I went to the Salvos shop today. I used to be virtually the only middle class person I ever saw there. Now there are heaps of soccer mums ratting through everything.
There used to be heaps of pumpkin patch and other designer kids clothes, and quite a few good toys. I could buy entire Playmobil sets for $2 a year ago. Now the Salvos shops are selling that for $10, and even then it gets snatched up before I can find it.
The salvos and vinnies shops in affluent suburbs used to be an absolute gold mine. People would just chuck out anything. It got so bad that you couldnt donate anything to that shop unless it was designer label or in pristine condition.
I talked to the guy out the front and he says yeah, heaps of people are trying to save a buck but on the flipside, no one is leaving much good stuff in the donation bins anymore. They will sell it on gumtree for a few bones, people want to hold onto as many dollars as they can.
I also used to be able to buy the 85c bread at Woolies, even late at night. Now it is all gone by the afternoon.
Is this roughly in line with others' experiences?
Times are tough, retail spend is down. That's what it boils down to.