That’s true for some but not all of them; after all, the people who need to be able to buy used stuff cheap are often the people who they’re trying to help, or claiming to try to help. The people giving things to them often don’t understand that what they give may be priced high, I think, though some of them do.
The one closest to me is pretty clearly trying to provide goods to those who otherwise couldn’t afford them; though there’s no attempt made to prevent people with money who just like to shop there from doing so, and I think such people are welcome also. It’s run by a local group, though, not by one of the big names.
Maybe here’s where the difference lies - here, charity shops are almost 100% set up to make money for the charity rather than provide a service for local people. I think both are valid (and most stuff in charity shops is still very cheap). Oxfam just identified a way of maximising their returns.
Our neighborhood thrift is a Volunteers of America. They are the best. Well organized, great prices and sales every month. We have a membership card. The wife can spot a designer shirt across the room. Most of my shirts are high-end clothing bought for a couple of bucks. I have also purchased excellent shirts at Tractor Supply closeouts. Jeez, I sound like a hillbilly.
I browse for sterling silver goodies. I haven’t found a mother lode yet. But the Reddit sub “silverbugs” has posts every day showing great finds that members have found. Serving trays worth hundreds of dollars for 3 or 4 bucks. Damn.
Some do both - the organization I donate to runs their thrift stores to make money to fund their programs ( and you might find a handbag selling for $100 or more in one of them ) but they also give vouchers for clothing and furniture to people in need.
Mary Quant. That’s quite a score! I’ve shopped for vintage clothes most of my life. Department store clothes are so boring. I just mentioned in another thread The Junk Store in Santa Monica. I used to haunt that place and bought lots of neat items there. It was also practically next door to Clancy Muldoon’s (ice cream shop)! Sadly, both places are long gone.
Another place, also in Santa Monica, was called It’s a Daisy. Weird name, but they used to have good stuff. I got an almost pristine Albert Nipon there for next to nothing. It was cool because the lace tape holding up the hem was printed with the Albert Nipon name. Then, there stock went downhill, and it’s gone now, too.
I have a strong aversion to just buying “stuff” if I do not have a strong need/desire for something in particular. So I don’t go to garage sales or thrift stores, just to see if something might appeal to me as an impulse purchase. If I want something, I want to go out and buy it, without lengthy fruitless shopping. I don’t have some lose list in my mind of “things I might buy if I see them at a good price.”
I don’t even get much enjoyment out of browsing art shows/galleries, as I’m quite satisfied with the art we have displayed in our home.
One exception, my wife recently bought some cheap wine glasses for something like a buck a piece at a resale shop. We have a couple of people who frequently come over and drink wine - and stemware pretty regularly gets broken. We save our crystal for when people are drinking at the table. We used to get inexpensive stemware at Crate and Barrel, but they seem to have upped their prices to a point that it is not “disposable.”
I think experience going thru thrift stores really helps speed things up when shopping.
I can be in and out of a place in no time. I know where to look, can spot stuff easily, etc. And like I said, I often don’t buy anything and go on to the next place. (I usually combine a thrift store sweep with some other regular shopping trip in the area.) So “browsers” clogging up aisles are not my favorites.
I feel like it’s a win-win if I donate and let others both benefit from the lower priced stuff and from the money the charity gets by selling it.
I don’t need thrift store stuff to make ends meet, but someone else might. So I tend to limit my thrift store purchases to oddities and hard to get stuff that may show up that aren’t necessities.
I do shop at thrift stores, but most of the ones near me never have really good stuff. It’s mostly junk. Some of them have raised their prices, so it’s not even that cheap to shop there (and I’m not even talking about Goodwill!). My favorite thrift store has two parts–a regular thrift store, and another store that sells scrappy things that can be used for all kinds of projects–fabric, yarn, tools, little bits of wood and plastic, and more. You never know what you’re going to find there. I’m insanely jealous of the people on Antiques Roadshow who find real treasures (or Mary Quant dresses) at thrift stores.
I have found some pieces of sapphire blue Fire King at thrift stores, so it’s worth looking anyway.
We used to - a LOT. But now the house is full and we have plenty of everything we need in the way of stuff you would normally buy at one. We also hit yard sales, but no longer.
I get my Levi’s from thrifts, because I’m not stupid enough to pay $75 for new ones that fall apart just as fast.
I find some real cool stuff now and then. Got my best kitchen knife for a buck. Vintage ski equipment, NEW! for pennies. Vintage electronics that people assume are crap, but are actually better than a lot of the new stuff.
Also dog bedding stuff. Cheaper than washing old stuff (I will not put that stinky stuff in my washer!).
Great! It takes a bit of knowledge since most things marked “silver” are not silver. EP, EPNS, “silver-soldered”, all indicate silver plate. No marks - not sterling. The marks you need are “sterling”, 925, 900, 800. The numbers indicate percentage of silver, sterling is 92.5% silver. On the other hand I have two beautiful mugs marked 95%. Turned out to be high end pewter with 95% tin. Highest quality silver pieces will have actual hallmarks you need to decipher.
I have, though very, very rarely. Generally not for clothes for myself - I’m a hard-to-fit size, and frankly it’s easier to dash over to the mall where I know I’ll find something to fit. I wear my clothes until they are barely decent any more, so I figure I get my money’s worth even paying retail.
I’ve gotten stuff for the kids though.
Some memorable ones: When Dweezil broke his arm at age 4, we got a cheap jacket there, that we didn’t mind chopping a sleeve off of. We got a gorgeous dress for Moon Unit once at a consignment store (new with tags, her favorite color).
And when Moon Unit was setting up her apartment, I went to Goodwill and made score after score. 75% of the stuff in her kitchen was from that shopping trip.
I donate to one. Salvation Army. I shop at privately owned ones. I love finding a piece of jewel tone glass that I collect or something oddball that I like. One year we had a white trash Christmas and I bought a stuffed coyote that looked like it was 100 yrs old. It was hilarious at the family party when it was finally picked and opened.
In Canada, Goodwill generally remains the most reasonably priced thrift store (though of course things vary enormously and thrift pricing often makes no sense to me with its overpriced crap and some very cheap finds). I’m surprised its prices are considered high in the US. The one time I went charity shopping in the US I found nothing at all I wanted.
I both donate to and buy from Thrift stores, here we call the Opportunity Shops or Op Shops for short. They’re usually run by a charity.
I rarely buy clothes but I love browsing for stuff. It’s also great to get 2nd hand sporting stuff for my Grandson rather than buying new stuff that he’ll quickly grow out of. Got him a Cricket bat, pads, gloves and helmet, total of about $35 when new stuff would have cost hundreds, pair of almost new roller blades for $10 when the same ones retail for $150 new.
I’ve bought glasses, books, knick knacks, hand tools, all sorts of stuff.