Finding a recipe book for only $4.25 at Village des Valeurs, or even a cutlery tray for $2.85 at Renaissance, these may seem like bargains… unless the Winners label still stuck on the book proves that it is only $2.99 and the IKEA website says the cutlery tray only costs $0.99.
“It’s special when I see that; underneath, you see the Dollarama label, $4 or $3, and then there, you see that [le Village des Valeurs] put it at $4.99. »
Jessica Laplante-Tremblay often shops in thrift stores to find affordable items to decorate her home and dress her three young children. However, the prices of items sold in businesses like the Village des Valeurs make him doubt that buying second hand is always a bargain, especially when these thrift stores resell items from other brands for more than their original prices.
His video “Comes to the Village of Thieves” denouncing this problem has accumulated nearly 75,000 views on TikTok.
Elle n’est pas la seule à avoir constaté ces disparités de prix dans les magasins d’occasion. « Une paire de leggings : on a regardé la grandeur et on a vu l’étiquette du Dollarama qui était 4 $, et le pantalon était rendu 9,97 $ [au Village des Valeurs] », denounces Annie Lavallée, a primary school teacher who buys in thrift stores out of ecological concerns.
A widespread problem
In the week of June 10, The Press visited three Village des Valeurs and six Renaissance locations in Montreal and Laval. In all but one, we found items from other stores still bearing their original tags showing a lower price than the resale price in thrift stores.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Village of Values on Pie-IX Boulevard
Dollarama, IKEA, Winners, Walmart: Overpriced items often come from easily recognizable retailers.
A salt and pepper shaker set in poor condition was listed for $5.99 at the Village des Valeurs on Pie-IX Boulevard. The same set new at Dollarama? $4.25.
A coffee mug sold for $4.97 at Walmart is resold for $8.85 at the Renaissance in the Côte-des-Neiges district.
A search on IKEA’s website quickly reveals that the Socker plant pot, resold for $2.99 at Value Village, is worth $1.99 at the Swedish company.
50¢…$1…$3
These price differences may seem small, but for some customers it is a matter of principle.
It shocks me, I say to myself: these are gifts that they receive, why sell them more expensively?
Annie Lavallée, primary school teacher
This isn’t the first time such price disparities have been noted at major thrift store chains. In February 2024, CBC reported on a similar issue at Value Village (the parent company of Canada’s Value Village) locations in Toronto.
Read the CBC report (in English)
“For consumers, it creates discomfort because there is an inconsistency between the positioning, the orientation of the second-hand brand, and the practice as such, [soit] “the price that is displayed,” says Myriam Ertz, an expert in sustainable consumption and marketing.
Several of these mislabeled items identified by The Press were found in branches of Renaissance, which is a non-profit organization whose mission is socio-professional reintegration. This status also allows it not to impose taxes on its items.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Renaissance Thrift Store on Pie-IX Boulevard
Category pricing policies could have played a role in this phenomenon, believes Mme Ertz. “The minimum price to sell a book in certain thrift stores will be maybe $1 or $4 […]but it turns out [que] This is higher than the selling price in Dollarama-type stores. »
Inflation, which also affects the second-hand economy, could be another factor. “The costs are higher for thrift stores and they have to pass that on to their selling price,” explains the professor at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.
Labeling errors?
A Renaissance representative maintains that these are simply labeling errors.
“They are human. We have a lot of participants [employés] at each store. Each thrift store is a place of learning for people who are returning to the job market,” says Linda Pimparé, assistant director, communications and marketing, of Renaissance.
She says customers who notice these price differences can negotiate a price adjustment. “They have to go to the cash register and we will find a solution,” assures Linda Pimparé.
The Village des Valeurs agrees. “On average, a Value Village/Village des Valeurs store in Canada sets the price and merchandise of approximately 30,000 items per week,” explains Sara Gaugl, director of communications for the American company. “We encourage our customers to speak with a store manager if they believe an item has been inadvertently mispriced, so we can remedy it quickly. »
Virginie Tremblay has experienced this. For this mother, these disparate prices are not so serious. “I think that people at the sorting center see a lot of them and sometimes, they may not pay attention,” says the woman who has been visiting thrift stores since she was young, while rummaging through the selection of baby clothes at a Renaissance. “You can tell them: hey, that’s not the right value, is there a mistake? Sometimes, they’ll accommodate you, sometimes, not.”
The Press also did the test and the answers were varied. In our three attempts at Renaissance, two items were reduced. At Village des Valeurs, one item was reduced, the other was not.
What the law says ?
Article 224(c) of the Consumer Protection Act states that “no trader, manufacturer or advertiser may, by any means whatsoever, demand a higher price for a good or service than that which is advertised”. “Thus, the consumer is entitled to demand the lowest price indicated, regardless of whether the label affixed to the item comes from another store. In the event of refusal by the trader, the consumer may contact the Office [de la protection du consommateur] in order to file a complaint,” assures Marie-Pier Duplessis, communications advisor for the provincial organization.