In the best of economic times stealing from charitable thrift stores is low. During our current economic climate such theft it is detestable. In Abbotsford this theft has reached a level that can only be characterized as despicable.
I am not referring to the ever popular price tag switch to a lower price. Not am I referring to outright theft of an item such as occurred on the weekend, were having failed with an attempted price tag switch, the woman (obviously no lady) said she didn’t want the item – then took advantage of the line-up and the volunteer to walk out of the store with the unpaid for item.
If it had been an item that was needed such as a pot to cook in it might have been forgivable. But a decorative wood plaque with a copper piece with three floral patterns embossed into the copper? No that is just plain low-down theft.
Still, this type of dishonest thieving merely results in a lower price from price tag switching or the loss of the item in the case of outright theft, so that while the thrift store is denied the income it is at least not out of pocket.
There is a type of theft being perpetrated on the thrift stores that is costing them $tens of thousands of dollar$ in out of pocket expenses.
As I pulled into the MCC store by the bus station, a young man was using a sledge hammer to break up garbage dropped of in the middle of the night as “donations”. Under cover of darkness someone snuck in and dumped this junk in order to avoid the cost of disposal; leaving the thrift store to pay the cost of disposal.
Included in the uncharitably dumped items was a console TV set with the back broken open to reveal the tubes. An item that whoever dumped it had to know was garbage.
On the way to swim at ARC, I passed the Hidden Treasures thrift store whose parking lot was full. A couch without cushions, refrigerator and other assorted “donations” all sitting under the sign asking people not to drop off these types of items because the store has to pay to have them removed.
All the thrift stores in town have to inspect “donations” because so many people try to use these charities as dumping grounds simply to avoid the hassle and/or cost of disposing of their discards.
When the doors to the drop-off area at the Salvation Army are closed, these selfish thieves simply dump it anywhere they can. MCC Plaza has gates, one of which, since it is on the side street, had to be a chain-link fence gate with chain-link fencing extending away from the gate on both sides.
People who engage in this behaviour might just as well walk into the thrift store with a gun and take money out of the till at gunpoint.
