Thursday focus: Shopping life

Rummaging around for some good news in this recession? Try your local thrift store.

At a time when most retailers are begging for customers, second-hand shops are thriving as the laid-off, and those worried they will be, turn to them for less expensive clothes, furniture and household items.

But many thrift shops are also running low on merchandise as fewer people are able to donate.

“Resale has historically been a recession-proof industry,” said Adele Meyer of the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops. “Consumers … are turning to resale as a way of providing for their families while still staying within their budgets.”

February revenue at Goodwill Industries stores was up 7.2 percent over last year, said spokeswoman Lauren Lawson.

The Salvation Army’s western district, which includes six states, saw same-store sales for the six months starting Oct. 1 rise 8 percent, said Dawn Marks, the group’s regional marketing consultant.

“People who wouldn’t normally shop in a thrift store but who’ve lost jobs or had their hours cut back are looking for ways to save,” she said.

Salvation Army donation pickups in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Colorado and Hawaii for the first eight weeks of 2009 were down nearly 13 percent from last year. Donations of furniture and major appliances are down the most because fewer people are remodeling or moving.

EBay’s earnings and revenue have fallen for the second quarter in a row, hampered by the weak economy. But they beat analysts’ expectations.

The first-quarter results Wednesday show the San Jose, Calif.-based company is still struggling with the economy and efforts to improve its online marketplace.

EBay Inc. says it earned $357.1 million, or 28 cents per share, in the first quarter. This is down from $459.7 million, or 34 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

When excluding items, eBay says it earned 39 cents per share; analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected 33 cents per share.

The company says revenue fell 8 percent to $2.02 billion. Analysts expected $1.94 billion.

Marketplaces revenue fell 18 percent, while online payments revenue climbed 11 percent.

From wire reports