Shopper says Value Village resold doll she donated for five times the price
After donating a doll she had purchased from Value Village, one shopper claims she was surprised to find it on the shelf listed for a much higher price.
A Toronto-based poster in a Facebook group called Value Village Rip Offs and Obscene Price Hikes (The REAL rant page) shared her experience, stating that she finally had “something to complain about.” She said that several years ago, she had purchased what appears to be a doll of Edna Mode, a character from the animated superhero film The Incredibles.
“I bought this for $4.99 at Value Village years ago,” she wrote. “My daughter played with it a bit but wasn’t crazy about it, so I sent it back.”
She alleged that a few days after donating it, she returned to the store and found the same doll on the shelf in even worse condition and at five times the markup.
“Not only is it trashed from being there [for] two days, [but] look at the ridiculous price they put on it,” she stated.
She included a photo of the doll she said she purchased for $4.99, now with a $24.99 price tag.
The doll, which includes voice recognition, appears dishevelled, with pen marks on its face.
A search reveals an eBay listing for a brand-new version for US$31.99 or C$45.80.
eBay.com
The experience seems to have left the shopper disappointed and with donor’s remorse.
“Yup, won’t be donating to that one again,” she wrote. “Should have just listed it for $5 on Marketplace, but I honestly didn’t think anyone would even pay that for it. This pricer has big dreams, yo.”
Daily Hive has contacted her for more details.
Another Facebook group member posted photos of price tags on used toys from well-known brands being sold at Value Village.
“Wandered into VV to walk around and look,” she wrote. “Yikes. Prices have gone up crazy high.”
She claims that a used life-sized Disney doll, priced at $149.99 at Value Village, was being sold for a higher price than at the nearby Walmart. Another photo shows a used Cabbage Patch Kids doll retailing for $49.99.
“The dolls in these photos are used,” she stated. “The one in [the] box is not anywhere near ‘new in box.'”
It’s not the first time Value Village has been in the spotlight for its product pricing.
Rachel Paterson/Facebook
In one instance, a Canadian dime soldered onto a safety pin was listed for $3.99, while a stack of unwashed bowls was being sold for $10.
A Value Village sorter who worked for the company in the summer of 2023 told Daily Hive that employees had to sort through 250 pounds of items daily.
She said that to price items, employees had to check the internet for their value and assign them accordingly, especially “when they’re expensive items.”
In an email to Daily Hive, Value Village stated that team members at stores across Canada price around 4 million items weekly, with items priced at an average unit retail price of around $6.50.
“With the large volume of items processed, we may sometimes miss the mark,” they stated. “We value customer feedback and encourage shoppers to speak with a store manager if they feel an item has been inadvertently mispriced so we can quickly address the issue.”