If you've ever gone thrifting before, you might be familiar with the impressive deals you can find on secondhand products, from clothing and dishware to electronics and furniture.
The purpose, of course, is to give used products a second — or third or fourth — chance on the shelves while making them more accessible in cost.
Unfortunately, the will of large corporations that stand to profit off of secondhand sales can, in some cases, interfere with the apparent benefits of thrifting.
One Reddit user shared a photograph of an overpriced deodorant stick at their local thrift store.
The partially used deodorant, which one commenter described as "dollar store deodorant," was marked at $5.99, according to the original post — a far higher price than they expected.
"What a bargain!" the user sarcastically captioned.
Typically, shopping at thrift stores helps buyers find everyday essentials as well as unconventional pieces at discounted prices, keeping products circulating after their first use.
Over the past decade, our rising overconsumption mentality has led to a culture of throwing away items before they're worn through, simply in order to buy newer, flashier versions and keep up with what's trending. As a result, much of what we buy winds up in landfills after only a few uses.
When landfills overflow, contaminants seep into the nearby soil, air, and water, potentially making their way into our food and water supplies and negatively impacting human health.
Landfills are also a potent source of heat-trapping gases such as methane, making them partially responsible for the food shortages and weather abnormalities that arise from an overheated planet.
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Cheaper clothes 🤑 At their best, thrift stores help almost 20% of the American population save money on a regular basis, as BusinessDasher observed.
But when corporate greed interferes with the viability of thrift stores by driving up prices, the demand for secondhand products goes down, making individuals less likely to engage in thrifting in the first place.
In these rare cases, it's a loss for both the environment and buyers' wallets. Coming upon an overpriced product might dishearten some thrifting customers, especially newcomers — but you just need to know where to shop.
With over 20,000 thrift stores across the U.S. alone, per the Census Bureau, shopping secondhand usually proves more rewarding.
"They sell that [deodorant] at the Dollar Tree for $1.25 and bonus! — someone's pits haven't been all over it," one user commented.
"Ew," another added.
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