'AITA for taking clothes in my size off-the-rack so resellers couldn’t grab everything?'

There are times when you simply must take matters into your own hands.

"AITA for taking all of the clothes in my size off the rack so resellers couldn’t grab everything before I looked?"

Last week I had time and stopped into a thrift and they were just putting out stuff from their truck. I am never so lucky to be there when that happens, the shops are always very picked over with just Old Navy or Target clothes whenever I can go, so I was happy I might find something.

I started browsing normally and was finding some good stuff for once, then I saw a group of three women come in. One had a little computer for scanning books, the other two had I-pads or something, I assume to check resale prices? Either way they were clearly resellers and started grabbing stuff after checking labels.

I felt a sense of dread because I wouldn’t be fast enough to check, so I just swooped everything off the rack and into my cart in my size.

When the two got to me they started staring. I said “What?” and one was like “We’d like to be able to see what’s on the rack too.”

I said that they could as soon as I was done.

She scoffed at me and said “That’s rude, we'd like a chance to shop these clothes too.”

I just ignored her and started looking at things one by one, taking my time, then putting them right back on the rack. The women were getting mad and snatching things basically out of my hand. I held up a nice top and one of them tried grabbing it OUT of my hand and I said “Excuse you” and turned my back to her. They got all pissy and one stomped away to get a worker.

The worker came over and asked what was going on. I said I was looking at the items from the rack, same as anyone else. They said I was “hoarding everything” so they couldn’t get a chance to look. The worker said that I wasn’t doing anything wrong, and then said to me “Thank you for putting everything back when you’re done.”

I finished what I was doing with the women breathing down my neck and took my clothes to go try on. One of them kept following me and asked me what the f-k my problem was, why I was being such a b-ch, etc. I said “Sorry that you’re having a bad day, but it’s really not my problem.”

AITA? I just wanted the chance to be able to find NICE clothes for once. From my POV I didn’t do anything different than people who fill up their carts and go try on everything. Plus I didn’t even take all of the “good” clothes to begin with.

People had a lot to say in response.

TravelingBride2024 wrote:

NTA. I donate a lot of nice clothing…WHBM, BCBG, etc because I would like others who can’t easily afford them to get them…not so someone else can swoop in and sell my clothes for their profit.

Sure, they’re allowed to, but I’m ok with you grabbing the stuff in your size first over resellers. plus they had every other size to choose from. Now if these were other women trying to shop for themselves, that’d be a little underhanded.

rockology_adam wrote:

NTA. I'm pretty judgy about thrift resellers in general, but they would have done EXACTLY the same thing you did if they had been there before you. The only difference is they would have been slightly more selective based on their researches. So, not the AH. Kudos to the store employee for having your back. I hope you got some good finds.

tittitat wrote:

NTA, resellers have ruined thrifting. I have been thrifting for 15 years, and I used to find great stuff in my size all the time. Now it’s just leftover Shein junk. They are the same as landlords imo and there are way more ethical professions.

zebrasmack wrote:

NTA. Those people are the scourge of the charity community. Rather than supporting a place for people to buy needed items for cheaper, they look for profit. They take people's charitable donations and treat it like their business.

"At least it's getting sold" is a silly argument. It's the equivalent of going to a farmer the day of harvest, buying all the best looking products for cheap, then reselling it at 50-100x price. it's messed up. They got huffy because you're "stealing" their profit. I absolutely loathe and detest the bottom-feeders.

realshockvaluecola wrote:

NTA. They're mad you're cutting into their profits, and the worker was clearly not thrilled with them either. If they were just casual shoppers like you it would have been weird but they clearly weren't.

Auntie-Mam69 wrote:

NTA. The worker's response when called over tells you that you were right—these women were resellers, who would be taking away the chance for women who need these clothes at these prices to get them.

TheGrimDweeber wrote:

NTA. I hate resellers like these women. Thrifting is the only way I can actually afford clothes, and that is not an exaggeration. I am absolutely piss-poor, being on social benefits because of a congenital disease that means I can't, and will never be able to work.

I don't go out, I never eat out, I can count on two fingers the amount of times I've bought a cup of coffee in the last 5 years, just the bare goddamn minimum in every way imaginable. If it weren't for the VERY cheap thrift stores I've been able to find, I'd still be doing what I was before.

Which was wear the same 8-10 pieces IN TOTAL over and over again, until they would literally disintegrate. Thrift stores aren't some cutesie way for the former LuLaLadies to be a Hey Girl boss, they are the only way some of us can actually get clothes that look decent, and make us feel nice about the way we look.

I actually get compliments for my outfits nowadays! I've gotten pretty good at combining the random things I find every now and then, even if it means having to think ahead. (Finding winter items in summer and vice versa for instance.) They can buzz off, and honestly, I'd love to see people like them get banned from thrift stores all together.

Edit: The amount of upvotes are very moving. I don't know if the upvoters are in the same boat, or if they recognise what it's like to live like someone like me. Poor in a rich country. I often feel ashamed to even mention any of this, as I am fortunate already to not live under the worst conditions.

But make no mistake, being very poor in a HCOL country is hard. Beyond food and housing, I can't afford anything.

Thrift stores help SO MUCH, you have no idea.

Without thrift stores, with what I am physically capable of doing, I wouldn't even have most of my furnishings. Everything is either from thrift stores, found on the streets and dragged home, as I have no car, or, very rarely, bought thanks to a fund that took months or years to apply for. Life is hard, but thrift stores make it easier. And sometimes even fun.

NotCreativeAtAll16 wrote:

NTA. You did what they would have done if they beat you to it, except they likely would have bought a lot of it. There's no limit. Your only offense is getting there before the resellers. Good on you for standing up to them.

pdubs1900 wrote:

I believe you correctly identified a reselling operation. That said, your grace while exercising your reasonable rights as a shopper is commendable. They had a small crew and dedicated electronics to take advantage of having numbers to quickly sweep the store of high ticket items.

You used the means at your disposal to ensure you had a fair opportunity they were denying good-faith thrifters. While knowing these folks were engaged in a gross behavior, you refrained from accusing them of something you could not prove, while shrugging off their swearing at you. NTA, full and clear, and color me impressed with your patience.