With inflation and supply chain shortages, thrift stores in Burlington have their moment (2024)

Battery Street Jeans in downtown Burlington is crowded on a Monday afternoon —with both clothes and people. Customers and staff sift through densely populated racks,looking to find their next great piece of clothing. It's almost as though the ciytdoesn't live in an increasingly online, virtual world.

But in Burlington, crowded thrift stores is nothing new. As the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic pushes on, thrifting in Burlington is just as vibrant and key to the community as it was three years ago.The draw of online shopping is not for everyone, and the busy Burlington thrift stores exemplify this.

Jaime Barratt, a shopper at Replays in South Burlington, filters through the racks at the store as he tells me why he's here and not in front of a computer.

"I don’t find it to be a very useful way to shop really. It’s quite unsatisfying." He said.

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Thrifting in Burlington was long-established before second-hand fashion became trendy in the larger culture.But stores such as Battery Street Jeans and Dirt Chic, also in downtown Burlington, aren't immune to the changes brought by the last few years, both good and bad.

Unlike other businesses, thrift stores' inventories have not been hit by the pandemic. In fact, COVID’s hadquite the opposite effect.

AnyaHuneke is the owner of Dirt Chic, a thrift and consignment store on Main Street in Burlington. She has noticed an uptick in inventory through the closet-cleansing and isolation days of the pandemic.

“We had a lot of people come out of lockdown with a ton of stuff they needed to get rid of, or wanted to get rid of. So, we really, we were hit with a lot of, I guess, a surge in the supply side of things," Huneke said.

The online market has aided thrifting during this pandemic age, as thrift stores have turned to the web to reach customers without having them physically be in the store.

On Dirt Chic’s website,Huneke details what she hopes for those who visit the store. “My hope is that everyone, no matter the size of their wallet, can walk out of my store with a great new wardrobe and the intention to come back,”she said.

Hanna Sher, a shopper at Replays, echoes Huenke's sentiment.

"I just think there's enough clothes." Sher said. " I don’t want to spend that much money on designer clothes. So, I will take the time to find really nice quality clothes that are already made.

At Dirt Chic, "we want to make all kinds of fashion, and including high fashion, accessible and affordable," Huneke said.

Customers frequent Burlington area thrift stores for good quality, accessible clothing, but lately, that's not been the only motivation. As the world turns more virtual, more people are turning to thrift stores for what's known as re-selling.

The reselling phenomenon

COVID-19 pushed society even more online than it previously was, and online shopping has never been more popular. The thrift stores in Burlington don’t fight the trend.

At Dirt Chic, the staff has developed an eye for what they call in the thrifting world “reselling.” When people come into the store, they have gained a sense of those who are there to shop, and those who are there to resell online.

The reselling phenomenon is something of a small business in itself. Someone can go into thrift stores — or any store for that matter —and buy items to then sell them for a higher price on sites such as eBay.

Huneke displays a quiet opposition to this phenomenon.

"There is a little bit that stings a little when we try to make it affordable and then we know that they buy it to turn around and resell it and make money because wedon’t really want to be used asa way for people to make money,"she said.

Battery Street Jeans is just as aware of the phenomenon, but they don't fight resellers at all. Employee Isaac Dow said he makes "most of my income" as an eBay seller, and owner Stu Sporko has seen people from Boston coming up to the store to source items for the online marketplace.

Sporkosaid he doesn't mind this.

"A lot of times resellers as your best buyers, because they have the money to buy, and they are frequent buyers" Sporkosaid.

A Burlington base

Online retailing has increased exponentially in the last few years. According to Statista, online retails sales totaled $1.5 billion in 2015, while 2021 sales reached $4.9 billionworldwide.

Inside thrift stores in Burlington, it doesn't feel like the world is shopping online. That's because here, the community is still showing up.

Each thrift store in Burlington is different, from the clothes they sell to the music on the speakers, but the thing that unites them all, and keeps the thrifting culture alive despite the challenges of the past few years: the support of the Burlington community.

At Battery Street Jeans, staff members run the store but also work with what they call "the free bin." The staff here re-stocks the bin nearly daily,which sits in front of their store on College Street. Sporko notes just how much of a resource the bin is for the community.

"Isaac picks up two car loads of clothes and it’s gone within a day." Sporko said.

Huneke praised the local community when discussing her store "Alot of people did what they could to support and keep us in business," she said.

Kate O'Farrell is a reporter for the Burlington Free Press. You can reach her at KOFarell@freepressmedia.com.