Are op shops the latest victims of inflation and the rising cost of living in Australia? It's complicated.
Image: Leeyong Soo loves the thrill of finding interesting second-hand items at bargain prices.
"While they are beautiful and in great condition, I don't see why they warrant $200 and $300 price tags,” the narrator said of a rack of fur coats.So is the criticism fair, or is there more to the story? National director of Salvos Stores Australia Matt Davis said it’s clear that “Australia is going through a real crunch at the moment”, with a “larger number of people experiencing financial hardship, and seeking support”.
“When you're talking about those more exclusive items that are worth a bit more … you're not necessarily getting those for $5 or $10 like you might have 10 years ago,” he said.“If there's an item that's really worth a higher amount of money, then our teams are much better trained, much better aware of how to seek a higher price for that, because they are wanting to power our mission.
Mr Davis is keen to point out that the Salvation Army is still “fiercely committed to helping those that are doing it tough”, and offers a voucher-based program “where every year we give away $3 million of products for free for no charge at all”.DIY fashion enthusiast Leeyong Soo has been op-shopping for more than three decades.
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