Good Stuff Disappearing From The Thrifts?

Look for items on this site.

 

I disagree. It's the money raised that is for the charity, more so than the affordability of the items donated.

 

This is why stopped donating to these types of places. Too much corruption and shady underhanded shenanigans. I am all for helping those in need but I'll do it in other ways. The practices mentioned upthread about "skimming" and employees calling "dibs" makes me sick.

 

A good reason for the thrifts drying up in my area is the abundance of music and video game stores which buy and resell used items (some of these also buy audio equipment as well). A lot of folks simply take their items/collections there first.

What typically ends up in the thrifts is the stuff the stores normally reject (bad condition items, Firestone Christmas LP's, Madden NFL games, Hootie And The Blowfish & High School Musical CDs.....)

 

Would you go to the food bank for a bag of groceries because it would be less expensive than a trip to Safeway or Kroger?

Listen, if I found a pair of MC’30’s at a goodwill I’d move on it faster than a Cocaine heart beat But we are ultimately complaining that the thrift doesn’t have good stuff anymore. Imagine how much more that would suck if it were the only place you could afford to shop. You are buying donations, people that are working that as an angle for profits are doing so to the dertimate of people in need.

Anyone can do whatever they want but I feel weird about panning for gold in a charity shop. And it smells bad and makes me fell like I need a shower. I’d just assume to spend my time in a record store.

 

Don't forget Dido's No Angel!

I love Dido, and I see No Angel at almost every thrift store I go to and have seen it for years and years. Last year, I saw a silver packaged UK version of No Angel instead of the normal black and red US version. I got so excited and it was the best thing I bought that day! Last summer I was in Ireland and my wife and I went to all the thrift stores we came they had the silver No Angel! I imagined that there was one CD collector geek out there that would get excited in Enniscorthy when he comes a black packaged US version of No Angel.

It is the little things...

 

From my experiences in the LP arena, and in my area over the last couple of years at thrifts there have been two clear camps. Some days you go in, and it's clear the lion's share of what is there are the warps, or bad condition LP's someone is clearing out of their collection.

But other times it is the case where someone is clearly dropping off someone else's collection for whatever reason - and there is this large block of mint, unplayed or otherwise impeccable LP's. That is what I go back for --- and with so many thrifts in my area to increase odds I have literally found a thousand of these. To the point that if some of the naysayers were standing there with a $200 LP in their hand, they wouldn't put it back because of feeling guilty! .

 

OK you got me on the smell and shower point -- but on the flipside you are also describing many of the record shops near me! (ever been to East Side these days in Tempe -- Southern and Mill catty=corner to the Zia Records--- makes Goodwill look like a mausoleum).

Above I mention I frequent Zia Records and Goodwill (ZIa is a record store as many know) --- ever been to some of those Zia's too??? They don't have much up on a Goodwill in terms of help, odors and cleanliness! So in my area equating record stores to being on a different plateau is not the case..... they are as bad or worse than Goodwill from that perspective.

Plus I feel guilty in record stores when I find a good deal as I always feel like I am stealing it from some rich guy who was looking to find a deal!

All in good fun

 

Indeed...

 

So you either don't shop at thrifts at all, or you feel guilty / uncomfortable to buy something that another person in more need might use?

You might want to ask Goodwill management as I suspect they'd be much more appreciative if you actually buy something. Actual money they receive from you is probably more useful to them, and those in real need, than the used CD's sitting on their shelves will be.

 

You know, I kind of have a bad attitude about the vultures that flip local record store inventory. It’s getting really hard to find anything worth bringing at a reasonable price due in part to they guys that know when new used inventory is hitting the shelf, get in at ten am on a Monday when most people are at work so that can make $5 selling on eBay. Conversely the shop owners see the higher sales numbers on eBay and then raise their prices. Could you imaging if you could do that with gasoline? Just go to every station in town but all the gas and then resell it at a higher price? I know that’s a dramatic example but it’s the same thing.

It’s enough to make a man just stream music for $12 a month and get out of the market.

 

I have often posted a contrary view when folks trumpet their "finds" of good vintage or used hifi gear, records, what have you.

I am of the belief that those "finds" are truly few and far between and the reason why has been repeated throughout this thread: Everything has been picked through already, in one form or another. Whether the item was stolen off the truck en route to a thrift establishment, "dibs" by thrift staff, "first cut" by buyers that pay fees to get them to see stuff before it goes onto the sales floor, semi-pro shifters that show up each & every day, etc etc etc. Nothing of real value gets through the successive layers of triage to make it into a normal shoppers hands.

Or said another way: The thrift activity has been fully monetized. Money changes everything. For some shopping at thrifts is a pasttime/enjoyment and yet for others it is a job. And we have all heard the saying that he quickest way to take the fun outta anything is to make it a job. You don't wanna do for fun what other people do for a living.

There will always be stuff that slips through the cracks. And somebody will crow at what they scored. I don't begrudge them that, more power to 'em. But realistically, the odds are poor and the time expenditure is extremely wasteful.

BTW Different circumstance but same theme: In many cities & towns there is/was a practice of collecting cans & bottles for the 5 or 10 cent redemption fee. An independent film maker made a documentary on the intrepid, independent people that got by with the added money of picking out from the garbage the cans & bottles you and me throw away because we can't be bothered to redeem at the deposit machine.

Canners (2015) - IMDb

That brief period captured and wistfully portrayed in "Canners" (documentary released in 2015) is now gone, at least where it is profitable to do so. The redemption of can and bottle deposits has been monetized. And the big beverage distributors and other entrepreneurs have swooped in and applied business discipline and scale to make it worth their while to undertake what was done in the past by the "little guy".

Nothing ever stays the same.

 

I’ve worked in various nonprofit for more than twenty years and served people in fairly desperate circumstances. I can promise you that most of the people that shop at thrift store are doing so because they don’t have any other options. I was at a housing project in Akron and there was a guy in his 80’s that didn’t have any family, lived on his own in a studio apartment that was about 400 square feet and played classical music albums he bought at goodwill all day long. There was no internet, cable or driving to a records store, he took whatever money he had at the end of the month from his social security check and went shopping for music at goodwill. I can’t say for certain but I’d guess his equipment was also donated stuff. So yes, I feel a little weird about hoarding up the goodwill inventory and I would never take it so I could make a buck. Goodwill does job traing for people with developmental disabilities, buying stuff from them is a good thing and I don’t judge anyone for shopping but for me personally, I’d rather Support the charity by making a donation and leave the inventory for those in need.

 

I have been severely disappointed in my last few trips to my local record stores --- not going to mention names --- so we are in agreement there. And I think you are helping me put a finger on why the inventory is so sparse and depleted these days. So I guess I am growing a disdain for said vultures too.

Personally when I pulled my LPs out of storage a few years back after a long hiatus, there were 600LPs (down from 1500 when I put them in storage but that is another story -- talk about vultures! ).. Well, as I type, after all the thrifting, all the hours combing through Zia, buying collections locally, Discogs, Amazon, B&N --- now approaching 4500 LP's. More than I will ever need, but I still enjoy the hell out of it and I never have any problem finding good music to listen to.

But to your point about flipping - here's the kicker......... I've NEVER sold one LP!! Ever...........

What's funny, a while back in a collection I purchased, there was this large contingent of genres I don't listen to a lot - for example one of the LP's was Samhain Unholy Passion. But the LP's are worth a lot! In fact, that one LP is worth more than I paid for the entire 250 LP collection!!!!!! Anyway, my wife said "why don't you sell it?" I said "maybe I will......... good idea". Well, still have never sold one LP to date..... still have it.

But I do feel your pain.............. and agree. By the way, just so you know I have probably given 1000 LP's BACK to Goodwill and Salvation Army from collections or one's previously purchased I did not want --- most of them were genres that weren't my bag. I think that is worth mentioning in the context of this thread

 

Fair enough.

For what it's worth a lot of my own items get donated at my local charities and I try to get the original boxes / clean them up etc since I assume every little bit helps. But purchasing stuff there doesn't bother me.

 

One thing to think about --- when I ask the Goodwill managers about whether they appreciate my business --- they give me all sorts of reasons why my and others like me business keep things out of landfills, give jobs, give $$ to charity.....

.... one thing a Goodwill manager said to me that resonates to this day --- "......if Goodwill was only for the low income people to shop at, then we'd only have one store / location in your area, and not ten" Now that can go both ways on whether you might think that is a good thing , but just offering the other side of the coin - it has implications to the positive too that I think outweigh the negatives. YMMV.

 

As also mentioned it depends where you live unquestionably - some geographies are better than others. Proven that myself when I travel.

That reminds me of a Yogi Berra-ism --- when asked about his opinion of a popular restaraunt, he quipped "Nobody goes there any more, it's too crowded!"

It's timing -- someone has to be the first, and if you are the first, then it's not picked through! I mentioned in my area if I am willing to make a 10-15 mile radius and spend half a day, I can hit 10-15 Goodwills and 5 -10 other thrifts. It's odds and you are not always going to be the last one to see something. Those carts are wheeling out of the back many times a day with stuff that has not been picked over.

First off, not sure if you realize this, but Goodwill employees are not allowed to purchase stuff at Goodwill. Then, they are not allowed to filter stuff or inform relatives that something "good" has arrived. Does it happen? Sure. Does it mean nothing is left? Absolutely not....

I think a bigger impact to the "good stuff" disappearing is the folks in the back listing the high dollar stuff online and it never sees the floor at the brick and mortar. Ever notice the number of Goodwill retailers on Ebay these days? BTW, those who might feel a little uncomfortable buying something at a Goodwill location --- does that feeling extend when bidding on a TT worth $2000 that Goodwill is marketing on Ebay? Think about that for a few.....

 

I get your point.However,I think I it all depends on what you are looking to buy.I look in charity shops in the U. K for records primarily.Now I doubt very much that other patrons of that shop if they are 'down on their luck' or struggling to make ends meet are looking at the same thing.I can't imagine that a single parent struggling on benefits is looking to expand their record collection!

Obviously it's different if we're talking about the essentials of life like clothing etc.I'm not interested in that,but if I were I would completely see your main point.

 

I had started having suspicions awhile back that someone was canvasing all of the thrift stores near me and quite a few miles north and south and picking all the vinyl up. All that would be left would be the dregs that is always there - old musicals, old classical (not higher end pressings - the general stuff). I had my suspicions confirmed this weekend by a record seller (no store- but brings inventory to big antique or garage sales at our fairgrounds) . We were discussing this exact thing and we were talking about a particular record shop in the area. The owner of that shop and this guy both live near a goodwill i frequent sometimes. He said that if you do not get to that goodwill within 15-20 minutes of it opening - you might as well forget it. the record shop owner is there every single day first thing. He said that record shop owner actually does not even buy collections-he is getting his stock primarily from the thrift stores. I assume other stores do this same thing. I frequent thrift stores about 50 miles north and 30-40 miles south up and down the coast in my area (not all the time - just when we happen to go one way or the other for other reasons) and almost all are similar now. I find almost nothing at all decent any more.

 

My wife and I donate a lot of quality used goods to our local thrift stores; I just dropped off another trunk load today as my better half continues to "de-clutter" the house.

I also buy stuff from them. I'm currently filling out my collection of (mostly political) cartoon books and seem to find new addition every time I visit, including author-signed copies.

But my best thrift store tale is worthy of being in Most of These Stories Are Somewhat True Too, my next book (in fact I was saving it for such), and I'll share the just-written / not-yet-edited version here. Enjoy!

Jeff

Thrifty Haberdashery​

Almost two years ago, mid-2017, Gen came home late one afternoon and handed me a brand new sports coat. This never happens.

“Try it on” she says. So I do. Perfect fit. Fine cloth. In fact very fine cloth. As fine as anything in my closet – and then some. I examined the red “Boutique” price tag dangling from one sleeve, the “$50.00” grabbing my attention. On the other sleeve cuff was the original price tag. My eyes catch three fast facts: it’s a 44T; it says it’s from Stollery’s; and the original price was $1495.00. Excuse me?

“Where did you get it?” I ask. She tells me she was shopping with Dot, her Mom, over on Merivale Road, a well-known Ottawa stretch of consumer consumption, and happened into the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store. Dot, with a keen eye for deals, called her over to some racks of clothing that she was going through. In short order Gen picked that coat out for me.

As she’s telling me this, I’m looking at the coat’s inside labels and notice a “Dak’s of London” one stitched on. I think I broke out in a cold sweat at that point.

“Were there many others” I asked. Gen then says how there were lots, and staff were still bringing more out of the back when she left. “Let’s go” I said and despite it now being prime rush hour we headed back to the store.

Once there it took me only minutes to pick out four more sports coats of various styles and colours, and a two-piece suit. What the heck, I grabbed another just like it knowing that my son Nick, who did not own a suit, and I are almost the same size, clothing-wise. Those sports coats were once again priced at $50 each, with original prices ranging from $999 to $1599, and the suits were $175 each, with original prices of $2495! I grabbed a couple of dress shirts ($12/$175-250) and ties ($10/$180-220) to match.

Back at home I started to do some research and combined with information that the store manager had provided during my visit, here’s what I think was happening.

Bud Stollery had operated a well-known Toronto high-end men’s clothing store for years. Somehow he had developed a close relationship with the St. Vincent de Paul charity. When he decided to close up shop and retire, instead of having a big sale, he donated the entire inventory, from the store and warehouse, to St. Vincent’s.

St. Vincent’s then leased space in downtown Ottawa and opened “The Annex” where they sold stuff at 30, 40, 50 percent off the original sticker prices. By the end of the lease they still had tons of stuff left over. (After all, 50% off $2500 is still too much for most folks!) So the remaining merchandise was put back into storage and, quite some time later, in fact the day that Gen and Dot visited, put out for sale at their store at the aforementioned extremely low prices.

That first evening a realization hit: we had been to their smaller Merivale store; their somewhat bigger store is over on Wellington St. W. I looked up their store hours and was waiting at the front door when it opened at 0900 the next day.

When I first entered I was disappointed to not see any of the red “Boutique” stickers anywhere in sight, but then I noticed the placard with “Boutique Sale” on it, with an arrow pointing downstairs.

The basement, which has less than half the floor space as the main floor, was filled with racks of Stollery’s merchandise. Sports coats, suits, shirts, ties, socks, shoes, hats, you name it. Every manner of style, colour, and size. I think I broke out in a sweat again just looking at it from halfway down the stairs.

I left that morning with eight more sports coats, including one that I knew would likely fit Devin, my son-in-law. (It did.) Shirts, ties and socks as well. I spoke to one of the staff and she told me that there was lots more stuff in back, and that they would be moving it out as space opened up.

I spent the next week going back almost daily to both stores. The word gradually got around and I noticed more and more people carrying armloads of amazing deals away each time. The usual clientele were not having much of it: even $175 for a suit was a lot for most of them, a cashier told me.

I did my bit. Early in the sale, as I was unloading a bundle from my car, my next door neighbour Andy, came over to chat. I showed him my purchases, and the price tags, and told him where I got it, and that there was lots more where that came from. All he said was “watch my kids” as he hopped in his car and took off. An hour later he was back with two suits for $175 each. (And did I mention that, because it’s a charity, St. Vincent charges no sales tax!) He was elated. He’d never owned suits of that quality and in fact almost never spent even that much money on himself, the proof being that as he was leaving the store, his credit card fraud department called him to make sure that it was really him who had just made a $350 purchase!

Later in the sale, when I was sure to have picked out all the 44 and 44T items that I wanted, I put the word out to Paul, a similarly-sized buddy of mine. He ended up with a few items as well.

And so it went until all the inventory eventually hit the racks, and was mostly all sold. Or so I thought.

That Fall I happened by the Wellington store and was surprised to see a selection of trench and winter coats. Apparently they’d held off putting it out back in the Spring/Summer. I ended up with a trench coat for $175, originally-priced at $1595. My size, perfect fit. Once again of a quality that I would never have been able to afford otherwise.

A year later, I happened by the Merivale store and, whether I had missed it altogether the previous year, or it was yet still more that had been in storage, there were a couple dozen suits on a rack with the now-familiar red tag and, as my now-great luck would have it, there was one in my size, and of a colour that I did not yet have. Sold! A week after that I was back again and there was now a new rack of winter overcoats. While most were quite nice, with original prices of $1200, there was one that was very nice, in my size, in 100% Cashmere, with an original price of $2400. Sold once again for $175.

So now I have more fine clothing to wear than I will likely need for the rest of my life. And I do wear it. The sports coats to dinners out with Gen, and to other events. The suits to (unfortunately) funerals. I kind of wish this had all happened a couple of decades ago, when I was working and meeting with clients all of the time. But I’m not complaining. Extremely fine haberdashery at thrift store prices: likely never again in my lifetime. Thank you Bud Stollery and thank you St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store!

 

My local GW just doubled the price of their CDs. From 0.99 to $1.99. Guess I won't be picking up as many of these as I did in the past. You can almost get brand new ones for that on Ebay. Lightly used kids shoes are still a bargain however. Have you priced out what toddler Nikes cost new in a store lately?

 

We are going out tomorrow for a medical appointment in Tampa in the pm , so we have decided to go out early thru central Florida beginning in Arcadia where there is a Goodwill and a Habitat for Humanity , last time out around 6 weeks ago on a Saturday morning we picked up a very nice Harmon Kardon av integrated amp, a Keurig coffee maker and 5 cd's [ Zappa, Cream , Miles Davis and a lovely double of Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions plus a Zappa comp put together by the guy from Phish, total price $32 plus change with tax. At the Habitat I bought some 20 cds at 25c each most of which were classical and jazz...these included a late era Buddy Rich box set and a similar one from Duke Ellington . I go out with the philosophy of if it is meant for me I am going to find it . if some flipper finds it then so be it .

 

I have donated pallets worth of goods at thrift stores, and I shop at them all the time. This has been going on since I started going to them about 30 years ago. They are my culture and I am theirs. I am part of the reason they are successful in gaining merchandise and selling merchandise.

I would much rather be an integral part of thrift store culture than buy it on Amazon. That guy doesn’t need my money.

 

Well stated, and when you put it that way, hard to disagree!

 

I agree with this opinion... The clearest indication that Goodwill's primary focus is to maximize revenue is that in large markets (I'm in Seattle) the stores sell any item they can on eBay to get the most possible money for each item. The focus is not on getting the donated items into the hands of the poor, Goodwill is trying to serve multiple purposes, but primarily training those most in need of language, computer, resume writing, retail clerkship, ect. As I type this, the Seattle store alone has 6272 items listed on eBay...
I still visit the stores, but most of my purchases from them are on eBay and I pickup the items at the store to avoid shipping costs. I talk to employees and they state that items are listed for 7 days on ebay, if not sold they relist for 7 more days and if still not sold they are placed on the shelf in the stores.

I do appreciate the viewpoint of those who mention concern about taking something away from others in greater need... the world could use more people like that.