As a child, I recall visiting antique stores and garage
sales frequently, with my mother. The concept of money was
too vague for me then, but I was enamored of the vast
array of miscellany that humans collected.
As a youth I discovered thrift stores, and the bric-a-brac
that still fascinated me now became a treasure trove of
possibilities that even my limited teen budget could
explore. To make it even better, my interest in computing
coincided with a torrential upgrade cycle that filled the
thrift stores to overflowing with computer hardware. It was
an exceptional time.
Now, as an adult, I view thrift stores in a slightly
different light. I'd like to explore the function and form
of thrift stores by breaking them down into two categories,
then examining a few thoughts on thrift stores in general.
## Big-city, Prosperous Thrift Stores
I suggest and assert that large populous centers are hives
of consumerism, designed to create a cycle of labor and
commerce. For a long time, these populous centers produced
enormous amounts of waste, up to and through Time Magazine's
1955 "Throwaway Living" society, and well into the 1980's.
Then something changed, an society shifted gears toward
today's recycle-centric modes.
The result, in our time, is a host of well-known, well-
marketed chain thrift stores that are found in and around
large city centers. The need to keep waste out of landfills
is a tribute to society's engagement with frugality. The
cynic might also say that enterprising capitalists saw a
means for producing more wealth, by creating jobs for those
who may be difficult to employ (in the case of Goodwill,)
and creating product for those with limited means. The wheel
keeps churning, spending is increased, and a badge of civic
responsibility is earned.
Politics aside, the thrift stores in every large city I've
visited (and I make a point to visit thrift stores when I
travel for personal or work reasons) are filled to the brim
with clean, usable wares. They often carry new clothing
donated by corporations (styles that did poorly, or overflow
from stock-related issues.)
## Rural, Poor Thrift Stores
A friend, years ago, planted the following seed in my mind
relating to thrift stores. As best I can recall, they said
something like this:
"<tfurrows>, you really shouldn't shop at thrift stores.
When people who can afford to shop at a regular store choose
to go to the thrift store instead, they're taking away from
the people who can't afford the regular stores. Just think
what would happen if everyone shopped at thrift stores:
there wouldn't be anything donated, and the shelves would be
empty."
Intellectually I agreed, but my actual experience told me
that there was *so much consumerism* in the places I lived
that the thrift stores would *never* be short on supplies.
Then I moved to rural America.
My first move to rural America was still on the west coast,
and still in a somewhat affluent town. Even so, it was
outside the reach of the major players in thrift (Goodwill
and Savers.) We had a few small-town thrift shops, locally
owned, with ties to local charities (such as the local
branch of the Humane society.) Their wares were donated by
the locals, and were therefore much, much more limited in
quantity.
