“A Thrift Vigilante” Is Putting Hidden Messages in Overpriced Secondhand Store Finds

If you've visited a thrift store recently, you may be one of many folks who've been hit with sticker shock when perusing an establishment's wares.

And it seems like a nameless hero who visited the same thrift shop TikTok user @happyvibes1983 did decided to take a stand against these price hikes by leaving hidden messages for shoppers.

"OK, I'm at the thrift store at 2nd Avenue and I just found the craziest s--- ever," she flips her camera over to reveal a glass jar with a ripped piece of paper inside with some writing on it.

As it turns out, the message contains a helpful bit of shopping advice.

"You can buy this brand new for $1.28," someone penned, just in case anyone who was interested in buying the jar didn't know they'd be able to get a never-before-used jar at a lower price point.

"I can't even, this is so funny," the TikToker adds in another text overlay of the video. After placing the note back inside and flipping the jar around to reveal the price tag — it retails for $2.99 at the secondhand store.

"There's another one right here," she states in another part of the video. This time, it's a hexagonal jar that has yet another note inside of it. "This literally is a used jelly jar like from a recycling bin you could literally pull this out of the trash," she reads.

Just like the other jar, she flips it over to reveal the price: $2.99 and sets it down, only to look at another jar that's beside it which also urges folks to purchase the same jar for half of the price at Walmart. The thrift store's cost? $3.99 — she gasps audibly and starts to laugh loudly.

Throngs of social media users have called out thrift stores for their increased prices over the years, like this one TikTok user who called out Habitat for Humanity for purportedly price gouging its customers on charges for secondhand items.

And then there was this Goodwill shopper who was stunned by the amount of money it was charging for its goods, highlighting price tags on camera at the store and noting that the popular retailer, Walmart, was selling brand new goods for less money than Goodwill was asking customers to shell out for used items.

There are countless examples of this practice, which has left shoppers confounded as to why so many thrift and secondhand stores expect their customers to pay a bunch of money for their wares, and one Redditor thinks they know why this has become the case, at least at Goodwill.

In a viral post uploaded to the site's r/thriftstorehauls sub, they wrote: "So I was working at my local goodwill and I saw a paper under the clipboard with our schedule. Our processors (those pricing items) have quotas and they’re WILD. Like thousands of dollars of merchandise they’re expected to put out a day. I know our store’s daily sales goals are usually about $10k, so I can logically assume they’re wanting the processors to collectively put out about $70k/week."

According to Looking Fly on a Dime, who reached out to a representative of Goodwill and asked why the stores prices are becoming so expensive, they issued a statement informing the blog that much of Goodwill's profits are being used to serve veterans and youth activity programs.

The rep went on to state that a whopping 92 cents of every dollar at Goodwill is allocated directly to charitable contributions, as well: "To do so, we rotate goods, run weekly sales, and have a shoppers' award program for frequent shoppers. Still, please remember every dollar you spend at Goodwill is put to incredible use, benefiting the less fortunate members of your community – in fact, 92 cents of every dollar supports direct service, whether to single mothers, people with disabilities, veterans, kids, or others in hard circumstances looking for an opportunity to create a better life."

TikTokers who responded to @happyvibes1983's video remarked that they weren't too enthused about seeing Goodwill's prices, either. Like this one person who wrote: "Goodwill prices are crazy lately! It’s almost comical."

Another seemed to appreciate the notes being left by the fellow shopper, writing: "I’ll be honest, this may be my new hobby," they penned.

It seemed like someone else had the same idea, too: "I have joked about doing this for about two years and this is giving me the validation that I should."

Others were just miffed at what thrift stores have been charging its customers recently: "I saw a candle that still had a TJ Maxx clearance sticker on the bottom for $8. Goodwill was selling it for $15."

Another user on the app remarked that they noticed the change happened right around the time fervor was fomented around reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic: "The sad part is before the pandemic I could find boxes full of canning jars for under $10."