $2000. There is a you tuber here in CT that actually showed these prices on his channel. I’ve seen these prices in person too.
FWiW, even in CT I find the best deals in the low income (not necessarily ghetto) areas even at the thrift stores. I’m going to guess its because people in these areas need the money more than they need a tax write off.
At garage sales when people say “I can get xx for that on ebay” I say go ahead and see what happens. Between fees and taxes I lose 30% of every sale right off the top. IF you’re new to paypal and ebay they will hold your money for 3 weeks to boot, but if you want cash now I can give it to you. After hearing that some people change their mind, but I usually don’t bother with the speech unless its something that I really want.
Estate sale companies around here are out of sight too. Usually they put their names on the craigslist ads so I know to avoid them. I’m not sure why they think they can price everything at ebay prices and expect stuff to sell, but they continue doing it. Maybe that’s how people end up with barns and garages full of stuff after 20 years.
One estate sale I went to last year held by a company had great stuff super cheap. I spent about 3 hours in the house and found all kinds of stuff from video games, toner, old computer hard ware and software, etc. Walked out with 3 boxes full of stuff for 25$ and probably made $800 profit on that stuff.
This year I see their name again for another estate sale and no dice. They apparently found someone who knows how to use ebay and set all their prices to match.
Luckily no one around here knows how to use Amazon, and I can still find profit over there on some things that aren’t profitable on ebay (especially electronics). Estate companies haven’t figured this out yet, and hopefully they never will.
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What I’ve seen some thrift stores that really want to help those who need clothing, shoes, etc is to have a vetting process and if the family really needs the items they get vouchers to use. This makes the items free to the qualified families. Then everyone else pays whatever they want to charge.
There’s several thrift stores I go to down in TN that has signs saying they won’t sell to people who resale. I’m not sure how they can tell but they have the signs posted.
Donna
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what our local thifts do is use the money they make on the merchandise and help people pay utility bills, rent and provide food at the food bank. of course people of all incomes buy the clothes and housewares, but the most important thing they do is provide food and bill assistance using their income.
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I hate this. I have neighbors like this. They think it’s just “awful” that people buy things at thrift stores or yard sales and resell them to make a profit. They’ve told me before I should “get a real job”.
They have no idea. lol
Like Ryanne, most of the income generated from our local thrift stores goes to the food bank, for helping people pay there bills, and finding keeping/housing for those in need. The few that really need clothes due to house fires or having school age kids are given clothing vouchers and the local church thrift stores will let them in before the store opens.
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The reason thrifts are now pricing certain items out of sight is because of re-sellers. Re-sellers set the high prices by cleaning things up and properly marketing them on ebay, craigs, and Amazon. Thrifts see those sales, then begin putting similar items behind the counter or in the glass cases.
Without the resellers, thrifts would:
1. Send even more unsold stuff to the dumpsters.
2. Have to drastically drop their outrageous prices on certain items.
The loss of business if re-sellers were kept away would result in massive lay offs and huge profit losses to the big thrifts. Re-sellers routinely spend $100 or more at a single thrift-the “needy” certainly don’t.Only a re-seller would pay $50-$100 for a vintage Sony Amp from the 70’s, as an example.
I buy a lot of kids athletic shoes. I have had cashiers ask why. “I have a large family and am the designated buyer”, I tell them. Both of which are true.
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This is why I like auctions.
In an online auction, no one knows you until you arrive at the pickup. Some of these home owners are hiring the auction company to get rid of stuff so that they can put the house for sale or close the sale of the home. If they hire a close-out company, the owners will actually get charged for the service of removing stuff. I’m helping out by moving for them, and they get something out of it.
In live auctions, everyone is a a reseller except for a few; at least in the lot section. The collectors are the ones that bid up lots much higher than the average. I went to an auction this past Thursday. Lot prices were typical, $5 to $20. One lot of vintage cameras went for some outrageous amount – somewhere between $150 to $200. That’s great for the previous owner (or heirs) and auction company. However, none of the other lots would sell if resellers weren’t there.
I realize that not everyone is comfortable at auctions, so I get it. There is one live auction I’m still uncomfortable at even though I’ve bought stuff there before.
Anyway, when I go to a garage/yard/rummage sale, they don’t really know me. People don’t see me at them regularly. I suppose I could meet up with a friend who knows what I do. Not too big of a deal, I still get most of my stuff at auction.
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Sharyn, even at auctions people get a little nosy sometime. I bought a lot of old photos and slides a few weeks back for $15. At this auction they bring the item right to you after the sale (in the audience) unless it is a big item. So I’ve got this box of photos in my lap and two people came up to me and asked why I bought them! I wanted to say it was none of your business but I just said that my wife loves looking through old photos and they were for her. This is partially true as we will keep a couple and frame them for the house but the rest will go up on ebay. But generally 80%+ of the people are resellers and most respect each others privacy
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This is a topic that really irks me. If I am paying the price that they set what does it matter? They should be happy that someone bought 26 hats! Only a reseller comes in and buys a beat up pair of 80s shoes or vintage coat that will take me days to clean up. Not to mention they get all their stuff for free, mark it at ridiculous prices (not prices geared toward the needy) to sell for profit. Umm…they ARE resellers!
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I get frustrated with people who don’t understand the labor that goes into selling on eBay.
I rarely find an item that is in perfect condition to list immediately – they all require cleaning, repairing, restoring, removing labels, setting up for photos, editing photos, listing the item, storing the item, and then when it sells you need to pack and ship the item.
People don’t get that it isn’t an easy flip selling on eBay! In some cases, the profit is only in the extra work fixing up/repairing/restoring an item.
non-eBay sellers also sometimes have delusions on what items are worth based on asking prices on eBay – not actual sales. A local thrift store always has items behind the counter with print-outs of ridiculous “comparable” eBay listings asking way too much money. Most of those items just sit on the shelf for months.
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>People don’t get that it isn’t an easy flip selling on eBay!
I think that’s the crux of the problem. They just don’t know, and they really have no way of knowing. I certainly didn’t know how much work it would be until I tried it for myself. Seems like it would make an interesting newspaper or magazine article to describe the real day-to-day life of a scavenger/reseller, but then again I’m biased.
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