I find it shameful that a used clothing store feels it can price items higher than comparable new products, as has been discovered by myself, family and friends on recent vv trips. $14 for a used t-shirt, no thanks.

I know just how you feel! I absolutely adore Value Village but you’re exactly right : higher prices, lowered quality.

@Kay, Christina: Agreed, they have forgone quality and customer support. Oh, and still no response from Value Village. So disappointed!

It’s Value Village. It’s not designed for middle class individuals who pair vintage shirts with $250 Rag & Bone jeans, it’s designed for the homeless and people on welfare who don’t give a f*&% about style because they just need to be warm in the winter.

Honestly, until you are dirt broke and living in the gutter, stop complaining about paying five dollars more for a shirt. Suck it up, go somewhere else to spend your “hard earned” money.

@Jocelyn: If the store is designed for those ‘dirt broke and living in the gutter’, then you should be outraged at the pricing as well. How the hell would that demograph be able to afford the pieces that we should apparently just shut up and buy? They can’t.

They price them higher because I believe Value Village is owned by WalMart

@Julia: That actually isn’t true; details here

The owners are billionaires and live on Lake Washington near Seattle, the contributions they make to charity is about 10% after paying minimum wage to their employees, they take about 75-90%. The son of the founder even stated “We’re not in this for our health” Quit phoning me and leaving flyers for donations. I will give to a non profit agency or a church.

@Ricky Alan: I was in Value Village today and saw an abundance of $30-40 used jackets and felt very ill remembering your comment… was a corporate disguise of community assistance they’ve got.

I enjoy shopping at Value Village, but after reading the following artical it sheds a whole new light on the company. I encourage you to read it, it makes the skyrocketing prices even more outrageous.
http://www.grabnewsmuseviews.ca/jan08/valueVillage.html

I’ve noticed a steady increase in prices over the years such that sometimes an identical new item is cheaper than what VV marks it for. But hey around here its seems they are in it for hallowe’en now. I used to check out my VV every week now 2 months can go by.

TOTAL AGREEMENT – I have been going to Value Village for years and the prices were very reasonable for the times. Well times change and after one of the worst recessions in history, Value Village appears to have changed as well. With most retailers cutting prices to meet the needs of the consumer, Value Village have increased their prices dramatically. A vase that used to sell for $7 now sells for $50, obviously they are trying to offset the 30% rebate provided by their new shoppers card by charging 700% more up front. As far as fueling the “Treasure Hunt” for collectibles, forget it, if the staff that price the items even suspect the item could have minor collectible value it goes straight into the display case at prices higher than your local Collectible, Sports Card or Antique store. But prices are not always ridiculous, I was in the Polo Park Value Village in Winnipeg recently and noticed a rare antique quartersawn oak table mysteriously appear at the front of the store near closing time on a Sunday with a price tag of $12 on it. “Already Sold” was the answer I received when I asked, strange, I was in there the day before and never saw it on the floor, I suspect the item was priced and purchased by staff or management and held in the back until the weekend was over. Anyway, I thought this was ironic, since at the time, I was holding the pieces of a broken chair priced at $40, hmmm. WAKE UP FOLKS, you can find lower prices and higher quality at many many other stores that don’t tug on your heartstrings. This is the tug that Value Village uses to justify their prices because they “Parter” with Charities. While most ethical companies merely state they give or support charities, Value Village will have you believe they provide a much greater benefit to the community than they really should take credit for. A penny for the Charities from your $50 bill… SHAMEFUL in this economy!!! So instead, GIVE to the Salvation Army, they’ll make sure your donations go straight to the folks that really need help, right on the street, right in your community…

$39.99 for a pair of used Nike sneakers. Need I say more? Their prices are ridiculous, and their services is pitiful. I got yelled at by an employee for looking at the clothing on a sorting rack at the end of a clothing aisle, because she was “trying to put those clothes away.” Now, the book prices? Seriously? They’re pricing their books at just under half of the cover price. That’s unheard of. Anything worth purchasing is prices so high that you can’t purchase it. They just come across as a bunch of greedy bastards, to be honest.

last week,I donated a glass bottle which i bought at $ 1 at dollar store, I found it is selling $3.99 today.

AN OPEN LETTER TO VALUE VILLAGE HEAD OFFICE, SINCE I CANNOT FIND AN EMAIL ADDRESS FOR YOU:

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am sending this letter in sincere gratitude for having the policy of not taking books back for exchange/refund. This policy will immeasurably improve my life.
For the past ten years, Value Village has been my store of choice for everything from household needs such as dishes, stemware, etc to sporting goods, to bedding, to clothing for everyone in my family and extended family. I rarely have spent less than 300.00 per month shopping in your stores. I have shopped at Value Village stores from Vancouver to Winnipeg and all of the cities in between. I have also taken most if not all of my unused articles back to Value Village in my hometown to be recycled, upcycled and enjoyed by others.
Last week I spent over 100.00 for books and a few miscellaneous items. After returning home and having a better look at the books, I decided I did not need to add them to my huge library of books, many of which also came from Value Village. I do not usually return my mistakes back to the store, instead, I put them in a bag to be picked up by Big Brothers, or I donate them back to the store about 4 or five times a year. In short, I have mis-spent a lot of money in the name of thrift, and have sucked up my mistakes.
This time, though, I thought it would be prudent of me to take them back and purchase something else, since you do not have a policy of giving back the money spent in haste, or even providing a credit to be used at another more convenient time.
In thanks for my years of loyal service, I was informed that they cannot know for sure if I read the books, therefore I could not return them. That is very funny, considering that Chapters/Barnes and Noble/ and all new book stores will take back a book even if it is returned a month later. It is very likely that any book I buy at Value Village has been read by someone, since they are donated, but you have a ridiculous policy that just in case I got some benefit from the item, it cannot be returned. (by the way, I did not read them; I could not have read all of those books in only a few day’s time.)
As I said in the first paragraph, although this did cause me some consternation at the time, due to the thousands of dollars worth of donations I have made, plus the outright purchases, I realize now that your policy has done me a favour.
Most of the time when I buy things at V.V. I don’t really need them; I simply justify my reckless purchases with the fact that they would cost a lot more if they were new items in a department store. It is a false economy as I end up with much, much more stuff than I need.
I have decided not to shop at any v.v. store from this time onward. If I really need something, i will treat myself to a new version of it and in the process will end up with much less junk , a cleaner home, and more peace of mind. Also, If I do decide to save money on clothing, there are a lot of other consignment options in my city, which I haven’t tried yet.
Once again, Thank you for waking me up and making me realize that your store has made me poorer and more stressed out than I need to be. This was truly a gift. I may even share my experience and the freeing outcome with others that I know who suffer from the same addiction. It would be such a wonderful thing for them to also be set free from this “thrift” habit.

I am SO glad I read up on Value Village charities that call for donation requests. I just went back outside and picked up my donations and will be bringing them to the Salvation Army myself. I can’t believe what a money-grab VV has become – it’s reeks of greed.

today I had to exchange an item at Value Village on Walker road in Windsor, Ontario, it was a bag that contains a ruler (which I’m concerned about) among office stuff that I don’t need, I found out that the ruler is broken, while I’m shopping I had to try a trousers, as a disabled person I needed the fitting room that designated for people with disability so I can set and take off my prosthetic leg to be able to put on the trousers as I can’t stand on one leg to do the job,I asked the employee for the key of a usually locked room, she gave me a face of suspicion then I voluntarily had to give her a sign of my disability to bless her, I finished my shopping and went to do the exchange and checkout, the same employee has surprised me with refusing to exchange the object claiming that the bag does not carry the tag that identify the contents, it was tagged with Electrical Assortment, I said it is the one that was on it originally then she called an employee that suppose to be the manager, the time she arrived to me she asked her colleague is he the person who keeps exchanging the bags, I said what (surprisingly) are you accusing me of some thing, she said no but it is the same way that the tag has been stapled on so many returns besides the tag does not identify the contents, I said I had to open the bag to discover the broken piece and it is the nice way to put back every thing in the same bag and restaple the tag together with the bag besides it is not my problem if the tag does identify the contents, she said YES it is your problem we don’t have such a mistake, I said OK you can keep it, you need it but I don’t, it is only $1.99 out of $60 bill take it as a donation then I went back to the wall in the store where they usually kept such items and picked-up couple of office stuff containing bags that have the tags of Electrical Assortment(the same mistake that they denied) and took them to the same employee, where the manager was disappeared, I asked here if these bags are containing any electrical objects in them, she said no, I said but they carry Electrical Assortment tag so now you know who is mistaken and who is bad, I expected an apology or some thing like that, but nothing has happened they were very cool like no one has been hurt just like a professional murders they don’t feel sorry for their victims.

your prices are totally off the wall and do not assist anyone on a budget? Do you want to sell this stuff or just keep it?