Danielle Darnault says her store is the place to be for shoppers who are looking for an adventure. 

"It’s all about discovering the treasures, not necessarily knowing what you want to buy, [but] just coming in and seeing what calls to you," she said.

What You Need To Know

  • Thrift stores say they're seeing more shoppers due to high inflation

  • The owner of Trove in West LA reports a surge in shoppers and says her business has tripled since the start of the pandemic

  • She says many consigners are bringing in their own items to sell and then using store credit to buy other items.

  • Thrift stores say they don't have to deal with the supply chain issues that have plagued retailers and driven up prices.

Darnault owns Trove, a boutique thrift store and consignment shop in West Los Angeles. She says her business has tripled since the start of the pandemic and is seeing a new surge with inflation near 40-year highs.

“I think everyone’s looking to see how they can get more money and how they can get it quick,” Darnault said. “You might be trading in lots of kitchen gadgets or a nutribullet you never opened or a bunch of handbags that one day you thought you wanted but you actually don’t want and you lost the receipt.”

On average, the store has been adding 80-100 consigners a month, all hoping their items will sell as quick as possible. That’s up from 25 consigners per month about a year ago. Darnault says it’s not unusual to have bags of items still waiting to be processed and put on display.

“The volume that we’re turning is the highest we’ve ever turned,” she said.

Some of the top items are handbags, jewelry and shoes and unlike retail stores, Darnault says she doesn’t have supply chain issues, so she’s been able to keep her prices competitive.

Zhane Ochoa was looking to save some money on clothes to go with her new job as a hostess.

“Like, $20, $14 for an article that is definitely name brand and then I go to a store at the mall and it’s significantly more expensive,” Ochoa said.

Darnault says for others, going resale instead of retail isn’t just about finding name-brand items for less, it’s also about finding unique ones.

“When I was younger and I would go to everyone’s apartment and we all had the same IKEA painting on the wall, it didn’t feel great, so you can come here and get really interesting things and then you can switch it up and not be out a lot of money,” Darnault said.

And at a time when every dollar counts, resale stores like Trove are helping customers not only save cash but the environment as well.

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