Everybody likes a good deal. But for many these days, it’s not about liking a good deal. It’s about needing a good deal.
In response to the worst economic recession in decades, Evanston residents and students are cutting back on expensive items they can do without and turning to resale shops like Ort Resale on Chicago Avenue or Goodwill Industries’ stores in Chicago.
“Instead of buying retail, they come to a place like this,” said Ort Resale owner Walter Rodgers. Resale shops do better when times are hard, and in the last four months of 2008, sales were up 20 percent, he said.
“We’re economy-proof,” Rodgers said.
On a national level, Goodwill Industries has also seen sale increases. From November 2007 to November 2008, sales increased by 8 percent, said Cheryl Lightholder, Goodwill’s manager of communications.
“This is a very uncertain economy,” Lightholder said. “So why spend $50 for a pair of jeans at a traditional department store when you can buy some for $5.99 at Goodwill?”
Weinberg junior Eliza McNabb asked herself that same question. She shops at Crossroads Trading Co. on Sherman Avenue about once a month.
“They have really great clothes, especially designer jeans, for a lot less than department stores,” she said.
Like Crossroads, Goodwill is targeting young people, hoping to convince them that “adventure” shopping can be fun. It’s also concentrating heavily on the “green” aspect of resale shopping.
“I don’t think it’s a very tough sell,” Lightholder said. “If Goodwill does one thing, it recycles. Reduce, reuse, recycle. And I think young people are really into that.”
Some people complain that because Goodwill runs solely on donations, its prices should be even lower than they are. What they fail to understand is that Goodwill’s revenues finance jobs and job training for those who need help, Lightholder said. Out of every dollar, 92 cents is reinvested in services and programs at Goodwill, she said.
According to Rodgers, individuals seem more prone to helping each other out during a recession. Donations at Ort Resale have increased and the quality of those donations has improved, he said.
“As the economy gets tighter and tighter, those who really have are more generous and giving,” he said.
Goodwill has also seen an increased number of donors, though the average “poundage” has dropped, Lighterholder said. Goodwill is urging people to keep searching through their closets and donate.
Rodgers said he has seen “many new faces, from all walks of life” come into Ort Resale looking for lower prices. Abrey Heck, a student at Columbia College in Chicago, said she has been shopping more often at Crossroads Trading Co. because of the economy. She is looking for a job – and is having a hard time finding one.
But it’s not just struggling students who are out bargain-hunting.
“You’d be surprised who shops at Goodwill,” Lightholder said. “You can see Mercedeses and Lexuses in the lot. That’s probably how they get to keep their money – because they know how to shop.”
