Heck no!! OP, even if I were a billionaire I would be thrift store shopping all the time. My reason?

Sometimes in thrift shops, you can find items that are virtually impossible to find anywhere else.

Sure, it can take some work to dig through things to find those precious items, but well worth it when you score.

Plus, I love buying pants/shorts that are already worn in. Shoes I tend to skip however. Too gross.

I love to buy decor for my home there.

I hardly ever buy new clothes, but buy from eBay and second-hand shops. Am I poor? As much as 92K HHI is in this area. Am I wrong? Hell no. That is how I afford my children's extra-curricular activities and therapies.

I think some people confuse consignment and thrift stores where people purchase second hand clothing at a discount with clothing banks/ closets where people receive actual free clothes, which are actually hard to find, I know of one by the Krispy Kreme on Rt 1 South in Alexandria in a large Baptist church that is a free clothing bank that is open once a week.

Anonymous wrote:I guess there is an argument to be made that if one can afford to buy a pair of jeans for $50, but chooses to buy jeans at a thrift store for $5, then that person is taking the jeans away from someone who has a much smaller clothing budget.

While this may not be the case in less populated areas, here in the DC metropolitan area, there are very few, if any, thrift stores that don't have far too much inventory. Most of them regularly run sales/discounts and try to clear off the racks to put out more inventory. They want to sell more. To anyone. As someone else mentioned, they are in business to raise money for charitable purposes, not as a property redistribution system to the less well off. That is an added bonus to what they do.

I shop for my DC at a kids consignment store for clothes first before a regular store. I can get a lot more for less $$ and it's all in great condition.

yes its gross

Man, I hate this thread for putting that song by Macklemore back in my head.

So if we find an apartment at a good deal, should be not take it because someone else needs it more?

It's not like anyone is taking out of a donations pile reserved strictly for people who are low income. The point of a thrift store is to sell secondhand merchandise. it is not specifically for poor people. And those that are tied to a charity generally sell secondhand merchandise to make money for the charity (example, 10% of proceeds benefit Cancer Research).

It doesn't matter who buys - the more they sell the better the store does.

There have been several threads on this. Some people mistakenly believe that Goodwill etc exist to get goods to poor people. In fact the stores are fundraisers for their actual charitable projects. They are happy to have anyone purchasing. Now if you are pulling free coats from the local coat drive..that is totally different.

I guess there is an argument to be made that if one can afford to buy a pair of jeans for $50, but chooses to buy jeans at a thrift store for $5, then that person is taking the jeans away from someone who has a much smaller clothing budget.

I'm not personally saying making that argument, however. That's like saying I should never buy anything on sale because I can afford to pay full price -- I should just let other people get sale goods. Personally, I shop at thrift stores with no guilt, and I also donate to thrift stores. It's the great Thrift Store Circle of Life.

The more people who shop there, the more the thrift store makes to donate to charity. Why would they want to limit their sales - so they can make less? Makes no sense.

I've been to many thrift stores and not once have I seen a sign saying Poors Only.

My husband used to have this opinion but he now loves that I shop there. What constitutes 'needy'?

This opinion is similar to those who didn't want Rosie O'Donnell to shop on the sales rack since she can afford to pay more.

What? No,the thrift stores are businesses.Why would they limit who shops in there? It's not like they are running out of inventory.

Do you think it is wrong for non-needy to shop there?