Thrift shopping is, more often than not, a sustainable shopping method that does more good for the environment and your wallet than harm. You can usually find marketplace items at thrift stores for half the price or less, and most stores find use for items that would have otherwise been thrown away, keeping them out of landfills and helping you save money.
Most of the time. This shopper wasn't so lucky when it came to buying something that had been pursued for some time: an old milk glass shelf.
According to their post on the r/ThriftStoreHauls subreddit, the shelf was listed for a marketplace price of only $1,400. However, the Value Village thrift store they found it in was still quite high at $850.
"Reaction: My jaw literally dropped and I said out loud, 'How much?'" one user commented.
Many others in the comments are accusing the store of grifting, which is the practice of a thrift store selling an item given to it for free for a retail price far above its original value.
"For the most part though, the people coming into a thrift store aren't looking to drop that kind of money unless they're resellers which we did have a few. If I were you I would keep coming back and checking to see if they lower the price," another user who happened to work for the thrift store chain commented.
This practice surely exists, but it is not common across all thrift stores. Most of them still offer items at a bargain price that shoppers can afford, such as this shopper who stumbled upon a complete, comprehensive slate gray dinnerware set for only $25.
Or this shopper who found a shelving unit selling for over $1,000 online for only $80 at their local thrift store.
This is the main reason you would shop at a thrift store: to find deals that make even the most high-end items affordable instead of appealing to corporate retail's greedy price gouging.
This guide on thrifting can help you avoid outliers like this and find the most affordable deals on your next thrift tour.
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Cheaper clothes 🤑 Other commenters were frustrated by the high cost of this item as well. One user said, "I'm so tired of the GW/VV/Savers grifts."
Some Redditors shared the OP's desire for the milk glass collection. One commented, "Oh wow I have zero place nor use for this, but I still want it."
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