Peter Goers: They’ve become chic. How wonderful. People are less snobbish about op shops.
The spirit of op shopping was in reasonable prices, and with those gone it’s slim pickings nowadays, writes Peter Goers.
Opinion
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These days, op shops are less op and more shop. I’m an ardent, almost compulsive op shopper and on a recent Saturday morning I went to seven op shops — the five at “Op Shop Central” at Kidman Park, opposite Findon Shopping Centre, and two on Brighton Road. I bought only one hand towel I didn’t really need but I bought it out of boredom.
Why are there slim pickings? Some op shop chains are not at full strength in terms of volunteers and deliveries due to COVID, and there are many more op shops than there used to be so the same amount of donated goods is spread thinner. Also, more people are selling more stuff online and op shops — all of which raise money for good causes — are getting pricey.
You can buy clothes cheaper at Kmart than at some op shops. Indeed, the same clothes can be more expensive at op shops than they were newly bought. Work that out …
Like the society they so well support, op shops are changing. Op shops were once musty and smelled of dust, mothballs and dead people. Now they are ubiquitous and becoming variety stores. It began when Red Cross op shops about 10 years ago started selling new giftware, homewares and soft furnishings. This was in response to the bourgeois obsession with having lots of decorative cushions on a bed and useless throw rugs. If you have a throw rug, throw it away or donate it to an op shop.
Surely a common reason for divorce is the proliferation of decorative cushions on the marital bed — all of which have to be removed before you climb in and then left in a pile for you trip over on the way to the en suite.
Then Vinnies op shops decided to colour-code fashion. Rather than have all the men’s shirts and trousers hung in increasing size, Vinnies now (annoyingly) displays clothes according too their palette. Then the Salvos handily started selling new toiletries and cleaning products. Suddenly op shops are looking like Cheap As Chips stores. This reflects where we are shopping.
Op shops have never been so popular. They’ve become chic. How wonderful. People are less snobbish about op shops.
What is available in op shops depends on the donors and general taste. The T-shirt rules for men, which is why I struggle to find business shirts and blazers in op shops. I used to buy all my corduroy dacks in op shops but old blokes who wear them are living longer and hanging on to them because they’re hard to find new.
The Anglicare op shop by St Peter’s Cathedral was wonderful source of clobber, books and bric-a-brac (from the burghers of North Adelaide) but it closed. I’m often asked which are the best op shops. The answer is all of them — depending on what comes in.
Norwood’s Save The Children store is one of the best and it’s opposite the excellent Vinnies on The Parade. The Vinnies on Waymouth Street is always good and there’s also a great op shop at Wudinna but it’s a long way to go. Best of all is the original SA op shop, the Quaker Shop on Kensington Road, Norwood.
It defines the very spirit of op shops and is accessibly priced.
If you are employed and you’re getting a bargain, you should always pay more than the asking price at op shops as this helps bring prices down for the very people who need the opportunities on sale.
And donate, as op shops depend more on what we give than what we get. Just like life.
Peter Goers can be heard weeknights and Sundays on ABC Radio Adelaide.
