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Profiting From Thrift: Who’s Getting Rich Off Your Secondhand Stuff?

Sales of secondhand goods are booming, growing about 3 percent each year, faster than conventional retail. And market researchers project this multibillion-dollar industry will grow exponentially.

This surge in secondhand shopping has opened new opportunities for the public to be misled about how much money for-profit retailers are making off the charities they brag about benefiting, according to grantee Francesca Lyman’s new report for InvestigateWest, co-published by Salon.