The La Plata County Humane Society Thrift Store heard customers’ cries about rising prices loud and clear. This summer, it brought in new management to smooth everything out.
The instant one walks through the doors of the Thrift Store at 1111 South Camino del Rio, a dozen options present themselves. Beyond aisles and aisles of lightly used clothes, a “Kitchen” sign calls out from above various kitchen appliances lined against the east wall.
“Furniture” is advertised in red letters against a green backdrop sign to the south, and all about the store signs point patrons to electronics; men’s, women’s and children’s clothing; books; toys; crafts; and other assorted goods. It’s easy to find one’s way around the approximately 7,000 square feet space.
But it wasn’t always so easy to find what one is looking for at the thrift store. An easy hint that something is different is apparent on the checkout countertop where a wooden box with a port to drop notes through sits. A sign on the box reads, “We’re going through changes. Tell us your thoughts!”
The Thrift Store came under new management in July after nonprofit leadership decided a change of pace was needed. Julie Drayfuss, Humane Society executive director, said the store used to be much more cluttered and harder to navigate than it is now.
Now, if the store feels much more open, that’s because it is. Thrift store Manager Marilyn Rice, who took over management in July, said before the floor space was reorganized, one would not be able to spot the kitchenware assembled in the back of the building from the entrance or the checkout counter. Clothes were piled or hung too high all around the place.
Drayfuss said the reorganization freed up 30% more open space for browsing and perusing aisles.
And now, she said, what one sees is what one can get. Before this summer, some items were solely for display and weren’t actually for sale, confusing customers. Now, everything on the floor is up for grabs for the right price.
Speaking of prices, the cost of some items were climbing too high for customers’ tastes, she said. Some customers stopped returning altogether.
“Over time, the thrift store had kind of veered into the boutique realm, and I think we lost customers because our prices were becoming more ‘boutique’ and less ‘thrift,’” she said. “And so this summer, we just decided to make a strategic shift and put the ‘thrift’ back in our thrift store.”
Aisles and items are marked with colored stickers, their colors corresponding to different prices.
Red is for $1. Pink is for $3 and yellow is for $5.
“We’re trying to make it really easy for the customer and really easy for the staff because (the) secondhand game can be real confusing if you don’t make it easy,” she said. “It can be a right pickle.”
Orange is for $8. Green is for $12. Blue is for $16.
Another new practice is to mark goods with chalk pens, which are easily cleanable, versus the old use of indelible pens, Rice said. As an avid thrifter herself, nonwashable pen marks had to go.
The new, lower pricing is a vital part of the thrift store’s reorganization. She said her philosophy is if someone has just $1 to spend, they can purchase something at the shop. If someone has $10, they can buy a whole outfit for $9 and have one dollar left over.
Even much of the furniture is priced well below expectations. A showcase with a glass display case perched on a metal base had a price tag of $50. A combined dresser and television stand had a price tag of $99.
A 1974 vintage merry-go-round carousel lion wearing a saddle, standing out among a row of chairs and dressers like a big cat’s eyes in the dark, had a sale price of $500.
Rice pointed out a well-made Bassett-brand dresser and said in her previous profession, secondhand sales with higher-end goods, the dresser would be priced at $250.
“But that’s not what we want to do here,” she said. “... I want to make sure every single person can afford something.”
There is a small vintage clothing section featuring shirts, coats, hats, boots and other apparel. But even those higher-cost items are considerably cheaper than they would be elsewhere, she said.
Drayfuss said the thrift store offers everything from zip ties to art work, classified under 15 departments or categories.
The store sells anywhere from 3,000 to 4,000 items per week, she said. It’s a challenge to keep up with restocking the store, despite a 7,000-square-foot warehouse adjacent to the store filled with donated goods, which workers and volunteers sort and transport across the way into the store for pricing and stocking.
She said moving items from storage into the store is another operational challenge.
Rice said the same, but she added operations are running a lot more smoothly since the reorganization. And volunteers are always welcome to pitch in their time and strength.
Drayfuss said every dollar earned at the thrift store is redirected toward the Humane Society’s first and foremost commitment to the welfare of cats and dogs in La Plata County.
She said the Humane Society currently has nearly 200 pets and dogs in its care and helps over 4,000 animals every year. It recruits volunteers and has a foster program to help care for animals before they find their forever homes.
About 50 people are employed at the Humane Society, including within its thrift store, and “we’re all working toward protecting and adopting pets in our community,” she said.
The Humane Society sources all of its thrift store items from donations. She said the thrift store sometimes has to close its warehouse doors, which are typically open for donors to drive up and drop off new goods, because of how many donations it receives.
“We wouldn’t be able to do any of this without our donors to this thrift store and, of course, to the shelter and all of our volunteers. It takes a village,” she said.
cburney@durangoherald.com
