Ahhh Value Village. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Value Village over here. While previously it was a staple spot for thrifters (myself included), it has now become a frustrating experience of overpriced goods, CBC Marketplace scandals and of course…. no more change rooms. These days I go to Value Village because it the only place in my area where I can go thrifting after 5pm and that just happens to be the most convenient time for me to thrift.
But with everything, nuance is key. We learn what we can and then make an educated decision about what we support. And we do what we can to bring those prices down as low as we can before handing over our dollars.
Related: A complete list of online thrift stores in Canada
- Who owns Value Village in Canada?
- Is Value Village a Non Profit?
- How much does Value Village donate to charity?
- What does Value Village do with unsold items?
- Does Value Village wash clothes before selling them?
- Value Village donations
- Value Village Change rooms
- Value Village return policy
- Are there discounts for working at Value Village?
- Loyalty program at Value Village
- Value Village discount days
- When is the best day/time to shop?
- Tag switching and fake returns
- In conclusion
Who owns Value Village in Canada?
- Value Village is owned by Savers Value Village.
- Ares Management (an American private equity firm) is the majority shareholder.
- There are 315 locations of Value Village and Savers across the U.S., Canada, and Australia.
Tip: Because Value Village is a publicly traded stock anyone can own a tiny slice of Value Village! At just $14 a pop (at the time of writing) you too could profit off the price gouging of donated dollarama goods.
Is Value Village a Non Profit?
No, Value Village is not a non-profit. They purchase donated goods from community partners but operate as a for-profit organization.
How much does Value Village donate to charity?
It’s a bit of a roundabout structure. Value Village, does direct some funds to community partners. But rather than donating, it collects donations on behalf of a specific charity and then pays that charity for the donations per pound.
Hot take: Value Village doesn’t need to donate to charity. Thrift stores in general don’t need to donate to charity. But since they are a for-profit retailer then their policies and operations should be a bit less exploitative. They should take a closer look at the goods they are selling to ensure the prices matches the quality. They should have a more reasonable return policy. They should have freaking fitting rooms!
What does Value Village do with unsold items?
Unsold items and items deemed unsuitable to sell are sold in bails both domestically and to other countries. Some items are recycled. Some items are trashed.
My dream: the overpriced, unsold product from Value Village could be offered for one last bargain rummage, similar to the Goodwill Bins. Or heck, a pay what you can or free for all offering!
Does Value Village wash clothes before selling them?
No, Value Village does not wash clothes before selling them.
Value Village donations
Value Village will take just about anything you have to donate. Some categories they won’t take include
- large appliances
- car parts
- construction materials
- baby products
- Mattresses
- swimming pools
- weapons and dangerous materials.
When you donate to Value Village you receive a 20% off coupon to spend in-store. These have expiry dates so don’t stash them for too long.
Tip: Keep a few small bags of donateables handy so if there are no other relevant promos running you can get a 20% off coupon before heading in to shop.
Value Village Change rooms
Value Village no longer has change rooms. They closed them during COVID (because germs) and then unfortunately were never reopened. My hypothesis is that they hope you buy ill-fitting clothes and then never come back to exchange them (hypothesis based on my own personal experience of forgetting to follow through on returns).
Value Village return policy
There is actually no return policy at Value Village. Just an exchange policy. You can exchange clothes or shoes within 14 days of purchase. You must use the value of the exchange on the same day. All other sales are final.
Tip: If you can’t find anything you like on the day of exchange, just purchase anything to keep the exchange window open for another 14 days.
Are there discounts for working at Value Village?
Employees of Value Village get a 50% discount on clothing and a 30% discount on everything else. However, employees do not get first dibs on new items. They have to wait two days to be able to purchase items on the floor.
Loyalty program at Value Village
To get the most value at Value Village you definitely have to join their Super Savers Club. It’s honestly not even that good but it is the only way you will unlock seasonal or category-specific offers. Here are some of the benefits:
- You earn a point per dollar spent and every $100 you get a reward (Spoiler: the reward is a whopping $1 off a future purchase LOL).
- You get a coupon on your birthday for 20% off a purchase of up to $50.
- You get emails and access to the promos they are running
- If you spend $500 in a calendar year you reach ~Suede status~ and get a free bag. How generous (*massive eye roll*).
Basically, if you are paying full price at Value Village, you’re not doing your best.
Value Village discount days
Join the Super Savers Club and keep an eye on your email to track discount days. Based on previous emails, these are some offers you might receive:
- Coupons: 20% – 50% off specific categories or entire purchase (can usually use up to three times during promotional period)
- Father’s Day, Mothers Day, December: Get a $5 with purchase of $30 gift card
- 5x flexpoints earnings: Earth day and Halloween
Repeat after me: I solemnly swear to never buy items full price at Value Village!
When is the best day/time to shop?
This really depends on your specific store and city. At some stores, new stuff is put out just on weekdays until 3pm. But at my local store they are always putting new stuff out on the floor.
From my own personal experience, weekends and Tuesdays are the worst time to shop. On weekends the racks have been ransacked due to a high volume of thrifters during the day. On Tuesdays, its Seniors day. My city happens to have a lot of Seniors so Tuesdays can get BUSY.
Tag switching and fake returns
Look, I would never endorse something illegal. But allegedly, these are the methods people use to ‘even the playing field’ at Value Village.
- Switching tags is a common method that some thrifters use to get cheaper prices on purchases. Apparently, people will use tape or a mini staplers to cover a more expensive tag with a cheaper one.
- Some *highly unethical individuals* will invest in a price tag gun for use at home to return personal items to the store. They take the tag off a purchased item, re-tag it on something in the same category that they don’t need anymore and then exchange that item for something else. Essentially having Value Village pay YOU for your donations.
I do not recommend using any of the above methods. They are illegal and unethical.
In conclusion
I tend to believe that any thrifting is better than no thrifting (especially if your cost alternative is buying new from shitty fast fashion companies). Even though shopping at Value Village feels “overpriced”, in most cases it is still a better price than buying new. If you put in the time, you can still find gems that have flown under the radar of the Value Village pricing system. And of course, you are giving objects destined for the landfill a second chance at life. Would I rather my thrift dollars go to a less giant corporation? Absolutely. I feel that way about a lot of purchases. Did I still score my new favourite pair of 100% cotton vintage jeans for under $20 at Value Village? Absolutely, yes.
