Last Saturday, hubby and I went shopping as part of our date. We ended up at Value Village. I was in the market for a new hair dryer and straightener, and we wanted a Keurig coffee maker.
We went in and browsed wall art for a minute. We found the Keurig coffee maker, didn't love it, but thought it would do the trick. We quickly realized we needed a cart. I went and got it while hubby held the Keurig. Upon my return, I saw another display of coffee makers, including a nicer Keurig. We put the first one back and got the second one. I looked at hubby and said how good God is. He agreed. We walked through the bed and bath department on our way to hair dryers and straighteners. On our way through the bed and bath department, I saw a beautiful, pink, lace tablecloth. I quickly picked it up. It will look beautiful as a top layer of a skirt. Over a navy blue or maybe a red one. I quickly moved on in order not to spend more money. I love sourcing fabric, bed sheets in particular, from Value Village and sewing them into new items. We found hair tools and found a nice blow dryer and hair straightener. Fabric is expensive, but a bed sheet from a second-hand store is less than $10, and it’s about two meters. Which is what I need for a dress.
I looked at hubby and said, 'Okay, we've got to go before I spend more money.' he made a comment about being blessed to have a frugal wife. I replied, 'at least it's second-hand and thus cheaper.' We got to the cash register and used a coupon for 20% off that we received when giving them a bag of donations. Our bill came to $30.70 for 4 items. The hair dryer and straightener would have been $30 each brand new, and the Keurig is $80. God is so good.
I know that not everyone loves Value Village as I do. I also know that they are not the cheapest or best second-hand store. But, I spent my childhood shopping there and then I worked for them for a few years, so I know the good and the bad, and I will still die on a hill for them.
They are not simply a second-hand store that is rolling in profit. Has their quality gone down and their prices gone up? Unfortunately yes. But here's the truth about Value Village that the public doesn't know. Value Village works alongside non-profits. They are a for-profit business who work along side non profit organizations. Each location has a different non-profit partner. When you donate to Value Village, they collect the goods. Put it on a big cart, the size of your couch, weigh it on a big scale, pay the non-profit for the goods, then they sort the product accordingly and decide if it can be sold or not. Lots cannot be sold. Including household garbage. Yes, people have tried to donate garbage. Of which we threw ourselves out after paying our non-profit for it. Then it is hung on a hanger or put on a cart to be rolled to the floor and put in its respective department. If that item does not sell, we take it back off the floor and recycle it further. We make a bail out of it if it's clothing and other fabric, or in a box, of its a kitchen appliance. It is then shipped off and sent to another wearhouse to be processed again and then donated to third world countries to help them with their own economies.
So, the next time you start thinking negatively about Value Village or any other thrift store, please do your research. Before writing the rant portion of this post, I went to their website to confirm that the information is there, mainly so I don't get in trouble for giving out information that they may not want the public to know.
As I finished writing this post, I started wondering why they don't make this knowledge more publicly known. The Holy Spirit then reminded me that, like us believers, they don't need to defend themselves. And neither do we. God knows the ins and outs of that business just like He knows the ins and outs of our hearts, and in the end, it doesn't matter if anyone else knows.
So, moral of the story, I love Value Village, and God has blessed me with many amazing shopping experiences via that store since I was a little girl.
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