And the Good back in GoodWill.
Pul-eeease.
I want to know...What is up with my local GoodWill Industries and Salvation Army's increased pricing?! People, read the sign. It says GoodWill, not Nordstoms. (Actually, my daughter and son-in-law up in PTown now refer to it as "Greedy Will" and I fear they're right.)
Umm...have they heard not the news? We're in a recession here, people. Yes, indeedy. And yet, there appears to be no rhyme or reason for the pricing system at the biggest little city's thrift shops. (Ehem... and not in Portland Oregon's thrift stores either, according to my sources.)
I swear, it's like they let a seven year old loose with the price gun (which was set on $14.95) to tag each and every item (a minimum of 12 times with stickers that don't want to come off, ever.) in the small "home accessories" department.
See a small kind-of-cute pitcher?
$14.95.
A large silver tray missing a handle?
$14.95.
A pillowcase?
Um..you got it. $14.95.
My personal favorite was finding two nearly identical similar trays, one with a huge dent in it (not even usable) and one in perfect condition. Both of them marked...$14.95. When I asked why this was, the cashier said with a shrug, "That's just because they are both trays."
Okie dokie. Gotcha.
Our local Salvation Army now runs "half off days" for those of us with "Sally Cards"and even then items are too high, and "Purple tags are not included" which covers about a third of the furniture. Sheesh.
Oh, and the furniture! Don't get me started on those prices. I wish I had taken my camera with me last week, because they have a settee in there now for...$899. Now, I am not saying that in a boutique or special order furniture store the settee would not be $899 (or $1899 for that matter), but as I said before, we are talking GoodWill Industries here, folks. (Reminder-the purpose of thrift shops: For donated items to be sold with the proceeds to benefit charity.)
Or...how about the beauty pictured above? (First off- it looks so much better in the photo than in real life. The little legs are about 15 inches apart)...Why yes, that would be a photograph of what happens when you mate a dainty child's table with a 48" oak outlet kitchen table top.(I am guessing quite a lot of beer was involved in the creative thought process to blend these two items) Mmm hmmm. And, I don't even want to know what happened to the pedestal base for the oak table.
The price for this one-of-a-kind (we can only hope) table? Just guess. (And, don't let the $14.95 designer floral arrangement placed on top of it fool you.)
No, really. Guess.
Oh, you won't believe it.
Sixty nine American dollars. (I told you you wouldn't believe it)
Any takers? I didn't think so.
And the clothes. All of the clothes in thrift stores should be one dollar each. Anyway, that's my thought. My gosh, they have enough denim and polyester in those shops to clothe the entire state of Rhode Island, with more on the way each and every day. I say, price it right and move it out. Let's help the charity that the thrift store was set up to support. (and give the shoppers a deal at the same time- what a concept!)
Anyway.
I don't know about you, but I feel much better after getting all of this off my chest. You know, for the most part I try to keep this blog on an up note, but, sometimes, I just need to vent about the little stuff that just gets to me.
So....I am curious to know if I am alone in my thinking or if any of you have had similar experiences in price increases in thrift stores in your area in the past year? Do tell!
