The Value Village chain, once a beacon for enthusiastic thrifters, seems to be changing. They promotes the slogan “Good deeds. Great Deals.” and stress the importance of helping out the communities and providing affordable options.
The thrift shops are particularly great for students, especially when we’re on such tight budgets. Items are donated, refurbished and sold again at affordable or, at the very least, reasonable prices.
Kayla Cummings, a STU student, loved shopping at Value Village for the bargains she could find with a little time, patience and digging.
“I used to do a lot of shopping there. I’d buy books for only a couple of bucks and it was the place I went for basic clothing items,” said Cummings.
But she says all that has changed in a big way lately. She isn’t the only one who has noticed this problem. Hundreds of disgruntled customers have taken to Facebook to communicate their disappointment. The comments section of every one of the company’s posts has been flooded with negative feedback. Many of these posts have gone viral in the past few days.
It seems to have started with one post in particular, which showed a used Columbia winter jacket with a Value Village price tag of $200 attached.
Karen Jurarez posted a picture of a woman’s dress with the original price tag still hanging on the item. Originally the dress was priced at $21.90 brand new. Value Village’s tag showed the second hand store was charging $24. The accompanying comment said “I think you have some serious explaining to do.”
This isn’t the only post that concerned Value Village shoppers. Victora Buzz, a local news organization in B.C., posted a photo recently of a flowerpot that was priced higher then it was originally sold for.
Attempts to contact those who originally posted these photos were unsuccessful.
Cummings says the deals that she used to enjoy locally are also disappearing. Jeans that only cost her $7 in the past have been raised to $12. She said with the rising prices, sometimes she is just better off purchasing the clothes brand new from retailers.
“The prices definitely do not reflect the needs of individual shoppers. Instead they reflect the increase demand and the public trend of thrift shopping,” said Cummings.
But has Value Village changed or the economy in general? Is it possible that the chain’s popularity has changed their mission? Have high profit margins replaced the desire of providing community assistance to people in need?
Several attempts to reach Value Village headquarters were unsuccessful. After contacting a media line, the AQ was declined a statement.
On their Facebook page, they explain they are taking all these comments to heart and appreciate customer feedback. They proceed to explain their stores take in over 10,000 pieces of merchandise daily and as their employees are human, mistakes can happen.
But customers still aren’t buying it. The cost of living is rising and thrifts shops are supposed to help ease that burden.
“They are capitalist in all the sense of the word,” said Cummings. “They have no cost for their products, only profit and they are maximizing it to the fullest extent.”
