comment: >
  
  Most thrift stores are for profit Anyway, goodwill, savers. Etc.
context: You want to talk about exploitative? Did you know that a lot of thrift stores that take 'donations' aren't even non-profits? Your rage is misplaced. >
  
  I think that is Goodwill, looking at several sources the Salvation Army has operating costs of about 15-20 percent, which is pretty decent for most charities. >
  
  Only a small portion of stuff at the thrift store gets purchased and most goes to the landfill. There is plenty at the thrift store for everyone >
  
  There are plenty of ugly things and a few good stuff. resellers strip the stores from anything that could sell and would be worn and loved ,likely by people who are not that fortunate. Then the resellers mark up the prices and the clothing is no longer reachable to poor people. >
  
  They have the same opportunity as you to buy these things. >
  
  Honestly they don’t. Someone who is on depop or owns a consignment stall has all the time in the world to stake out thrift shops. They usually come from money already and start it as a hustle. They’ll get there while everyone else is at their 9-5 and snatch anything good to resell for a huge markup. It cancels out the benefit these stores offer to lower income households. >
  
  It doesn’t cancel the benefits. It just means theres competition for the higher quality stuff. There’s still literally tons of functional clothing. >
  
  Thrift stores aren't food Banks. You are buying used goods. Not receiving charity >
  
  All food banks aren't the same either. We have two near us in different churches. One is income based, they want to see some paperwork to show you qualify and the food is either free or extremely cheap.
  The other doesn't care about your income, they are just trying to make money to fund church programs. Everything is donated as a tax write off, and usually close to its expiration date. We get a ton of restaurant grade meats for cheap there. >
  
  come on now, you know comparing thrifting to a food bank is disingenuous. What's the income cutoff where I have to stop reselling stuff? >
  
  So OP. If I get a car for cheap, fix it and sell it for a profit is that the same thing?
  What about house flipping?
  What about repairing and reselling broken electronics?
  What part does the actual consumer play in this? Are they more to blame? Surely if there was no market there'd be nobody marketing to it. >
  
  All the examples you provided are fundamentally different in that you are buying something and adding value to it. In the example OP describes, the reseller is forcing themself into a transaction as a middle man and adding no value. 
  Closer examples would be a bank buying up all the housing in a neighborhood to drive up the price and reselling them. Or someone who creates a bot to clear out the inventory of the newest game console. >
  
  If they paid for it then it's fine.  The thrift store still gets its money.  Antique and art dealers do this too. >
  
  These people cost thrift stores tons of money. Part of the motivation for going to a thrift store is the thrill of stumbling upon great deals. If Johnny Scalper knows the delivery schedule and is ready to speedrun the store when a new truck comes so he can snatch up any valuable item, that makes the thrift store experience worse for everyone who comes in after him, and makes those people less likely to return. 
  A thrift store usually exists to help the community. People donate to the thrift store because they want to help those who are in need. If some jerk comes by and buys all the best and most valuable stuff to resell, they are basically pulling a reverse Robinhood. The people donating would not donate if they knew their item was going to a reseller, and the thrift store wouldn't sell it if they knew. Unfortunately, there's no easy way to figure out who is abusing the system and ban them, so people are able to take advantage.
  It's basically the same as scalping. Sure, technically, by the letter of the law, it's not theft. But the person who is scalping or thrift flipping is forcing their way into a transaction in which they extract a profit, add zero value, and in which both the buyer and seller would prefer to not have the middleman. >
  
  How are thrift stores losing money? The longer the shit sits on the shelf the further they knock down the price. One of the problems thrift stores face is sufficient space for everything. People moving this stuff are doing them a favor. >
  
  They lose money when people don't come in. 
  Take Goodwill for instance.  8-10 years ago I would go in, find a few good deals on clothing or other items relevant to my interests, maybe notice a table or whatever.  Then Goodwill started reserving the best items for sale online and resellers would raid the rest the minute it hit the shelves, so when I stopped by after work there would be nothing worth buying.  After a few times of this I stopped going to Goodwill for almost a decade. >
  
  You're not coming in because stuff is sold before you get there, and you're saying it's HURTING sales? 
  Can you hear yourself? >
  
  they aren't worried about the thrift store, they are complaining they didn't reach that Gucci belt first. >
  
  as a thrift store lover AND a surplus value hater AND an hater of exploitation i CAN'T agree with you... first of all if you buy a turd for 1$ and you resell it to shit lover for 10$ it isn't my business to criticize it, second, a lot of things in thrift stores end up in the trash eventually and\or they try to sell those to the wrong people, a thrift store is too generic to find what you look for, so there's no "bridge" between the seller and a purchaser looking for an item, detail sell instead fixes this
  anyways i fear that thrift stores may become depleted because of this, resulting in a general higher price of the stuff >
  
  Thrift stores often do not have enough room to sell everything people bring in. Even stores that sell for lower prices and are large (Value Village, where I live) still have stuff leftover they don't have room for. Smaller stores (Buffalo Exchange) definitely don't take everything you bring them. They only take what they think they can sell and what they have room for. We used to sell our old clothes for store credit or try to sell for cash, and would only walk away with maybe $10 or $20.
  I agree with your title statement though. You have to go through a BUNCH of clothes to find stuff worth selling for a higher price. >
  
  I think outside of a few construction sites Goodwill is the only place in my town that gets daily pickups for their dumpsters and this is exactly why.   
  Between the stuff that has been sitting on the shelves for months that nobody wants regardless of how much they mark it down, donations of items they already have dozens of on the floor, and just crap (people donate a lot of broken stuff...) they just can't keep up. >
  
  thrift stores aren't charity operations to cloth poor people. they re-sell items, typically for a profit. their business model is they buy things for one price, and they sell them for a higher price, and then they keep the difference in money.
  it's not a church. it's not a food bank. you're not stealing from the poor if you buy a shirt at a goodwill and then re-sell that shirt on ebay for more than you paid for it. >
  
  This is misinformation. 
  No offense but you should edit or take this post down. I'm not arguing just stating basic facts volunteers in every community could verify. 
  
  thrift stores aren't charity operations to cloth poor people
  
  Those clothes are donated. They are donated to a charity & you can ask for a receipt to get a tax exemption. 
  They registered charities & "clothing poor people" is used to justify your tax exempt status to the IRS. 
  "Vintage" and "Second Hand" resellers are usually distinct & for profit. People often confuse them. 
  
  their business model is
  
  RETAIL not WHOLESALE. They are dependent on appealing to as many consumers as possible. Good deals drive sales - The Salvation Army is just like the GAP or Amazon. 
  
  it's not a church. it's not a food bank. 
  
  The Salvation Army is a religious operation. A church. 
  The United Way funds both my local food pantry & a thrift store. >
  
  As a person who has worked for a charity thrift store as a volunteer for 25 years, we definitely do not buy things at all. All items left with us are donated 100%. We clean and test them and sell for very reasonable prices. A real service to our community and a major source of income for our charity. Only one person in our store  staff of  16 gets any pay and that is our full time manager. We are an animal rescue and out shelter is 100% donation supported. A completely tax deductible supported organization. >
  
  Thank you for your good work. I love thrifting. >
  
  The money goes to charity regardless so why is it an issue? People donate to thrift shops all the time it’s not like they’re gonna run outta shit >
  
  Not all thrift stores are non profit. But that doesn't even matter for this post. If you buy something at a garage sale, you can sell it later. If you buy something at a thrift store, you can sell it later. I've bought toys for my kid at target and then sold them later. 
  And you're totally right. It's not like the thrift store is going to run out of stuff or like they'd be mad. They want people to buy it. >
  
  thrift stores need sales to stay in business, just so you know >
  
  And pay people enough to want to work there. >
  
  You say that as if clothing and textiles aren't dumped en masse to landfills. Look up how much goes to waste every single day. Resellers keep things out of landfills. (Where no one gets to use them). >
  
  This comment should have more likes >
  
  It sucks to make a living off it but I think it's a way to make some extra cash. I don't that it's wrong at all. >
  
  It’s not just buying and reselling. You said they’re flipping them. They’re putting labor and effort into making the product they bought improved and better in quality. They deserve to sell it and make a profit from whoever wants to buy it. 
  If someone’s works on flipping a house, they’re supposed to sell it for the same price they bought it for when it was a dump? When it’s now completely refurbished? You obviously haven’t worked a day of physical labor in your life >
  
  Breath taking analysis, but your entire scenario is unrelated. Making investments in materials and making tangible investments in a property is not analogous to reselling. >
  
  Then say thrift store reselling. When you say flipping, that means physical effort went into improving the product and to make it like new and that drives it up to a higher reselling value. At the very least, the flipper deserves to be paid for their efforts and labor >
  
  Thrift stores aren't a service provided for poor people to be able to clothe themselves... they're there as a business to sell bulk clothes >
  
  I really appreciate the fact that I can just buy the used item online and have it mailed to me. Cuz I'm too busy working to pay my rent to go through thift stores all the time >
  
  The only horrible person in this scenario is the charity with exorbitant admin costs. >
  
  Any form of flipping that doesn’t involve fixing broken things is a horrible practice. Completely agree, had to explain to a friend how artificially raising the price on necessities like clothing is bad cause he’s got his own resale “business” >
  
  I hate to break it to you my man, but thrift stores are by their very nature exploitative as fuck all. Especially Goodwill. >
  
  My girlfriend does this as a hobby. It brings in like $200-300 extra a month. >
  
  Goodwill is exploitive. Why does a donated pair of pants cost me 15$ used when i can go buy brand new jeans of the same brand for a few dollars more. Goodwill CEO makes millions while half their labor is volunteer / community service hours. Get real if you think a thrift store is bad. Charities are some of the most unethical companies on the planet. >
  
  $15??
  What Goodwill you going?
  I never see anything cost more than like 8 at mine. lol >
  
  why would you resell a thrift store >
  
  Ugh I agree so much. I think for ppl struggling to get by it’s an important asset, but then ppl who aren’t see these assets as “deals” and buy out all the aid it offers. I feel like thrift stores should be privatized like Sam’s club…you have to apply for a membership and prove you’re below a certain tax bracket to get in. Consignment shops pick up all the good finds and charge quadruple the original price. It’s disgusting. >
  
  So you're mad at capatalism yes? >
  
  I'm right there with you, unless they repair, refurbish, tailor or modify the clothing. >
  
  They save me the hassle of going through stores to find what I want. >
  
  Food bank stuff is free.  I pay for what I get from a thrift store >
  
  Well, a Canadian store called value village gets all of their supplies as donations and they sell it. 
  My mom bought an ikea coffee table from them, ikea sold the same thing new for the same price. >
  
  ‘One of the most horrible.’ I don’t think you’d have to try hard to find countless far worse examples. >
  
  Weird thing to get mad about. I’m just happy anybody is finding a use for my old stuff I donate. There is such a steady supply of people donating their stuff that I just assumed most of it was being thrown away. >
  
  The worst people are the ones who make videos bragging about how they browbeat down the old woman at the tag sale from $5 to $1 for the lot of hot wheels they can resell for $1500. >
  
  Food expires so I guess that'd be the first hurdle in your shit analogy. >
  
  so all antique stores should be banned? >
  
  I work at one in Finland we take donations we don’t buy the stuff in inventory. But let’s break it the resellers are the most reliable customers. And it’s not clothes they buy it’s stuff >
  
  I get the sentiment. I do. But if people spend money on something, they have the right to do what they want with it. Use it, gift it, sell it, burn it. It’s not hurting you or anyone else, so I don’t see a problem. >
  
  bad analogy food banks are for people who cannot afford food thrift shops are for anyone to buy from >
  
  Flip this thinking a bit. The buyer is paying extra money for someone to find a specific product at a thrift store. The thrift store and ppl it services aren't losing money, it's just someone else paying a finders fee bc the thrift store can't afford an expert valuation on every item. >
  
  Story time: one of my old co-workers did thrift store flipping. She was an older women with absolutely no consideration for those around her.
  She would take the tip money for herself then claim we got no tips, try to sell us “Gucci” bags and “expensive diamond rings” for the great price of $500! Which was such a deal, so she said.
  She constantly bragged about how good she was at scamming people on Facebook marketplace and would go to thrift stores daily then resell.
  I didn’t like her one bit. >
  
  I work at a thrift store and this is a good amount go out costumers. They always complain to get something cheaper and say we charge to much. Compared to every thrift store around us we are super cheap. Sometimes they break stuff to get it cheaper and it’s annoying. 
  This week a lady flipped a huge cabinet she bought for $10 and it looks amazing. Personally I don’t care that they resell it. It’s just annoying when they demand a lower price when it barley cost anything. >
  
  Tell that to someone digging cobalt with their bare hands while carrying their kid on their back somewhere in Congo so that you could be judgemental about a job on your lithium powered smart phone.