The Ugly On New York City Thrift Shops

Mercedes Estevez recently moved from California to the Bronx. She loves fast-paced city life and being exposed to a variety of cultures, making the transition an easy one. The sun may not be as frequent a visitor, nor the beaches as plentiful, but the city is still enthralling, if in a more shadowed, secret way.

Estevez does have one issue with New York, however: its thrift shops.

“You see this shirt I’m wearing?” she says, pulling at a salmon pink tank top with elaborate lace and sequins. It looks as though it could have been purchased at The Gap. “I bought it in a California thrift store for 95 cents.”

Estevez’s budget is tight. She shops at thrift stores for most of the things she needs. One major difference she finds between California and New York thrift shops are their prices.

“I’m not going to pay $15 for a shirt someone else has worn!” she exclaims. She believes that on average, New York thrift store prices are three to four times higher than those in California. She believes that there is nothing thrifty in these deals.

Besides, Estevez finds New York selections to be smaller and of worse quality. She has browsed stores for hours and emerged with nothing.

“In California, you’re not going to find things with holes in them or gross stains. If anything, those items will be in a separate section for incredibly low prices, like 50 cents to three dollars maybe, depending on what it is.” In New York, she says, it’s common to find odd smelling pants or t-shirts with underarm stains.

Estevez believes that, in the long run, not much is saved at the average New York City thrift shop.

“It’s better to just browse the clearance rack of your local chain store,” she says.

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