Yet another store in Ontario is being slammed for hiking up its prices in recent weeks, and it’s likely the last one any shopper would expect.
Residents trying to scrounge and save as the cost of pretty much everything climbs will already know to be hyper-vigilant while checking prices at grocery stores like Loblaws and Metro, where basic staples are being jacked up to highs that exceed general inflation.
But, consumers have also been finding overpriced items at pharmacies and even discount stores usually known for being more affordable.
Value Village may not record the hundreds of millions in earnings that the aforementioned supermarkets have been — though, to be clear, the second-hand retailer is a for-profit enterprise — but its pricing methods are coming into question as customers look closer at the cost of goods.
One person shared an interesting find at their local outpost of the thrift shop on social media this week, noticing that the sticker price on an unopened board game donated to the retailer was substantially more than that which it was originally purchased for.
“Times are tough. People need to save money and still enjoy life,” the user wrote alongside photos of the Sorry! game they found on VV Boutique shelves for $14.99, which still had a tag from when it was first bought at what looks to be a Winners, Marshalls, or HomeSense.
“But when a brand new, still-in-the-shrink-wrap game from Winners that sold for $10 is donated for free and marked up to $15 — which if my math checks out is a 50% markup — then that’s just greed, not inflation. C’mon!”
The price on the original sticker does indeed read $9.99, which is significantly less than the Value Village label seen in the images.
- You might also like:
- IKEA's newest Toronto location is about to open
- It's about time these nine stores made a Canadian comeback
While the brand has dealt with backlash over the perception that it has upped its prices in the last few years, it did not respond to a request for comment about ridiculous markups like these.
According to chatter from former employees and others familiar with the company online, pricing can vary from store to store and employee to employee and be more dependent upon staff discretion than corporate direction to keep average prices at a certain level.
Follow Channels and Categories