Value Village shoppers enraged over 'insane' price tag on Converse shoes: 'Horrible'

Several shoppers are expressing their outrage at Value Village after a Canadian shared they found a pair of used Converse shoes for a hefty price.

Last month, a Reddit user in Saskatchewan posted a photo in the r/Saskatoon subreddit showing off a red Converse high-top Chuck Taylor shoe they found on the shelves of their local Value Village.

While finding a pair of secondhand Converse sneakers for sale isn't a difficult task, the $60 price tag at this particular Value Village left many people angry. The cost of a brand new pair of the same shoes is set at $80.

"Has Value Village lost their minds with their pricing?" Reddit user u/michaelkbecker titled his post.

In the comments of their post, u/michaelkbecker added that they also found a pair of "knock-off Prada boots stamped 'Made in China' for $50," along with an old Seiko digital watch that had "no strap or battery" priced at $150.

Reddit users shared their anger over the thrift store chain's "wild prices," with many admitting they've had their fair share of the same experiences.

"Lmao I'll just buy brand new in that case," one person joked.

"Like did they forget who they are? Not the first time they've been caught and accused of gross markups," someone shared.

"I stopped going to Value Village after they took away the change booths, reduced the rebate for donating their profits and changed the return policy to exchange only. Their profits are in the billions of dollars," someone else added.

"For this reason, I quit donating to Value Village," a Reddit user commented.

"Been ages since I shopped there. They're insane," one person replied.

"Jesus. Move that decimal one digit to the left," someone suggested.

This isn't the first time Value Village has faced backlash for its high prices.

A year ago, one shopper from Vancouver brought their outrage to TikTok after encountering several home decor items with high price tags.

"Value Village just needs to be called out," TikTok user @mrsniceguyy began in a video that was shared by another user. "They are getting out of control. You are objectively not committed to making 'secondhand second nature' when you want $5 for a dirty, old used garbage can, or how about $25 each for these pumpkin art pieces."

Around the same time in 2022, an online petition was created titled "Value Village needs to be humbled." Its creator, a university student named Brooklyn Trapp, urged people to boycott the retailer as its prices have gotten "way out of hand" and too high for many shoppers.

"This company needs to humble themselves," Trapp wrote in the petition. "Value Village, with this petition, we ask you to return your prices to reasonable secondhand prices as you are a for profit company and have absolutely zero reason to raise prices like this. And we know for a fact you aren't paying your workers more because of this price hike. Do better! We will boycott until the prices are lowered to where they used to be."

Yahoo Canada has reached out to Value Village for comment.

On its website, Value Village's top message is that it's "committed to making secondhand second nature," while sharing the sentiment of being "Thrift Proud."

"It's the thrill of finding 'this is exactly what I need,' the 'why not' and 'where'd you get that?!' It's one-of-a-kind finds for one-of-a-kind people," Value Village's website shares. "It's reusing, repurposing and upcycling, helping save the planet while saving a few bucks."

Some people suggest that shopping secondhand has become trendy over the past few years, with many younger adults buying thrifted items following a rise in popularity on social media.

"With apps like TikTok and Instagram being very prevalent in today's society amongst younger people, trends seem to become hyper accelerated," Harrison Snyder, owner of Grail Vintage and founding partner of The Street Market, told CityNews Toronto in March 2022. "A lot of people have now begun to focus on thrifting as a trend, rather than it being a point of necessity."

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