Usually, thrifting is a great way to shop for household necessities and clothes without breaking the bank. Sometimes, however, secondhand shops deviate from their mission and customer base, marking up used items to maximize company profits.

One thrift shopper was left shocked after seeing the price of a pre-owned table at the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. They shared their experience on the "r/ThriftGrift" subreddit, a community dedicated to exposing unethical secondhand and thrift shop practices.

"Thought it would be max $50 then I looked at the tag," the original poster wrote, attaching pictures of a rustic wooden square table with a few noticeable water stains. The blue price tag taped to the table read "$260."

For that price, one could even purchase a brand-new table, let alone a used table with water stains. The absurdity of the price that Habitat for Humanity ReStore was charging made even less sense when one commenter testified that they bought a similar-looking table for a fraction of that.

"I have a similar table I bought this year at a furniture store for $75. New. With warranty," the commenter shared.

Thrift shopping offers buyers the opportunity to purchase everyday items and, sometimes, rare and valuable items at steep discounts. It also keeps still-usable products, like furniture or clothing, out of the landfill, reducing the potential for waste to pollute the oceans.

However, in one-off cases like this, secondhand stores can deter shoppers from purchasing pre-loved items and instead encourage them to buy new. Instances like this demonstrate how clearly out of touch some of these thrift shops are with their mission and the people who shop at their stores.

Fortunately, these cases seem to be outliers, with more thrift shoppers having positive experiences than negative ones.

One lucky thrift shopper rewarded themselves with a beautiful secondhand messenger bag after a work promotion. The shopper realized the $8 bag they had bought at Goodwill retails for $500.

Another thrift shopper purchased a $15 junk jar and happened to find a pile of 14k gold jewelry inside.

Should it be illegal to throw away old clothes? Heck yes 👍 No way 👎 I'm not sure 🤷 Only if it's free to recycle them 🤌 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"[ReStore] is a joke," one commenter said.

"Infuriating," another user commented.

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