If you want to thrift shop successfully, you have to go in with a strategy. One of the biggest misconceptions people often have when thrifting is that all thrift stores are the same. Yes all thrift stores sell previously owned items, and yes no two thrift stores sell exactly the same items. Nevertheless, depending on the type of thrift store you visit affects your overall experience. Here are the three types of thrift stores and the pros and cons associated with each.
Non-profit Thrift Stores:
These stores, such as Goodwill, Opportunity House, and Salvation Army, accept all donated clothing, sell it, and give all profits made to their associated philanthropy or charity.
Pros:
-You can feel good knowing your purchase is going back to help the greater good.
-These stores also tend to be larger and feature a wider variety of merchandise to browse through.
- Prices for thrift stores tend to be at their lowest at this type of store.
Cons:
- Since the clothes from these stores are completely donated, the quality control is very low. Note this does not mean you will not find high quality or designer items at this type of thrift store, it just means they might be harder or less likely to find.
- Organization tends to take a toll on this type of thrift store. With the stores being so large and typically under staffed, it is difficult to keep the merchandise organized in a way that is easy to find and keeps the store looking good. With so much merchandise ,however, the best form of organization you can expect are the clothes being divided by "pants, shirts, and jackets".
Consignment Stores:
Consignment stores ,such as Uptown Cheapsake and Plato's Closet, accept donations as well as purchase clothing items from customers in exchange for money or store discount. These stores then sell these clothing items for profit.
Pros:
-These stores tend to be very picky about what they accept or purchase so there is more insurance that you will higher quality, fashion forward items.
-These stores are often visually merchandised in a way similar to normal retail stores, making it more aesthetically pleasing and easier to browse.
Cons:
-These stores often offer very little in terms of cash back when selling your clothes to them so be wary of that.
-Despite the sellers often not making a lot from their items, consignment shops tend to raise the price of their items much higher than regular thrift shops. While you can still find some great deals, be careful about not accidentally spending the same amount of money on a used item that you could have spent buying something new.
Local Thrift Stores:
These thrift stores are small businesses that sell locally donated or consigned clothing items.
Pros:
-Since these are local, small businesses, if you get close to the shop owner you might be able to score discounts.
-One of my favorite things to do when traveling to new states is visit local thrift stores since it is really interesting to see how the sense of fashion differs across state borders (especially with East vs West Coast).
-Local thrift stores in nicer areas tend to offer higher quality or designer items.
Cons:
- Since these businesses are locally run and not based off a larger company, you will have to check it out or research the reviews yourself if you want to find out organization, prices, and item assortment.
-If you encounter a negative experience, there is no one higher up you can report it to.
I hope now you have a better understanding of the different types of thrift stores. If I left anything out or you would like me to expand on anything mentioned, leave a comment below! Happy thrifting!
Comments