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Former employees talk about Value Village’s pricing system and why it costs consumers
After a series of viral posts showing Value Village pricing items higher than they sell for new, Marketplace connected with more than a dozen current and former employees, many say the chain’s pricing practices are based on a system that often charges consumers more than an item’s worth.
Employees say the clothing will be ranked by brand and quality, with a computer setting a predetermined price. In some cases, that computer system suggested prices for household items that were higher than what the product might sell for new.
Many employees say Marketplace they were ordered to remove or cover up the original price tags to make their prices higher. Others describe daily quotas to review and then price about 2,000 items a day, and say they were reprimanded for failing to do so.
Marketplace found some items on sale at Value Village priced higher than they would cost at other popular retailers.
For example, a George tank top with original hang tags is on sale at Value Village for $5.49. The original price was removed, however, the team found the same tank top in a different color at Walmart for just $5.
“Absolutely terrible,” said Markus Giesler, a consumer sociologist. He noted that it’s particularly unfair to expect low-income shoppers to pay more for items under the guise of getting a good deal.
Giesler is also concerned about how these pricing examples affect consumers who choose to shop at thrift stores for sustainability reasons.
“It’s the kind of material experience that consumers have every day where cynicism builds and they say, ‘You know what? Why should I care about sustainability if I’m constantly being tricked and tricked by capitalism?’ ” he said.
Value Village did not respond Marketplace’s asked for an on-camera interview, but previously told CBC News that their goal is to provide great value and selection. They admit their staff “may not always be understanding,” but say they invite customers to chat with a manager if they think a price has gone wrong.
Giesler believes that customers should not be responsible for ensuring that Value Village items are priced fairly. “We as consumers navigate and juggle many different responsibilities under the weather [and] resource constraints … we’re not supercomputers.”
You can watch the full Marketplace investigation, “What’s the deal with Value Village?” including the investigation of food additives at any time in the Youtube and CBC Gem.
It’s banned in Europe, so why is this controversial ingredient allowed in foods here?
A CBC Marketplace investigation found that some food manufacturers were producing snack foods for the Canadian market that contained an ingredient banned in Europe.
That additive, titanium dioxide, was banned in the European Union after a May 2021 review by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that could not rule out that it could cause DNA or chromosomal damage in humans.
“What we have concluded is that we cannot really rule out the possibility that titanium dioxide can damage DNA material, the genetic material in cells,” Camilla Smeraldi, team leader for EFSA’s food additive and flavorings team, said. on Marketplace in an interview from him. office in Parma, Italy. “It’s not something we should intentionally add to foods.”
Marketplace ordered some popular internationally sold snacks from Europe to see how the ingredients differ from what is sold in Canada.
The team found that manufacturers were making different versions of the same snack — one sold in Canada and the other in Europe.
The order includes Skittles Fruits, Nerds Fruits, Nerds Gummy Clusters Rainbow and chocolate M&Ms. There is no titanium dioxide in the versions ordered from Europe, but the additive is in snacks sold to Canadians.
Health Canada published a review of titanium dioxide studies in June 2022, which found there is no conclusive scientific evidence that the food additive is a concern for human health.
Marketplace asked the manufacturers why they don’t sell titanium dioxide-free versions of these snacks in Canada like they do in Europe.
Mars Wrigley, the company that makes Skittles and M&Ms, says that all of its products are “safe and manufactured in compliance with strict quality and safety requirements established by food safety regulators.”
The maker of the two Nerds products, Ferrara Candy Company, says it complies with “all laws and regulations related to our products and will continue to do so in the future,” and uses ingredients that are “safe to consume.” Read more
You can watch the full investigation anytime at Youtube and CBC Gem.
What else is going on?
Air Canada was found liable for a chatbot giving bad advice on their website
The airline tried to argue that the online tool is “a separate legal entity responsible for its own actions.”
A Lululemon marketing complaint could be a test of Canada’s greenwashing laws, according to one expert
A non-profit claims the athleisure brand is misleading consumers about its environmental practices.
For the first time, Mike Holmes publicly responds to a CBC News story about the demolished ‘Holmes Approved Holmes’
Holmes said his company did not have access to the development’s homes during construction, so it was unable to “assist in verifying or identifying potential problems.”
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