I was scrolling through my newsfeed the other day and saw a tweet that perfectly summed up a topic I've been thinking about a lot lately. The poster lamented the fact that "thrift" has shifted from an adjective to a verb, and that thrift shoppers have switched from low-income families to young, digital entrepreneurs. 

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It's a phenomenon that has been popping up everywhere and shows no signs of slowing down. Personally, I blame Macklemore. His 2012 release Thrift Shop made the practice cool, celebrating cheap purchases with funky beats and sassy rhymes. In fact, the clothes re-selling app Depop was founded in 2011 and quickly took off soon afterwards. Coincidence? 

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(I mean, probably.)

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Still, in recent years, thrift shops have seen a siege of affluent shoppers buying up attractive clothing from their racks and reselling them online at exorbitant prices. Questionable promises of "100% vintage" and "rare antique" are used to justify insane mark-ups that may earn sellers tens if not hundreds of dollars back on their original investment.

 

Some say respect the hustle and, in truth, there is a bit of work that goes into it. Sellers have to have an eye for fashion, a way of marketing used clothing to sound luxurious, and take a bit of a gamble with each of their purchases - after all, it may not resell.  

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The problem lies in the fact that these digital resale shops get their stock from mass-purchasing clothing at thrift stores' extremely low prices... prices that are low for the purpose of selling to a low-income customer base. The success of Depop and Instagram pages dedicated to this "business" has informed thrift stores that they could be selling clothing for much higher prices, just to a different audience. 

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The shoppers thrift stores are intended for also see their selection go way down, as a result. While you can argue that there's plenty of stock to go around, re-sellers intentionally buy the cutest, chic-est, and "diamond in the brought"-est pieces. These are items that low-income customers would otherwise never have the chance to get. 

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Some of the more admirable of these re-sell stores take the time to customize items. They don't simply purchase and mark-up the clothing, but instead will exhibit a talent on it, like tailoring, embroidery, or reshaping. Again, however, these remade designs are sold at high prices - the original thrift shoppers will not be enjoying these creations. 

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It's a bit like selling gourmet food... but sourcing all of your ingredients from the food pantry.