The screech of metal hangers against racks greets you at the door of Salvation Army in Santa Monica. A stale, familiar scent hits, and suddenly you’re immersed into a whole new world of bins and hangers — one of thrifting, trading and reselling. Once a safe haven for those who rely on discounted, secondhand clothing, thrift stores around Los Angeles have become a battlefield as prices have raised due to the increase in thrifting appeal to teenagers. This inflation pushes those with genuine needs into a situation with limited access to affordable clothing.

The influence of social media on thrifting has rapidly increased over the past few years. Thrift hauls, vintage styling tips and “before and after” upcycling tutorials flood social media platforms, gaining thousands of views. Entire subcultures have formed of different thrifting aesthetics like “grunge” or “coastal cowgirl vintage.”

While this shift in the generation of thrifters promotes sustainable fashion and creativity for a young demographic, it also creates a high demand for thrift stores‘ supply, ultimately raising prices. The persisting popularity of thrift stores has begun to create shortages of certain clothing pieces, such as jeans or t-shirts, especially in urban locations, making it harder for low-income shoppers to find affordable clothes. 

Love the City Thrift Shop is a nonprofit thrift store located in Culver City. According to Census Reporter, 20% of Culver City families and residents qualify as low income, with 20% of households making less than $50,000 a year. Employee Calista Philips said most customers get the majority of their wardrobe from Love The City. However, the store was not considered a “mainstream” thrift store until recently, Philips said, when a video on TikTok of someone’s thrift finds gained more likes and views than usual. 

“We try to work with the lower-income households where maybe they can get clothes for their kids, or even for themselves or family members at a very low price,” Philips said. “Because we have a lot of low-priced items, we see many more people who really need to thrift.”

With many teenagers having access to TikTok and social media platforms, these thrift haul videos become extremely widespread. Philips said the videos inspire teenagers to thrift when they might not have done so otherwise. 

At Love the City Thrift Store, where women’s shirts are $3, and shoes are around $6, there aren’t any high schools in proximity.  On the other hand, Salvation Army in Santa Monica is located near high schools such as Santa Monica High School, New Roads and Crossroads. Prices for women’s shirts at Salvation Army Santa Monica are around $6, and shoes are around $14. Its proximity to high schools might explain why their prices have increased, Philips said.

Senior at New Roads School Maya Ryan has been thrifting with her friend since fifth grade. She mostly thrifts for fun. When shops know people are reselling something for more than they charge, Ryan said, they may be influenced to increase their market price. Ryan said this rise in resellers, someone who thrifts a piece of vintage clothing then sells it for more, has begun to hit more thrift stores around the country. These resellers often use platforms such as Depop, Poshmark or Vinted. For the thrift stores, it seems like a small change for a big bump up in profit, but for those who need to thrift to access clothes, it makes a big difference.

Thrift stores like The Council Shop have faced a similar phenomenon of a surge of teenagers, followed by prices being questioned. Many come hoping to find something “campy” or “out there,” according to employee Frankie Jimenez, who has been working at The Council Shop about a year. The idea of finding an uncommon style or design inspires teenagers, Jimenez said. 

“For the older people, I know [thrifting] is more of a necessity kind of thing,” Jimenez said. “But for the younger generations, it is probably a fashion and trendy thing. It depends on the age range.”

Sophomore Sophie Herbert is an avid online thrifter. Herbert uses Depop or Vinted to find her second-hand clothing instead of going in person. Herbert said online thrifting is more specific because often, you are searching for a certain piece instead of sifting through racks to find something you want.

“Over Covid, everyone was online shopping, [and] we weren’t able to visit at physical thrift stores as much as in the past, so more people were probably using Depop or Vinted,“ Herbert said. “The more people that use it, the more people will up their prices, and the cycle just continues.”

The presence of online shopping has had a large effect on younger shoppers, Ryan said. Online thrifting on websites has become widely popularized, as well. Items one may find at a thrift store for $3 will be resold for $10 on an online resale site. 

“I think that with the way the country is going economy-wise, thrifting is going to thrive even more for the younger generations,” Jimenez said. “I mean, thinking about the sustainability and the variety.”

Sadie Kaufman, a Salvation Army shopper, echoed Herbert’s concern for the price-raising trends among thrift stores.

“A few months after Covid-19 kind of ended, things got really expensive, and people were reselling things at crazy prices,” Kaufman said. “The prices have tripled, and there are things like Zara shirts I am seeing being sold at retail price.”

Still, sophomore Tessa Matzkin said the majority of the people who are thrifting need to go to thrift stores, especially in Los Angeles, due to the high cost of living. She believes thrift stores have to keep the high cost in mind in order to serve the communities they were meant for.

“I think that thrifting is a really good concept and can do so much good,” Matzkin said, “but particularly in Los Angeles, thrifting gets abused.”