Sunday, January 20, 2013

Empty shopping bag

Maybe I've been on a streak of bad luck while thrifting recently but the quality of stuff in the second hand stores I usually go to has been shit.

Sure, it's a hunt, a crap shoot and sometimes plain luck. But the past few months there has been absolutely nothing I'm interested in buying. The stores are even more run down, disorganized and a total mess. I'm also seeing a lot of total junk given a ridiculous price tag.



Are the stores putting their better merchandise on ebay, and completely bypassing the store shelves? Or are donations down during tough economic times?

2 comments:

L. said...

I do know that the local Goodwill used to have an eBay account for selling the better stuff. My local Salvation Army doesn't seem to pull the better stuff from the store, and neither does St. Vincent's, although their prices have gone up considerably.

That said, every year one of the biggest churches in the area holds a huge flea market (no clothing) and as luck (and knowing the right people) would have it, I get to go in and buy anything I want before it's open to the public. In the past several years, the quality of donations has gone down considerably, and really you just don't find treasures like you used to. I can say the same for garage sales. I'm a second-hand junkie, but in the past few years, I've done a lot less shopping than I used to because you just can't find the goodies anymore, and when you do, they are generally overpriced as well.

Someone Said said...

I think shows like antiques roadshow have people not willing to let go of stuff as well as find out their value. Either that, or over price the junk.