Thrifting has had a big surge in popularity in the 5 years since I have, myself, gotten back into it. This makes me happy because it is, on the whole, a good thing for the environment. [It’s not, of course, a cure-all, much as banning plastic bags and straws cannot be. It’s equally annoying when people overstate the environmental impact of thrifting, as when they completely dismiss it.] However, with popularity, certain misconceptions have come into play. I see them espoused frequently online (e.g. Reddit’s Female Fashion Advice) and I wanted to address them because I don’t think they help The Cause: getting more people into thrifting.
Thrifting In a Rich Neighbourhood
The “thrift store in a rich neighbourhood” (full of luxury designer goods for $1, natch) is a phrase that gets thrown around so much on FFA that it should be its own drinking game. Now, in all fairness, there may be some truth to this – somewhere in the world, there may be a town with rich neighbourhoods with magical thrift stores overflowing with Chanel and Hermes. But that has not been my experience.
Thrifting is heavily location-specific, but in the sense that each town has its own thrift scene and you cannot generalize. I’ve done a fair bit of thrifting in places like Calgary, Red Deer and Vancouver, but I would not consider myself a thrift store expert anywhere except Edmonton, my home town. And that “expertise”, if you will, has taken years to develop. Telling someone who has never been thrifting before to find a thrift store in a rich neighbourhood is setting them up for frustration and likely failure.
Let’s talk a bit about Edmonton, because it will help illustrate my point. I often get comments on IG and the blog marveling at my thrift scores; I have myself pondered what makes Edmonton such a great place to thrift. I don’t have a definitive answer, but I have some theories.
First and foremost, I think it’s the right size. Our population (including the surrounding areas) is somewhere around 1 million, which make it large enough to sustain a diverse socio-economic cohort. Edmonton flies under a lot of people’s radar because of its reputation – in comparison with, say, Calgary, it’s considered a more blue-collar town. But it’s actually very diverse; there is a large student body (thanks to the University of Alberta, which is a well-ranked one in Canada), a large contingent of government workers, and (perhaps surprising to some) a not inconsiderable number of very wealthy people. The latter include both professionals – the U of A hospital attracts a lot of highly skilled surgeons and doctors, for example – and people with massive family wealth. Unlike perhaps in other places, these folks are VERY inconspicuous, at least for the average person. You occasionally see traces of them – you spot a Maserati casually parked on the street, for example – but for the most part, they’re not visible here in the same way as, say, Vancouver.
Second, with increased accessibility to online shopping for Canadians, any shortcomings in our local retail scene are becoming irrelevant. I routinely see lots of brands in thrift and consignment stores that are not locally available. In fact, I think online shopping directly contributes to the quality of our thrifting; based on the number of pieces I find new with tags, I think a good chunk of donations are the result of buying sale items, finding they don’t fit, and either missing the return window or not wanting to bother.
Lastly, there aren’t as many options for reselling locally (and making a decent buck) as there are in other places, particular the US. Selling on platforms like Kijiji or Facebook is a crapshoot, and it’s also highly label-dependent. (Lululemons are going to sell better than a more obscure high-end designer). There are a few consignment stores, but for the most part, you don’t make a ton of money back as a consignor; the return on designer clothes, in particular, is usually less than 20% (after accounting for the sale price and the store’s cut of the proceeds). Poshmark is still not available here (though it’s coming, I hear) and eBay can be a hassle. More importantly, shipping costs in Canada are ridiculously high, which puts a huge damper on online reselling.
So those are some of the reasons why I think Edmonton has a good thrift scene. You would have to consider how these factors might play out in your own geographic location, in addition to any other regional considerations that might impact people’s (retail) shopping habits (which, in turn, will largely dictate the thrift experience).
Now, about those mythical “thrift stores in rich neighbourhoods”. Edmonton is a patchwork of neighbourhoods, with “rich” ones sometimes directly adjacent to “sketchy” ones. My favourite thrift stores are often in commercial/industrial areas that are not in immediate proximity to any residential neighbourhoods. I know that my friend Jen (Life Preloved), for example, loves the Value Village by NAIT even though it’s, hands-down, the sketchiest store I’ve ever visited – it has its own security guard. Honestly, the only way to figure out which thrift stores are worthwhile is to visit them … and more than once. Then you can decide which you like best, which for me includes a consideration of how convenient they are to get to. Because as I said before, and will repeat ad nauseam, the more you can go, the better luck you’ll have.
The Time Commitment
There is no way of getting around this: thrifting is time-intensive, and don’t believe anyone who tells you otherwise. The caveat I will add on that is this: it also kinda depends on your expectations. If you judge thrifting success based on (a) finding super high end designer stuff, or (b) finding some really specific item, then yeah, thrifting requires a big time investment. The chances that you will walk into a store once every six months and find a pair of Manolo Blahniks or a Burberry coat are slim; it could happen, but it’s unlikely. Those things get donated, but obviously not in huge quantities, and thrift stores see a LOT of customers on any given day; their merchandise turns over way faster than a regular store. That means that things (especially nice ones) sell quickly, and also that new things come out on the floor constantly. Similarly, while selection is large, if you’re looking for something specific and are very picky, you may not find it on the first try.
On the other hand, I could probably walk anyone into any store at any time, and find a decent range of mall brands (think BR, Loft, J. Crew, American Eagle, Tommy Hilfiger, etc.) without much effort. It will still take time to sift through the racks – that much is unavoidable – but you don’t need to invest repeated visits over a long period of time.
Another caveat: it’s a slightly different story if you are plus size. It’s much harder to find designer pieces – in my opinion, largely because few higher end designers offer plus size options to begin with. So, in my experience, thrift selection for plus sizes reflects what the retail market has to offer – a lot of ugly muumuus, and some cute mall brands (Torrid, Lane Bryant, Modcloth, etc.).
The Cost
This is another know-your-scene situation. Small thrift stores tend to have the lowest prices but, at least in Edmonton, much less exciting selection (when it comes to clothes, anyway). My local Goodwills have standard pricing – typically under $10 per item – with a separate “boutique” section that is individually priced. Value Village is the worst when it comes to pricing, particularly since they’ve been bought out by Walmart, but also tend to get some of the best donations in town. Most dresses at VV, for example, are now $13 and up; many of the better known mall brands are over $20. For someone like me, who shops largely for designer stuff, these prices are still (mostly) acceptable. But you cannot expect to walk into a thrift store with $20 and come out with a bag of clothing. Sorry, Macklemore.
This brings up an interesting point that my BFF and I have often discussed which is that many of the larger chain thrift stores don’t really cater to the underprivileged, at least not as customers. When you can buy a cute dress at Old Navy for $15 or less on sale, why spend $20 on a used BR Factory dress at Value Village? [The quality is pretty much the same.]
Related to the above, I find online debate around the ethics of thrift shopping by non-low income people really baffling. It is an established fact that thrift stores, in general, receive way more donations than they can sell. This is most certainly true, in my experience, for stores in larger cities like Edmonton. [It may not apply in small towns, especially for thrift stores run by churches or small local non-profits.] Based on pricing, a lot of these stores are not catering to low-income customers; they’re in it to make money, whether for their parent corporation (ahem, VV) or for their actual charitable operations (Goodwill). They don’t care who buys their goods, and there are tons of goods to go around, including brand names along the entire spectrum.
Re-Selling
And since we are on this tangent, a few words on re-selling. I know a lot of people have qualms about arbitrage, and I get it. It can appear like a way of making money for nothing – buy a thing for $5 at the thrift store, flip for $100, ka-chingg! Here’s the truth: it’s a risky business that requires a lot of skill. Nobody, anywhere, is making money for nothing. That’s not how markets work. Resellers offer convenience for people who don’t want to spend time shopping for bargains; their end customer is paying a premium for the value of the time saved, and the discount obtained. But to deliver that, resellers need to know what clothes are worth buying (recognizing name brands, quality, popular trends), and what will sell. Not everything does, and certainly not for enough money to allow for any profit. They need to put in a lot of time: sourcing the goods and preparing them for sale (cleaning, photographing, listing, and that’s not including any time or costs associated with a storefront, for example). They also need to invest their own money in buying the inventory, and there is never a guarantee that it will all sell for a profit. [I find that non-business people often discount the opportunity cost associated with sinking cash into inventory. A thousand dollars in the bank has a different value than $1000 sitting in your basement in the form of used clothing.]
I follow a few big-time resellers on IG, so I know that it can definitely be a viable and lucrative business. Having done a bit of re-selling on the side, I can tell you that it’s not a particular easy way to make money … not a lot of it anyway. I can only assume that, to make a living out of it, you’d have to commit the same amount of time as any regular 9-5 job.
That’s it for now, but if you guys have any thrift-related questions – ask away in the comments!
Thank you for sharing such interesting details. I have never thrifted but love reading your experiences.
Thanks you!
Very interesting explanation of your local thrift scene. As a Brit, I’m puzzled by Value Village -why do people donate to a for profits organisation rather than their local charity shop where the money goes to good causes (altho there has been some controversy here in the UK about how much money goes to pay for senior staff rather than charitable activities). I also agree thrifting takes time, but you do get better at it spotting good quality material etc – but like you I think of it as a hobby and a pleasant way to spend time, plus the joy of the occasional fabulous thing.
I think a lot of people don’t know that VV is not a charity. They do partner with local non-profits, where effectively the non profit gets a tiny portion of the money. I don’t know all the details. But VV always uses that for publicity, conveniently leaving out the details. People just assume that thrift stores are for charity.
Personally, I used to donate there because of the convenience factor (they have tons of stores, including one very close to my house) and because they used to give out 30% off coupons for donations. Since I shop there a lot, it was a good trade off. They’ve since done away with the coupons (I think they might offer some smaller amount, not sure) so I’ve started taking our donations elsewhere.
Generally speaking, I think Goodwill and VV get the most donations here because they have the most stores so people are aware of them. Also, as I mentioned, some non profits that do clothing drives then “sell” their donations to VV, because they themselves don’t have the capacity (or storefront) to do the actual sales.
thank you for the explanation, that makes sense to me. We occasionally get bags through the door asking us to donate, and when you look at the small print they are paying £10 a ton to a named charity that they have flashed all over the bag. charities here do much better if you take the stuff tot hem, but equally I understand the allure of putting something outside your front door to be picked up rather than the hassle of taking it. Such an interesting post this one (altho I enjoy all your thoughts and I love to see what you find/make/wear!)
Thank you for this, especially for that last part. I’ve been thrifting to resell on Poshmark for about a year and it is WORK. Sourcing, cleaning, photographing, etc. The way I see it, I’m providing a service for which I make a mostly small) profit.
Doing a bit on the side myself definitely opened my eyes. And I went in with a lot more experience than the average person (I have been consigning for years, I am familiar with brands, etc.).
Also, I love reading your posts about Poshmark, and looking forward to seeing more!
Thanks! Part two later this week and next week I’ll post about my thrifting adventures. It’s been quite an education.
Looking forward to it!!
I bet you are right re difficulty in reselling contributing. I live in an area that is plenty affluent but never find brands like you describe. Okay not never but so rarely. My favorite thing at thrift stores was always the random 70s find and I find less of those these days … maybe with the rise of people buying clothes at thrifts, the random stuff gets fenced out in favor of target, etc. Or maybe they get bought by resellers.
I honestly don’t know how much of a factor resellers really are. I think it depends on the market, again. But I know quite a few really dedicated thrifters in my city, and none of us have problems finding great stuff. So there is enough to go around. Personally, the stuff I buy these days probably wouldn’t interest as many people as when I was actively hunting Anthro, J. Crew and the like. So in that sense, I have less competition.
I enjoyed reading a fellow thrifter’s take on this and I think our thoughts align quite a bit. I’ve done some reselling and while I have a really good idea of what resales on ebay, it can really be a crap shoot at times and the money sink is a big part. I agree up in deep poverty and we relied on thrift stores and sewing our own clothes but I never felt like other people were “stealing all the good stuff” like many people imply. I still thrift because it is something I enjoy quite a bit at this point although it is nice yo see the views change on thrifted clothes – it was very NOT cool to wear thrifted clothes in the 80s and 90s. Location is super weird, I’ve gone to “wealthy” areas to thrift and have always had way more luck with middle class-ish locations. The time sink is pretty true, it has only been in the past six, seven years that I’ve started to find designer and that was slow at first. (I think I find something awesome once a.monthish now – yesterday I found a floor length MaxMara coat that I am really stoked about but I’ve only seen 3 items of that brand the entire time span I’ve been thrifting.). Anyways, this was very rambling but I really enjoyed your words and I always love watching your thrift/spotted videos on Instagram. 🙂
Man, the money sink! It’s no joke, especially if you can’t source stuff for under $5 a piece – which is pretty much impossible here. Plus, unless you’re doing high volume sales or high margin items (both challenging for different reasons), the profits are basically … less than minimum wage.
I can offer my anecdotal evidence on lack of resale options contributing to the thrift scene – I am in Toronto (Canada) and donate most of my own used clothing, even designer, to Salvation Army simply because it is easy and there’s not much else I can do with it to recoup any money. I tried consignment but found it not worth the hassle to track the items, pick them up if they don’t sell etc. It’s almost addictive to just pull up to the drop off area, unload my bags/boxes and call it a day!
Thanks for sharing your experience! I agree – consignment (which I still actively use) is very time consuming for the reasons you mentioned. I only do it when the original cost of the clothing is low enough that I can recoup my money. Making $20 on a $250 item isn’t a sufficient incentive for a lot of people, who would rather just donate it. And I am thankful to everyone who donates (not just for myself but everyone else who thrifts whether for fun or necessity).
I dipped into reselling a little bit a few years ago when my husband wasn’t working. I was also new to thrifting and naively thought that as long as I can get brand name clothes, I am good. But as a person who was never into fashion, I didn’t really know brand names and it was a learning curve just trying to remember what sells and what doesn’t. It was a ton of work – I made very little profit and can be stressful dealing with crappy buyers. I didn’t do it to make a lot of money, just enough so that I didn’t freak out about bills on one income. But once my husband started working again, I didn’t see the point of it. And it taught me a lesson to just enjoy thrifting for myself.
I am really grateful that I got into thrifting, because I get to reduce waste, like you mentioned. As a bonus, finding clothes that I actually like and can purchase at a reasonable price means I have a much better wardrobe for my physical and mental self. I also find that I can experiment with clothes to see what works and what doesn’t – and with less guilt about wasting $. Wish I was more open to thrifting when I was younger.
Love all your finds and your style.
Style experimentation has been perhaps the best part of rediscovering thrifting in the last 5 years. I couldn’t have done as much of it as I have if I’d had to buy everything at retail – both because of the cost, but also the guilt.
Really loved this post! It’s really interesting to learn about the thrift scene in your area because you know it so well. From following your blog and Instagram all these years, it’s clear that dedicated thrifting takes a lot of time, over an extended period of time and regular visits, and it’s always really cool to see your finds.
In terms of discussions about the “ethics” of thrifting, I’ve generally found it baffling when I see allusions (usually second or thirdhand) to those discussions. (I think I’m generally not following the right people, whether on blogs or on Instagram, to see any of the original discussions, just the discussions about the discussions.) For instance, it seems so clear to me that real labor goes into finding something in a thrift store and re-listing it, so there isn’t any ethical “problem” with a marked up price, it’s fair compensation for time-consuming and fairly risky labor (what if the “inventory” doesn’t sell), and hey, if the item can find a new owner that is willing to pay for it and appreciate it, that’s great. Also, it seems pretty clear that thrift stores receive such a large volume of donations that they couldn’t possibly sell everything/no one’s being deprived of anything?
Mostly on or through things I see on Instagram, I’ve sometimes been seeing references to discussions where some people apparently say that buying new items from appropriately “ethical” (and usually expensive) brands is far more ethical than secondhand shopping, and that is particularly baffling to me. I definitely believe in supporting artists and small businesses (which I do mostly by buying jewelry from small, woman-owned brands), and that this has value, but I’m not sure that takes away from secondhand shopping being a good ethical solution to some of the problems with clothing production/fast fashion etc.
I’ve seen tons of discussions of the first point (mostly on FFA) but not the second. I find the second even more baffling, tbh. I don’t care how ethical a brand is, new clothing still takes resources to make. Better to reuse than buy something new; even if the secondhand item is fast fashion, the resources were already spent to produce it, so reuse at least makes the most of that.
The other thing about “ethical” brands is that, their ethics are not always all that transparent. I think it’s called green-washing? Anyway, sometimes the ethical shopping community seems like a circle jerk of self-righteousness and privilege which can be offputting. And I am aware that thrifting can also seem that way, but I am trying to be better about being a thrift advocate without going over that line.
Well said on all points! I wanted to chime in in the idea of thrift shops no longer bring for people experiencing financial hardship. I too find these conversations baffling.
Most are intended to generate revenue for non-profits to cover operating expenses. It costs money to run a non-profit, and grants and funding are getting more and more competitive! The people who argue they are now unaffordable to people in need probably aren’t aware that not all, but many participate in income-based voucher programs for people in need.
The ethics for me come down to places like the Salvation Army. I don’t always support some of their stances as an organization, but in my area they have some of the most generous voucher programs. My local shop is a part of their outreach facility. It works with individuals overcoming homelessness, and some of the employees are working through their program. I feel better about buying and donating than going to Banana Republic.
Love the post and the insightful commenters!
The only thing that sells for me at consignment is evening wear. We put clothing that was never altered on eBay, along with shoes and handbags. The rest gets donated because it won’t sell. We aren’t making money with eBay, just recouping 25-50% of the retail price (I shop retail) on those items.
Yeah, reselling in that context is not a big money-maker, so I can understand why people don’t want to deal with the hassle. Consignment primarily works for me because I thrift/buy second almost exclusively; even so, I often just break even.
Very insightful post. I think you’re bang on about the Edmonton scene, as I’m an Edmontonian and somewhat-regular-thrifter also. (But for the last year or so, I’ve just stopped shopping altogether). I started following you on IG recently, and I love your ensembles! You’ve inspired me to rework my own outfits, and reminded me of the creativity and satisfaction I found in thrifting. It’s exactly the kick I needed to beat the mid-winter blahs. So thank you!
Yay, glad to hear it. Up here, we need all the help we can get with those winter blues. Welcome & thanks for reading!
Agreed, this cold snap is a rough one. Also… on a side note, I had an aha moment. Your husband and I both have industrial design degrees from the UofA. I graduated a year ahead of him. And you and I met in person once too, at my shoe sale pop-up beside the sugar bowl a lot of years ago. And now I’m a fan of your IG page. Full circle!
Omg, I remember that pop-up!! Small world, indeed! I’ll have to tell G about it 🙂
Thought provoking, thanks! Not sure if/how they operate in Canada, but for the occasional high-end find, the online reseller The Real Real works great. They pre-screen what you send (and you can check out which labels they accept ahead of time) and after that only return damaged or counterfeit items. They handle all listing and shipping. Regular sellers get something like 70% of what they sell items for. Since their customers know what they are looking for, they can charge accordingly.
I have been eyeing TRR myself (as a buyer) but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. I know lots of people like it. I don’t think it’s widely used here, at least for consignment.