The Price of Thrift

[BonnieJean]

I just visited my local GoodWill store today and noticed they had raised their prices. I confirmed it with a worker. Their dresses are now $5. It seems everything went up a dollar. I know that Salvation Army has recently raised their prices too. At least for now, at GoodWill they still have their 25 cent Mondays. I was able to find a nice rayon skirt for a quarter today. I'm going to have to re-think my thrift shopping. I live about 20 miles from all the thrift stores (and most stores, actually) and with the cost of fuel, plus my time, I'm thinking that sewing my own clothes will prove to be the most cost-effective. No more will I have to rummage through racks and rack of clothes, just to find the one jewel and then realize it's 3 sizes too small or 2 sizes too big. With the great link for a wonderful online fabric store given in another thread, I think that will be the route I will take. I can make a skirt or 2 for the price of buying a "worn" one at the thrift store--excluding those 25 cent Mondays. And the added bonus would be I'll actually have something I really like instead of having to modify the used clothing. (I'm a petite size and have to shorten everything!)

I think I'm just going to become a frugal online shopper now---there are always bargains on the web!

 

[Barbara]

I guess you just have to remember that at least some of that money goes to a worthy cause, but if it no longer makes sense for you, lucky you if you can sew what you need!

 

[Paisley]

I've never been very handy with a sewing machine. Everything I ever made looked homemade, so I don't bother anymore.

The price of thrift stores, for me, is spending time rummaging through tons of junk. At the Goodwill store around here, clothes aren't even sorted by size, but by color. :eusa_doh:

I did find a beautiful, high quality cotton skirt last weekend for $2.68, though. It just needs a little mending. I don't think you can get a zipper for that price, can you?

 

[Lady Day]

I guess you just have to remember that at least some of that money goes to a worthy cause, but if it no longer makes sense for you, lucky you if you can sew what you need!

Thats true. I rarely try anything on at thrift stores or stores for that matter. I like to try the item with things I own and if me no likie, back it goes. But at TS, if its $2 for a pair of pants and they seem alright, I usually get them and if they dont work, then I re-donate.

But as for the sewing, Im hearing that a lot from my gal friends ini general. So even if the price of TS is going up, better stock up on fabric and notions before the wave of folks looking to make their own garments skyrockets and then the savings will be washed away


LD

 

[Paisley]

Even if the prices go up somewhat, I think it's still worth the price. Last night I bought a lovely tweed jacket with covered buttons and a velvet collar at Goodwill for $7. I can't make a jacket. I don't think I could buy the pattern for $7, let alone the fabric and buttons. Even if I had all the stuff for free, I wouldn't cut out the fabric for that price. So yes, I think it's still a great deal.

 

[Honey Doll]

Oddly enough.....

I stopped into a couple local thrift stores today and found absolutely nothing.... I did see one cute sweater, for $7, from Old Navy... so the original purchase price was probably little more than the thrift store one.

When I was in college I could have easily gone to my local St Pauls and came out with slips, day dresses, hats for a couple dollars a piece......only wish I'd known then what I know now!

Honey Doll

 

[Elaina]

Sewing is a lot like thrift shopping too.

You wait for the big 3 patterns to go on sale for $1-$2 (Vouge on sale is about $5, but they have some of the "special" dresses) and remember you can mix and match your patterns to boot. I frequently dislike McCalls sleeves and Butterick fit better, so I usually change them out. Simplicity's waistbands tend to twist on me (and run a little small) and I use McCalls..etc.

Fabric is bought in much the same way. I bought tweed in the summer for $3/yd and this winter I'll by cotton and rayon, for next year.

One thing to keep in mind: the more people that sew, the cheaper the stuff generally gets. It's less of a niche market. In the Arts district in Dallas, fabric most of the time is at leat $1 cheaper then it is over in Ft. Worth, because they sell more of it.

Elaina

 

[Miss Brill]

I just visited my local GoodWill store today and noticed they had raised their prices. I confirmed it with a worker. Their dresses are now $5. It seems everything went up a dollar.

Here they are $7.49, suits are $12.99 (men's suits are $24.99), jeans are $7.49, pants & shirts are $4.29, shoes start at $4.99, and most should have been thrown away rather than donated to charity.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Wowee. Curious as to where is 'here' in the United States of America, Miss Brill?

 

[Kimberly]

Miss Brill, nothing annoys me more than seeing a suit with stains and tears going for about $25.00!!

Our thrifts have raised their prices slightly but I am willing to pay extra for good quality merchandise that I can either wear or sell. I limit my purchases to things that are either vintage or unique and that saves me money.

Thrifts can raise their prices all they want but for the most part, it is a buyers market and if the buyers don't buy at that price than they have no choice but to lower their prices as they usually get hundreds of items daily and have to have some method of inventory control. I was actually very alarmed at how little goes to the actual charity which makes sense because most of these thrifts have to have similar overhead costs (as far as the cost of the building, heating, employee compensation and benefits, etc.

When I dontate to a thrift I don't think of the money going to the charity but rather the young boy who needed a pair of boots or elderly woman who needed a coat. That is why I have mixed feelings on raising prices. I have seen the clientelle at these thrifts and their are many there who are obviously not as well off as many so they need a place to buy good quality clothes for them and their families.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

I stopped into a couple local thrift stores today and found absolutely nothing.... I did see one cute sweater, for $7, from Old Navy... so the original purchase price was probably little more than the thrift store one.

When I was in college I could have easily gone to my local St Pauls and came out with slips, day dresses, hats for a couple dollars a piece......only wish I'd known then what I know now!

Honey Doll

Same here! I didn't go thrifting today, but "back in the day" (1998-2002ish) I could walk into my local Salvation Army and walk out with 4 or 5 fancy dresses from the 40s, 50s, and/or 60s. Now it's all 80s prom stuff.

Every once in a while my husband and I hit the shops and I usually come home with one or two things from visiting 4 or 5 shops. Stuff from the 80s and 90s is beginning to take over the shops around here. I guess that's what happens as time moves on, though

 

[BonnieJean]

Stuff from the 80s and 90s is beginning to take over the shops around here. I guess that's what happens as time moves on, though

Amy Jeanne, its the 80s and 90s here in the Midwest too! That is the bulk of what I see in my local thrift stores. I laugh when I think about the TLC cable channel's commercial with a gal wearing 80s clothes and the male receptionist asking her where she parked her De Lorean. So if you see me in a thrift store laughing to myself, I've probably discovered some more 80s clothes in the racks.

 

[Miss Brill]

Wowee. Curious as to where is 'here' in the United States of America, Miss Brill?

TN, and the small town stores charge as much as the larger cities.

 

[Nashoba]

TN, and the small town stores charge as much as the larger cities.

Yep. I live in Middle TN and I was at goodwill last week. Most of the dresses started at around $7.99. If you can find something on the half off color _____ day it's still a good deal. but sadly when I actually find something it's rarely the color that's on sale...
And yes, much of what I see these days is scary 80's fashions....as if they weren't bad enough back then...

 

[Miss Brill]

but sadly when I actually find something it's rarely the color that's on sale...

Always! And if you leave it hoping to catch it on sale day it will be gone EVERY SINGLE TIME! :eusa_doh:

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Dealers get to the stuff first, in the back room

TN, and the small town stores charge as much as the larger cities.

Thanks. I've only been to the one in Clarksville, a year and a half ago. I was visiting my brother and it was bitterly cold, colder than what I'd left in New York, so I needed some warm duds. I found a Jackie Kennedy-type suit, black cardigan, adorable suede dress, and other various neccessities. I am a gal who makes about $11,000 a year so I shop at thrift stores anyway, but I also find Goodwill, what with it being practically a conglomerate now, an expensive thrift choice, and rarely do I find anything vintage. I haven't been that lucky at ANY Goodwill since that day, Salvation Army around the corner from me is the best for me and my family.

 

[Lady Day]

Same here! I didn't go thrifting today, but "back in the day" (1998-2002ish) I could walk into my local Salvation Army and walk out with 4 or 5 fancy dresses from the 40s, 50s, and/or 60s. Now it's all 80s prom stuff.

So true. But you gotta take into account the consignment/resell/'vntage' stores that send out scouts that comb thrift stores for items to resell in their shops. That leaves slim pickings for us who are looking for those items without the 400% markup.

LD

 

[Nashoba]

Always! And if you leave it hoping to catch it on sale day it will be gone EVERY SINGLE TIME! :eusa_doh:

Oh that's the worst! I've done that a few times and now I just buy it when I see it sale or not. I've learned the hard way.

 

[BonnieJean]

So true. But you gotta take into account the consignment/resell/'vntage' stores that send out scouts that comb thrift stores for items to resell in their shops. That leaves slim pickings for us who are looking for those items without the 400% markup.

LD

So, true, there's a lady in my area that sells only vintage clothing. She's supplied clothing for movie companies for several years. Even some people from Ralph Lauren came and purchased some of her stuff to use as inspiration for the clothing line. This lady has "pickers" all over the country and even in several countries abroad. I guess its all "the luck of the draw" and being in the right place at the right time. I still think my best route is sewing my own stuff--if I could just find enough time!

 

[Adelaidey]

I was lamenting about all of these things last week when I went thrifting... its all hysterical 80's or horrid 90's, Goodwill is too expensive, all the good stuff is taken and sold elsewhere for 100's of dollars... good finds are few and far between.

And even if I do find something, its never the right size anyways... I found the most amazing 40s-esque top at Goodwill, only to discover that it wouldn't button closed, being a good 4in too small in the bust.... grrr... I nearly cried when I had to leave it there on the rack!