No. Ross Dress for Less is an off-price retailer, not a thrift store — it sells new unsold inventory from department stores at a discount. Secondhand thrift and off-price discount retail are two different models that get confused constantly, and it matters for your wallet.
The question comes up often enough that it is worth a straight answer and some real explanation. Ross, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Burlington, and Nordstrom Rack are all off-price retailers. Salvation Army, Goodwill, Savers, and Value Village are thrift stores. They look superficially similar from the parking lot — a big-box store, clearance-priced goods, a treasure-hunt shopping model — but how they get their inventory, what condition it is in, and what you are actually paying for are completely different. Below, I work through the real differences, why the confusion exists, and where to find the thrift alternative you were probably looking for. For the full context of physical thrift shopping in the US, our Thrift Store Chains hub covers the major chains.
The short answer
Ross Dress for Less sells brand-new, never-worn clothing and merchandise sourced from department-store overstock, cancelled orders, and manufacturer closeouts. Every item on the floor is new with tags. Nothing at Ross has ever been owned or worn by a previous customer. That is the opposite of a thrift store, which by definition sells donated secondhand goods that have had previous owners.
The confusion is understandable — Ross prices are low, the store layout looks similar to a thrift (dense racks, mixed inventory, treasure-hunt vibes), and both categories are sometimes lumped together as “bargain shopping.” But the definitions matter. Our What Is a Thrift Store? How It Works and Why It Matters article defines the category precisely: secondhand, donation-sourced, typically (not always) nonprofit-affiliated. Ross meets none of those criteria.
How Ross actually sources its inventory
Ross is part of the “off-price” retail segment. The company buys excess inventory from department stores, branded manufacturers, and other retailers who need to move goods that did not sell at full price in the primary retail channel. Reasons inventory ends up at Ross include:
- End-of-season overstock — a retailer ordered 100,000 sundresses for spring, sold 60,000, needs to clear the remainder before fall.
- Cancelled wholesale orders — a department store pulled back on a purchase order after production was already underway.
- Manufacturer closeouts — a brand is discontinuing a line and needs to liquidate the existing stock.
- Slight defects — a stitch issue, a label misprint, or similar cosmetic problem that would have failed department-store QA.
- Prior season’s inventory — goods from 6–18 months ago that retailers no longer want on their floors.
Ross buys these lots in bulk, at steep discounts, and prices them for retail margin above its cost but well below the original MSRP. The “compare at $60, our price $19.99” signage is the business model in three phrases. The inventory is new. The savings are real but smaller than they sometimes appear — the “compare at” price is frequently the original retail price, not the price the item was actually moving at before it arrived at Ross.
How a thrift store actually works
A thrift store sells donated secondhand goods. Inventory arrives from individual donors, estate clearances, and occasionally from partner organizations or corporate closeouts (where a retailer donates unsold goods rather than selling to off-price channels). The defining features:
- Goods have had previous owners.
- Prices are set by the thrift store, usually on a pricing matrix or per-pricer judgment, typically far below original retail.
- Nonprofit thrifts (Salvation Army, Goodwill, Arc) use revenue to fund their mission programs. For-profit thrifts (Savers, America’s Thrift, Red White & Blue) pay partner nonprofits for donations.
- Selection is unpredictable and depends entirely on what local donors bring in.
A thrift store’s pricing on a pair of Levi’s might be $8–14. Ross’s pricing on the same new Levi’s might be $35–45. The Ross jeans are new; the thrift jeans have been worn. The thrift jeans are sustainable (nothing new was manufactured); the Ross jeans are part of the primary apparel supply chain, just sold through a secondary channel. Both have value. They are not the same thing.
Why the confusion is common
A few reasons this question shows up in search so often:
Shared “treasure hunt” shopping model. Both categories reward browsing. You walk in not knowing what you will find. That feel is uncommon in regular retail and feels distinctive when you experience it.
Price floor similarity. A $10 shirt at Ross and a $6 shirt at Salvation Army both feel cheap. The gap between a $6 thrift shirt and a $45 department-store shirt is more obvious than the gap between the thrift shirt and the Ross shirt.
Both segments exploded in the 2008–2012 recession. TJX Companies (parent of TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods) and Ross Stores grew their footprints dramatically during the recession alongside genuine thrift growth. They became part of the same mental category for many shoppers.
Marketing overlap. Both off-price and thrift market themselves on savings and discovery. The language (“hidden gems,” “treasure hunt,” “up to 70% off”) is nearly identical.
None of that makes Ross a thrift. It just makes the confusion understandable.
Is TJ Maxx a thrift store? Is Marshalls? Is Burlington?
No to all three. TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Sierra, and Homesense are all owned by TJX Companies and all follow the off-price new-inventory model. Burlington (the former Burlington Coat Factory, covered separately in our batch) operates the same way — new inventory sourced from department-store overstock, cancelled orders, and closeouts. Nordstrom Rack is the same model with a slight twist: much of its inventory comes directly from Nordstrom full-line stores’ unsold goods, plus third-party overstock.
Everything in these stores is new with tags. Everything in a thrift store is secondhand. The two categories are distinct despite shopper-facing similarities.
When off-price makes sense vs. when thrift makes sense
Choose off-price when:
- You need new with tags for gifting, workplace dress codes, or sensitive situations (baby items, underwear, formalwear for specific events).
- You need a specific size, color, or category in stock today — off-price inventory depth is more predictable than thrift.
- You want current-season styles without paying full retail.
- You want warranty-intact electronics, unopened beauty products, or anything where “used” is a deal-breaker.
Choose thrift when:
- You are hunting vintage or pre-2010 inventory that off-price simply does not carry.
- You prioritize sustainability — buying secondhand extends existing garments’ lives rather than driving new production.
- You want the deepest possible savings — thrift prices sit 50–80% below off-price on equivalent items.
- You want to support nonprofit missions — most major thrift chains are nonprofit-affiliated.
- You are willing to trade predictability for surprise.
Most serious thrifters I know also shop off-price occasionally. The two are complementary, not competitors.
Where to go if you were actually looking for a thrift store
If you landed here thinking Ross was a thrift and are now looking for the real category, start with the nationwide chains:
- Salvation Army — 7,500+ US locations, nonprofit, deep reviewed in Salvation Army Thrift Store.
- Goodwill — 3,300+ US locations, nonprofit, covered in our Is Goodwill a Thrift Store — Here’s the Honest Answer Q&A.
- Savers / Value Village / Unique — for-profit but genuine thrift model, covered in Savers Thrift Store.
- Arc Thrift (Colorado) — nonprofit, covered in our Arc Thrift Store review.
- Red White and Blue (FL/GA) — for-profit regional chain, covered in Red White and Blue Thrift Store.
For finding any of these near you, the Nearest Thrift Store how-to guide walks through locator tools. Our broader Thrifting covers shopping strategy once you get there. For the other common Ross-like confusion, Is Burlington a Thrift Store — Here’s the Honest Answer covers Burlington specifically.
One practical note regardless of which category you shop: keep the post-purchase care tools basic. A Handheld Garment Steamer on Amazon handles most off-price wrinkle and most thrift freshness needs, a fabric shaver fixes pilling on the sweaters both channels sell, and a basic wash cycle takes care of the rest. Good finds don’t need heroic restoration — they just need an hour of attention when you get home.
The verdict
Ross is not a thrift store and calling it one waters down a category that means something specific. The off-price segment (Ross, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Burlington, Nordstrom Rack) sells new inventory at a discount and is a legitimate way to buy current-season goods below MSRP. Thrift stores sell donated secondhand goods and serve a different set of needs — deeper discounts, vintage access, nonprofit mission support, real sustainability. Both have a place; neither replaces the other. If you were hoping Ross was a thrift because you wanted rock-bottom prices on vintage jeans, Salvation Army or Savers is where that conversation actually lives. If you needed new-with-tags at 40% off retail, Ross does that job well. Just don’t mix the two up on expectations or on your tax return — donations to Salvation Army are deductible; shopping at Ross is not.
FAQ
Is Ross Dress for Less a thrift store?
No. Ross sells brand-new, never-worn inventory sourced from department-store overstock, cancelled orders, and manufacturer closeouts. A thrift store sells donated secondhand goods. The two are fundamentally different retail models despite superficial similarity.
Is TJ Maxx a thrift store?
No. TJ Maxx is an off-price retailer owned by TJX Companies. Everything sold is new with tags, sourced from department-store overstock and closeouts. Same model as Marshalls, HomeGoods, and Sierra (also TJX brands).
Is Marshalls a thrift store?
No. Marshalls is a TJX-owned off-price retailer selling new inventory. Same model as TJ Maxx with slightly different merchandising and occasional shoe-department emphasis.
What’s the difference between off-price and thrift?
Off-price retailers sell new, never-worn goods sourced from overstock and closeouts at below-MSRP prices. Thrift stores sell donated secondhand goods, typically at much lower prices and often to fund nonprofit missions. Off-price is primary retail at a discount; thrift is secondary retail from donations.
Is shopping at Ross tax-deductible?
No. Buying merchandise at any retailer — off-price or thrift — is not a tax-deductible activity. Donations to qualified nonprofit thrift stores (Salvation Army, Goodwill, Arc, St. Vincent de Paul) are tax-deductible if you itemize and retain receipts.
For off-price routing through Macy’s Backstage, Nordstrom Rack, Gap Factory, and shopgoodwill, see our Off-Price + Outlet Retailers hub.
