An Aussie woman has slammed charity shops around Australia for selling used clothes at much higher prices when compared to brand new items in Kmart, for example.
She took to TikTok to express her disbelief by sharing a video with the caption: ‘What’s a scam that’s become so normalised that we don’t even realise it’s a scam anymore?’
@raiimouse #stitch with @debtcollective #thrift #poverty #scams #lifeline #australia #kmartaustralia ♬ Love You So – The King Khan & BBQ Show
The anonymous woman said the high prices at stores such as St Vincent, Lifeline, and Red Cross, are way off compared to what these shops used to represent.
‘The fact that it’s more expensive to buy the same singlet from Lifeline or St Vincent De Paul than it is to buy it brand new, off the rack, at Kmart,’ she said in the video.
‘Like it should not be more expensive to buy something secondhand than it is to buy something brand new,’ she added.
‘I don’t understand why these charities still need to make so much profit when all the people that work for them are volunteers. It’s not actually helping poor people anymore to buy things from there.
She clarified by saying that although those who operate the charity are probably paid, the majority of people who work at their storefronts are volunteers.
Social media was quick to agree with her, with many claiming that low prices at these stores are long gone.
Someone commented, ‘Thrift shops used to be so cheap in the 90s and early 2000s. Not anymore.’