Episode 228: Thrifty Business with Sara and Shan of Bargain Thrift Center

Summary

Clotheshorse with Amanda Lee McCarty: Episode 228 Summary

Introduction and Host Update

Amanda Lee McCarty opens Episode 228 of Clotheshorse, sharing a personal update about her recent battle with a severe flu despite her annual vaccinations. At [00:55], Amanda emphasizes the importance of health precautions:

"Please wear a mask, wash your hands, get a flu shot, do all those things. And if you do have the flu, please stay home because it sucks." — Amanda Lee McCarty [02:11]

She also discusses postponing the annual Clothes Horse Jamboree due to financial strains and uncertainties, highlighting her shift towards booking live shows in the Pacific Northwest with a professional booking agent to mitigate financial risks. Amanda expresses her desire for a better work-life balance and shares her excitement about future episodes focusing on secondhand shopping innovations.

Guest Introduction and History of Bargain Thrift Center

Amanda introduces her guests, Sarah Shannon and Shannon Sims, the owner and marketing coordinator of Bargain Thrift Center in Germantown, Philadelphia. At [10:05], Sarah provides a brief history of the thrift store:

"This store was started in the 80s by a guy named George Chase, a Philly police officer who loved picking up discarded furniture and items." — Sarah Shannon [10:45]

Shannon adds that after George's passing in the early 2000s, Sarah's daughter Suzanne managed the store for 25 years before retiring, allowing Sarah and Shannon to take over and guide the store into its current state.

The Secondhand Economy Landscape

The discussion shifts to the broader secondhand economy. Shannon explains the fragmented nature of the thrift industry, noting that major players like Savers only hold about 3% of the market share, which leaves ample room for independent thrift stores like Bargain Thrift Center to innovate and grow ([14:00]).

"There's no Walmart in the thrift store world. It's a very fragmented industry, which means there's a lot of room for innovation." — Shannon Sims [15:26]

They explore various thrift store models, including corporate chains, nonprofit-operated stores, consignment shops, and curated vintage stores, emphasizing the unique position of Bargain Thrift Center within this ecosystem.

Inventory Management and Sourcing Strategies

Sarah and Shannon delve into their strategies for sourcing inventory. A significant portion of their merchandise comes from in-store donations and organized clothing drives with civic organizations ([33:14]). They discuss the logistics of handling large volumes of donations, partnering with groups like the Fox Chase Cancer Center, and managing the influx of items through efficient processing systems.

"Partnerships with civic organizations help us reach out into people's houses and collect stuff they want to get rid of, which adds up quickly for us." — Sarah Shannon [35:03]

They highlight the importance of balancing convenient drop-offs with systematic clothing drives to maintain a diverse and high-quality inventory.

The Collection Industrial Complex and Specific Challenges

A major topic is the "collection industrial complex," referring to the influx of mass-produced collectibles like Precious Moments figurines flooding thrift stores. Shannon expresses emotional concern over these items:

"It's like, someone derived joy from collecting these, and now they're just sitting here without purpose." — Shannon Sims [65:45]

The guests discuss the ethical and logistical challenges of handling such specialized items, which often lack a direct market and can clutter store spaces, making it difficult to meet diverse customer needs.

Impact of Fast Fashion on Thrifting and Pricing

The conversation turns to the detrimental effects of fast fashion on the secondhand market. Shannon points out that the surge in fast fashion donations, particularly from brands like Shein, has diluted the quality and pricing of secondhand items:

"We're seeing an increasing proportion of donations being fast fashion items, which lowers our overall price point." — Sarah Shannon [88:06]

This oversupply of low-cost, lower-quality clothing makes it challenging for thrift stores to maintain sustainable pricing models, as the operational costs of sorting and managing inventory remain constant or rise.

Innovations and the Future of Secondhand Shopping

Amanda and her guests explore potential innovations to make secondhand shopping more convenient and accessible. Shannon emphasizes the need for better infrastructure in the secondhand supply chain to efficiently match inventory with consumer demand:

"We need more creative reuse centers and secondhand stores that offer a range of shopping experiences from highly curated to contemporary." — Shannon Sims [118:05]

They discuss the possibility of specialized thrift stores, such as those focusing solely on toys or household items, and the importance of technological advancements like AI to streamline inventory management and pricing.

Conclusion and Optimism

In her closing remarks, Amanda shares her optimism about the growing movement towards sustainable consumerism. She highlights the positive impact of recent boycotts against large retailers like Target and Amazon, which are motivating individuals to adopt more ethical shopping habits:

"More people are realizing that we buy too much stuff and it doesn't make us happy. We're at a pivotal moment where people are ready for a change." — Amanda Lee McCarty [129:05]

Amanda urges listeners to continue supporting secondhand shopping as a viable and necessary shift toward a more sustainable and fulfilling lifestyle, emphasizing the collective power to drive meaningful change.

Key Takeaways:

• The secondhand economy is highly fragmented, offering opportunities for independent thrift stores to innovate.
• Effective inventory management through partnerships and organized drives is crucial for maintaining quality and diversity.
• The rise of fast fashion donations poses significant challenges to sustainable pricing and inventory quality in thrift stores.
• Innovations in infrastructure and technology are needed to make secondhand shopping more convenient and accessible.
• The current shift towards sustainable consumerism, driven by boycotts and increased awareness, holds promise for a more ethical future in fashion and retail.

Notable Quotes:

• "There is no Walmart in the thrift store world. It's a very fragmented industry, which means there's a lot of room for innovation." — Shannon Sims [15:26]
• "We're seeing an increasing proportion of donations being fast fashion items, which lowers our overall price point." — Sarah Shannon [88:06]
• "More people are realizing that we buy too much stuff and it doesn't make us happy. We're at a pivotal moment where people are ready for a change." — Amanda Lee McCarty [129:05]

For those interested in supporting sustainable shopping practices and learning more about running a successful thrift store, this episode offers valuable insights and inspiration.

Transcript

[Amanda]

Welcome to Clothesh, the podcast that, you know, to be really honest, kind of has a grudge against that company that makes all of those mini appliances. You know what I'm talking about? I do have one of those mini waffle irons because you know what?

[Dustin]

Sometimes I want to make waffles on.

[Amanda]

A weekday and I do, and Dustin's not a waffle person, so it's great. But clearly those were like the Christmas gift for like a year or two there, along with all kinds of other mini appliances that no one needed. And now they are just at every.

[Shan]

Thrift store in such a major way.

[Amanda]

And meanwhile, I'm trying to find a hand mixer and it's just all weird, like mini quesadilla makers or something. Anyway, I'm your host, Amanda, and this is episode 228. I'm back after a few weeks off. I'm so sorry about that, but I had like the most brutal case of flu that I have ever had. Despite getting my flu shot every year, very dutifully. It was just so bad. Apparently there is a strain of flu a going around all over the country right now and it is horrible. I'm talking five days of a fever, over 102 most days, 103, vomiting, coughing, misery. So please wear a mask, wash your hands, get a flu shot, do all those things. And if you do have the flu, please stay home because it sucks. And I was home alone because Dustin is on tour. And so yeah, there was like a, I don't know, 24 hour period where I was pretty sure because my fever.

[Shan]

Was so bad because I couldn't keep.

[Amanda]

Anything down, that I was probably going to die at home alone with my cats. At least they were there, but they probably would have eaten me by the time Dustin got back from tour. So, yeah, those things will really change you. Anyway, I am feeling a lot better now. I know I sound a little hoarse, but I am. No pun intended with the horse. But I am back on it, finally starting to feel like myself again.

[Shan]

And I have to say, like, while.

[Amanda]

There were many reasons I was feeling miserable over the past few weeks, one of them was that I have so many good episodes coming your way and I hated waiting to release them. But since I could barely walk myself to the bathroom, it felt like I should put a hold on some closed source stuff for a while. Over the past few years, you know, we have explored so many different facets of the secondhand economy, resellers and the ethics of reselling secondhand items, the various secondhand platforms, the fine Fine art of thrifting and even where all of the unsold stuff from thrift stores ends up. I don't know about you, but I've always wondered what it's like to own and run an independent thrift store. And fortunately, this week, we're going to learn all about that with my guests, Sarah and Shan of Bargain Thrift Center, a thrift store located in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvan. I could have talked with them for hours longer than I did because the topic of secondhand never ceases to interest me. But I did rein it in, you know, a little bit for this episode. That said, the conversation is long, so you won't be hearing much from me this week because we just. We just have to talk about what it's like to run a thrift store and wow. We talked about some fascinating topics, like how the unrealistically low prices of ultra fast fashion impact the prices most people are willing to pay for secondhand items. Opportunities that the secondhand supply chain has to reach more people and match them with the product they are seeking. What happens to the collectibles and tchotchkes that are flooding thrift stores right now? I call it the collection industrial complex and Sarah and Shan's vision for the future of secondhand and thrifting. Along the way, we'll talk an awful lot about precious moments and we'll wonder where all of the Ed Hardy stuff ended up at the end of the aughts. Seriously, where is it? If you are finding Ed Hardy at the thrift stores, you need to let us know asap. Before we jump into all of that, I just wanted to talk to you very briefly about the clothes horse jamboree. I've been receiving messages from many of you asking about an update. So here's what's happening. Basically, I have been very. I think this is something that many of you will also understand. I've been very anxious about sort of like the near future and what's happening here in the United States. You know, the possibility of, like, bird flu, the possibility of who knows what. And I felt as if it was way too risky to do the jamboree this spring. Honestly, it is March right now. I would have already had to put down thousands of dollars of my own money to reserve places and, you know, all kinds of other things to make this happen. And it just felt. It felt too risky for me and, you know, to be completely and a little embarrassingly transparent. Last year I lost a lot of money on the jamboree. We're talking thousands and thousands of dollars. And how I was able to make that up was basically taking any and all work that came my way, which meant for most of the year, I was working seven days a week, really long hours. By the end of the year, I was just so burned out. But I had to make up for all the lost money from the Jamboree, you know, pay Dylan's college tuition, you know, exist. And it was. It was just a lot. And so I don't want a repeat.

[Shan]

Of that this year.

[Amanda]

And imagine if I had lost all that money on the Jamboree and worked really hard to make that money up. And then the Jamboree was canceled because of X, Y, Z, world crisis. Right. And so for right now, plans for the Jamboree are on hold. However, we are still talking about the fall for this. I just kind of need to feel like I need a couple months of the world not collapsing to feel more secure about it. And what I'm really trying to do is figure out a way to do an event like this without putting up a ton of my own money that I will probably not get back because I just. I don't have that luxury. Right. One thing that is in the works right now is I am working with a professional booking agent to book some live shows in the Pacific Northwest in the fall, tentatively October. But I'll know more as we hear back from venues and see what's available. Specifically, we're looking at Portland and Seattle. As soon as I know more about that, you'll all know. They'll be the first to hear. I am very excited about the prospect of coming back to the Pacific Northwest. And if we can figure out these shows, we can figure out some other.

[Shan]

Events around that in the Pacific Northwest.

[Amanda]

It's just sort of hinging on that. And the reason I'm doing this with a booking agent rather than just trying to make it work on my own is, you know, one, it's an awful lot of work and time that I don't have, and two, it's not my area of expertise. And three, one of the great things about actually working with an agent and booking through a venue is that I will not be paying to rent that venue. Rather, I will just get a piece of the ticket sales, which will hopefully cover my travel expenses. Right? So that's why I'm going that route rather than just trying to find a place and put it on. You know, I have to pay for that. I have to front that money. I most likely will not make it back. And it's just. It's just a risk that I really can't take. I really shouldn't be taking it.

[Shan]

All right.

[Amanda]

But I definitely don't want to take again. So that's what is happening with the jamboree. And when I have a better idea of what's happening with live shows in the fall, I'm going to plan some other stuff around it. I've been talking to people in Austin. I've been talking to people in Philly. I am hoping to be a part of some other events throughout this year where maybe I don't have to throw them, but I just get to show up and, you know, be with everyone who's there. So stay tuned for all of that, and I hope that that's not too disappointing for anyone. You know, once again, we'll figure something out. I just. I feel that I need to be very, very careful, and I have no regrets for doing the jamboree last year. It was incredible. It was life changing. It motivated me even more to want to hang out with all of you in real life and just do great things together. But I just want to have a little bit of a less stressful year and maybe a little bit more. Just a little bit more work, life balance this year. All right, now that we talked about that, let's jump into my conversation with Sarah and Shan.

[Shan]

Okay. Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourselves?

[Sarah]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

So my name is Sarah Shannon, and I'm the owner of a thrift store called Bargain Thrift Center.

[Sarah]

It's located in Germantown in Philadelphia.

[Guest]

My name is Shannon Sims. My preferred pronouns are she, they, and I am the marketing coordinator at Bargain Thrift Center.

[Shan]

I'm excited to have you both here today because I know that Bargain Thrift center is coming up on a big birthday.

[Sarah]

That's true. Yeah.

[Shannon]

We're going to hit 40 years in operation this year.

[Shan]

Wow. But I'm assuming, I mean, obviously people who are listening to this can't see you, but I can. And I do not think that you are, like 70 years old. So do you want to tell us how you came to be a Bargain Thrift Center?

[Shannon]

Yeah, sure. And I guess explain the history of this thrift store. So this store was started in the 80s by a guy named George Chase. So he was a Philly police officer.

[Sarah]

And his hobby in his spare time was going around and picking trash.

[Shan]

I love it. A person after my own heart.

[Shannon]

And he would go like, he just started picking furniture and things that he would find discarded. And his friends Knew he was doing.

[Sarah]

It, and so they would give him stuff.

[Shannon]

And then he realized he needed a.

[Sarah]

Place to sell it.

[Shannon]

So he got a little storefront.

[Sarah]

And I think around 1985, they came to this location where we are at now.

[Shannon]

And so this just like, grew over decades into something that was three locations.

[Sarah]

It was pretty large.

[Shannon]

It sold furniture and pretty much everything.

[Sarah]

George passed away in the early 2000s, and his daughter Suzanne took over the store. And so she's run it for the last probably 25 years. And just this September, decided to retire.

[Shannon]

And that's when I had the opportunity.

[Sarah]

To take over as the new owner and manager.

[Shan]

Wow, that's exciting. I know you have, like, big plans for the future of bargain thrift center and very passionate ideas about thrift in the world, but I thought we could get started by sort of talking about, like, the landscape of secondhand is broader and like, just full of more variety than it ever has been before. Right. Like, people can shop online. They can go to thredup or poshmark or depop or ebay. You know, they can buy directly from peers. They can buy from platforms. They also, there's a myriad of thrift stores and consignment shops and, you know, antique malls, vintage stores, secondhand stores, broadly everywhere. But even within, like, the world of thrift stores, which for many people, thrift is shorthand for shopping secondhand. Right? Like, that's where most people's brains start. Even within, like, the thrift store landscape, there's a wide variety of different sort of models for thrift stores. Do you want to share, like, your view on those and where bargain thrift center fits into that?

[Shannon]

So thrifting is such an interesting landscape. And in, like, taking over this business.

[Sarah]

And in getting to know it, the.

[Shannon]

Last six months, I spent a lot.

[Sarah]

Of time looking at, like, the rest of the industry.

[Shannon]

Like, how do people in this area do it?

[Sarah]

Kind of what's the national landscape of secondhand selling?

[Shannon]

And I think there's a couple different ways to look at the models. Like, how do they acquire kind of what price point are they selling at?

[Sarah]

What type of.

[Shannon]

Are they low end, high end, somewhere in the middle? And then maybe like distribution method, like retail versus online.

[Sarah]

And so, like, thinking of those three.

[Shannon]

Factors, I guess I would start with, like, quote, corporate thrift stores, which is kind of ironic because they are. There's like two, right? There's savers, which is a for profit.

[Sarah]

Chain that also owns second Avenue, and.

[Shannon]

That is the largest for profit in the space.

[Sarah]

But they own like 3% of the whole market share. Right.

[Shannon]

So, like, this is a very fragmented industry.

[Shan]

That's so interesting.

[Shannon]

There is no Walmart.

[Shan]

They sell seems so huge to me because they are the chain that is like, outside of the other one that you're going to mention. I know, in a few minutes, a few seconds even they. They feel broadly spread across the United States. I know that is not 100% true. And some have closed and. But they also have locations in Canada, I want to say, and.

[Sarah]

Oh, interesting.

[Shan]

Yeah. And they just feel huge to me. You know, there. I know that there are other, like, regional chains. Like in Texas, there's a chain called Texas Thrift.

[Amanda]

Oh, interesting.

[Shan]

Yeah. And there's only one Savers that I knew of in Texas. There might have been some in Houston as well, but, like, it's Texas thrift country, you know, and they're this very. I would suspect, exact same model as Savers.

[Shannon]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sarah]

That's really interesting.

[Shannon]

And it's interesting that does.

[Sarah]

It is.

[Shannon]

It probably feels that way because it.

[Sarah]

Is the only large player.

[Shannon]

But in terms.

[Sarah]

Yeah, so I have access to some industry reports through, like, an online database.

[Shannon]

I have a membership, too, and it's called Ibis World. And yeah, like, savers is only 3% of all the revenue going into secondhand selling in the country.

[Shan]

Interesting.

[Shannon]

3% of the market.

[Sarah]

Yeah. So they're the closest thing to the Walmart.

[Shannon]

But I think that's a really interesting thing about the industry is that when there is no really truly dominant player, there's a lot of room for innovation.

[Shan]

Which is exciting, actually, because in the world of retail, there are not a lot of sort of, like, categories or sectors that you could really say that. Like, you know, certain categories, like if you were like, I'm going to open a drugstore, it would be hard. Right. Because it's really, like, oversaturated by just a few players. And it wouldn't feel as if there were any room for that. I'm not saying that there isn't, but, like, when it comes to thrift stores, it does kind of feel like there aren't enough.

[Shannon]

Yeah, yeah, I would. I don't know. I don't know if the demand is there, if, like, the demand is met right now or if there's more demand.

[Shan]

I mean, that's a. That's a whole. It depends who you ask. I would say. Whereas, you know, one of the common complaints I see on social media about thrift stores, and I'm not agreeing with this. You know, I've done episodes debunking which is that, like, well, there's nothing good left at the. At the thrift stores, because it's all been taken by people who either have jumped on the trend of shopping secondhand, which, hooray, thank you. Welcome to the fold. Or like, you know, like, resellers like that. Allegedly, there's nothing good left at the thrift stores. And if you hear something like that, then you're like, okay, well, then maybe we do need more thrift stores so there can be more stuff left for everyone. That said, I find the whole argument that there's nothing good left at thrift stores is obviously highly, highly not true, because there is. And all of us who have been thrifting for a long time know that it is a roll of the dice. Every time you go to a thrift store. Today might be your lucky day or it might not. And it is all about what time you went, what day of the week you went.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Shan]

What got put out on the floor that day. You know, who's already been in there. And it has less to do with, like, volume of product. But on the other hand, I mean, and we can get into this later, we can also accept that, like, the quality of donations has declined as the quality of stuff in general has declined. Right?

[Sarah]

That is. Yeah.

[Shannon]

No, I think you're hitting on something really interesting about, like, the models of secondhand. And I think the.

[Sarah]

What you see in a store depends on, like, how are they sourcing it.

[Shannon]

And who they're sourcing it from, and.

[Sarah]

Then also, like, their operations model.

[Shannon]

And so, like.

[Sarah]

And this.

[Shannon]

Can we can start, I guess, contrasting now?

[Shan]

Okay. Yeah, let's contrast and compare.

[Shannon]

Yeah. Because operations, you can.

[Sarah]

There are some stores that are. Their model is to curate and be far more picky, and they're willing to put the time into that. And you're gonna see a price premium on that, too.

[Shannon]

And those are, like, the more curated vintage Y stores. And in Philadelphia, it's like the store.

[Sarah]

Called Jinx that has a couple locations.

[Shannon]

You know, when you're walking in there.

[Sarah]

You'Re getting a curated display of vintage from a certain time period that's been.

[Shannon]

Validated and has a look. It's not just anything versus, like, a.

[Sarah]

Goodwill where you're walking in, and a Goodwill model is like, there is no filtering. All pants are $7.

[Shannon]

They're not looking at anything in particular. All the glasses are a dollar.

[Sarah]

They're not sorting anything out.

[Shannon]

And so I think. Yeah, so I guess to go through, like, kind of the way the different models of Secondhand, there's like the large corporate, which are, you know, savers and Goodwill.

[Sarah]

Gotta mention the Goodwill and the Salvation.

[Shannon]

Army, the nonprofit side. And they're just collecting on a massive.

[Sarah]

Scale and distributing on a massive scale. We've got tiny little thrift store, independent.

[Shannon]

Thrift stores, mostly like church, nonprofit run.

[Sarah]

That are just collecting from their community.

[Shannon]

You've got consignment, which is completely different, where you're.

[Sarah]

The people are selling to the store.

[Shannon]

And getting a profit off of what they bring. Like, so the consigner typically is only getting about 50% for every item that they're selling. You got curated vintage stores, you got auctions, online resellers, and then the whole range of people that are like recycling goods, like metal scrappers, things like that.

[Shan]

So it's interesting because there's this whole ecosystem of all these different places where you can, as a customer be in contact with like secondhand things of all nature. I mean, it's like people tend to, when they're thinking about thrifting, talking about thrifting, they're really focusing on clothes. But the reality is we're talking about electronics and appliances and home goods and building supplies, and it's just like all kinds of stuff. But I think one thing that is very interesting that I think can have a major impact on what you find in a store, especially if we're talking about like specifically thrift, less like curated vintage or anything like that, is that the inventory can come from a variety of different streams depending on that particular thrift store's way of operating. Like, I know that the Goodwill, the vast majority of their inventory is donations. Right. And they actually, I know this because my daughter worked as a sorter at the Goodwill. They do. I can't even imagine how much money is spent on this, to be honest, and probably increases the carbon footprint of your donations. They do a lot of like, logistical moving around of inventory between locations. So if a store was like, hey, we actually are running low on glassware or whatever, and we haven't been getting any donations, you could fill out a request to get glassware donations shipped in from another location or another hub. And so they're doing a ton of logistics, which I think drives up the cost of their products in whole because they've got to pay for that. But I also know that some places, like I. Texas Thrift for sure, which I already mentioned, in addition to taking donations, was buying inventory. Right. And you'll see that people like the stores will receive pallets from like rag houses and stuff.

[Shannon]

Yeah. Like overstock.

[Shan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And in fact, the Goodwill here in Lancaster also buys Amazon Returns.

[Shannon]

Brilliant.

[Shan]

It's actually really smart. Like the keyboard for my computer. I got at that Goodwill and I was like, why do you have this new, seemingly new inbox Apple keyboard that I can't afford normally? And the lady working behind the cash register is like, oh, we buy them from Amazon. We buy pallets of Amazon returns.

[Guest]

I know Salvation army will do something similar because at least the one that's one of the ones that's in Philly, I've gone there and it was like racks of clothes from Target and they.

[Shan]

Were like, oh man, the Target stuff is like everywhere out here where I live. And it's like new with tags. Like there are entire stores that are basically Target stores now. You know, are they there? It's like Target and then maybe other returns from different platforms. Like we went thrift shopping in Lebanon this weekend because I was in pursuit of something that I did not find, but at least I tried, which was just a glass measuring cup. It wasn't even anything too, too major. But we went to a store that we had gone to before and it's called like Blue Mountain or something like that. And the first time we went there, it's huge. It's in an old, it's gotta be an old like department store, big box store space of some, some kind. They have just the last time we went, a ton of brand new stuff from that brand Quince, which is like an online retailer, right? Like, they had tons of like bedding and home goods and clothing. And I thought that was really weird. And I was like, how did this all get dumped on them? But we went this time and they had even more stuff from Quints, like everything you could use in your life, basically, like blankets, towels, bedding, sheets, clothes, like slippers, you name it.

[Amanda]

But then as I was looking through.

[Shan]

The women's clothing, I kept seeing the same brand labels over and over again, like Boohoo and Pretty Little Thing and Nasty Gal. And I was like, these are fast fashion brands that are all owned by the same parent company. And as I continue to sort through them, I realized I was seeing them over and over again, often with tags. So clearly that thrift store is buying from a whole. Like, I'm sure. I mean, I know at this point there are all these companies that exist just to process returns and they're not attached to the warehouses for these brands because the company don't want the stuff back. It's too expensive to take it back. So they just, like. They write it off, right? Yeah. So these. There are these whole entire businesses that now flourish off of selling off returns. Right? And, like, this thrift store, I mean, I would say it was probably 40% in this huge thrift store. 40% of it was probably these returns.

[Guest]

That's how last summer, I was at. I was at the salvo that I mentioned, and it was just like, nothing but Wild Fox and Zara. And I was like, do you, like, just call Target up? Because, like, target's like, 15 minutes from here. You just, like, go pick it up from the store.

[Shan]

I mean, the Target donation complex is epic because we have all of these different stores out here that aren't thrift stores, that are, like. They're just bargain stores, I guess I would say. And prime, like, 99% of what's in there is clearly, like, overstock from Target and returns and stuff like that. And it'll just be racks and racks and racks of Target stuff. I'm like, target, you're making too much stuff. If you can fill all these stores everywhere with Target, I mean, it makes me, like, want to fight someone, you know?

[Shannon]

No, it's an interesting insight into, like, retail inventory management.

[Sarah]

Right?

[Shannon]

Like, because inventory is your biggest drag and your biggest cost on any balance sheet and P and L. And so, like, they want it, like. And I haven't.

[Sarah]

I have friends that work in, like.

[Shannon]

Retail finance, but I have. Not personally, but I know, like, you don't want to carry inventory, and you.

[Sarah]

Also don't want to sell at a loss.

[Shannon]

I'd rather. They'd rather get rid of it than, like, sell it at such a discount in the front of the store that they're losing money. So I can imagine this is producing. I do not know the scale, but.

[Sarah]

I shudder to think of the scale.

[Shannon]

Of, like, corporate waste, especially in textiles.

[Shan]

I know. I know. Moving out here and seeing all of the, like, especially the Target stuff everywhere just made me like, this is one company. This is one tiny area. And hearing you like, oh, it's in Philly, and, like, you know, it's in other states, too. And they're just one company doing this. It is scandalous, really. And what I have seen is this is like, a newer practice kind of too. Like, that I feel like has been taking off in, like, the last five years maybe, is that these companies are using thrift stores as a means of handling their waste, basically handling their overproduction, like, passing the burden onto them. Right. Because Target in thrift stores has been a growing problem for years, it seemed like before they would just like, kind of dump a little bit of stuff that was like, you know, here's a bunch of scissors we couldn't sell or whatever. But it has been growing and growing. And on one hand, like, I think it can be great to give people access to things that maybe they couldn't have afforded at full price. Sure. But on the other hand, it seems like in some of these thrift stores, it might be crowding out actual secondhand stuff.

[Guest]

Yeah. Because even I've gone to, like, auctions and stuff on my own accord. And I remember going. And it was like, it seemed like there was a family dollar that made of closed or they just had overstock. And it was like their whole Christmas department was at this auction.

[Shannon]

I was like, who?

[Guest]

Like, okay. I mean, if you're. That's how you source your, like, secondhand stuff to resell, I'm like, but it's also all from family dollar. So how much can you even sell this for? Like, sustainably.

[Shan]

Right, right. I mean, another thing I've noticed you just like, unlocked another memory is, you know, I'm really into yard sales, like, big time. And out here in Lancaster county, yard sale season is like. I mean, we get up every Saturday morning at like, 5, so we can get out there because you. It's an early morning game, you know, and all the yard sales end by noon. But every time we would go to like, a big neighborhood yard sale, which are the best because you can, like, park the car and get out the wagon and like, you know, have a whole, like, nice walk and stuff. There would be multiple houses where they weren't selling their, like, things they didn't need anymore. They were also selling overstock that they.

[Amanda]

Had bought in, like, pallet auctions or something.

[Sarah]

Oh, that's interesting.

[Shan]

Yeah. No, I'm. And it would be like, cleaning products and diapers and more target stuff and who knows? Things from family dollar. Like, it would be like tables of like. Like, wow, look at all these sham wows or something, you know? Yeah. Like.

[Shannon]

Like you see those on the corners of. In corners in Philadelphia, everybody's selling their laundry detergent.

[Shan]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

But now.

[Shan]

Exactly. Exactly. So there is, like, there is this. There has been. And it's continuing this shift in how the secondhand economy kind of works because there's so much extra brand new stuff that is working its way in there, right?

[Sarah]

Yeah.

[Guest]

Kind of related to that too. I don't know anybody personally that's done it, but I've seen it, like, plenty of times on TikTok, there's so many people that, like, dumpster dive.

[Shan]

Yeah.

[Guest]

And then they, like, sell their stuff at the yard sale because they're like, yeah, here's all this. Bath and Body Works. I was just in a dumpster.

[Shan]

Oh, my gosh. It's always like, why can't we give.

[Guest]

That to a homeless shelter?

[Shannon]

Right.

[Shan]

But it is. It's always the Bath and Body Works or something adjacent to that where you're like, that would be so useful to so many people.

[Amanda]

And no, sh.

[Shan]

I'm like, I'm glad that the dumpster divers are pulling that out and someone's gonna get to use it. But, like, why couldn't. I mean, I know why the companies couldn't or wouldn't donate that. And that's a whole other episode right there.

[Shannon]

But, you know, especially with, like, consumables, it's harder to.

[Shan]

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. But it is, like, interesting to just think about how that is still right there. The fact that they're prolific amounts of dumpster divers out there finding all this stuff is even just more. One more indication of how corporations are.

[Amanda]

Over producing on such a scale.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Shan]

That these become, like, common stories. Like, when I was growing up, one of our neighbors was a trash carrier and I guess a sanitation worker. What is that? Sanitation worker. That's what you would call that job. Right. And he was, like, the most popular dad in our neighborhood because he would occasionally find, like, cool toys. Like, one of the places on his route was Toys R Us. And so there would occasionally be things in the dumpster that were, like, perfectly usable. And of course, he was, like, so popular. Everybody loved him. We were like, I can't believe he got me a Cabbage Patch Kid. You know, like, it would be so exciting. It didn't have any clothes. Clothes, but who cares? And, you know, it. It wasn't, like, this extreme degree. Like, I bet if he were doing that right now, he'd be like, here's a whole palette of Cabbage Patch Kids that I pulled out today, you know? Yeah. But it was. It was. It was much more just like here and there. And it made him like a celebrity in our neighborhood because he.

[Sarah]

That's.

[Shan]

He would always have little toys.

[Shannon]

You know, I think all of this kind of hits on the central problem of secondhand, which is product match. Like, how do you get the right thing to the person who wants it as a secondhand item? Because, like, firsthand. When you're buying firsthand. Retail.

[Sarah]

Retail is sophisticated enough now that you know what stores have. You can See their inventory online and.

[Shannon]

Also they have multiples of everything.

[Sarah]

So you can go and find it in your size. It's reliably in stock.

[Shannon]

Like there's this.

[Sarah]

The experience of buying firsthand is far more convenient.

[Shannon]

And you pay for that.

[Sarah]

Right. That's why things new cost more.

[Shannon]

But like secondhand is so much harder.

[Sarah]

To find that person to product match.

[Shannon]

Because you're getting things in a disorganized state. You don't have everything in every size. Every item is basically unique in your store. And so like how do you match that like naked Cabbage patch doll to the girl who's gonna want it? How do you get it to her at the right time? And how does she know it exists and does she have the time to come find it? And how do you like bridge that?

[Shan]

Exactly. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. So how do you get your inventory? Because we know now that there are all these streams, it's not as simple as like people show up and donate things. Which I think to the outside observer, that's what people think is happening with all of these thrift stores. And it's actually way more complex than that. So how do you get your stuff?

[Shannon]

So we do a mix of in.

[Sarah]

Store drop offs and then partnerships with civic organizations.

[Shannon]

So about a third of our stuff.

[Sarah]

Comes in the front door. And so we have our list of.

[Shannon]

Things that we do and don't take and anything dropped off in store, we will weigh it. And then we've got a long standing.

[Sarah]

Partnership with the local charity.

[Shannon]

It's called the Fox Chase Cancer Center. There's like a fundraising group called the Fine chapter associated with it. It's a, it's a group of people actually. It's in honor of someone named Marilyn Fine who was treated at Fox chase in the 80s. So it's like her family and friends and it's kind of grown over the years anyway, they fundraise for the cancer center. And so for probably 30 years, the.

[Sarah]

Store has donated part of our proceeds to Fox Chase Cancer Center. And so for every pound that we.

[Shannon]

Receive, we donate a certain amount to Fox Chase. And that's kind of our cost of goods sold.

[Sarah]

Right?

[Shannon]

Like we're not paying for it, but we are like contributing to someone. And then that's about a third of our inventory. So in any given month we get.

[Sarah]

8 to 10,000 pounds of stuff through the front door.

[Shannon]

I know it sounds ridiculous. I had to like double check the math. I'm like, are you serious?

[Shan]

I like can't even picture that I.

[Shannon]

In it because it's just on a daily basis. It just.

[Sarah]

We get it, we process it.

[Shan]

We get it.

[Shannon]

We process like very in and out.

[Sarah]

But then the other. That's only about two thirds of what we take in.

[Shannon]

Probably another like 10 to 20,000 pounds a month.

[Sarah]

We get through organized clothing drives.

[Shannon]

So we will really.

[Sarah]

It's these groups reach out to us. Soccer teams, marching bands, women's clubs.

[Shannon]

They're fundraising for something specific. This is a great way for them to do it.

[Sarah]

They'll actually run the clothing drive.

[Shannon]

So they'll reach out to their membership, pick a date, collect everything, and we can pick it up.

[Sarah]

And then we pay them by the pound. So they get a donation check for hundreds or thousands of dollars based on.

[Shannon]

How much they collect, and we get lots of stuff. And that's really a great partnership because it's a really accessible way for a.

[Sarah]

Group to raise money.

[Shannon]

Like, everyone has stuff.

[Shan]

Yeah.

[Sarah]

And when you have 50 people in.

[Shannon]

A club and everyone brings into garbage bags of just stuff they're going to get rid of anyway, like, it adds up really quick. And it's also, like, fantastic for us.

[Sarah]

Because these groups are helping us reach.

[Shannon]

Out into the world in a way we wouldn't be able to reach otherwise. Like, not. It's. It's hard for someone to, like, find.

[Sarah]

Us or find a thrift store and find a place to put these things.

[Shannon]

That they want when they want to clean out their house. And when your club that you're a part of is like, here's an outlet for it. It's close to your house. We're gonna do the hard work for you. Like, it's a really. We just, like, get so much. Reach out into people's houses and get stuff that they probably would have thrown away.

[Shan]

I mean, that's an amazing way to make it work. It's way better than, yeah. Stuff ending up in the trash or just kind of getting dumped in a bin or any of the number other. Of other fates that unwanted clothing and stuff can face.

[Sarah]

Right.

[Shan]

And it seems like it's mutually beneficial.

[Shannon]

Yeah, it is. And this is the brainchild of previous owner Suzie and Quinn. Because this business was probably, till about 10 years ago, doing it a lot harder.

[Sarah]

So we were doing.

[Shannon]

We would go to your house and.

[Sarah]

Pick it up so you could call.

[Shannon]

The store and we would take a truck and we would pick it up. We were also selling furniture at the time, which was a big logistical problem. And yeah, probably 10 or 15 years.

[Sarah]

Ago, she made the model switch, she.

[Shannon]

Sold the truck fleet, and she Started working like built up these relationships with civic groups. And now there's probably 200 that we work with on a regular basis. And I get more requests every day. We can't take honestly, we get requests.

[Sarah]

To do more requests to do clothing drives than we can handle.

[Shannon]

We have to turn people away. And so there is just like so much stuff out there that's amazing.

[Shan]

So is this like a common way that other thrift stores are getting inventory?

[Shannon]

It is, it is. I'd say the pickup model is common. A lot of places still do that. And then the clothing drive is common in a couple. Like even savers has a charitable partner. So it's called the Purple Heart foundation. And they fundraise by collecting and giving to savers. And savers is paying them, I don't know how much for what they collect.

[Sarah]

And if you go on the Purple.

[Shannon]

Heart website, like Purple Heart organization, they'll.

[Sarah]

Go pick it up from your house and bring it to savers.

[Shannon]

Goodwill, obviously, I think I don't know.

[Sarah]

How goodwill does it, but it seems.

[Shannon]

To be mostly like in store drop off driven in terms of like smaller stores. And I guess for perspective, like I've been working, talking to technology companies that.

[Sarah]

Work with thrift stores like point of.

[Shannon]

Sale systems and kind of from their perspective, the everyone it's really common to have some sort of model of charitable clothing drive. I think a lot of stores focus.

[Sarah]

Maybe on just a couple players and.

[Shannon]

Like more like specific relationships. And I think maybe we have.

[Sarah]

We're probably on the other end of working with a lot of disparate organizations.

[Shannon]

And I think that's why we get.

[Sarah]

A lot of demand too.

[Shannon]

Because some thrift stores have honed their model down where they're. We're just working with these five groups. We know it, we got it down, we get enough.

[Sarah]

And we are a lot more open to working with new groups and one off groups.

[Shan]

So I mean I think that's an incredible model for anybody who's listening to.

[Amanda]

This who has wanted to start their.

[Shan]

Own thrift store because you know, transitioning into the next. Something you mentioned earlier is this idea of getting the right product into the right people's hands at the time that they want it. Right. That's like the quandary of secondhand, especially in person, secondhand shopping. And you know, there are. The reality is that there are places you can live that are really amazing for thrifting where there's a wide variety of product and good quality product and exactly what you're looking for. Like I would Say, out here where I live, clothes, not so much, but anything you would ever need for your home. Very accessible, very good quality options, plentiful clothing. Like I said, not so much. But it seems as if there is still space for more thrift stores, because there are many areas that are vastly underserved. And perhaps one of the things that stands in the way of people opening stores in those spaces is the concern about where the product will come from. And that if you could get it from outside sources, like you're doing from other places, even you could go geographically further out. Like, if you were trying to set up something in a very rural space, it seems like there's a lot of opportunity to do that.

[Amanda]

Yeah.

[Shan]

I'm not saying people are going to get rich off of thrift stores, by the way. I'm saying, like, if you were like, I would like to make a living and give, like, decent employment to people.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Shan]

You know, in a small way, like, this could be an option, you know?

[Shannon]

Yeah, I think it could. I think it could.

[Sarah]

And that's interesting.

[Shannon]

I think something that would be. I guess the difference between looking at.

[Sarah]

Our store and looking at an even.

[Shannon]

Smaller store is where I think diversity.

[Sarah]

And where you're pulling from is important.

[Shannon]

Thrift stores that are trying to just.

[Sarah]

Draw maybe from an immediate neighborhood or if you're in a rural area, just what's in that town, you're going to.

[Shannon]

Be kind of limited in the product.

[Sarah]

Mix, like, how diverse it is, what.

[Shannon]

You'Re getting in, and then there's just going to be a cap to, like, how much you can bring in in terms of supply. And so, like, if you are able to reach out, like, we benefit being in a metro area where we can do clothing drives. And, like, we're going into New Jersey.

[Sarah]

And the mainland suburbs and up to.

[Shannon]

Jenkintown and, like, within an hour drive, there's a lot of population. If you're in a more rural area, if you have the. If you're able to reach out, maybe two hours out and kind of pull from surrounding communities, these. You'll get a lot more mix.

[Shan]

Yeah, yeah. It's almost like there needs to be more infrastructure for distribution of secondhand items. Like, like I said, I know that goodwill is like, they have a whole fleet basically, that is just transporting stuff around. And when I first heard that, I was. I was kind of annoyed because I was like, great, so just like, a greater carbon footprint for stuff that people possibly didn't need to buy in the first place. Like, that was my first, like, super Hyper cynical response to it. But then the more I thought about it, I was like, you know, it is true that, like, some places are going to get different things donated, and it might not be a full offering to people who are looking for things, and it might not be the best fit for that area. And you know, one life hack that I learned pretty early on is like, if you really wanted to get the best thrift store stuff, you would go to a thrift store near richnie neighborhood. Right.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Shan]

Right. But imagine if you could actually. Like when you actually say it out loud, you're like, okay, a thrift store in a rich neighborhood where people are buying really fancy stuff and then, like, replacing it rapidly for new fancy stuff and donating it. You say it out loud, you're like, okay, well then why is the thrift store in the rich neighborhood? I get it from a logistical standpoint for dropping stuff off, but wouldn't it be better if all the stuff donated to the store in the rich neighborhood was then moved to a not rich neighborhood? Right. Where it would get definitely bought and used and people would be so stoked to have it.

[Shannon]

That's kind of what we do here.

[Shan]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Shannon]

We are like, in store is still a huge driver, but by like, I'd say we on average drive an hour.

[Sarah]

To go pick up from a clothing driver.

[Shan]

Wow.

[Shannon]

And so we're pulling from a pretty wide.

[Shan]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

And the Philadelphia, New Jersey, Delaware area and bringing it to Germantown, which is.

[Sarah]

A really interesting neighborhood in Philly.

[Shannon]

I don't know, Shannon, how would you.

[Sarah]

Describe Germantown in terms of.

[Guest]

Germantown's like, scrappy, but it's like, so neighborhoody at the same time. Like, you're definitely in the city, but then, like, especially you can see it with the people in our shop. Like, they've been going to the thrift store because their grandma took them to this thrift store and they remember, like, now they're taking their kids or their grandkids to, like, it's like, very generational.

[Shannon]

Yeah. It's very middle class. So we have like, some like, stronger.

[Sarah]

Immigrant community representation in Germantown.

[Shannon]

It's definitely like, the demographics of our.

[Sarah]

Shoppers in our neighborhood are probably different.

[Shannon]

Than the people that we're sourcing donations from.

[Guest]

Yeah. The neighborhood over. I forget. I don't know if it's. They still have the title or what, but there's a neighborhood next to us called Mount Airy. And I know at least like 10 years ago, it's probably. I feel like it still stands. They were noted one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the entire country.

[Sarah]

Really? Well that's interesting.

[Guest]

Yeah. Just like demographically, financially, like racially gender, non gendered.

[Shan]

Yeah. So okay, so you really, you are doing it. You're like redistributing the stuff.

[Dustin]

Let's take a moment to thank some of the incredible small businesses who keep clotheshorse going via their generous Patreon support.

[Shan]

Spokes and Stitches is a size inclusive.

[Dustin]

Pattern making and sewing studio based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

[Amanda]

Pattern maker Ruby Gertz teaches workshops for.

[Shan]

Hobbyists and aspiring designers so that anyone.

[Dustin]

Can learn the foundational skills of designing.

[Shan]

And making their own clothes. If you're looking to expand your design skills beyond following store bought patterns, check.

[Dustin]

Out Ruby's flagship Sloper Workshop, an in.

[Amanda]

Person two day pattern making retreat where you will learn how to drape a.

[Shan]

Set of basic block patterns that capture.

[Dustin]

Your unique shape and proportions.

[Shan]

You can use these basic block or.

[Dustin]

Sloper patterns as a foundation for infinite styles of garments that are custom made.

[Shan]

To your body's one of a kind contours.

[Dustin]

No more full bust, flat seat or sway back adjustments. Start with a foundation that fits.

[Shan]

Ruby also provides professional services such as pattern digitization, size charts, pattern making and.

[Dustin]

Grading services for indie slow fashion brands.

[Shan]

That want to prioritize inclusive sizing. You can find Ruby on Instagram @spokenSandStitches and get in touch with her for professional [e-mail].

[Dustin]

Selena Sanders a social impact brand that specializes in upcycle clothing using only reclaimed, vintage or thrifted materials from tea towels, linens, blankets and quilts. Sustainably crafted in Los Angeles, each piece is designed to last in one's closet for generations to come. Maximum Style Minimal carbon footprint. Shift clothing out of beautiful Astoria, Oregon with a focus on natural fibers, simple hard working designs and putting fat people first. Discover [e-mail] late to the Party Creating one of a kind statement clothing from vintage, salvaged and thrifted textiles. They hope to tap into the dreamy memories we all hold. Floral curtains, a childhood dress, the wallpaper in your best friend's rec room. All while creating modern sustainable garments that you'll love wearing and have for years to come. Late to the Party is passionate about celebrating and preserving textiles, the memories they hold and the stories they have yet to tell. Check them out on Instagram. Eat to the Party People Vino Vintage Based just outside of la, we love the hunt of shopping secondhand because you never know what you might find. Catch us at flea markets around Southern California by following us on Instagram Vino Vintage so you don't miss our next event. Dylan Paige is an online clothing and lifestyle brand based out of St. Louis, Missouri. Our products are chosen with intention for the conscious community. Everything we carry is animal friendly, ethically made, sustainably sourced and cruelty free. Dylan Page is for those who never stop questioning where something comes from. We know that personal experience dictates what's sustainable for you and we are here to help guide and support you to make choices that fit your needs. Check us out@dylan page.com and find us on Instagram ylanpage life and style Salt Hats Purveyors of truly sustainable hats, hand blocked, sewn and embellished in Detroit, Michigan. Find us on Instagram althats Gentle Vibes Vintage we are purveyors of polyester and psychedelic relics. We encourage experimentation and play not only in your wardrobe but in your home too.

[Amanda]

We have thousands of killer vintage pieces.

[Dustin]

Ready for their next adventure. See them all on Instagram. Gentle Vibes Vintage Thumbprint is Detroit's only fair trade marketplace. Located in the historic Eastern Market. Our small business specializes in products handmade by empowered women in South Africa making a living wage creating things they love like hand painted candles and ceramics. We also carry a curated assortment of sustainable and natural locally made goods. Thumbprint is a great gift destination for both the special people in your life and for yourself. Browse our online [e-mail] and find us on InstagramPrintDetroit.

[Amanda]

Vagabond Vintage DTLV is a vintage clothing.

[Dustin]

Accessories and decor reselling business based in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Not only do we sell in Las Vegas, but were also located throughout resale markets in San Francisco as well as at a curated boutique called Lux and.

[Amanda]

Ivy located in Indianapolis, Indiana.

[Shan]

Jessica, the founder and owner of Vagabond.

[Amanda]

Vintage DTLV recently opened the first IRL.

[Dustin]

Location located in the Arts District of downtown Las Vegas on August 5th. The shop has a strong emphasis on 60s and 70s garments, single stitch tees and dreamy loungewear. Follow them on Instagram Vagabond Vintage DTLV and keep an eye out for their website coming fall of 2022.

[Shan]

I know that there are things that you do not take or do not want to sell or for reasons, right? Reasons with a capital R. Can you tell us some of the stuff that you don't take and why? Yeah Shannon, because this I will tell you. I'm just gonna preface this by like every time I mention this on social media, people like want to Fight with me and be like. Like. Like, I'm the person who said, hey, like, the Goodwill doesn't want your medical supplies. Like, I'm not the person who said that. The Goodwill said that.

[Shannon]

Right.

[Shan]

Cause they don't want to get sued if you donate a walker and someone falls with it. Right. But, like, the reality is that, like, there are things the thrift stores don't take. And, you know, for the most part, they have good reasons why.

[Shannon]

I guess, to start, we don't. We don't sell furniture anymore. And that's because, man. So Suzanne cut that out a couple years before I got here, and I see it. I love furniture, and I love. Everything in my house is secondhand furniture. It's like, my favorite thing to shop for is interior stuff. But furniture is a couple of things. One, it's bedding. There's, like, cleanliness issues. There's bed bugs. There's decent. Like, there's the sanitation that you have to legally do with bedding and upholstery. Two is, like, the floor space, the logistics of it.

[Sarah]

It takes up a massive amount of floor space.

[Shannon]

So, like, in the space of one couch, you could probably fit, like, 300 T shirts, you know, and so, like, in terms of, like, the price per.

[Sarah]

Square foot that you're going to get.

[Shannon]

In retail, like, furniture is less per square foot than, like, clothing or housewares. And two is, like, the turnover. People don't buy furniture as frequently as they buy clothes. And so you hold on to these.

[Sarah]

Big things that take up a lot of space for a long time.

[Shannon]

And as, like, your rent goes up, you're not getting the return that you want to see on that. And then also in Philadelphia, like, a lot of people have cars, and so there's a struggle to get the furniture here, and then there's a struggle to.

[Sarah]

Get for people to take the furniture home.

[Shannon]

And unless you're willing to offer delivery services, which are also expensive, it gets really hard. And so I think the margins on.

[Sarah]

That were just getting so thin that.

[Shannon]

It wasn't worth it anymore.

[Shan]

I mean, it makes sense to me. Like, honestly, I do appreciate the sort of, like, I don't know, like, focus of furniture. Like, the. How there are some thrift stores, like, that's a big deal for them now, and there are less of them. So it's almost like going this. I mean, you know, for a certain type of person like myself, when you go to a thrift store that is very furniture focused, it is almost as convenient as going to say, Ikea, because There's a lot of furniture there to choose from.

[Sarah]

Yeah.

[Shan]

And in that way, it's better than driving around to 50 thrift stores who all have three couches apiece. Yeah. There's a thrift store out in Pottstown. I think they're called Liberty Thrift. Huge. It definitely used to be a Kmart or something. It's huge. And they have a ton of furniture. It's like three quarters of their store.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Shan]

And you know what? I appreciate that. Like, I'm probably going to find a couch there. You know what I mean? Like, when I go. And that actually makes it more convenient.

[Shannon]

I think that's the way to do it. I think you gotta focus. And if that's your thing, you're gonna.

[Sarah]

Make some different choices in terms of.

[Shannon]

Your location, the cost of the retail space that you can afford, and, like, your supply chain is gonna change entirely.

[Shan]

Yeah.

[Amanda]

And like, they have.

[Shan]

They have in house delivery service. Like, they have trucks there. You know what I mean? Like, they. This is what they're doing. Their clothing is like a much smaller thing. And I, like, appreciate it. I'm like, this is actually easier than going to. Driving all over the place. Or like, how a lot of restores now sell furniture. Right. It makes perfect sense if you're selling building supplies to also have furniture, because it's a similar sort of logistical chain of getting that stuff in and out.

[Sarah]

Right.

[Shannon]

Actually, I went to a restore on Wednesday and did a tour. And no, I think you're totally right. Like, focus is important for any business.

[Sarah]

And you don't see a lot of.

[Shannon]

Like, you wouldn't see it.

[Sarah]

You don't see a lot of department.

[Shannon]

Stores, you know, selling housewares, clothing, makeup.

[Sarah]

You know, chests of drawers.

[Shannon]

Like, maybe chests of drawers.

[Shan]

Really?

[Shannon]

It's a tough product mix to maintain. And like, the. What you're shopping for and when you're shopping for it, when you're trying to get out of it are very different for the.

[Shan]

Definitely. Definitely. Also, I'm just going to tell you two that there's a restore in Camden that is, like, the best for furniture. Like the best.

[Guest]

Oh, yeah. My dad goes there. My dad loves that place.

[Shan]

It's so good. It's like all the furniture in Jersey is there or something. There's two of them that are, like, in the similar area.

[Guest]

Yeah, that and Pensaken have, like, a good one, too.

[Shan]

Yeah. Yes. Yes. They're so amazing. And it is interesting. Like, the first time we went to a restore that had a lot of furniture, I was like, this is random because in my mind, a restore should be like the secondhand version of a Home Depot or whatever, right? But then, like, as I started to see this, I was like, it makes perfect sense. They have huge loading docks, they have trucks, they have dollies, they have ramps, they have staff who it can like, deal with heavier items, larger items, and they're usually in these huge warehousing style spaces.

[Sarah]

It makes so much sense.

[Shannon]

And when you're shopping for, like, you're.

[Sarah]

Working on your home and you're changing.

[Shannon]

Things around and like.

[Sarah]

Like redecorating.

[Shan]

Exactly. Yeah, totally, totally. So what else won't you take?

[Shannon]

So we don't take things that are like, unusable, damaged, dirty, moldy books, Anything that's wet. If you're gonna give us an electronic, please make sure it works and that.

[Sarah]

You include the power cable.

[Shan]

Like, oh, man, the power cable industrial complex. Like, sometimes you'll go into a thrift store and there's a whole wall of just random cables in bags or in bins, and you're like, where's the stuff?

[Guest]

We have, like a box in the back that we are like, well, if we throw out this cord, then, like, we're gonna get the thing in and it's gonna like.

[Shan]

I mean, listen, my husband has a similar bin, but, like, in our house.

[Guest]

Yeah, no, my ex definitely had that box too. And it was like, when we broke up, I was like, I don't know what to do with.

[Shannon]

But you don't want to throw it away.

[Shan]

It's like. It's like anxiety inducing. I'm like, I don't know. It seems like a lot of responsibility to have all these cables. Like, someone should be the keeper of them. So. Yeah, that makes sense, I think. You know, just talking to other people who've worked in sorting especially. Less. Less in, like, independent thrift stores like yours, but more like people who have worked in, like, the Goodwill or the Salvo. Like in these larger space, the sheer volume of completely 100%, no bones about it. Unsellable stuff that comes through the door is pretty wild. Like wet, moldy, poopy.

[Guest]

We'll get like a left shoe but not a right shoe.

[Shan]

Yeah, exactly. A lot of chaos like that, for sure. And, you know, like, things that are legally not sellable, like half drunk bottles of alcohol or dildos or, you know. Yeah, like.

[Shannon]

Yeah, we got.

[Sarah]

I've heard this legend. I've been told by a form, by an employee that at one point many.

[Shannon]

Years ago, we got needles. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Guest]

We had keys For. I wasn't here for it, but I remember sue telling me we got, like, keys for a coffin.

[Shan]

We were like, coffins have keys?

[Sarah]

Yeah. What?

[Guest]

Yeah.

[Shan]

Who's breaking in?

[Shannon]

She was just.

[Guest]

She was just like, so who do these belong to? Like, they're kind of cool, but, like.

[Shan]

Well, some goth out there would be really excited to make a necklace out of them.

[Guest]

Yeah. I was like, this is very metal, and I'm here.

[Shan]

Yeah, totally. But I think, like, you know, one thing that comes up a lot online are conversations about, like, well, thrift store prices are higher now than they used to be. Right? And I want to talk to you a little bit about that, too. But one expense that I think that people forget about is, like, garbage. Like, disposing of garbage isn't actually free for anyone, and for a company, it definitely isn't. And when you're receiving a ton of stuff that, like, cannot be reused or sold, that's now trash, and it's your burden to take it away. And that stuff's. That's expensive, right? And that is, unfortunately, like, I tell people all the time, we're paying when we thrift, we're paying for all the stuff that was unsellable, too, to be disposed of. And that is the reality of it. It's not like places like the Goodwill are sitting down and saying, like, okay, we'll add a dollar onto that price for the stuff we couldn't sell. But at the end of the day, their pricing architecture and every other thrift store's pricing architecture is based on covering all their expenses. Right. And so that's gonna come out of that.

[Guest]

The labor to go through your bag of trash.

[Shan]

Exactly. Exactly. And so these are all line items on those expenses. Not to bore anybody with spreadsheet talk, but this is what I do all day, every day. And, you know, like, they might get the inventory for free or at a very low price like you do. But, like, they have to figure out how much they can actually sell in a. In a given year and kind of divide that number into their expenses if they just even want to break even. And that kind of dictates the average price of what they sell.

[Shannon]

I'd say, like, so unusable stuff costs us three ways. First is, like, so when we're working with a group, we're giving them a list of, like, what to take and not take.

[Sarah]

And I would say our groups do.

[Shannon]

Generally a pretty great job of, like, screening, and people are pretty respectful. But, like, when something does work its way in that, like, we can't sell.

[Sarah]

Especially with electronics. This is really tough.

[Shannon]

Like, it's heavy. And we donate by the pound, and so we're paying for it. Step one, cost one is we paid to get it right. And then cost two is like, now we got. Now we're sorting through everything. And so we take this thing, and we now have to spend time assessing it. And if we're spending time on this item and then we end up not selling it, that's like five minutes of testing this VCR deck that we could have spent doing anything else. And labor costs. You know, time is time costs. And so that's cost two, and then cost three is like, okay, we can't sell it now it's going in my dumpster. And I pay by the pound for how much is hauled off. So it's like three times that I've paid for this thing.

[Shan]

Yeah, no, it's serious. And that brings me to the next question. How long does stuff stay in your store?

[Shannon]

So keeping the floor fresh is important. And people. That's true across all retail. You want to keep things moving. And when someone comes in the store, they don't want to see the same.

[Sarah]

Things over and over again.

[Shannon]

And so we won't get into too many specifics, but we have a way of tracking when something goes out on the floor. And then at a certain point, most.

[Sarah]

Things will go on discount for at.

[Shannon]

Least a week, and then we'll pull it off after that. So a month to two months, kind of depends. That's how long inventory would stay out there. And sometimes if it's like, you know, I think what makes our store special is we have a mix of. We have a range. Like, we're selling T shirts, and we're also selling, like, really interesting works of art and so. And, like, designer bags that we somehow get in the door, and crystal sets and silver sets and stuff like that. And so some of the really, like, the nicer things we'll. We'll keep for a while because we're. We're waiting for that person to come in that really wants it, and we don't want to just get rid of it.

[Shan]

So that brings me to something that's been on my mind and I know you wanted to talk about, too. It's kind of like the collection industrial complex that has been going on for a really long time. But it's also, you know, younger generations are falling prey to it with all those like, oh, my gosh, what are they called? Funko Pops and, you know, squishmallows and Whatnot. But I think of a few months back, we were thrifting outside of Baltimore, which, by the way, great thrifting there, too. There's a bunch of savers and Second Avenues there. And we were coming back up north to our home, and we stopped at a Goodwill in a small town. And the entry fixture, which was huge, was all Precious Moments. And it was like, all the Precious Moments. Like, you know, the figurines, I'm sure you encounter them, but it was beyond that. It was like commemorative plates and. And, like, desk plaques and, like, just any category of product that could have Precious Moments on it. Like, there were, like, glasses and, like.

[Amanda]

Thimbles and, like, just.

[Shan]

It was wild. And I said to my husband, that's all one person's Precious Moments collection right there.

[Shannon]

Oh, my God. Yes.

[Shan]

Yes.

[Guest]

So, yeah, it's really interesting when you can see, like, somebody. This is someone's grandma.

[Shan]

I know. And I listen. I think that there are, of course, people who are going to listen to this and people that we know and don't know who would be see that Precious Moments collection and be super stoked, and they might buy some of it because it has, like, a nostalgia factor for them. Like, oh, my grandma collected these. Right. But after seeing that huge, huge spread of Precious Moments, it suddenly put me on Precious Moments alert everywhere I went. And I just was like, oh, my God, there's so much of this stuff at every thrift store I go to now. Yeah. And it's not even. I mean, that's one part of it. There's all the commemorative plates. I've seen a lot. Apparently, in the 80s. I think it was the 80s, the Franklin Mint put out some commemorative plates for Gone with the Wind. I see a lot of those.

[Shannon]

There was something called Bradley Exchange.

[Shan]

Oh, yes, yes.

[Shannon]

That did cleats. We have some of those right now.

[Shan]

Yeah. I mean, there's like. Those two were, like, Franklin Mitt and that Bradley Exchange. They were, like, in the Parade magazine every week. That came in the Sunday newspaper. It was, like, tons of ads for these collections. Right. And I personally always wanted. There was, like, these. This collection of, like, little boxes that were in different themes that you could get every month. Like, ceramic boxes. I really wanted those. My mom was like, like, no, we're not buying those. And in retrospect, you know, I'm grateful for it. But the point is, is, like, there is so much of this in thrift stores right now, and it feels like it sits. And I just am wondering, like, do you see a lot of that Coming your way. And what do you do with it?

[Shannon]

We do this actually, like, this sort of kind of like, really hits my heart. It makes me really emotional.

[Shan]

Me too. Me too. It's like, hard. Like, I'm not a precious moment fan person at all. But, like, I see them and it actually, like, I. And all these other collectibles of that era, I see them and I feel this humongous wave of emotion washing over me. And it's so complex, and it really, like, hurts my heart. Like, it's like bittersweet or something. I can't explain it, but it's not.

[Sarah]

That's interesting.

[Shan]

It's not like I'm not angry. I'm, like, sad. I think.

[Shannon]

I think I am too.

[Shan]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

And I think for me, it's. I think of, like, my great aunt and my great uncle who would collect that stuff. And I guess just like something meaning something to someone or them, like, deriving joy from it and then it not go, like. It kind of just doesn't go anywhere. I don't know. I feel sentimental.

[Shan]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

People that collected it, I feel bad that they spent a lot of money on it. I feel bad that, like, no one's enjoying it now. I feel bad that, like, I don't know, it's. It's like it kind of hits it like hyper consumerism. And I'm like, I just don't like, I feel bad that people felt like that was a way to find joy still, like, collect little things.

[Dustin]

It is.

[Shan]

And I also feel like there was for many of these items this manufactured belief that by collecting these items, you were actually. What you were doing is creating valuable heirlooms for your children and grandchildren.

[Amanda]

Maybe.

[Shan]

I don't know if that was exactly. It is exactly like that. And the thing is, we can be here and be like, oh, those boomers, they're so foolish. Or the generation before. It's really even more. It's the generation before the boomers, I think, who were collecting a lot of stuff too. We can say, like, oh, and wag our finger at them. But the reality is it's still happening. Like Funko Pops. I'm starting to see those in thrift stores a lot. Squishmallows, which people were, like, reselling and fighting over, much in the way of the Beanie Babies. I now, like, I'll go to thrift stores and there'll be like a whole bin of them.

[Shannon]

Interesting. Well, it's speculation on the future value of a product. That's what an NFT is. Honestly, you're Buying a thing that has no intrinsic value on the offspring, that it will have future value. Like, and that's what so much of. I mean, people do that they do it with gold. That's probably a better speculation, safer.

[Shan]

Yeah, Beanie Babies.

[Amanda]

I mean now, now you go to.

[Shan]

A yard sale and they'll be like a bin and beanie babies, like 25 cents each. You know, please take, buy one, get one free, whatever. You can take the whole thing for five bucks.

[Guest]

I was helping an ex in their family, like clean out his grandma house that passed and everything. And like his mom was just like, oh my gosh. It's like the Diana Beanie Baby. She was like, I don't really care, but I think I can resell this and make some money. I was like, you can make 20 bucks.

[Shan]

Yeah, maybe. I remember reading an article a couple years ago where this family had found one in their house somewhere, like someone had gifted to their child a long time ago. And they found it and they were like, this is gonna sell for a million dollars. Like we're gonna like, pay for our kids college, we're gonna buy a new house, all this other stuff. They get interviewed by like the newspaper and then it turns out it's like worth $20. You know, like it just. That bubble burst a long time ago.

[Amanda]

It's.

[Shannon]

It almost feels. I mean, it's. It's the natural human instinct to try to like invest in a future. And you think something's gonna pay off and it's not. It's a little scammy. It's also just a little like misplaced hope.

[Shan]

Yeah, I think it is. I think it is. I remember reading a few years ago how like the Franklin Mint, for example, would sell these coins that were supposed to be collectible. They would be coins for any situation, basically, and like they were going to increase in value and they would market it that way.

[Shannon]

They're like, this isn't it. You're investing in something that will grow, right?

[Shan]

And people were buying these like, this is my retirement fund. And then retiring, going to their local coin and collectible shop. And the person being like, I'll give you a hundred bucks. And they're like, no, don't you understand? And they're like, you know, like, this is. You got. You got scammed. And I. That alone, like I said, yeah. This sadness, it's like that isn't even an adjective that captures it for me, but it is a feeling that I feel in my heart and stomach.

[Guest]

I feel like for like I wouldn't Say this generation specifically because it is like a Y or like a range of generation. But like I feel like the Stanley Cups, like the new thing, like when, like.

[Shan]

Oh, don't get me started.

[Shannon]

You have to have all of these.

[Guest]

Colors and you have to. Or like Starbucks cups.

[Shan]

Starbucks cups, I was gonna say. Yep, yep. I see videos and photos of that too. I know people who collect Starbucks cups.

[Shannon]

And maybe there's a difference between like collecting for joy and interest versus like the. I think what we see is like since we work with a lot of groups that are comprised of older people, like I had a clothing. At a clothing drive, a woman came up and she's like, here is a china set. Like I paid $5,000 for this in the 60s and my children don't want it. And I tried to take it to an auction house. It's not worth anything anymore. Like no one buys this stuff or uses this stuff and I don't know what to do with it. So here you go. And like they really did think like this is something that's gonna, is gonna be valuable and used and passed on and was an investment and just like society completely changed in those interseed in 40 years.

[Shan]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I have my mother in law's mother's silver. She gave it to me. She was like, I have no use for this. Who uses silver? But you like vintage stuff so maybe you'll like it. And I was like, oh yeah, you're right. Like silver was something you were supposed to be handing down.

[Guest]

Yeah, it was like an heirloom.

[Shan]

Right. She's like, I'm handing it down to you early because I have no use for this. I was like, okay, so we pull it out when we have people over. It feels fancy and kind of like from a different time.

[Guest]

Right.

[Shan]

Like it's. We don't use it every day. I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to put it in the dishwasher. But there is like, I. I think there are so many factors that go into this stuff existing and no longer being desirable. But the problem becomes like, what do we do with it? Like going back to going into this goodwill and seeing this massive display of precious moments. Obviously, just like your store, they're not going to leave that there for years until people buy it because it's precious space. Right. And so like what happens to it next is I guess it goes in the trash.

[Shannon]

So the places it can go from here first is primarily with clothing exporting. So there is like a fascinating industry that I am just barely Scratching the surface of. Of exports to primarily countries with lower GDP than us. So the exporting warehouse we work with takes textiles and shoes, and they export either to India, which then India exports to Africa and then like layers there, or they'll export to Central America.

[Shan]

I really recommend that you follow the OR foundation. Their Instagram is the orispresent.

[Amanda]

They're.

[Shan]

They're on the ground in Ghana dealing with it. And it is something I did not know existed until I started working on clothes Horse. Like, it is very secret, right, that like, this stuff is moving around like this. I mean, just even like it goes to India and then to Africa, or it goes to Central America and then to like Chile and it is just moving around. Some of it goes to Central Europe, but not as much as it used to. And yeah, like there is, there is. And there is not a market for the apparel, like the textiles, right? Like, they're gonna go somewhere else. That doesn't mean they're gonna get used. But then the rest of the stuff, the electronics, like the Precious Moments commemorative plates, what happens with that?

[Shannon]

Some electronics we can recycle and some. It doesn't make sense. So there are probably a dozen electronic recyclers in just the Philadelphia area. I found one that will take laptops, tablets, things with microchips on them.

[Sarah]

They'll take it for free.

[Shannon]

So I will say, like, no one's gonna pay me for this stuff, right? But microchips, you can generally get a place if they're able to deconstruct and scrap that microchip. And like, they'll take the chips out and then they're giving it to someone else who's probably extracting the raw materials out of it. Like several steps there. But things without microchips, I'm thinking like TVs, LCD monitors, coffee makers. You have to generally pay someone to come. That's what I figured, something with it. And so rather than pay to be recycled, it often times it just makes more sense to throw it away, which really sucks.

[Shan]

Sucks, but it's the reality of it. And then with these other items, like the ceramics, they just go in the trash, right? Unless people start making large scale installation art out of Precious Moments stuff, which I would love to see. And I support this. Let me know about your GoFundMe for it, because I'll support. Like, there's nothing that's like the end of the line, you know, I think that's the other thing that makes me so sad.

[Shannon]

It is because they're also not like, you can't I can't donate them to another non profit. You know, it's like, because they're not functional.

[Shan]

Right. And, and this is one of those.

[Amanda]

Things where you're like, we talked about.

[Shan]

Like redistribution of product, getting it out there into the hands of people who are looking for it.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Shan]

People probably aren't looking for that. So there's not even, you know, it's. And it's fragile, so it's like you wouldn't really want to be transporting it around that off much anyway because every time you move it, you risk breaking it. But there's no, and I'm not saying there's definitively no one out there who wants Precious Moments figurines, because there certainly are. But I would expect suspect that the availability is outpacing demand.

[Guest]

You know, when you mentioned the art installation aspect, it did kind of remind me, granted this is like a micro trend, so like, who knows how long it's gonna exist. But like, there are some people that will repaint the Precious Moments.

[Shan]

I've seen this.

[Guest]

Yeah, they'll do like, they'll make it like Willy Wonka or like Halloweeny or like silly things. And I'm like, this is hilarious. Like, you just made Mr. T out of Precious Moments.

[Shan]

But no, I love that. I'm like, more of that, please. I, I, you know how like Facebook sucks and it's like the only reason to be on there is like for Facebook Marketplace basically and groups. Every once in a while I'll log in because I want to get to Facebook Marketplace and I'll like look at my field feed for a second just to get. And like, I don't know. I'm in the habit of scrolling in my life. And it'll show you all these weird recommended pages or something that are like, you're like, this exists. There was one that was for just for re repurposing these Precious Moments figurines. And I seriously spent like 20 minutes. I was in awe. I was like, this is the best thing I've seen like in a year. Really, like, it warmed my heart. We need more of that, like creative repurpose.

[Guest]

Yeah. And I had a friend, I was giving our like, quote unquote trash books. Either they like sat too long or the spines were too like messed up to really resell because they weren't gonna like last. And they were doing this whole like freedom of speech type of thing with it about like specifically geared towards like the book banning. So they were like painting books or like destroying the books. Books even more so they like, physically couldn't be used, but like, there's just a stack of books in this middle of a gallery. And you're just like, yeah, like, I don't know. They explained it better to me or than I am, but they're just like, do you have any books? I need like 10 pounds of books. It's like, let me see.

[Shan]

I mean, I do. I will tell you. I. Every once in a while, I'll get a message from someone who has something actively that they need to re home.

[Amanda]

That feels rehomable, unrehomable.

[Shan]

Right? Like, who would want this thing as it is? Like, it is damaged books or a sweater that is full of stains or, you know, things like that. And I'm always like, you know, I would put it on your buy nothing group because I suspect there's someone out there who looks at that as raw materials for the project they're working on. Like, I know someone who actively thrifts sweaters that are not repairable as they are, but can be pulled apart into yarn and turned into new things. Right? And like, I. That's why I do feel like for almost everything there is a use. There might be too much of that stuff for it to be fully used, but like, there's people out there for everything somewhere.

[Guest]

As strange as it might sound. I have like, dental X rays that somebody put on by nothing. And I was like, this is kind of just like, fun to have.

[Shan]

Yeah.

[Amanda]

And they're like.

[Guest]

They were saying, they're just like, yeah, I don't know, like, what somebody can do with these. And I was like, I don't. Like, I need to find a light box and a shadow box to put these in. Because it's just like. Because I have a friend that, like, I don't know, they're very into like, bone art and stuff and like taxidermy things. And I was like, yeah, this is like the perfect gift. I just give them like X rays of teeth.

[Shan]

They're never gonna forget it. That's so cool.

[Shannon]

That's awesome.

[Shan]

Yeah, I love that. And I like, yeah, there's. There's something out there for everyone. I think just like, maybe too much, too many precious moments for the people who need them, but, you know. Yeah, I think like, also just looking at things as materials can versus, like the actual object as they exist can sometimes be really helpful.

[Dustin]

If you're enjoying this episode, then this is a great time to remind you that my work here at Clothesforce is made possible by the support of listeners like you just like NPR and these great small businesses. Please go give them your support. Blank CAS or Blanket Coats by cas, is focused on restoring, renewing and reviving the history held within vintage and heirloom textiles. By embodying the love, craft and energy that is original to each vintage textile. As I transfer it into a new garment, I hope we can reteach ourselves to care for and mend what we have and make it last. Blank CAS lives on Instagram @blankcas and a website will be launched soon at Blankcast, located in Whistler, Canada. Velvet Underground is a velvet jungle full of vintage and secondhand clothing plants, a.

[Shan]

Vegan cafe and lots of rad products.

[Dustin]

From other small sustainable businesses.

[Amanda]

Our mission is to create a brand.

[Dustin]

And community dedicated to promoting self expression as well as educating and inspiring a more sustainable and conscious lifestyle both for the people and the planet. Find us on Instagram shopvelvetunderground or online at www.shopvelvetunderground.com St. Evens is a New York City based vintage shop that is dedicated to bringing you those special pieces you'll reach for again and again. More than just a store, St. Evens is dedicated to sharing the stories and history behind behind the garments. 10% of all sales are donated to a different charitable organization each month. New Vintage is released every [e-mail] with previews of new pieces and more brought to you on Instagram at West Evens. That's where St. Evans Country Feedback is a mom and pop record shop in Tarboro, North Carolina. They specialize in used rock, country and soul and offer affordable vintage clothing and housewares.

[Shan]

Do you have used records you want to sell?

[Dustin]

Country Feedback wants to buy them? Find us on Instagram, Country Feedback Vintage and Vinyl or head down east and visit our brick and mortar. All are welcome at this inclusive and family friendly record shop in the country. Republica Unicornia Yarns Handmade yarn and notions for the color of Obsessed Made with love and some swearing in fabulous Atlanta, Georgia by head yarn wench Kathleen. Get ready for rainbows with a side of Giving a damn. Republica Unicornia is all about making your own magic using small batch, responsibly sourced, hand dyed yarns and thoughtfully made notions. Slow fashion all the way down and discover the joy of creating your very own beautiful hand knit, crocheted or woven pieces. Find us on Instagram @republicauunicorniarns and at www.republicaunicornia.com. picnic Wear a slow fashion brand ethically made by hand from vintage and dead stock materials, most notably vintage towels. Founder Dani has worked in the industry as a fashion Designer for over 10 years, but started Picnic Wear in response to her dissatisfaction with the industry's shortcomings. Picnic Wear recently moved to rural North Carolina where all their sewing and accessories are now designed and cut, but the majority of their sewing is done by skilled garment workers in New York City. Their customers take comfort in knowing that all their sewists are paid well above New York City minimum wage. Picnic Wear offers minimal waste and maximum on authenticity Future Vintage over Future Garbage Cute Little Ruin is an online shop dedicated to providing quality vintage and secondhand clothing, vinyl and home items in a wide range of styles and price points. If it's ethical and legal, we try to find a home for it. Vintage style with progressive values Find us on Instagram utelittleruin Is there a little bit of Italy in your soul? Are you an enthusiast of pre loved decor and accessories? Bring vintage Italian style and history into your space. With the Pewter thimble we source useful and beautiful things and mend them where needed. We also find gorgeous illustrations and make them print worthy tarot cards, tea towels and hand picked treasures available to you from the comfort of your own home, responsibly sourced from across Rome, lovingly renewed by fairly paid artists and artisans with something for every budget. Discover more at theputerthimble.com Deco Denim is a startup based out of San Francisco and it sells clothing and accessories that are sustainable, gender fluid, size inclusive and high quality. Made to last for years to come, Deco Denim is trying to change the way you you think about buying clothes. Founder Sarah Mattis wants to empower people to ask important questions like where was this made? Was this garment made ethically? Is this fabric made of plastic? Can this garment be upcycled and if not, can it be recycled? Sign [e-mail] to receive $20 off your first purchase. They promise not to spam you and send out no more than three emails a month with two of them surrounding education or a personal note from the founder. Again, that's decodenim.com.

[Shan]

You know, this just does make me think of like if you were gonna say like, think any like broad generalizations that you can make about what you see coming into the store pretty regularly. Like I don't know. One of the things I love about thrifting is that when I'm out there seeing what's out there, I also love going to yard sales for the same reason. I like seeing what people buy and kind of like, I don't know, philosophizing based on that, I think, like. Or it's like research to me. Like, this is where people's heads are right now. Or you can see. You can see when everybody was buying mini waffle makers as a trend, or there was some time that I was unaware of where everybody was buying these, like, things that, that you use in the microwave to hard boil eggs. I don't know if you ever receive those, but I see an awful lot of them out here.

[Guest]

Yeah, I've definitely seen those. The little, like, cup things.

[Shan]

Right, right. I. Last year I made these, like, thrifting bingo cards of just like the things you. I was currently seeing over and over, and people thought it was hilarious. I might need to update for 2025, but I would put those microwave egg things on there for sure because sometimes I'll see five in one store. But I feel like you were there on the front lines. You see the stuff coming in, in, you know, every day is. Are there sort of like any recurring themes to what's coming in that concern you or excite you? Concern.

[Guest]

I would say sheen or sheen. However, pronounce them.

[Shan]

It's ridiculous out here too. Like, I'm. It feels like it happened really fast where there was just so much sheehan.

[Sarah]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

I'd say trend wise, two things. One is fast fashion because people are buying it at much larger volumes than they have clothes in the past decade. I think we just. People are buying clothes more frequently and then getting rid of them faster. So we're seeing like, increasing proportion of donations being fast fashion items, which lowers our overall price point. Right. Like, you know this. The quality is lower. They come in. If they're worn a little bit. They're more like worn looking and damaged looking than like, more sturdy clothes would look. Yeah. And we. So just like the proportion of our racks that are made up of like $3 Sheen T shirts is higher.

[Shan]

Well, and you know, that's really interesting to me, like, as a call out, like what you were just saying, like, it lowers how much you can sell them for because of the condition they're in, but also like the price they sold for in the first place, you know, a few months ago, because I like to torture myself for fun sometimes. I decided to look through the Shein website and count how many dresses were under $10. And it was like, I don't know, 40, 50 pages of dresses. Dresses full on dresses that were under $10. And it took me a long time to get past the dresses that were under $5. And if someone donates a dress to you, let's say that was $5. You can't sell it for $5 because people would be like, why are you selling this for the same price? It is brand new. Touche. I get it. It's been worn and it probably isn't holding up. But there has to be a tipping point where it's not worth it for you to sell something below a certain price because it cost you money to sort it and process it and put it in the store. Right. So it seems like fast. If fast fashion continues in this, like, race to the bottom, price wise, it becomes impossible to run a thrift store full of that.

[Shannon]

Well, I don't. Thankfully, we're not there yet.

[Shan]

Yeah, I know, I know. And hopefully we're gonna not hit that bottom. But it does. Cause you know, there are whole like, subreddits where people are like, can you believe they're charging this much for this item? And it often it's not even shein stuff. It'll be like a Walmart T shirt or something. And I'm like, okay, well, that is fair. Like, that is the same price. It was new. But I also understand that probably some of the big chains haven't adjusted their pricing model to like, oh, t shirts cost $3 new now, you know, like, we need to take it down.

[Guest]

Yeah, No, I was at a thrift store maybe like two years ago now, and they had like this cute little.

[Shannon]

It was like a.

[Guest]

A porcelain measuring cup, but it was from Lancaster and was like Amish country. And I had like two little people sitting on a bench or like, I don't know, little country folks. And I was like, this is cute. And I like went to go get it because, like, I thought one of my friends would like it and whatever. And the person was like, oh, there's two price tags on here. And they were like, confused and looking at it. They're like, oh, this was only 99 cents at the store that it was originally bought at, but we're charging it for $2. I'm just going to give you the original price. I was like, well, thanks for that.

[Shan]

Yeah.

[Guest]

He's like, I don't know why we're doing it like this. I was like, I don't either. I just. Because I just shop here.

[Shan]

It's complicated. Right. And the volume of stuff coming in and like, you know, you don't expect that a measuring cup would be $0.99 brand new. Right.

[Shannon]

See, there's maybe from the owner perspective with pricing, like a couple things going into it. One is, I'LL just say, I'll start with operations. So when you're taking, you know, we sell 30,000 individual items a month, and each individual item was different than the other item. And someone had to look at it and put a price tag on it. The judgment. You got to build a structure, right? You can't just, like, have the brain. Expect people to have the brain power to make an individual judgment call and all of those things, right?

[Shan]

So, yeah, I suspect we're gonna see, like, places like Goodwill start using, like, AI or something. It's probably like someone's developing it right now, you know, because it's a lot. It's a lot to balance.

[Shannon]

It's a lot. And you see. And like, you look at a Savers or a Goodwill, and they've got. They clearly have, like, buckets. Like, Goodwill's approach is like, Every shirt is $5, and they're not assessing each shirt for its original value. They're just like, it is here.

[Sarah]

It is a shirt.

[Shannon]

You may be paying more, you may be paying less. It may be over undervalued. But we're not. We don't have the time. We're not willing to invest the time in, like, adjusting the price for. For those expectations. And then some stores put more time in. And I say. I would say we put more time into assessing each item. Especially with clothing, we look at brand and like, an estimate of the original price. We look at its current condition and quality. And then we look at, like, it's just like kind of the vibe, the style, is it cool?

[Guest]

I mean, just for a T shirt, for us, it goes through at least like, three or four people.

[Shan]

I mean, that's the person, like, going.

[Guest]

Through the bag and doing the pre sorting. Then you have the person hanging. You have the person tagging it, and then you have the person actually pricing it.

[Shannon]

Someone is paying. They're paying.

[Sarah]

At a thrift store, you're getting a.

[Shannon]

Discount versus paying new because it's been worn. And that inherently, like, will lower the value of it. But there's, like, two ways you can look at pricing. There's inherent value. It's like, how much did it cost to make? And then there's like, market value, which is how much someone is willing to pay for it at this moment. And if something is here and we brought it to you, there is still the value in, like, us bringing it to you and like, providing it at a convenience. So. So I think we work. You got to work both of those into your pricing decision.

[Shan]

Definitely. It's way more Complicated.

[Guest]

I think it's perspective too because like some people see like, oh, these jeans are secondhand, but they're like $7. And then somebody's like, oh, go like, I'm trying to wear these again, like, this is only $7 for jankos.

[Shan]

Exactly. I mean, I will tell you, like, the conversation I see so often, especially like on Reddit, it, which I do not agree with this at all, is like, well, secondhand clothes shouldn't be more expensive than like brand new clothes at Walmart. Like, it's always like, they'll bring up Walmart. Like, I could just go get a T shirt and jeans for less at Walmart. Great. What are you getting? You know what I mean?

[Shannon]

If it's an Athleta T shirt. Yes. It's gonna cost more than the Walmart.

[Shan]

Yeah. And it's probably in theory nicer. Like if, if, if you are finding brand new clothing that is less expensive than a secondhand version, I would urge you to think critically about that. Like, why, how is that clothing cheaper than the second hand than something secondhand? And like, is it because it's not sewn as well or it's worse material or human exploitation was used to make it, or is it all three? Right. And that's that argument of like, well, I could get something brand new for the same price at Walmart, drives me insane, to be quite honest. It like, fills me with rage.

[Guest]

And even we get like really nice quality things. So we'll have like Sarah said with the Athleta, like we'll get like vintage fur coats and It'll be like $150. And people are like, oh, it's a thrift store, it's $150. I'm like, this is like a $600 or more jacket.

[Shan]

Yeah. No, I mean, I just had to have the same conversation, a similar conversation with my husband this morning because we're looking for a dryer and we're looking for a secondhand dryer. And he was sort of like, oh, I don't know, this dryer is $200. And I was like, yeah, it's a thousand dollars brand new. That is a crazy deal. And we're not like sending, you know, we're using something rather than it going to like the landfill or something like this is, it's a multi, multi tiered win.

[Amanda]

It's still a really good deal.

[Shan]

It's a really good deal, you know, and we were just like, we're new to the world of researching dryers, but it was like, I was like, you can't expect a dryer to be $50 or $10 or whatever. Like, you know, and if it is.

[Guest]

It might not last you more than a week.

[Shan]

Well, and that's the main reason we're looking for a dryer, because the last dryer we got at was $50 and it is falling apart and it's running up our electric bill to like next level. So hence we're looking for a new secondhand dryer that is more energy efficient and modern. And like, new dryers are really expensive, right? I mean, I think people were like, yeah, of course, ding dong new dryers are expensive. Well, so are like well made clothes. It's like draw the, the comparison. But I, I just, I wanted to touch on that because I just feel like I see this all the time online and it is like making me want to like break things. I'm like, it's not, it's a false dichotomy.

[Amanda]

You know, it is, it is, it's.

[Shannon]

A, it's a, maybe a false comparison. If you're shopping, if you want just the cheapest thing, go to a Walmart.

[Sarah]

And you will get it new and.

[Shannon]

You will get it cheap. But if you're looking for something else, like a, like quality and you are also looking for value, then a thrift store is a good place.

[Shan]

Yeah, I agree, I agree. Is there anything else that you see, like, trend wise in terms of like, what's coming through your doors? I mean, obviously we know you're getting these egg boiling things.

[Shannon]

Yeah, no, I think the second trend is like around vintage and like the phases of vintage. So I remember when I was in College in 2007, ish. And I started thrifting, like vintage was 80s and that was, you know, 20 years trailing. And so vintage is technically by definition.

[Sarah]

20 years or older.

[Shannon]

And so now for us, vintage is technically something made in 2004.

[Shan]

I hate this. I hate this time.

[Shannon]

Take a breath. Those JNCO jeans from 1999 could technically be considered vintage 90s stuff that I remember as a child is now considered vintage. But also the 80s stuff that I remember being vintage, I never see it anymore.

[Dustin]

No.

[Shannon]

So there's peaks and valleys for a decade where the people who were with all their 80s clothes, we're clearing it out in the early 2000s and it's all kind of gone or they're still holding on to it. And so people clearing out their closets now or retiring or, you know, estate sales, it's like 90s and then skip back to like 60s and then like 40s.

[Shan]

Right.

[Sarah]

And so there's kind of these waves.

[Shannon]

Of generational stuff that we see in terms of vintage. And so, like, 90s means we're getting, like, stuff with shoulder pads.

[Shan]

Yes.

[Shannon]

Bright neon colors. You know, CDs are, like, vintage.

[Shan]

So many CDs. So many CDs at every thrift store right now. But I did see some posts on Reddit about by a teenager who was getting really into CDs, and I felt kind of excited for them because there are many for them out there.

[Shannon]

Oh, it's nice. It's like getting into vinyl.

[Shan]

Yeah, exactly. It feels so weird to you because I'm like, CDs were so crappy, like, and would get scratched and skip and be annoying. But I guess vinyl is similar.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Guest]

I think it's funny though, because nobody's really like, oh, I'm so excited. I found this, like, vintage a track.

[Shan]

Like, well, my husband. But yes, other than that. But, like, can't wait till people start collecting DVDs again. Because there's a ton of those at every thrift store too.

[Guest]

One of my friends, actually, because they don't have cable and they have like a couple of the streaming stuff, but they're like, yeah, like, I go to Bargain Thrift and I get like, DVDs because they're a dollar each or like, whatever.

[Shannon]

And there's like a demand for 90s technology. Like, if we have a VHS player or a DVD player that, like, works, it goes really quick. Because someone, you need something to play your new vintage CD collection on. And then like, digital cameras. Shannon prices these for us sometimes, like, point and shoot cameras from 2000 are having a moment.

[Shan]

Oh, I know. We've. We're leaning into it in this household too.

[Shannon]

Really?

[Shan]

Yeah, we bought a couple. I. I feel like we're kind of ahead of the curve a little bit. So we've been able to find them for, like, you know, under $5. And I mean, I talk to my husband all the time. Like, I remember this time where, you know, you couldn't. You could maybe take cam photos with your phone, but they sucked. And who were you going to send them to? What were you going to do with them? Right. And so I always, in my purse, always had like a Canon point and shoot digital camera at all times. And every few years I would, like upgrade to a new one. And finding them out, thrifting and taking photos with them, I'm like, okay. There is something about these photos that feel so much more beautiful and interesting than anything I've taken. With my phone in a long time. Even though, like, ostensibly my phone has, like, better, more sophisticated, you know, capabilities. Right. But I think it's probably not dissimilar to, like, people in the early part of the century getting really into Polaroids and, like, all those, like, Holga cameras and things like that. Like, I worked at Urban Outfitters for a long time. We sold a lot of that stuff back then.

[Guest]

Oh, all the Dianas.

[Shan]

Exactly. So many of those. Right. And I mean, I remember being at south by Southwest one year and someone giving me a Diana. Like, Diana was there just handing them out, and I felt like I'd won the lottery. And I feel like that's, like, where we. This is what's happening with these digital cameras. So I support everybody doing it. Just make sure that you. When you find one, you can charge it or replace the. Like, usually they had rechargeable batteries that you would pull out. It wasn't like, how all our devices plug in now. And also to make sure that you have a way to connect it to your computer to upload photos. But usually it just involves having to pick up, like, a special dongle. Yeah. No.

[Guest]

Even my nephew is about to turn six, and for Christmas, he was like. He went about it in a very sly way, but he was like, oh, I want a camera. And I was like, yeah, bud, I can get you a camera. So I got him, like, a little point and shoot that I found at bargain for five bucks. Because I was like, if you're six, like, if you mess this up, it's not the end of the world, but it's still, like, decent quality to start you off on something. But then he was like, well, I want a camera that also has a phone. He's still using the camera. Like, he doesn't use it every day. But, like, I went to one of his wrestling matches, and, like, it was in their. And he was, like, holding it, and he wasn't actively using it, But I was like, hey, you've got your camera, bud. That's cool.

[Shan]

Yeah, yeah. No, I mean, I actually was getting this ad served to me a lot during the holidays on social media. That was for, like, a digital camera that is for children. Yeah.

[Guest]

They have, like, different versions of that. I've seen.

[Shan]

Yeah. And I assume it's so, like, get them off the phone, but get them, like, they can be creative and. Which is pretty cool. I wish I had digital camera when I was, like, 6. How cool would that have been? But I do, like, yeah, I'm excited that people are Coming in and buying that stuff from you. And hopefully that's something for anyone who's listening. If you have those things lying around and you don't use them, that's a great thing to donate because the demand is very high.

[Guest]

Yeah, as long as the battery is not corroded or like that space for the batteries safe and in working order. It's. They're usually pretty. Pretty.

[Shan]

Well, it's so weird to think that that stuff is vintage now.

[Shannon]

It is.

[Sarah]

And a final plea, please include the power cables, please.

[Shan]

Seriously, Seriously.

[Shannon]

The item. Like, please.

[Shan]

Yeah, that's a really good call out. And I think, you know, also just really important once again, to say, like this idea that like, what's in the thrift stores isn't as good cause someone took it. It's really that, like, what's in the thrift stores has changed because time changes. And I remember in the 90s going to thrift stores and seeing 80s and 90s stuff and being so disinterested in it. Because what I was looking for was like 70s or older. And then we got into this century and if you found something 70s or older in a thrift store, it was like a miracle. But there was plenty of 80s, which was exciting. And the past few years people have been really actively searching for 90s and it's there, but not like it was. And I used to overlook all that 90s stuff. I'd be like, ew, ew shoulder pads, ew rayon. You know, like just all the 90s things. And yeah, now we're gonna get to thrift low rise jeans. So congratulations everyone.

[Guest]

I even got confused. Not thrift wise, but like I. One of the trains in Philly, you have to like walk through this mall. So I'm like coming out of the train station, walking through the mall. And Zoomies had Ed Hardy in their window. And I was like, zoomies, a skate shop? I was like, I was like about to fight someone. And I like, why is Ed Hardy here?

[Shan]

I reject this. I don't want that to come back.

[Guest]

And I was like, I barely see Ed Hardy in the thrift store. I feel like.

[Shan]

Which is weird, right? I think people put their Ed Hardy in like the trash can. I swear, because I've never seen it thrifting either. But clearly there was a lot of it being sold, right? And I remember once taking a trip to LA and going on Melrose Avenue. This was like peak Ed Hardy era. And There were like 10 Ed Hardy stores in just like 10 blocks. Like it was big and it was like everyone on tv, like all those reality shows and stuff of the early, like Rock of Love and stuff, they would be wearing Ed Hardy all the time. And so. So it was big, right?

[Guest]

Yeah. I feel like there's like a thrift store in Seaside Heights or something that has like all the Ed Hardy because.

[Shan]

It'S all like, we gotta redistribute it, you know, so, you know, we're wrapping up here. I just wanted to hear like, what are your big plans for Bargain Thrift Center? Like, what do you want to do next? You obviously have like a vision and a lot of ideas and you're constantly obviously like educating yourself and thinking about like how thrift can be better. Like, what would you like to see happen?

[Shannon]

I would love to just keep working on and thinking about this problem of like convenience and secondhand because I think that's the main barrier to people shopping secondhand and making this decision that's like, better for the environment.

[Sarah]

Right.

[Shannon]

Like, because I. My primary driver is conservation and global warming, like reducing consumption, more ethical consumption, keeping things out of landfills, like lower energy usage, all of that. And I think. And like, the more people that shop secondhand, the better it is for all of that. So I see like growth in secondhand is like good consumerism. I would love to see. I want to bring more people to this. Not just like sell more to the people that are already thrifting, but like bring people who aren't into this market.

[Shan]

Yeah, I mean, I think that's a really good call out because definitely it seems like more people are shopping secondhand than ever, which is amazing.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Shan]

But it's not like it's a critical mass of people. It's not like we've reached this tipping point where most people are shopping secondhand most of the time. And I do think that the biggest barrier there is convenience. Because it becomes very difficult to separate people from how ridiculously easy it is to buy brand new stuff with your phone. And, you know, working as a buyer in the fashion industry, I've been in many meetings where we would sit down and walk through our online checkout experience and figure out how we could make it it faster and easier. Because if every second that someone had to think about what they were going to buy would turn them off. Right. And it's like on many websites now, you can buy something without having to log in with only having to make one click because they've saved your information and it's going to show up maybe the same day depending on where you bought it. And the reality is that currently, I mean, all of us who, who thrift regularly, we know. And I think we also low key, love that it takes time, that it's a process. But I also recognize that for many people, that's not an option. And I don't know how we make it better because even I look at a place like Thredup, which seems to have a massive amount of selection, it's really hard to shop on their website. Like, you would need hours. I feel like if you really wanted to look. Right. How do we make it more convenient for people? What do you think? Yeah.

[Shannon]

Well, so I admire Thredup for, I think making the first foray into that space of how do we.

[Shan]

It's an undertaking.

[Shannon]

Yeah. And it's a different way of shopping. So like coming to a thrift store right now, you can't really come with.

[Sarah]

Something specific in mind.

[Shannon]

Like if you're like, I need a green shirt size medium with this logo on it, or like, I need a ceramic measuring cup that looks exactly like this. Like, the odds of you finding that. Exactly. Are very low. Yes.

[Shan]

I'm currently experiencing this. All I want is a glass measuring cup. I have been. I'm a month into it.

[Amanda]

It's not going well.

[Shan]

You're dedicated. Like, I'm dedicated. I'm gonna find it. But for most people, and I don't blame them, they would be like, I need a measuring cup. I buying one on Amazon right now.

[Guest]

Even I'm trying to figure out, like, I want a little basket for my entertainment center, for a little cubby. And like, I had to go to Target to do Target things like, oh, they have like a literal wall of baskets. But what is like, one of the most number one things that get donated to thrift stores is baskets. So, like, I'm not justifying this.

[Shan]

It's wild. When I. When I heard that the Container Store filed for bankruptcy, I felt low key, relieved because there are just, It's. There are too many baskets in this world. Baskets and bins. And they're great, but I'm always like, listen, unless you're really hung up on a specific color story, which, to be fair, I think you could collect over time very easily. You will find the, you will find.

[Amanda]

Baskets at your thrift store.

[Shan]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

Well, I think so. Like, there's two kind of ways of shopping that we shop.

[Sarah]

Right.

[Shannon]

Like, there's, there's the, the browsing shopping where you're gonna go out to. You can go to a Target, you can go to a thrift store, you don't know what you want. You're just gonna look around and if something looks cool, you're gonna get it. And then there was a shopping where that's more. Way more utilitarian. It's like, I need. It feels like grocery shopping. I'm going to this store to get this thing because I know they have it and I need it now or at least soon. And thrift stores in person are very suitable for the first type. Right.

[Sarah]

We're great places to browse.

[Shannon]

Super fun, really exciting. You're going to find something interesting. We're not well suited for the second type. And I think Thredup is great for intentional. I am looking for, like, I already know my size in this brand. I know I like this brand. I'm gonna go to Thredup and just, like, keep a tabs until there's, like, I keep going back to athletic because I love Athleta. Like this pair of Athleta pants that I have. I want another pair. I know exactly what I'm looking for. I'm gonna wait till I find it. And that's kind of how I use Thredup. Honestly, it's like, yeah, super specific. But it's terrible for browsing. Like, like you said, if you don't know what you want, you're just caught in this endless scroll of just stuff and it's. You're not really interacting with it enough to make a good decision. So I Thredups. Like, I'm super curious how they evolve in the future because I'm sure they're. I'm impressed by the logistics. I'm impressed that they got it digital and not a peer to peer way. Because, like, Depop and Poshmark and ebay are all that specific model is peer to peer. It doesn't work on a huge scale. Like, Thredup is taking in everything into a warehouse, taking a picture of it, putting it up themselves. It's really impressive, but it's a whole thing.

[Shan]

So my daughter works at Thredup now in the warehouse.

[Sarah]

Really?

[Shan]

Yeah. It's interesting. Worked in the sorting at Goodwill and that works at Thredup. And of course, I always have questions. You know, my first question was, like, what do people send in? And her response was, a lot of stuff. They should know better. Like, she's like, there's a lot of gross stuff that comes in. Wet stuff, stained stuff, bloody stuff, you name it.

[Guest]

Why does everybody give wet things?

[Shannon]

Like what?

[Shan]

And just weird. I know, I know, right? Like, I said, what we. We used to be a Proper society, you know what I mean? But yeah, it's coming in there. Or like one sock, you know, and you're like, come on, guys, guys. But the other thing I'll just say is like the process, the sort of like logistical structure that an item takes, the logistical path that an item takes when it comes into the warehouse and then is ultimately like sold to a customer is pretty epic and interesting. And to think that like no one else had done that before and they had to build like the entire software from the ground up, you know, like for tracing these things through. And like one person will sort the item, put it on the hanger, it goes on like a sort of a conveyor belty thing up to the next person who takes the photos and then the person who measures it and anything else. Like, it's like they made this, you know. And so my hope is that like we can continue to innovate about upon that. But I also. So I'm always like, how could we make shopping in real life secondhand easier and more convenient? Like, what's the big warehouse store version of thrifting where you go and you're like, I'm looking for containers, baskets, whatever, and there's a whole wall and it's like organized and a pretty robust offering and you find what you need there. And maybe I am delusional and that could never happen. I don't know.

[Guest]

One thing I really appreciate that bargain does, and I know a lot of our customers do. At least in terms of clothing, we color coat everything. So we have like, for women at least we have like, or women presenting people. We have like a plus size section and that is sorted. Like all the white shirts are together, all the black shirts are together, all the dresses that are like shorter in one. So it's like still kind of that like department store feel, but at a thrift store level. So I think for a lot of people that's more helpful because like you some like church thrift stores and you're just like, there's clothes on the ground that I'm stepping on actively. There's like hangers everywhere.

[Amanda]

I don't.

[Guest]

And it's just like, can be overstimulating and like, so some people are just like, all right, I'm out. Like, this is. This is a wreck. Like.

[Shan]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think we need, you know, going back to kind of going full circle here. When you talked about how like, you know, savers feels massive to us is only like what, 3% of like the thrifting happening here in The United States. Thinking about how diverse the ways you can shop second hand are and the sheer volume of, we'll call it inventory potential inventory that's out there right now. It seems like there is a lot of room for innovation and growth and rethinking how we do secondhand, which is sort of exciting. Like, for all the. I don't know, I think about, like, for example, if you are a person who works in like clothing retail at this point, like, it's really, really hard to do something new in the world of clothing that hasn't been done before. Right. But. And that's the same with many fields. Like, even if you're a writer or a painter, sometimes it's like I can't think of any new ideas because they all have been used. Right. But here's an area that is still so new, strangely enough, even though it's been around for a long time and so ripe for innovation and creative thinking and like people being trailblazers there. Like, I would love to see more people who are good at solving problems like this really focus their attention there and try new things.

[Shannon]

Yeah, I agree. And I see bits and pieces of it. There are some interesting startups in Philadelphia. There's one I was reading about who's trying to focus on kids toys, specifically. Just kids toys.

[Shan]

Oh, I saw that.

[Shannon]

And like, that's amazing.

[Shan]

Reuse.

[Shannon]

And also maybe like, renting, I think was the model of like renting toys for an age group and then giving them back.

[Guest]

There's like a space in East Falls that does that. I don't know if that's what you were reading about, but I've definitely seen like, that bottle.

[Shan]

I feel like they're doing it online or something. I saw that article too. I need to track it down because I was like, I should reach out to them. I'm so intrigued by what they're doing. I just wouldn't be cool. Yeah. But I. I do think, like, specialization can be a part of it. That's a great point, you know? Yeah. Because to say, like, I'm gonna be the place that has everything. I mean, it only it doesn't even really work well for Target and Walmart, you know, like, you just can't have everything. But. Yeah, I just feel like I feel kind of excited to get more and more people involved in secondhand and not even just like shopping secondhand, which is an important part of it, but also thinking, like, what are things we can try? How can we do it better?

[Amanda]

Where did.

[Shan]

Where is an area that is kind of, like, complex and really impactful because people buy so much new stuff. How do we change that? How do we funnel that into a reuse model? Yeah. Well, it was really nice to talk to both of you today. Do you have any, like, final thoughts, things you want to get out before we stop? Oh.

[Shannon]

I don't think so.

[Amanda]

Thank you to Sarah and Shan for taking time to share more about Bargain.

[Shan]

Thrift center with us.

[Amanda]

I'll be sharing all the ways you can find Bargain Thrift center in the show notes. And of course, if you find yourself in Philadelphia, you should stop in and tell them that you heard about them on Clothes Horse. I think often about how we actually believe it or not, need more secondhand shopping options that are IRL and that offer a range of shopping experiences from highly curated to just contemporary clothes to entirely secondhand home items. We need even more creative reuse centers and even more secondhand building supplies and. And all of the other kinds of secondhand stores. And we need them across the world in small towns and big cities and everything in between. And yes, I know that many of these types of stores already exist, but we need even more if we're going to make shopping secondhand first. Second nature for most people. So maybe you'll be inspired to start thinking about creating your own highly specific secondhand business in your community. I don't know.

[Shan]

I hope so.

[Amanda]

You know, this is just like a random thing that I think about. It's a random place I've been, I guess, that I think about when I think about the future of secondhand. Right. If you're driving from the California desert into Vegas, you will often pass through this town called Prim. That's the word, Prim, with two M's.

[Shan]

And there's like a. A casino there.

[Amanda]

And there's basically, for lack of better description, a dead mall there. And there's one store in it, and it's in what was once an H and M. So it's huge. And it's entirely a secondhand store. It's called Sani Thrift, which, you know, to be fair, sounds very sanitary, but it's just a huge secondhand clothing store and it's very organized. And basically because it's in this huge H and M, it feels just like going to a regular store at the mall. It just happens to only have secondhand clothing in it. And I think that that is, like, so cool. The last time we were in Vegas, we went to a new location of Sandy Mart that was in a little strip mall where there's Like a Trader Joe's and a coffee shop and some other stuff. And it was really like, I don't know, it was like clothes for living your desert cowboy lifestyle, right?

[Shan]

So there was a lot of denim.

[Amanda]

And flannel shirts and workwear, and it just had like a very curated vibe to it, but it was entirely secondhand. And I love the idea of, like, here's just a highly curated, very specific customer secondhand store in a strip mall. And I also love the idea of just a huge ass secondhand store in a mall.

[Shan]

Right?

[Amanda]

Now, of course, the location of Santa Thrift that is in the Prim mall is. Well, it's in a dead mall. It's very weird when you walk out, you can still walk through the mall. There might be a couple things in there, but it's very. There's nothing, right? It's very quiet and weird. But imagine if we could have secondhand stores in malls. I mean, that's my dream. If anyone wants to give me, like.

[Shan]

Millions of dollars to invest in that.

[Amanda]

I would absolutely run that company. Because I just think, how can we bring more secondhand to more people and make it just as natural to them as going to the mall, right? They don't have to know anything about thrifting. They don't have to bring a tape.

[Shan]

Measure like I do.

[Amanda]

They don't have to worry about are things clean or in good condition or working condition or anything like that, because they can just confidently walk into a store and know that and know that everything there is good and curated just for them. So anyway, just my thoughts on the future of secondhand, which of course is another thing I could talk about for hours on end to wrap this episode up. I'm starting a new sort of like, tradition around here, and that's ending each episode with a reason to feel optimistic. Because I know it's really hard right now to feel okay, but when we lose all hope, the worst things win out. Fascism, climate change, bigotry, plastic pollution, loneliness, you name it. So holding onto hope and staying motivated by that hope, they're really important. More important than ever. So why am I feeling optimistic this week? Honestly, I'm feeling so excited about how many people have been getting involved with boycotts and sticking with it over the past few months. My threads feed alone is full of people who started boycotting Target back in early February, and they are going strong. In fact, the empowerment that they have gained from doing that has actually motivated them to reexamine other aspects of their own personal shopping and consumerism. And now they're like, canceling their Amazon prime accounts and skipping Walmart and breaking up with mindless shopping, and they're looking for joy and fulfillment in other places. And I will tell you, no matter what the platform is, I heart every single post I see across all of the platforms where someone is saying, wow, quitting Target or Amazon has started this whole new range of habits in my life. And even better, what I love even more is someone who's like, I've never been politically motivated. I've never participated in anything like this before, and this is changing my life. And it's true. This is radicalizing people, right? This is amazing.

[Shan]

How could.

[Amanda]

How could we not be excited about that? I'll tell you, I had a moment earlier this week. I was in the bathroom. I was just like, coughing and coughing and coughing, trying to brush my teeth. It was a bad combination, right, if you've been there. And I just. I just felt so deeply, like, panicked and deeply full of despair because I'm sitting there coughing and trying to brush my teeth and my brain is like, like thinking about everything right now. That is scaring me. It was just so much. I mean, I've been alone and sick for weeks now, so my brain is definitely feeling more sad and anxious than usual. And I just sat there feeling like, wow, everything is so fucked right now. And I'm like, coughing toothpaste all over this bathroom.

[Shan]

It was just. It was just terrible.

[Amanda]

And then, and just as fast as I thought that, just as fast as I thought, everything is so fucked right now, I realized that wasn't entirely true. I thought about all of the people getting involved in these boycotts, all of the people that I see having epiphanies about over consumption and how unhappy it makes them. And I felt. I felt optimistic. I felt so hopeful that we really are at a pivotal moment right now, right at this exact moment. And you know what? This. This is something I have been wanting to happen for years. People are realizing that we buy too much stuff and it doesn't make us happy. And because we are so unhappy, we keep putting more and more coins in this, like, consumerism machine that doesn't care about us, it doesn't care about this planet, and it seems to have no actual future in mind for any of us. And here we are right now, at this moment. People are seeing that. People are feeling that people outside our bubble of slow fashion and anti capitalism, they are ready for a change. They want to be a part of that change and they want a better future, too. Now, more than Ever. We have this incredible opportunity to connect with people around us, to share what we know, to get them kind of gassed up and motivated to make change too, to, as I've been calling it, reduce, refuse and resist. Now, I do want to present this.

[Shan]

With a caveat, right?

[Amanda]

It's not really a caveat.

[Shan]

I guess it's just like something I want to call out here.

[Amanda]

As I talked about in the last episode of the podcast, we tend to think that misinformation is only a problem on the MAGA end of the Internet, right? With all the like the fake news media nonsense. But it's actually, as I said last week, a big problem on the left side of the spectrum too, and we can do better. One example of misinformation I have been seeing within my, my corner of the Internet is that Target has lost $15.7 billion in profits since rolling back DEI. And while I would love for that to be true, it is actually false. Target has not yet released sales data for Q1 2024. And by the way, Q1 from a fiscal year perspective is February through April. So we're actually like smack in the middle of it right now. And these boycotts have been happening in Q1, so we'll see that information in like May, June. We just haven't heard about the business impact of these boycotts yet from any of these big retailers. And that doesn't mean we aren't having impact. It's just not how this kind of information is communicated. Furthermore, this whole like $15.7 billion in profit number that everybody is very confidently sharing, it's low key, impossible, because last year Target did about $9 billion in sales each month. That's sales, that's not profit. So for Target to be losing $15.7 billion in profit, they'd probably have to be missing completely, like just utterly closed down for like three, four, five, six months. So this is just like a number that doesn't make any sense. The math does not. Math. While Target has seen a drop in stock price this year, that actually happened before the DEI decision. That doesn't mean we won't see more declines as people boycott. But we have to be patient and it means that we have to wait until this quarter is over. Because really what these companies need to see, to believe that this is real, to actually act upon it, is to see a sustained period of lost sales. Not just a week, not even just a month, but if they could see a whole quarter, this is, that would be game changing. And so we need, we need to stick with it. And once again, like, this doesn't mean that because we haven't heard anything yet, that boycotting isn't having impact. Because I actually believe that it is. We just are not going to know for a few months, right? We can't give up hope. Things like this take time. So we need to keep it up because boycotting isn't an instant gratification kind of thing. Making an impact requires patience and commitment. And we're playing the long game here together, right? I'll tell you, these retailers are hoping that we get discouraged and bored before the end of this quarter so that they can report in their earnings call that, yes, sales started out slow because of boycotts, but then went back to normal because people kind of got over it. So we cannot quit what we're doing. We cannot give up. They, they want us to get discouraged and bored. They want us to get back to shopping. We cannot give them what they want. Let's reduce, let's refuse, let's resist, and let's keep it up. Because it's really a way of life. Ultimately, consumerism keeps us apart, it keeps us struggling, it keeps us lonely and kind of sad and ready to buy more. The most revolutionary and radical things we can do right now are stop shopping so much and, and connect with the people around us. This is the time to do that. I mean, it's always been the time, but now it's like super, definitely we're doing this that time and we can do it. I'm excited to look back at this year and say, wow, that was when the big good changes began to happen. So let's make future history now, together. Thanks for listening to another episode of Clotheshorse.

[Shan]

Written, researched, edited, hosted all the things.

[Amanda]

By me, Amanda Lee McCarty, who I also just want to say is very proud that I recorded all of this without coughing once. It's a dang miracle. My friends, if you like what you're hearing, please leave. A Rating, a review. Subscribe. Tell your friends you know, all that stuff. I also just wanted to throw out here because sometimes people ask, ask me, is there a platform where I can listen where you'll get paid for your work? Well, technically, no, there is not because Spotify and Apple, they don't pay for my content no matter how much people listen to it. I don't make any money off of them. And actually my platform charges me the more the episode is downloaded, which does not mean that you should not download or listen to the episode. Please do that, because those metrics are great. And important and they tell the algorithm to show Close source to more people. But if you are thinking about like or interested and I guess I would say ways that you could maybe actively help Clotheshorse, maybe make money down the road. If I can get enough listening hours on YouTube where every episode of Clothes Horse is available, there's no video just but there are captions in case you would prefer to follow along with captions. If I can get another I think it's like a thousand listening hours in the next few months I can start monetizing on YouTube which means then I will get paid for people to listen to close horse on YouTube. So if you're interested in doing that please you can Find me on YouTube as close source podcast just like everywhere else. And also if that's too annoying for.

[Shan]

You, you don't need to do that either.

[Amanda]

If you did want to support my work financially, there are many ways you can do that.

[Shan]

You can learn about that in the.

[Amanda]

Show notes in my bio on every single social media platform that is Instagram, Facebook threads, bluesky, Tumblr and Substack where I am always found as Clotheshors podcast. Thanks as always to my other half, Mr. Justin Travis White, who is coming back from tour in just a few days. Thank you to him for our music and audio support and I will talk to you all next week.

[Shan]

Bye.

[Shannon]

Sa.