Disabled Veterans Charities Website (frames)

ABOUT THRIFT STORES

Thrift stores, when commonly defined as stores selling used clothing and other merchandise, have been around for a long time, of course. The concept was popularized in the United States by the Salvation Army; two brothers, the Ellisons, developed a systematic plan for thirft store operation and, when in the early 20th century the Salvation Army did not expand on thrift store operations fast enough to suit the brothers, they went out on their own. The rest is history, as they say. Thousands of nonprofit thrift stores are operated by the Salvation Army, Goodwill Industries, and many other charitable organizations today. And thousands more are operated by members and offshoots of the Ellison family and like-minded entrepreneurs. These are, of course, for-profit operations for the most part, although many nonprofit entities allow these for-profit operations to use their name in return for a portion of either the gross revenues or net income, typically.

The thrift store shopper is a relatively rare breed: Although many of us have shopped in a thrift store at one time in our lives or another, there are only a few people - probably one in a hundred - who shop at thrift stores on a regular basis. These people are commonly perceived to be bargain hunters, but many people simply cannot afford to buy everything new or at normal retail prices. And nowadays, many thrift stores carry new merchandise, both donated and purchased, at sub-discount prices.

A classical nonprofit thrift store operation really benefits our local communities in three major ways: It provides used merchandise for those who cannot afford new merchandise; it recycles merchandise that otherwise would often be discarded or unused; and the net income from operations is channeled to charitable programs that benefit a particular cause, such as disabled and homeless veterans in our case.

If you are unfamiliar with thrift stores - which are often called thrift shops, consignment stores, resale stores, etc. - here's a few guidelines:

Look for large, well organized stores with a big selection of both used and new merchandise.

Try to understand the store's pricing and dating system if you want the best bargains.

Typically, color-coded price tags are used to discount merchandise periodically and even to discard things that remain unsold for an extended period.

Professionally-run stores usually have a much greater selection of clothing and other merchandise and they are also consistent in pricing. Most professional operators don't have time for haggling nowadays; they try to price things reasonably to start with.

Small, volunteer-operated stores often have high or inconsistent pricing and the best goods are often snapped up by volunteers and their friends. Professionally run stores often don't even use volunteers on the sales floor.

Some stores also segregate clothing by size and/or color, as well as type (women's, men's, children's). We're not sure sure what shoppers prefer, so we'd appreciate your feedback on this and any other issues.

Happy hunting!