Salvation Army Thrift Stores

17 years ago

Where I live in Canada, 2 Salvation Army Thrift Stores have closed this month. The economy must be really bad for a second hand store to close.

I never shop retail anymore, always go to the second hand stores and love to go to garage sales in the summer. But, it looks like maybe more and more people are not buying retail and therefore cannot donate to the second hand stores.

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Comments (9)

alisande
17 years ago
Well, that's discouraging! I heard that donations were pretty slim at the SA stores in our area.
marilyn_c
17 years ago
The Habitat for Humanity Re-Store in a nearby town closed.
I am pretty sure the ones in Houston and Pasadena are still open. I used to love going in there. It was a thrift store for houses, and I have bought some cool things there...light fixture, antique door with a beveled glass, a toilet, an avacado green 1960's wall oven in near mint condition, and plants. I got a 6' tall, white bird of paradise there for $10.
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When it comes to giving to a charity, I would choose Salvation Army hands-down over Goodwill. I know about the good work they do from personal experience. The Salvation Army provides people in need with shelter, food, and clothing. They feed the homeless and needy on a daily basis, providing meals to them at the shelter, boxes of food to those that have none, as well as food baskets at Thanksgiving and Christmas. They give people vouchers to get free clothing from their thrift stores. They have an angel tree at Christmas that provides gifts for children. They do not discriminate against anyone, LGBT or otherwise, so please stop passing on that lie. The Goodwill calls itself a charity, but how can a charity justify paying it's executives millions of dollars a year in salaries ? They say they train the handicapped so they can get jobs.They did employ some handicapped people at one time, but I've rarely seen any in recent years. My sister worked part-time at a Goodwill years ago to supplement her S.S. income. When she worked there I believe they allowed their employees to take whatever clothes they wanted from the sorting room. Other items had to be put out on the floor and workers had to wait 24 hours before they could buy them. You have to understand that these places are overwhelmed with clothing donations. If you walk into a thrift store you will see mostly racks of clothing, so if they discard clothes or sell them to the rag man to be recycled into rugs, it's what they have to do.
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Don't usually brag... but I will about some of my thrift store finds. A Cuisinart food processor, bought in hopes of just having an extra bowl, ended up being larger/stronger model... $8! LeCreueset square grill pan, blue enamel outside (NOT chips or cracks), non-enameled cast iron inside (tiniest bit of easily removable schmutz in ridges... $5! Cuisinart burr coffee grinder & ice cream maker (wish I always had ROOM in freezer for insert)... at website about $50 or more... at thrift store maybe $5 each. BRAND NEW KA digital (7 speed) hand mixer... $69.99 on box... $5 for me. Spend a HUGE amount (for me at least) on a BIG lot of Fiestaware at a yard sale. A dozen dinner plates, salad/sandwich plates, mugs, probably 20 bowls (soup/cereal) and a few extra items... $50. If an item looks CLEAN, barely/rarely used... in box with manuals... and CHEAP... I'm interested. Bought a bread machine at a yard sale... cuz never had on, was curious, and it was still TAPED in plastic in box. Used it for a while, got bored with it, cleaned it up REALLY well, and donated to one of favorite thrift stores. Like they say, one WOMAN'S trash is another WOMAN'S treasure!
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pattico_gw
17 years ago
I don't shop Salvation Army stores in our area....they are so dirty...

The Goodwills on the other hand have built all new buildings in Omaha and Council Bluffs...the are kept clean.

And their junk isn't as junky...lol

patti
User
17 years ago
Ours have been begging for donations. Some of the stores only sell like new stuff in perfect condition with the tags still on. I don't have brand new things to donate so I usually take my donations to another thrift store that isn't so picky.
enjoyingspring
Original Author
17 years ago
Funny, in my area the Salvation Army stores are really clean and the Goodwill stores are dirty.

I guess it depends on who is running them.
jannie
17 years ago
Two Sally's near me have closed down. At one of them, people still drop off bags of clothes.
tami_ohio
17 years ago
I like our Goodwill stores, but hate our Salvation Army store. Not only was the SA store dirty, but the help there were really nasty and rude. I figure if that's the way they want to treat people, they didn't need my business or my donations. Goodwill gets it all! Its a shame they are having to close.

Tami
sjarz
17 years ago
That is strange because in tough economic times second hand and thrift stores usually thrive. I wonder if the stores have done it to themselves by charging too much - where I live the Sally Ann's prices are definitely alot higher than they were in the past, and often you can get the same item cheaper buying it new.
The privately run thrift store here still has very low prices, I tend to go there more than the Salvation Army.
Suzan J
bonjo
17 years ago
There was a news clipping recently that several second hand stores were going to close because of the economy. Went to a huge one in Santa Rosa CA on friday only to see that it is going out of business. How sad, this does not feel like a recession to me, this is more like the depression that my grandparents described.

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Salvation Army Thrift Stores

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