Are There Too Many Thrift Stores On Mahoning Avenue?

[Towntalk]

The westsiders see the westside the elite side of town and the rest of the city, including the north side the slum area. We can understand the various sides of town having pride in their area, for as a northsider, I take pride in the north side, the cultural, educational and medical center of the Mahoning Valley. And to be perfectly honest, I would feel the same about "thrift stores" opening up given the way they are set up. Tables and bins piled up with goods just tossed in willy nilly, unattractive environment inside the stores is a big turnoff by any standard.

If these stores looked like the Goodwill Store in Liberty that would be a different manner ... that store is attractive and clean. The merchandise is nicely displayed.

In the so called thrift stores all goods are sold "as is" and there is no guarintee that they are even in good working order, while at the Goodwill Store everything is tested and clothing is cleaned and on hangers.

These so called "thrift stores" do nothing to improve the appearance of their neighborhood.

[iwasthere]

will mike ray complain that there are too many oil wells in ytown due to the fracking industry.

[Towntalk]

Here is the article that Jay was referring to:

Youngstown closing down thrift store on city's west side


http://www.wfmj.com/global/story.asp?s=20167355


I guess that even the Salvation Army and Goodwill Industries would not be welcome on the west side.

[jay]

A Question For Garden District Members

There is a store located in the front of the old west side post office building at Lakeview and Mahoning.  It appears to have clothing in the window.  Is this a thrift store?

[Towntalk]

I have no idea about the thrift stores on Mahoning Avenue, so this might be comparing watermelons to grapes, but if you ever watch American Pickers, you will realize that some of the farm fresh items can be "rusty gold" bringing big bucks.

The owners of Antique Archeology (Pickers) go around the country searching for merchandise for their two stores, and a lot of what they find and buy, on the surface looks like it should be in a landfill, but after they get it back to their stores and clean it up with little or no restoration it is quickly bought up.


http://antiquearchaeology.com/antique_archaeology.html

[Towntalk]

Oh dear ... not only are west siders opposed to V&M Star Steel being on the west side but also little Mom and Pop stores just trying to make a simple living ..., perhalps the only thing that would make them happy is for Mahoning Avenue paved in gold and lined with exclusive stores and restaurants.

[Why?Town]

It is a sign of the economic standing of a community.

The fact that they exist, yes.

How they present themselves is a sign of something else.

The two may not be unrelated.

[Youngstownshrimp]

It is a sign of the economic standing of a community.

[Why?Town]

I've stopped in a couple of them. Not impressed to say the least. Stuff just piled as if it were still laying in the corner of someone's basement. No noticeable attempt to clean anything up (merchandise nor facilities). How hard is it to wipe the dust off something you're trying to sell?

There is also a lot of stuff that should have been thrown away long ago. One man's trash is another man's treasure but I don't think too many people are interested in purchasing a collection of water(?) stained Harlequin romance paperbacks with ripped/missing covers and /or pages for example.

I say bulldoze them all and plant some grass and trees.

[jay]

Something about this was on the WFMJ Today Show this morning.

[jay]

Are there too many thrift stores on Mahoning Avenue?  Do these stores have a positive or a negative impact on the business climate along our commercial corridor?