Thrifting can be a fun gamble for shoppers willing to dig through trash to find treasure. But it may be getting harder to determine what's really worth the sticker price.

In the r/ThriftGrift subreddit, a user posted a photo of something they came across in a jewelry section. They found a piece of paper printed with a black and white picture of a few items. It included an eye-popping $839.99 price tag and a handwritten message that said, "Ask manager to see."

"This looks like costume jewelry from Kohl's or Macy's circa 2010," the post noted. 

Even though instances such as this one tend to be outliers, it points to a pattern of corporate greed that's unfortunately bled into the thrifting industry. Inflation, shrinkflation, and skyrocketing prices are all prohibiting people from living comfortably. 

When buying new at traditional stores gets too expensive, that's when consumers turn to thrifting. Shopping secondhand allows you to save money on everyday necessities and also discover rare and valuable items at discounted prices. It also lessens your waste and pollution and keeps things out of landfills. 

But there has been an increase in prices at some thrift stores, with many shoppers calling them out for overcharging on free donations and selling broken and damaged goods. It's still possible to find great deals, but there may be extra work involved to sift through items that are not worth it.

Commenters shared the poster's outrage and frustration with the exorbitant jewelry pricing and discussed how thrift stores have changed over the years.  

"Providing zero information about it and showing only a black and white printout is crazy. Maybe it's gold, platinum or an expensive designer, but why wouldn't they write that on the paper?" one user said.

"Honestly who actually asks to see things like this? Is anyone actually buying it? I see things priced like this and I'm like, there's no way anyone buys that. Then they aren't there anymore and I wonder if they just got rid of it or if someone bought it for 800$," another commenter wrote.

"I'm convinced these ridiculous prices ... are part of a scam where they can claim losses somehow. I don't know how it works, but they are artificially raising the value of the store inventory for some kind of scam," someone else theorized.

What's your primary motivation in shopping at thrift stores? Cheaper clothes 🤑 Trendier items 😎 Reduced environmental impact 🌎 I don't thrift 🚫 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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