It's no surprise that costs are rising across many sectors of the fashion industry. This has led to the rise in demand for brands such as Shein and Temu, as many once-affordable brands, such as Old Navy, are charging upward of $50 for jeans.

Because these brands are charging more for their products, some thrift chains have decided that their used clothing should also hold more value, making it more inaccessible to the average consumer.

One shopper came across a few pairs of J.Crew shorts at her local thrift shop and shared her experience in the r/ThriftGrift subreddit.

"Today's thrift. J Crew Factory shorts. No words needed. These aren't special."

The user shared photos of J.Crew shorts in black khaki, denim tweed, and polka dot tweed. They were priced between $19.99 and $29.99 each.

During a J.Crew sale in July 2025, shorts were shown to be priced originally at $59.50 to $79.50, reduced to a sale price as low as $35.50. This means that the thrift store barely beat the price of new if the consumer waited until the end of the season to purchase.

Considering that thrift chains, such as The Salvation Army and Goodwill, only sell donated goods, the stores do not need to price items higher than what is required to cover basic operating costs. Goodwill alone receives 6 million pounds of donations, and only 10% to 30% of its inventory is purchased, according to EarthDay.org. It makes sense for items to be priced lower to move inventory, but instead, they ship off remaining inventory to developing countries such as Ghana.

Luckily, experiences like the one the OP had are not the majority. The benefits of thrifting greatly outweigh buying new, as it can keep money local to your area, keep clothes from heading to a landfill after only a few wears, and be a cost-efficient method for restocking your wardrobe without breaking the bank.

Regular thrifters have come across incredible deals such as a 10-piece All-Clad Stainless cookware set for under $100 and Louis Vuitton and Burberry items for under $30.

Commenters were swift to respond to this post, showing disgust for the prices, but not surprise.

Should it be illegal to throw away old clothes? Heck yes 👍 No way 👎 I'm not sure 🤷 Only if it's free to recycle them 🤌 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"Thank goodness my Goodwill has normal prices," one person wrote.

Another user responded: "These should be a few bucks. Certainly no more than 10."

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