Iwas at a tip shop looking for a whisk, expecting to find one for $1, maybe $2, when a small pair of tongs caught my eye. The price, written on the metal with permanent marker, was $10.

I snapped a photo and sent it to a group of op-shopping friends. “Tip shop pricing!” I wrote. “Tell ’em they’re dreamin’,” one quipped. After all, a pair on Kmart’s website that looked the same – but cleaner – cost $1.75.

I’ve since heard numerous stories of op-shop and tip-shop pricing that’s so high it’s often cheaper to buy identical items new. One friend saw a Spider-Man toy at an op shop for $15, then at a supermarket for $10, and many report Anko clothing costing more secondhand than new.

Then are the “vintage” items, which are sometimes unique treasures but at other times seem more like unique tra

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