The thrift economy

As thrift shopping and reselling started trending among the fashion savvy and environmentally conscious, many low-income communities have struggled to shop secondhand in the face of rising prices.

Increase in Popularity

According to the 2019 ThredUp resale report, more than one in three Gen Zers will buy secondhand and 51% of all consumers plan to spend more on secondhand clothing in the next five years.

The report also predicted that the secondhand market will double, with an increase from $24 billion in 2018 to $51 billion in 2023.

Many attribute the sudden uptick in secondhand shopping to social media. Multiple platforms reveal the mainstream staying power of thrift shopping.

Secondhand shopping also satisfies a social media-induced craving. Repeating outfits on Instagram is often considered to be an unspoken cardinal sin. Because secondhand shopping offers new styles for cheap, it fills the niche for constant new clothes.

Difference in Perspective

Thrifting’s popularity continues to climb, but as those from upper-middle to high incomes increasingly shop secondhand, many note a difference in perspective.

According to a 2010 Pennsylvania State University study by Spencer James, a researcher at Brigham Young University, lower-income families see secondhand shopping as a necessity, whereas higher-income shoppers view it as a commodity.

“The upper class essentially sees it as a toy store. Something to find stuff that’s fun, like a kind of playground,” James said. “Yet they have a lower class that sees that as one of the last few places where they can afford to buy the goods that they need to maintain their standard of living.”

James and his colleagues conducted the study after a major employer in their county shut down, leaving many families in financial distress. The study measured families’ participation in thrift economies and found that both thrift stores and yard sales provided many of the necessities families needed to survive.

Lower- and middle-income households typically participated in thrift economies at a higher rate than higher-income households. The results also noted that those in the lower-and middle-income brackets shopped for furniture and clothing while higher-income families typically bought antiques or trinkets.

Though James conducted the study a decade ago, he feels the results have only become more relevant, especially as thrift stores become a more prominent shopping alternative.

“This can have the deleterious effect of rising prices and thereby pricing the poor out of yet another place where they could potentially access the commodities that they need to maintain their standard of living,” James said.

Thrift Prices Rising

Several discussion boards across the internet also share price increases in their local thrift stores and speculate the cause.

In one instance, Reddit user u/Megan_nicole_93 found a pair of jeans at her local thrift store that were originally from Kohl’s, with the tags still on, on clearance for $12. Her local thrift store priced them at $15.“What is this thrift store smoking?… At least scratch the clearance tag off!” she said in a Reddit post.

Many believe the high volume of new “thrifters” drives prices up in chain thrift stores such as Goodwill. In a 2010 donation valuation guide, Goodwill Industries estimated flat prices based on the item. But, in 2020, the valuation guide includes a range of prices.

The difference in the two reveals that prices are increasingly focused on the maximum a customer would pay for a good, or how it’s priced in retail or other resale markets.

Resale

Ethan Tan, a Depop seller and ASU alumnus, has been thrifting to resell since 2016. He’s amassed about 30,000 followers on his account, Fun/Cool Vintage, and now uses the app as a full-time job.

Sitting in a retro-style robot graphic tee and vintage Levi’s, Tan described his process of picking out the best finds at the thrift store. Sometimes, he just knows.

Tan resells vintage T-shirts, jackets, jeans and the occasional pair of shoes. His prices range from $15 to $1,250. The highest priced item on his page is a signed vintage Suicidal Tendencies band tee.

He frequents Goodwill, Savers and other local thrift stores for his finds. In his expeditions, Tan also noticed an increase in thrift prices. Though many argue that shopping to resell could be a contributor to the inflation of secondhand prices, Tan believes it is not the fault of resellers, but the fault of the corporations implementing price increases.

“The thrift store wants to make more money, but they’re nonprofit. Their goal shouldn’t be to make more money. It should be to make a better impact on the community and the environment,” Tan said.

Tan also weighs the environmental benefits when he is thrift shopping from thrift stores in Panama City Beach, FL and reselling. Because of this, he finds a significant portion of his inventory at the Goodwill Outlet store, known to resellers as “the bins.” Goodwill Outlets sell retail rejects by the pound.