Rann

I know the feeling. I went to the one in Tallahassee Fl on Monday abd gallon bags of fabric were $20. they had 4. I may have thought about giving $10 for all 4 or maybe $5, but $20 was ridiculous AND most of it was ugly.

QuiltQtrs

In my area, have also noticed unusual high pricing on articles at Salvation
Army store. However, at another Share and Care store nearby prices have
always been so low it is worth the trip. (Lots of high end, quality clothing
.... used, but in excellent condition)

SusanL

I've noticed that all of the Goodwill Thrift Shops that I've ever stopped in were overpriced. The prices are generally better at the local area thrift shops that benefit the hospitals, hospice or the local community.
I'm a big advocate of recycling and can never pass up a thrift shop.

Roberta

Our Goodwill here in Waterville, ME is priced like that. Some things shouldn't even be out on the sales floor and they are asking big bucks. Occasionally I will find a bargain but not often and never any fabric.

rushdoggie

I heard a clerk talking the last time I was in Goodwill and they were saying most of teh good stuff gets culled and sold online
http://www.shopgoodwill.com/
and then they mark the rest and only mark it down to empty the store.

My Salvation Army has half price days so I tend to shop on those days, or go to the smaller local thrift stores when I want a cheap bargain.

We do have a local chain called Value Village which sells used clothes but they are very clean and organized and fix things up a bit, so even though they are priceier I don;t mind because everything is clean and in good repair.

lisalisa

No doubt, the good will in our town has gone up over the years also. Seemed to start when they started stocking target returns and over stocks. I rarely find anything good there anymore. All of the deals I score are from the local women's hospital auxiliary. They practically give clothing and fabric away, I can't help but load up on it every time I go. lol They think I'm nuts.

Vanuatu Jill

I can tell you what those bales of clothes are for--they send them overseas-(SELL them). Living in Vanuatu for so many years (a developing country), we had MANY second-hand shops and they all bought those bundles of clothes-they are usually sold by weight, I believe, from over-seas. Ours there mostly came from Australia because it is the closest first-world country. Most of our thrift shops sold shirts for about $2.00-3.00, dresses $3.00-$5.00, and the most expensive item I have seen there was about $6.00. The natives there have such low incomes and the only other alternative is the CHEAP Chinese stuff that is imported-and about twice the price-so many CHOOSE to buy a better quality (since it is from Australia) even though it is second-hand.

Nolee

If I'm not mistaken, the person on here was referring to fabrics they got at Goodwill, not other things. I find cheap, cheap prices on things, for instance, bed ruffles that I can cut into squares and use for foundation piecing for $2.00 for a queen size. I only needed to use 1/2 of it for all the piecing for a queen quilt.

They DO have lots of ugly stuff but I'd also suggest you go to one in the nicest part of your suburbs or town. We have found beautiful clothing for $5 and the tags are still on. There are some really great bargains. My sister-in-law got a first edition book for $.75 and resold it on E-bay for over $400. Not bad, huh?

Mary M

I will have to agree that many times the prices at the thrift stores are far from "thrifty"! I had a daughter that worked at one of these "thrift" stores and she said she was amazed at how much stuff was thrown away. I would guess that not all thrift stores are like this but many are. The prices should reflect the fact that the stuff is donated and meant to be sold for a selling price rather than a price of new stuff. I would think that rather than throw stuff out they shuld at least have a "free" spot so someone could get the use of it. Not bad mouthing the good thrift stores just the ones who could be more practical.

kellen46

About those fabric bales....they are frequently sent overseas to other places like Africa or South America so they can be picked over and resold in local markets. Haven't you ever seen a show where a guide in some desolate area is wearing a t-shirt that says something like "Bob's Better Bait and Tackle Shop" and wondered how he got it? The thrift shop sells to a jobber who sells to a middleman who sells to a local wholesaler and so on. Not all bales go this route but many do. The thrift shop makes a profit on it. There is a difference between "not for profit" and "non Profit". Hopefully some of that goes to the folks who need it. The Goodwill here sells at very high price and is not really all that good a deal. I don't see where they put the money back into the community although they might and I don't see it. The Salvation Army is very much in love with it's merchandise and it is not renovated or fixed up in anyway. However they do a lot of donating and Christmas stuff. They do have a hidden agenda. They want to convert people to their church. That is OK, if you want to but how many of the helped feel pressured? I don't know. We have a good thrift shop run by Hospice and the money they make goes back into the program so I feel good about shopping there. Their prices are a bit high but the stuff is good and not junk. Sometimes I find a real bargain. I know that 100% of the money they make stays local which is good. I am leery of the other Thrift shop as I know the owner and she makes a living off of volunteers and donated items. She takes all of the profit she gets for herself, it is a business. No matter how warm and fuzzy the name not all thrift shops are for charity.