A content creator from Brisbane has gone viral after she put her local op shop on blast for picking through her donated clothes, claiming they were only after the branded stuff.
In recent years, thrifting has become one of the most popular ways to shop. It’s a perfect opportunity to find rare items, an opportunity to upcycle, donate to charity and it’s a form of sustainable shopping. Gotta keep Mother Earth happy!
However, Jessy (@jessyxsw) has slammed her local Vinnies, claiming that one of the workers was “picking and choosing” through her clothes when she attempted to donate them in-store.
“I’m sorry, but when did donating clothes get so exclusive?” the Brisbane woman began in her TikTok, which now has more than 127,600 views.
“I showed up to my closest second-hand store and the guy was like ‘we’re not really taking donations right now ‘cos we have too many clothes,’ and he was like, ‘what do you have though?’” she continued.
“I was like ‘Well, I have a $200 dress in that pile. I’ve got all branded stuff and it’s practically new.’ And then he was picking choosing my clothes.”
Jessy went on to claim that the employee acted in a way that he was “doing her a favour” by taking her donated clothes. Towards the end of the video, she said that another woman attempted to donate clothes however she was rejected by the same shop.
“The guy didn’t even let the lady donate clothes, like what?” she said.
Punters who have come across Jessy’s video expressed a mixed bag of thoughts, opinions and emotions.
Some folks suggested that the TikToker should donate to other avenues such as domestic violence shelters, Facebook community groups or homeless shelters. Others said she should’ve gone to the Vinnies clothes bins rather than a storefront. However, in a reply to a comment that made this suggestion, she claimed she’d been looking for a bin “for [a] while” before hitting up her local shop.
Other users slammed Jessy for her behaviour, with one person calling her attitude “incredibly entitled” and another writing it was a “weird thing to get mad about”.
One user who claimed to previously worked at one of these establishments said that the employee was making sure the donations weren’t rubbish.
“I used to work for an op shop and it’s because we were sick of people using up shops like a bin and getting rid of things nobody would wear instead of giving clothes a second life like you were,” they said.
Other folks who knew employees also suggested that this was what the employee was doing.
“My mum works in a similar shop and they have to do this or people send in trash. The terrible quality/spoilt/mouldy clothes in bag fulls,” another person wrote.
“They don’t have the resources to deal with the tons of rubbish they receive. The whole point is that they can resell,” wrote a third.
As of writing, Jessy hasn’t posted an update in regards to her Vinnies trip and it seems like Vinnies has yet to respond to her claims.
According to the Vinnies website, folks can make donations at stores during business hours and the donation bins.
You can also call your local Vinnies on 13 18 12 if you have donations that need to be picked up from your home, however, this is only available for selected stores.
PEDESTRIAN.TV has reached out to Vinnies for comment.
