Sneakerheads will pay a pretty penny for the ideal addition to their collection. Limited-edition collaborations, designer shoes, and customized kicks are often the most coveted.
Because of this, many thrift stores assume that sneakerheads will disregard price in the pursuit of the best footwear. Unfortunately, this leaves the average person shocked at the audacity of the pricing at these shops.
One disappointed thrifter shared their experience at Goodwill in the r/ThriftGrift subreddit, as they stumbled upon a sky-high price.
"I don't think these cost this much brand new," the OP wrote. "My local Greedwill isn't usually even CLOSE to this outrageous."
The attached picture showed a pair of lightly used beige Nikes with tan suede trim. Except for the trim, it looked like they were made of canvas and no other expensive materials, such as leather.
Sneakerheads may wait for hours in lines to grab the latest release or participate in online bidding wars over an iconic pair of shoes, but that doesn't mean thrift stores should price them like they are rare or valuable. Thrift stores are designed to be accessible to those of all incomes and to encourage a more circular economy by diverting millions of pounds of textiles from landfills and keeping items in use for as long as possible. If items are priced low, more inventory will move, the stores will earn more money, and they will save more items from landfills.
Luckily, this kind of experience is an outlier, and thrift stores are an essential part of the circular economy's success. Goodwill alone diverts more than 4.2 million pounds of waste every year, keeping tech, plastic, and other textiles from polluting landfills and waterways.
By choosing to buy one cotton T-shirt secondhand instead of new, customers can save 2,700 liters of water, according to Earth.org, showing that small decisions can make significant environmental impacts.
And thrifters should still expect to save money on every shopping trip. They may even stumble upon items such as Dr. Martens for $10, a Prada blouse for $1, or a box of vintage Zelda games for free.
The Redditors were disappointed in the extreme pricing.
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Cheaper clothes 🤑 "GREEDWILL," one commenter reiterated.
"I got the EXACT same pair of Nikes, same colorway and everything, totally new, from my local thrift store for less than $10 last year," another shared.
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