Let me guess: most of you have at least once wondered how thrift shops work. How are they making money if the prices are so low? Where do they get all those clothes, sometimes rare and unique? We asked ourselves the same questions, so let’s find out together.
Talking about the source of the items sold in thrift shops, there are a few ways how they usually get the products. One of them is donations, which come from like-minded people who instead of throwing another piece of clothing away, would rather give it a second chance. Many people have clothes which don’t fit them anymore, or they changed their style, or for some reason they bought too many clothes which simply occupy too much space in their wardrobe. As a result, they would either choose to donate them or sell them at very low prices. Big chains of thrift shops for example have special collecting points, where people can bring and donate everything they want.
This may work a bit differently for vintage stores, which are usually smaller, but have more rare and unique items that are priced a bit higher.
Let’s take a real example from Szputnyik in Budapest: some members of their team are always travelling the world and visit markets and fairs in order to give rare, high quality items a second chance. They can find treasures, which may not be appreciated by some people, but with a bit of effort they can be transformed into something really special. After finding that unique piece of clothing or accessory, it goes through a cleaning process and finds a place on their shelves.
Thrift shops are also a place for local artists to have the chance to show their talent. Sometimes an ordinary jacket, T-shirt or any piece of clothing could be made into something very creative and unique. This is another way of getting nice collections, which in reality were nothing special until they got upgraded by local designers.
As we can see, thrift shops could get their collections at a low cost, however, there are many other operational expenses, which should be covered, and are included in the relatively low price of their garments.
Therefore, according to a few studies conducted in the U.S., a medium sized thrift shop could generate a profit of approximately $12k per year, which is not much at all. A good period for thrift shops, however, is considered to be the time during a recession. When the economy is growing people tend to donate more clothes, and during a recession people tend to shop more at these kinds of stores. Therefore, thrift shops were called a “recession-proof” business.
Usually, money is not the primary motivation of thrift shop owners. For most of them, owning a thrift shop is more than a business, this is their hobby, the occupation of their life which combines their passion for treasure hunting and the desire to be sustainable and save the planet.
We hope you learned something new and had fun at the same time!
Don’t forget to check us out on Instagram to see where we’re currently hunting and see you soon!
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