The Laughing OPSHOP
The Laughing OPSHOP
Has the OPSHOPS transformed? Price tags at the same level with major retail giants and ex business *stock goods that are slowly making its way on the front shop entrances. Uuuuu Scary.
The laughing OPSHOP
Gleefully laughing with its cunning hands rubbing together as it throws back its double doors, sucking in both the vulnerable and the resilient.
Catching the most vulnerable off guard and almost teasing with its generational curse of being a compassionate store, that offers affordable and almost garage sale like price tags. Teasing the young and old, the unemployed and the employed, the first timers and old timers, like bait on a fishing rod, catching the unsuspected fish by surpriseš®.
Wow! Thats dramatic. What a nightmare!
As I imagine an OPSHOP coming alive as you enter its doors and catching the buyers by surprise, with its eye watering prices that have slowly caught up to match retail prices of mainstream retail stores by the likes of Target, BigW, Kmart and the Discount stores.
You may be thinking "Why a laughing OPSHOP?" A.k.a Opportunity Shop.
A.k.a- Salvation Army, Second hand stores.
2023
Here's why I can imagine an OPSHOP gleefully laughing at the unsuspected consumers, especially at consumers sitting in the lower end of the pay cheque.
A conversation that's silently but slowly brewing amongst consumers of the most loved "OPSHOP stores" including non-profit organisations with a connection to charity trust funds, church organisations and small business owner antiques stores nationwide. (Australia)
Opshop-shopping for those on low budgets, for the bargain hunters, for the DIY interior designers, workplace party goers finding outfits from a certain era, and the thrill seekers of fashion bloggers feeding their appetite for designer clothing that makes its way to the bargain bins.
It's a gleeful laugh, when the most loved OPSHOP stores and the shopping experience, has turned abit more ruthless on its price tags from a few years back Pre Covid. The easy navigation of finding bargains in the clothing section, not surprisingly the women's and children'sĀ section being hit hard the most when it comes to price tag wars, effecting the most vulnerable of consumers. Yes, its not just David Jones or Target that are having price tag wars, but the OPSHOP is now joining the arena.
2019
I had brought clothing for as little as $2: Women's section for $2 -4 a dress top and kids clothing at .50 cents- $2 an item.
2022
You can be paying $6-$10 a pre-loved at an OPSHOP with *Target store labelled top. (where during sale time of the actual Store *Target)- they have sold a line rack of $2 a tshirts during a stock take sale or end of season clearance sale.
Being a well established concept since the 1880s by the Salvation Army.
OP SHOPs- Opportunity Shop, it has since evolved into common knowledge of expectations that, second hand or pre loved goods would be marked down 70%- 90% lower than the original retail price (if brought brand knew), keeping in mind that the goods had been donated through *Good Will and many reasons such as *Spring cleaning out wardrobes,Ā *generally supporting the needy and low income families, upgrading ones furniture and straight up "easy to giveaway than reselling etc.
Also taking into consideration and discretion, it's condition, value and scarcity due to product discontinued (example designer CHANEL bag at market price value to resell.)
It's interesting to note the amount of ex business stock goods that are slowly making its way on the front shop entrances.
I have noticed a trend in designer racks popping up inside a few stores, where store managers are separating designer finds and pricing it at 50% its retail cost example; a top from *Country Road costs $100 and than reselling to the public at $50.00 with a clear rack sign stating "Designer "
A mad *OPSHOP shopper myself and never shying away from an epic bargain bin, you always had a sense of finding and hoping to find, just that one gold nugget or nuggets of clothing that you knew was expensive or designer labels but was now selling for a thread of the cost ranging from $1- $4.00 and the gold rush of purchasing with all your collected silver and gold coins was just the climax of the shopping experience š
Growing up in Windy Wellington in the 90s, there were gold mines of small town second hand stores and also here in Australia almost 13years.
A treasure chest ready to be discovered by those hunting for antiques and retro styling to the hideously puffy brides maid dresses and the endless row's of books, literally collecting dust on a shelf.
But those lovely butterfly experiences may have turned into moths, eating away the golden affordable price tag's of the 90s
The scale of deception that OP SHOPs in my opinion may give you, NOT all, but do your investigations as you might find the same price tags could be purchased brand new at Kmart than purchased at an OPSHOP, with the same price tag but second hand.
I must add also, I have noticed that a lot of small business stock have been making its way into the OPSHOP stores and still carrying their full retail price because it's still labelled *as new.
If your a customer with low income, coming into the store with a common knowledge or the mentally of *second hand store being cheap and affordable, and you walk in seeing price tags with full retail priced items, like recently I've seen (bamboo pillows have sold for $25.00 each and beach towels at $14.00 each, all *as new tags, on them.)
I did ask one of the volunteers if there was any leeway of bargaining down the price but the reply was "these items are brand new, and expensive" I'm thinking "yes dear I know, there the same price at Kmart."
Yes, we can all say "everything is going up" from the Rent crisis, mortgage interest repayments, food shortages, climate change,Ā clean energy deal, the war on Ukraine, President Trump, Meg and Harry, the Liberal party and The Never Ending Story. But we also have to watch out that the (*Good old OPSHOP doesn't turn its head into something that it wasn't meant to be.) (A normal retail store with cost price in their margins.)
"How does this align with the name OPSHOP and *The OPSHOP shopping experience of being *cheap and affordable for those in hardship situations or going back to its founding existence of being the *The opportunity shop."
The laughing OPSHOP may have a big mouth and the many pulling power of its positive existence, but it's an important issue worth reviewing on its price tags and values as it once was.
The Opportunity Shop.
Caution ā ļøĀ I ā¤ļø OPSHOPS & ALL CHARITY NON-PROFIT SECOND HAND STORES.
It's my own opinions and observations during my comparisons and analysis on my personal experiences during my teens in the late 90s to now as a 40year old, of shopping and purchasing goods from OPSHOPS and second hand stores nationwide in both Australia Perth and Brisbane, New Zealand Wellington and the South Island -in no particular order.
