Trendy NYC thrift stores fear US tariffs could obliterate business: ‘No small business can survive’

NY Post ^ | 04/22/2025 | Nicole Rosenthal

[ChicagoConservative27]

I dare you to look at the photo...

[Ann Archy]

EEK!!! NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!

[Jamestown1630]

Well, she does own a plus-size thrift store.

[cableguymn]

Pass.

But in what world does a teriff hurt a second hand store?

We sell used auto parts. The doubling of cheap Chinese crap will be good for my business

[FlingWingFlyer]

LOL! Babylon Bee should sue somebody for stealing their gig.

[ChicagoConservative27]

I bet she is pro fat

[cableguymn]

In price. Not quantity.

[Jamestown1630]

I don’t understand the article either. If tariffs deter people from buying new items, the business at the thrifts should go up, not down.

[cableguymn]

She hasn’t missed a buffet line that’s for sure.

Mr Kim cuts her off every time “you go now!”

[ChicagoConservative27]

HA

[Mr. Jeeves]

But in what world does a tariff hurt a second hand store?

Scary economic headlines mess with consumer confidence - and have a direct impact on consumer spending. I once created a chart tracking the daily sales movement in my company against the Dow Jones Industrial Average moves a day or two earlier - there was an eerily close correlation.

Of course now, with the legacy media deliberately spitting out scary headlines on an hourly basis, retail will get hit - even if the tariffs have had no actual effect, yet.

[simpson96]

I looked...

I feel like someone who couldn’t resist looking, even though they knew it was Medusa and they’d turn to stone.

[ChicagoConservative27]

LOL

[PUGACHEV]

I used to enjoy looking for antique men’s suits from the ‘30s and ‘40s in secondhand stores. Most of what I found were very small sizes, often 38 regulars, and the like. I could only assume one of two things: either people back then were universally much smaller, or the small sizes went unpurchased at the time and thus survived.

[Puppage]

Damn you!

[ChicagoConservative27]

I warned you LOL

[Jamestown1630]

I think people actually were generally smaller than they are today. But sizing standards seem to change, too.

(I used to sew a lot of my own clothes, and a standard sewing pattern size always seemed much larger than the same numerical size in the department store.)

[Dr. Sivana]

If tariffs deter people from buying new items, the business at the thrifts should go up, not down.

If it is an "upscale" thrift store (sounds like an oxymoron, but it isn't), it may suffer from a drop in discretionary spending. My wife is a Goodwill (both retail and online) pro.

[Resolute Conservative]

Always check the seller on Amazon. I ordered an xl t-shirt one time and could get my arms in it. You have to go up about 2 to 3 sizes.

[Resolute Conservative]

Hilarious I click the link to go look (lol). The first pop-up was for Viagra (lol). There just isn’t enough of those and alcohol for that to happen in this case.