"Vintage"?

People in New York seem to place a premium on things that are used or labeled "vintage".  One second-hand clothing store in the East Village put a $15 price tag on a plain white used tee with pit stains from its previous owner.  To us, that is not "vintage", that's USED, not to mention gross.  Today, we visited a used book store on St. Mark's Place.  They were charging $5.50 for a used book with yellowing pages and a crease down the cover which clearly stated that it's original price was $4.50.  We are bracing ourselves for the time that someone on the street wants to charge $20 for a "vintage" big mac that he just puked onto the ground.