Is Value Village marking up new products? Some shoppers in Canada say so

Some second-hand shoppers in Canada were left in shock after seeing some of the recent price tags at Value Village.

The thrift store chain is a for-profit retailer selling donated clothing and items, including anything such as furniture, electronics and toys.

In the past, it's been a place where Canadian shoppers could buy what they need at a discount, compared to regular retailers. But that might be changing, according to some social media users.

On X (formerly known as Twitter), one user shared side-by-side images of children's sandals with an original Dollarama tag still attached.

The Dollarama tag priced the slides at $3, while the Value Village sticker stuck on the shoes priced them at $6.49.

A user identified as Katie (@BlueJayGirl), questioned the company's decision to charge that amount — and she wasn't the only one who found it odd.

"We noticed that Value Village went up in all of their prices. We didn't buy anything," an X user responded to the tweet.

"So, the rumors of questionable bargains are true!" another added.

It's not the only recent case of Value Village accusations on social media.

Other X users have recently taken to the platform to call out the outrageous prices they've seen at the secondhand store.

Earlier this week, a Reddit user from Ontario was disappointed to see a board game in its original packaging being sold at the thrift store for more than the original tag.

A photo in the Reddit post showed the "Sorry!" game, still wrapped in plastic, with an original tag priced at $9.99, suggesting a comparable price would be $14. On the front of the game, however, a Value Village tag priced the game at $14.99.

"Times are tough. People need to save money and still enjoy life," the caption of the post read.

"But when a brand new, still-in-the-shrink-wrap game from Winners that sold for $10 is donated for free and marked up to $15... then that's just greed, not inflation," the poster alleged.

More people came forward with similar experiences in the comments.

"Several times I went to Value Village to look for planters, they were outrageously priced. Many day to day use items are overpriced at VV," one person wrote.

"You should see their markup on collectables like video games, it's more than anywhere else," another added.

According to Stock Analysis, the Value Village parent company earned a gross profit of $563 million in 2022 — up by 15 per cent compared to the previous year, and a whopping 90 per cent from 2020. The company also reported its second quarter results for the current year, showing growth.

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