YIKES!-Salvation Army prices

[threecrazykids]

I have decided to try my hand at refinishing beat-down-tossed-on-the-side-of-the curb-furniture and selling it on Craigslist. I have found several treasures at Goodwill and thrift stores so I thought I'd try my luck at Salvation Army. HOLY COW!! Their prices were OUTRAGEOUS! And not just for the furniture...EVERYTHING in there was crazy priced! Here are a couple examples:

Baby Bumbo Seat WITH a tray $35.00...the one WITHOUT $45.00. Both were in the exact same condition.

A piece of real think foam, queen sized...used for beds or cusion projects...$95.00! And it was all stained up and had holes.

Circa 1975 orange and brown flowered couch and loveseat...the one with the chunky wooden frame. All stained up with holes in the fabric...$250 for the set!

Is this common with these stores or just a bad example? This store is in the worst part of town. It's the first time I'd ever been there so I had no idea what to expect when I went in. I was thinking along the lines of a Goodwill. Apparently not...maybe they like to think it's more of a "Pottery Barn".

So do I continue to even look at other stores or is this common for it to be higher than a Goodwill store as far as pricing?

 

[Buckeye Princess]

Our Sal Val is terrible too. I went there a few times when DD was born to try and snag some inexpensive romp around the house clothes. I'm glad I know my prices. They wanted $3 for one gerber one piece sleeper. (long sleeve/pant) This same one was still being sold at Walmart in a pack of three for $8.88 Hmmmm. Pay more for the one that was very worn and had a few stains, or get them cheaper at Walmart.

 

[kydisneyfans]

I think they are both ridiculously high. New clothing on clearance at Kohls, Penneys, etc is cheaper and unused. Heading out to Penneys tonight to use some of the $10 off anything coupons, I can outfit the kid for the summer for the price of sales tax. I don't get it.

 

[EcbLovesMickey]

I agree, the one near me is so bad I don't stop there any more.

 

[secretpantssam]

I have found Goodwill is usually overpriced too. Half the time I can get the item cheaper at Kohls or Target if they are on sale. The one time I went to Goodwill and they had items that I had purchased at Target a few months prior from the dollar section for $2! Why would a second hand store charge twice as much as the regular store?!?

 

[Reagan&Co.]

It sounds like all of these stores have REALLY bad pricers working there. A decent employee would be trained to mark items appropriately. I would point this stuff out to the managers. Trust me..they want to sell that stuff to make room for all the "new" stuff that comes in every day. I am sure they would price adjust and/or work to improve their current pricing system.

 

[si-am]

At the Goodwills around here, all the shirts are the same price (It's either $3.97 or $4.97, I can't remember which.) But half of them are old grungy Faded Glory brand from Wal-Mart, that you can buy NEW for the same price.

 

[Leajess99]

The Salvation Army thrift store that I went with a friend to in Kansas was decently price and the stuff was in good condition. We got 4 kids' books for $1 and one of those books was a "Skippyjohn Jones" one that retailed for $12.99. I figured when my daughter was done with it she would pass it on to her teacher or the school library as the kids here love those books.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Ours are super expensive too. I don't get it. I thought the same exact thing... I can get this new for the same price as or even cheaper on sale!

 

[ReneeA]

Our is okay - they have "half off" pricing often. For instance, I went in last week to look for a dress shirt and tie for my 8 year old and they had 1/2 off all kid's apparel. This is what I ended up getting, and it all looked very close to brand new:

Sundress for DD6 - new with tags (tagged price $24.99)
Dress shirt for DS
1 pair Lee carpenter jeans for DS
3 pair shorts for DS - one pair new with tags
1 Old Navy camisole for me
1 navy scrub top for me to wear to work...obviously very worn and faded, but matches all my other old faded scrub bottoms

I paid $12 and some change for all of that. It would have been double without the sale, but from what I've seen, they always have certain items on the sale. Just not always the ones I want.

 

[budbeerlady]

Our Goodwill and Salvation Army are both about the same and very high. I do better at smaller single charity type based stores. Our local mission store is very reasonable so I usually go there instead, they only have 1 store and the employees are volunteers who are really trying help.

 

[nunzia]

Same here...I don't even go in my Salvation Army store anymore, I used to get so irritated. Our Goodwill store is the same..ridiculous.

 

[wheelcap]

I think those stores hire employees that will work for low wages, in order to save money for their programs. The problem is that those employees have no idea what prices to put on things. When I buy there, I just figure I'm making a donation to support their worthwhile programs, and I'm getting a gift from them in return. Especially the Salvation Army stores I'll support, because the money goes to pay for the drug rehab programs which are great!

 

[englishteacha]

Our nearest Salvation Army store is kind of dingy, and they organize the clothes by color rather than size. That alone keeps me from shopping there! I also find their prices to be a bit high. Our small local thrift store is part of a United Way agency and is like shopping in a boutique. I love it and am disappointed when I go to a Goodwill or SA store, now.

 

[snowgooseltd]

I think the bottom line is that, with the current economy, more and more people are shopping thrift stores. These stores have taken note and upped their prices. I've shopped thrift stores for many years and the prices, in the last two years, have risen sharply. It seems as though even these stores are taking advantage of the downswing in things....

 

[funnygarcia]

I think the bottom line is that, with the current economy, more and more people are shopping thrift stores. These stores have taken note and upped their prices. I've shopped thrift stores for many years and the prices, in the last two years, have risen sharply. It seems as though even these stores are taking advantage of the downswing in things....

I agree, the locally owned chain of thrift stores (Unique Thrift) had awesome prices in the past but in the last year they have overpriced everything. The shirts that my dh loves (Tommy Bahama or similar Hawaiian prints ) were $10 or less last year, watched the prices climb $20, $30, last time we checked $45...

They sell used mattresses, stained, worn out, nasty looking for $130 full size. I think they are breaking the law, MN has a strict labeling law in regards to mattresses and must be labeled if made of new or refurbished materials. Refurbished must also be sanitized and wrapped.


They have a 50% off day on major holidays, it would be busy - but tolerable. Now there are cars parked blocks away, lines to get into the store and wall to wall people in store. It was crazy!

We comb the racks and shelves, sometimes find lower prices.

Had better luck at Arc Valu Village, they train and support the developmentally disabled and help their families with resources.
Clean, organized, good prices and awesome sales.

Goodwill, Salvation Army, and Savers.. haven't gone in years because they all have been overpriced and yucky. I'm not picky, just mop your floors, keep the displays neat, and don't bother pricing junk that should be in the trash.

 

[mom2minniemouse]

I go to the Sally's in Worcester, MA, but I haven't purchased any furniture from there. However, I just got DD11 5 Aeropostale sweatshirts mostly $2 apiece. IMO, the clothing prices aren't bad, especially on Wednesdays, where everything but one color is 50% off.

 

[QVCshopper]

I do pretty well at my Goodwill. Recently got my DD an American Girl nightgown and a Gymboree dress for $3.50 each. The prices are a little higher than I'd like to pay for used, but I'll do it for good quality, great condition items. My DD looks so cute, and I don't even spend much.

 

[EKW]

Last time I walked into a Salvation Army they had a used leather couch...a bit scratched up, but no holes...for $1100. That was about 7 years ago. I figured they'd lost their minds...if you have $1100 to spend on a sofa, why the heck would you buy used???...and never went back again!

You can't always trust the merchandise at Goodwill...but their prices aren't nutty!

 

[cnlmom]

I also have noticed an increase in prices at the local "chain" thrift stores. I thought the mission was to of course raise money but just as equally important give an outlet for people to purchase reasonably priced items.
Drives me nuts.....this stuff was free to them, why do they have to gouge and frankly they price it so many people cannot afford.
I also get frusterated when they will pull a listing off Ebay and then use the asking ebay price to price their items. Just saw this yesterday with a set of Piano books.....the ebay "price" was $120, so they wanted $100. I am keeping up with the ebay listing out of curiousity, but see it did not sell.
Our local habitat store is also "famous" for overpricing. They will get in donated items from Lowes. It will be without the box and they will post the Lowes price and consider it their price. Again people.....it was given to you for free. Why would I buy a ceiling fan from Habitat without a box, possibly missing parts, no waranty, instruction manual or return priveleges for EXACTLY what I can pay for it down the street at Lowes.
However apparently some people do, cause they do seem to move items there. I just cannot understand how though. I used to enjoy thrift shopping, never knew when you would find a gem....but now I just avoid them because they are so frusterating with the pricing.