ORLANDO, Fla. — The Salvation Army scheduled a Black Friday
sale. Used toys are selling quickly at Children’s Orchard. Even parents of
fussy teenagers are rushing to the Plato’s Closet resale store.
In these frugal times, more shoppers are buying Christmas
presents at thrift and resale shops.
The National Association of Resale & Thrift Shops
reports that about two-thirds of its members saw higher holiday sales in 2008,
and the group expects that to continue in 2009.
Jean Heller, who lives in Polk County, Fla., has joined the
ranks of thrift-shop holiday consumer.
A retiree on a fixed income, Heller used to spend anywhere
from $500 to $2,000 on Christmas. But she tired of putting herself in debt to
pay for the holidays. This year, at a Clermont, Fla., thrift store called Well
of Hope, she says she bought gifts for 20 family members on a budget of $70.
“My whole back room is stuffed with presents,” she
said. “I just have gotten everything my grandkids love. … I am just so
thrilled I was able to do Christmas even though I don’t have the money.”
Experts say shoppers’ attitudes about buying secondhand have
changed as resale shops have evolved. Many now offer a good selection of
name-brand merchandise and offer extras such as gift cards. Some even offer a
smattering of new merchandise, too.
“They’re not like dingy places that smell funny or are
filled with castoffs,” said Sara Noel, who runs a Web site called Frugal
Living and writes a syndicated newspaper column on frugality. “It’s a
booming business.”
In a nod to the trend, the National Retail Federation this
year added thrift and resale shops to its annual survey of where shoppers will
spend their holiday dollars. It found that 11.4 percent of consumers planned to
shop at such places.
“I think people are starting to look at the thrift
stores in their neighborhoods in a different way these days,” said Kathy
Grannis, a spokeswoman for the retail group.
One particularly popular segment is children’s clothing and
toys. Many parents are buying secondhand gifts for their kids — who, after all,
don’t care if Santa shops at a thrift store.
At the Altamonte, Fla., store of resale chain Children’s
Orchard, used toys and books are popular.
“We put it up on the shelf, and it’s gone in 24
hours,” owner Jane Lockett said. Thomas the Tank Engine has sold
particularly well.
Once Upon a Child, another national children’s resale chain,
has seen similar trends.
Needing to budget more carefully after getting divorced,
Jane Onoyan of Orlando is buying gifts for her 6-year-old twins at Ocoee, Fla.,
store Once Upon a Child.
“I really like the idea of being able to reuse things
again and again,” she said. An extra bonus: Once the children outgrow
their toys, Onoyan said, she can bring them back, sell them and earn extra
money.
Matt and Tara Kelley have shopped at Once Upon a Child for
several years. But with three children now, they are increasing the amount they
are spending on the holidays at the resale chain.
This year, their Christmas finds include a Fisher Price 3-D
viewer for $4.50. The family also picked up a $12 three-piece outfit their son
will wear for a Christmas photo, with clothes from Old Navy and the Children’s
Place.
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The couple — who work as house parents at the Edgewood
Children’s Ranch — get “easily twice or three times as much stuff as we
could buy if we went to Toys ‘R’ Us or Wal-Mart or whatever,” Matt Kelley
said. “We really realized the importance and value of shopping secondhand
when you have kids and they’re growing out of clothes every 15 minutes.”
Once Upon A Child is part of Winmark Corp. The Minneapolis-based
company also owns Plato’s Closet, which sells used clothes that appeal to teens
and young adults.
Around the holidays, both brands saw sales percentage
increases in “the low double digits,” said Susan Baustian, an
operations director with the company.
Once Upon a Child stores plan sales and 6 a.m. openings on
Black Friday. Plato’s Closet stores decided against Black Friday sales, but
some were scheduled to open an hour early — at 9 a.m. — and people who buy gift
cards of $50 or more will get an extra $10.
Also, instead of giving customers the usual week for
returns, some Plato’s Closet stores will allow purchases made after Dec. 10 to
be returned until Jan. 10.
People have already tried to buy gift cards at the new
Waterford Lakes store that won’t open until Tuesday, district manager Sabina
Nowik said. Her stores’ December 2008 sales increased 15 percent when compared
with the previous year.
“It’s kind of become the ‘in’ thing for the
teenagers,” Nowik said.
It’s a big change from 40-year-old Nowik’s teenage years.
“If my mom would have told me she was taking me to a thrift store I would
have been like, ‘Yeah, right,’ ” she said. Now, “the girls are asking
their moms to take them in.”
At the west Orlando Salvation Army’s thrift shop, shoppers
last week had already begun perusing assembled Christmas trees. One with a few
strands of red tinsel was selling for $29.99.
On shelves of used Christmas decor, Tammie Mulcahy of
Orlando found a boxed candleholder for $2.99 and a Santa Christmas flag for the
same cost. “I was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ ” she said of
the prices.
The Central Florida Salvation Army thrift stores opted for
Black Friday sales, planning to open their doors at 6 a.m. and offer discounts.
“Normally we don’t figure ourselves to be in the
running for something like that,” said Justine Birmingham, who works in
the administrative office in the west Orlando store. But people are changing
their shopping habits, she said, and “it’s not just lower-income families
looking to stretch their dollars.”
Via McClatchy-Tribune News Service.
