If I needed to give a TBM family member a quick, concise explanation as to why I choose not to spend my money there, what would be a good thing to say?
All I have so far is that since the church doesn't release its financial records, I have no way of knowing they're being truthful in saying money spent at the DI goes to good causes. Is this accurate?

Smile, and say, "I don't shop there because I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression."

Hopefully you have enough adult status so that being sent to bed without supper will not be the result of refusing to discuss the matter further.

Hahaha getting to adult status is tough these days i can attest to that. But an idea from another thread came to my mind on the best excuse a mormon will accept. Just say "an angel with a flaming sword chased me around my bedroom and COMMANDED ME not to shop at the DI". This might actually work, this idea came from the boner so i can't take the credit.

I don't think you need to explain yourself. IMO you could just say that the DI is not your thing.

I shop at Goodwill occasionally, which is similar to DI but not religious. I figure that whatever money the store makes goes into providing jobs (and perhaps associated services) for people who might otherwise have trouble with getting employed.

Do you need or want what DI sells?

Broken toys, run down furniture, used books, second hand clothing, cheap costume jewellery, chipped plates etc.

I frequent DI and can say that I only go for the 75 cent paperbacks. The second cheapest place to buy used books in Layton Utah.

I do wander a bit inside but rarely see anything worth buying.

You can tell them that the DI sells most of the good stuff at private auction. The average member is not invited. What ends up on the floor is the dregs. Most "pickers" or "dealers" don't even bother going anymore.

Easiest answer. You don't need to waste your money on garbage.

And it's not true that all of the "good stuff" is "high graded." I found a first rate Lodge cast iron frying pan for $5... Plus a remote for my old CRT television...

Sheesh, people, if you're going to criticize the LDS Church, the DI is one of the more benign operations.

Don't forget clothes with holes in them, they just put vintage on the tag, pure genius. Vintage underwear now how does that sound or literal holy underwear. Alright i am done for the night on bad jokes.

Because it's mostly junk, the prices aren't very good for used stuff, and it supports a business masquerading as a church...?

My never Mo Jewish grandmother spent her adult life in Utah. She had no qualms shopping at the DI. She loved it for the bargains she could find.

Like a Black Forest cuckoo clock that just needed cleaning and a tune-up at the local clock shop. I loved that clock of grandma's.

I had a best girlfriend at college who was severely handicapped. The DI was the one place where she could find employment. That was reason enough for me to justify my shopping there as an undergrad, to support her and others like her who are given employment opportunities not found elsewhere.

It's run similarly to the Salvation Army and the Goodwill Stores. I don't shop at them much anymore since there isn't much of anything I need. These past several years I've been donating more things to those places as I've been downsizing in preparation of relocating in the not too distant future to another part of the country.

I shop at thrift shops that benefit the local community. There's one that is operated by a no kill animal shelter, another that supports teenage girls at risk. I like keeping my money in the community as much as possible.

The DI employs the handicapped and disabled within the community who work there. The management is from male priesthood but the employees are usually otherwise destitute LDS.

I consider that a form of giving back within that community.

Plus, it recycles things instead of throwing them away. It does some good.

Who could be against doing good and providing a service in the communities where they are located?

I needed some inexpensive utensils last winter for a potluck at my worship service gathering while visiting Utah (not LDS.) The best place I was able to find something cheap that I could leave behind in the hotel room was at the DI. It saved me money. Provided a service. And filled a need on multiple levels all within the same community.

Amyjo gives us a hint about what LDS means to lots of us; there are some parts that appear shiny & good, but when one looks below the surface, it's entirely a different story...

just sayin'



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/20/2017 12:27AM by GNPE.

Everything that has any value is either sold at private auction or it is in a cabinet and priced fairly high. I actually think their prices are too high for the junk they have. My daughter and my ex shop there and do find some good things, but every time I go in, I just get depressed.

One day I was wandering through and saw a big pile of George Foreman grills. I hate cleaning mine and so I wondered if these were clean. NOT ONE OF THEM WAS CLEAN. People had turned them in dirty and they put them out for sale dirty.

My disabled brother did work there for a while. They don't always hire disabled anymore. That was 30 years ago that my brother worked there. None of the people who take my contributions are disabled and when I've gone in there, none of the checkers are disabled. Most are college students.

Oh, that is a change since I was an undergrad. That has been 30 plus years ago already.

When I retired, I downsized my closet. A non-mormon co-worker suggested a charity that helps women who are coming out of abusive relationships or other struggles to get back into the workforce. One of the main things they supply are clothes and shoes and accessories to these women. When I donated my working wardrobe the gratitude they expressed was FAR beyond anything I have ever experienced.

There are charities who help our local community so much and they suffer in areas where the high mormon population just automatically give all their stuff to DI.

my TBM daughter just took 4 large bags of her clothes to CAPSA. She said she didn't want them going to the DI. They are really nice clothes.

She shops at the DI. I mentioned her above. She doesn't feel right about giving her stuff to them. I found that interesting.

Not one real exmormon said good about DI

What a dumb remark.

Hey, everybody- it's a thrift store. What do you expect? It's not any worse than any other thrift store.

As far as merchandise quality, you decide if it's worth your money. I go there frequently for used T-shirts for wipe-on varnish work. Sometimes I buy the T-shirts for me. For anything else, you simply have to examine and decide for yourself.

And the money goes toward the store's salaries and operating costs.

About 20 years ago there was a Miss Teen America winner (from Utah) who bought her prize-winning gown for $1.98 from her DI store. Amazed all her fellow contestants.

Napoleon Dynomite bought his prom outfit from his local DI in downtown Preston, Idaho.

It had class ! And filmed on location.

;-)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/2017 06:08PM by Amyjo.

This is an ex- and anti-Mormon board. The problem is that many hold that if it is LDS, it is, ipso facto, bad, evil, detestable. Not always the case. For example: some people go on missions, and come back more experienced and mature, having worked through experiences and people both good and bad. Not all, maybe not a majority, but the Wall Street Journal ran an article about the leg-up many RMs had.

Now, the DI: I've been in two, and found them to be better organized than the Good Will stores I patronize (and donate to) here in Massachusetts. I liked that clothes were grouped by sizes, if not with perfect consistency. Toys and appliances are always high-risk purchases when used.* Most kitchenware and home furnishings looked okay to me, ranging from below-par to real finds. Electronics are highly questionable, especially printers.

Caveat emptor!

* Helpful hint: When buying an electric appliance, look around for an electric outlet and test it. I found a great Krups coffee grinder for $10!

I found some ceramic dishes on the cheap to give to my nieces and nephews when visiting them in Wyoming last year from the DI. Since I couldn't bring them home with me (too heavy to lug through the airport;) they needed the dishes more than me.

They were French pottery style. I really liked them a lot. :-)

Some people "thrift" out of necessity. I say, "good for them!"
I thrift because it's fun. Except that as my wife and I age, we need to de-clutter and downsize. Bringing home neat stuff, however neat, is counterproductive.

On my limited exposure, I do consider the DI superior to what I have in the Boston area.

Cheerio and Happy Hunting, AmyJo! :*)

I'm actually doing what you're doing. De-cluttering and downscaling.

It's amazing how much one can accumulate over the course of a few years.

If we lived in ancient times we'd be considered super wealthy by their standards.

And yet, oh well. With the newly revised tax plan the middle class continues to slip away. An oligarch's dream.

I wouldn't give any explanation at all. You don't need to justify NOT shopping at any particular store. You could just flip it and ask why they care where you shop. Why is it their business? Or give the non-answer that you just don't like shopping there. Or just say it stinks. It does. It's also a bit overpriced, and the quality of what they sell has gone downhill.

If your reason for not shopping there involves criticizing the church, it's not like they'll think about it and decide that you are right. They'll just get defensive and write off what you say as the ravings of a bitter exmormon. And it will strengthen their testimony (LOL) because the church is so persecuted, so it must be true. Right?

It's no big deal if you don't like DI. And you don't have to defend that.

I do shop there, sometimes, and I don't feel guilty about it.

The quality at the DI tends to be either very old for household items. Or outdated (and often worn out,) for clothing items.

The reason I learned long ago as a young struggling TBM in Idaho starting out on my own, is that Mormons like to use things until they wear them out. Literally.

That's the "thriftiness" that was drilled into our DNA from our pioneer ancestors and Depression era parents.

Even the collectibles corner for being overpriced is really mostly a lot of junk. Unless you happen to be a collector of old things. I have seen some items there that could as easily be sold in an antique shop.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/19/2017 09:09AM by Amyjo.

"I never find anything I want there, so I shop other places," is fine.

Really, it's none of your TBM relative's business where you shop or why. I prefer facebook marketplace or the LetGo app if I want to buy something previously-owned b/c I rarely have time to go to a physical store and wander around looking for something.

Oh, amyjo, I forgot about Napoleon Dynamite!! I'll dig out that DVD and watch it again later! Lmao!

It was a cult movie by the time my children were in college in upstate New York.

My son had the distinction of being nicknamed "Napoleon Dynomite" among his peers, as a humorous gesture because he resembles Jon Heder.

Little did his classmates know he like his mama are from Idaho.

One of my cousins makes her home in Preston with her rancher husband.

It's still the same sleepy little town on the border with Utah. Since the movie debuted, it has an annual Napoleon Dynomite festival.

:-)

I'm a connoisseur of Junk-O-Ramas. But, I found DI a little too junkie and high-priced. "Savers" is Nordstrom compared to DI.

Nearly everything I own came from some on thrift store or another. However, I do avoid their prescription meds.

We have a Savers where I live. It is very clean, well organized, and reasonably priced.

I've been told it's currently in bankruptcy. Don't know how verified that is.

They're still doing business in our neck of the woods.

It supports the Epilepsy Association.

Close to my home is "Boston Building Supply," a thrift for construction, plumbing and electrical fixtures, windows & doors, etc. I've found enough tile and hardwood to do a kitchen and a living room, appliances, all sorts of stuff. My kitchen has cherry cabinets with furniture-grade 3/4-inch plywood boxes and shelves, brass fixtures, all for under $750. The people said, "We can't tell you who donated it, but you'd know the name."

You (don't?) have to explain why you don't SHOP somewhere because of the biases, evils or prejudices of a particular owner or shareholder of everywhere you or someone else shops do you? That'd be tough.

Say you don't like the junk or you don't need anything... or don't have the time or can't afford it (it's too cheap).

Tell them you'll go there when you are ready. Then get ready. Or don't.

What are you [really] asking?
Who cares where you shop? You should.

I don't understand why you owe someone an explaination for

not going to a certain store? What's the deal?

I shop periodically at Savers, Red Shield and DI. I just follow the crowd from one to the other as they are fairly close together. My last major purchase was a 'miniature TV' for my RV that worked good at home but has not gone camping yet.

My daughter buys shoes she turns around and sells on line for hefty markups. She gave us a gift card for one pair of shoes we bought for her to resale it cost us $1 and she sold it to someone overseas for $65.

This 'part-time' work is not needed by her family but she enjoys 'shopping' and brining in a little extra cash. I guess it gives her a little more 'self worth' I won't mind the gift card to a local buffet either.

as I shop clearance at every store. I just check around. My son likes to wear dress shirts with his jeans in colors like purple, etc. I buy them off Kohl's clearance for $3.50 a piece and they are NEW. I bought my ex a T-shirt for Christmas for $1 with 30% off. My comforter on my bed was $30 and it is the nicest comforter I've ever had. My boyfriend's quilt on his bed I got at Kohl's for $27. It is Chaps and was marked at $180 before it was marked down. I bought an extra and made him shams.

I bought a rug at Smith's that was $200 for $50 just recently. And it isn't used.

I'm far from 'wealthy.' I'm just careful where I spend my money. I just went through my containers for the Christmas gifts I bought my family all year long. I didn't spend much for it, but it is all very nice stuff. I very carefully pick what they like.

In the L.A. area, there is only one D.I., and it is in a run-down area that is not very safe (but near a Sears store--at that time, anyway).

People buzzed around it waiting for it to open, and would swarm inside to get any 'new' good stuff.

For the under-glass items, one had to ask for help from a clerk. I noticed that a book in side this case had mildew growing on it.
I pointed this out to the clerk supervisor, but she wasn't able to see that the book should be thrown away (speaking of unable clerks).

Yes, it's in East Lamanite Angeles....

pollythinks Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In the L.A. area, there is only one D.I., and it
> is in a run-down area that is not very safe (but
> near a Sears store--at that time, anyway).

Soooooo, you are saying it is just like the Salt Lake City DI !!!!!!!!

I am EXMO and cringe at most aspects and programs of the church, but DI is benign. I have a relative, totally down on his luck, who had also ended up totally out of the workforce. DI was the only entity that was willing to give him a job, a second chance and ultimately some measure of his pride. Nothing wrong with that. There are far worse aspects of the church to address.

They just closed the DI on 700 South & State. Consistently the worst DI in Salt Lake County by a mile - always dirty, and a third of the merchandise just as dirty.

21st S & State is very well-kept. 45th S & Main is passable - some good items because it draws from the more affluent parts of Murray, but a lot of riff-raff from South Salt Lake and the fact that it sits just a block west of State Street.