Thrift blog article that I found irksome...

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

I read this blog article on thrifting-- http://www.gusfitzgerald.com/Thrifting.htm --- and it got me kind of ticked off... Apparently the fellow has no idea who shops in thrift stores, where the money from purchases goes, or how many of the charities actually help enable people with, say, JOB TRAINING.

Anyway, I'll paste the article in full here, and GoodBuddy if you need me to remove  it, or it needs to be edited, that's fine. I just thought it would be interesting discussion. The article is as follows (these are NOT my words):

"The other day I thought about donating some money to a thrift store (Not really), so that they could sell their clothes for lower prices to poor people who can't afford the prices of regular stores. Then I realized that even if I did, half of the clothes that the prices were dropped on, were probably going to be worn on the backs of teenagers who could easily afford to shop elsewhere. But then I realized that those kids who are buying the only clothes that poor people can afford, are actually helping the poor community because they're bringing in money for places like Salvation Army and Thrift and Gift. You see, that way, not only do these well off teenagers get some cool and unique clothes, but they also get to feel good about themselves for donating to the poor community.

NEWSFLASH: Thrift stores don't sell things cheap as a fundraiser for poor people, they sell things cheap because that's the only place some people can afford to go.

Teenager Thrifter: But you can find a lot of unique things in thrift stores you couldn't find anywhere else. We don't want to shop at the mall and walk around wearing different versions of the same clothes that everyone else is wearing.
NEWSFLASH: Get online, buy some clothes, the internet provides thousands of different options and you won't be taking things away from the poor community, because guess what? They don't even have the internet.
 
Scenario that I usually think about when I see some kid with money in his pocket walking around in clothes from thrift stores:

Poor woman, mother of three: John, the kids need new clothes, their old ones have holes in them.

John, her husband: Lisa we're barely making rent right now, the kids will have to wait.

Lisa: Well maybe if I pick up a couple more shifts at work we can at least get them something from the thrift and gift down the street.

Two weeks later

John: How about this one Lisa, do you think any of the kids would like this?

Lisa: I guess, I just don't want the kids to feel like we can't afford them, isn't there anything that's actually 'cool'?

Gus: Nope, sorry ma'am, over the past month the middle class teenagers have basically wiped this place out of anything that isn't completely repulsive.

Lisa: Oh.... Well I guess all's fair in thrifting and gifting. The kids will just have to settle for something they don't really like, because they aren't already doing that with the way we're living.

I have a huge pet peeve with thrifting, it's a trend in which teenagers search for new ways to be unique, by driving around to all the thrift stores and salvation armies they can find and buying clothes no one else will have. These are the same kids who could probably drive to stores all across Virginia, or at least have their parents take them, or at least get to go and shop in different places during field trips or holidays. These are the same kids who could get online and coax their parents into buying them clothes from any number of different stores not available in Harrisonburg.

Instead these kids are shopping at stores aimed at helping out people who don't have the ability to drive around, and who don't have the internet, and who can't afford stores in the mall. STOP THRIFTING!!!!

Note: Someone just said that shopping from thrift stores was a way of doing charity.... Ummmmmm.... It's not charity if you're getting something out of it, if you want to be charitable, donate some money and feel good about yourself, stop buying clothes for yourselves."

[Zed Simon]

Instead these kids are shopping at stores aimed at helping out people who don't have the ability to drive around, and who don't have the internet, and who can't afford stores in the mall. STOP THRIFTING!!!!

OK, that's just wrong. Although thrift stores do help the lesser-privileged, who says they're the only ones who should shop there? Are there signs posted that say, "Items in this store are available for purchase only by those with incomes of less than $X,000 per year" or "Proof of disability required at checkout"? No, because that's preposterous. No store of any kind could get away with that.

Selling nice items for cheap (usually) is not the only way thrift stores help people. Like you said, TSR, all those programs are funded from proceeds of donation sales. As long as there's money coming in for those programs, what does it matter where it comes from, or who buys those items?

Btw, I've seen plenty of used items in thrift stores that you could buy new for the thrift store's price. So there goes Gus's "only place they can afford to shop" argument. And "They don't even have the internet?" Get off it. A cheap PC (what, $300 brand-new?) and $10 a month for dialup is plenty affordable for most people.

What an ignoramus.

[SecondhandSophisticate]

That was one unhappy article.  Icky.  Why pick on kids, anyway?

Historically from the last century, at least from the 50s-60s, kids wore their parents' castoffs or went to thrifts to get a funky, creative, original look. (I wore my mom's funky 40s raincoat and my brother's bomber jacket from 50s grammer school to high school, for example.)  It had very little to do with money; as I recall from my high school days, (it certainly might be different now) kids went out of their way to look like they shopped at thrifts.  You know--the "starving/creative artist" look.  As a matter of fact, the whole hippie movement of the 60s (which one could argue was basically peopled by rich white kids dropping out from the materialistic society of their parents) raised thrift-store shopping to a fine art. I applaud that desire. It could come in handy someday.   

The now-very collectible book _Cheap Chic_  by Caterine Milinaire, which was published in 1975 is one reference source of this phenomenon.

Thanks for posting it, TSR. 

Ciao, Bellas!
SeSo

[Big Daddy Audio]

This guy Gus seems to be completely out of touch.

I work with high school kids on a weekly basis (no I'm not a teacher - I'm a youth coach in the high school ministry at my church).  Most of the kids I encounter come from money.  They also have cars.  They also all HAVE JOBS.  Most of them would rather NOT shop at a thrift store.  There are those who do have, like me, an out-of-synch aesthetic, which requires them to dress in a mode different from those around him.  They will go to thrift stores. 

I go because I'm of the belief that people in this country do tend to donate stuff that has plenty of useful life left.  Rather than going door to door asking for cast-offs, I wait for them to donate their stuff to a thrift shop, take a tax deduction (If Uncle Sam is giving, then I'm taking) and THEN shop for what they donated.  My wife went shopping and came home with no less than 20 tops, jackets, and bottoms (oh, and pajamas) for $75.00 from a thrift store.  This is a MAJOR infusion into her wardrobe.  For that same $75.00, she could go to the mall, and buy 66% of a pair of Diesel Jeans.

Gus, I'm pretty sure you're not reading this, but if you are, can you please drive down to the mall (the one where none of the kids are because they're all busy driving from thrift store to thrift store like the funky fashion locusts they are) and spend all that money that you were going to donate (yeah, okay) on a Venti Mocha with three extra shots of reality?

I'm not poor.  I'm not rich.  I have enough to get by on because of thrift stores.  I don't get food stamps, and I'm not on welfare.  I have a job.  I don't begrudge people who need assistance, until I see them on line at the supermarket buying better food than I am (yeah, it's happened - I'm buying mac and cheese and cup-a-soup with cash while the woman in front of me was buying meats with food stamps).  I don't want to rant, and that was a while ago, but it doesn't change the fact that it happened, and it caused me to re-think my cash flow and realize that (GUS, GET THIS IF NOTHING ELSE) shopping in thrift stores makes a ton of sense.

That is all. 

[Other People s Junk]

I went to college with some of those kids he is talking about... the ones that could afford to buy whatever whenever, and yet they shop at thrifts.  I thought it was great that they weren't stuck up- they were more down to earth.  It put us on a more equal level- we shopped at the same stores.  

The thing that gets me is that not all "poor people" shop at thifts... There are plenty of poor people out there who refuse to step foot in one.  They would rather max out their credit cards in order to appear more affluent, or what have you.  (As I am typing this I see there is a new post... I too have been in the shopping line buying my meager groceries and the gal in front of me was getting all sorts of nice food and was wearing all sorts of nice jewelry and yet using food stamps.  ERG!)

The thrift store I go to the most is all about maximizing their $$ coming in so that they can use the $$ to pay for people's prescriptions- that is their charity.  Most things are generally reasonably priced, but there are plenty of things that are through the roof... definately not priced with the poor in mind.  While thrift stores are a definate plus for the poor, I would think that most are not there just to give them stuff at cheap prices- the point is to raise money to support the charity work the organization does.  

There's my 2 cents worth!  

[Jay2TheRescue]

Instead these kids are shopping at stores aimed at helping out people who don't have the ability to drive around, and who don't have the internet, and who can't afford stores in the mall. STOP THRIFTING!!!!

OK, that's just wrong. Although thrift stores do help the lesser-privileged, who says they're the only ones who should shop there? Are there signs posted that say, "Items in this store are available for purchase only by those with incomes of less than $X,000 per year" or "Proof of disability required at checkout"? No, because that's preposterous. No store of any kind could get away with that.

Selling nice items for cheap (usually) is not the only way thrift stores help people. Like you said, TSR, all those programs are funded from proceeds of donation sales. As long as there's money coming in for those programs, what does it matter where it comes from, or who buys those items?

Btw, I've seen plenty of used items in thrift stores that you could buy new for the thrift store's price. So there goes Gus's "only place they can afford to shop" argument. And "They don't even have the internet?" Get off it. A cheap PC (what, $300 brand-new?) and $10 a month for dialup is plenty affordable for most people.

What an ignoramus.

I agree.  A few of the thrifts I go to have 2 pricing tiers.  One is "Value", and the other is "Collectables"  The collectables are priced accordingly, usually about 1/2 to 2/3 of the Ebay value, and everything else is value priced.  This way the charity gets more for the items that can bring them more, and they still can provide inexpensive items for the less fortunate.

-Jay

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

Yup. I totally agree, you've all hit on it from so many angles-- and every one's valid. Thanks for sharing your perspectives on the post. I have to admit, I feel better just having passed it on to some people who truly understand. :-)

The guy is free, of course, to say what he likes. Just that ya'd think a person would have some basis to back up his opinion.

And guess what?-- I'm going thrifting tomorrow! :-)

[ChrisMiss]

Well that explains why I can hardly find any aloha shirts in my hubby's size...the teenagers have snatched them all up!   NOT!

That guy needed to take a look at thrift stores instead of just what some teens are doing.  Did he notice the large selection of housewares, furniture, linens, etc.?  Who does he think buys that stuff? 

Thrifting is about stretching our dollars.  Why would I go pay retail for an item if I can get it at the thrift for a whole lot less?  Paying full retail price has only helped the economy in a very small way.   

Some ways thrifting helps out a lot more than paying retail are that the items are being reused and not filling a landfill.  That saves a lot of money for the local economy.  The thrift shop have created jobs.  Some hire the handicapped and others hire the person who needs a second chance.  These jobs help create better citizens. 

The charities that are funded by these sales and donations help many many people, the biggest of which is after a natural disaster.  There are many thrifts that help one needy family at a time with clothing, etc.  The needy person brings in a voucher and they can pick out whatever they want from the store that is stated on the voucher.  I've been in stores and a person has one of those vouchers and it will say for 5 women suits, that means 5 blouses, 5 skirts or 5 pants, etc.   I once saw a woman that had a voucher for her whole family and it was many items that she could get all at no cost to her.

Teens shopping for trendy clothing is a minute portion of what thrift stores are about.  The vast majority of shoppers are made up of people stretching their dollars.       

[DreamsinRed]

There is so much wrong with this guys theory but I'll just pick one:  He blames teenagers for buying up of the cool clothes that less fortunate teenagers could have purchased.  When I was a teenager, I had a job (like most teenagers) and I could buy whatever I wanted, wherever I wanted. 

[Mattie]

Where did this moron get the idea that donating some cash to a thrift store would enable the store to lower its prices?  He clearly has no clue how businesses work.  He actually sounds like one of the "middle class teenagers" he's complaining about - naive and thoughtless.

[Good Buddy]

I'm glad that person is so foolish, it gives us something to talk about.

Thrift Shop Romantic: You're giving full credit to the author. Leave his words here for all to see.

Some people just don't get it!

[alexandra]

Another point I think this blogger missed, is that stores generally carry a wide variety of items/styles/brands, etc.  What appeals to middleclass employed women like myself, doesn't necessarily sell or appeal to some one of a different demographic.  Stores put the stuff out to sell because they need someone to buy it -- regardless of their personality profile.  As long as stuff sells, the stores are doing what they set out to do!

I would rather promote my own theory of drinking, returning bottles and going out thrifting with the proceeds, than think about that idiots economic "insights!"

Thriftily,
Alexandra
www.livingwithoutmoney.blogspot.com

[Monimania]

This is one angry dude