Charity shops....

[Thefearlessfreak]

To expect charity shops to take your donations when you struggle in the door with them?

Even if they have loads of stuff it just seems rude to be told to take it all away!

And: is it unreasonable to expect that they charge charity style prices? e.g Often, Primark clothes are for sale in charity shops for the same price as when new.

You still have to think twice about a purchase because it is no longer a bargain to buy second hand!

[expatinscotland]

that's why i usually freecycle stuff now.

YANBU.

i've heard 'give it to a women's shelter' often enough, but everyone i've been to here in teh UK tells me they don't have space to store donations.

[AnarchyAunt]

Oh they are wankers, some charities. Have you ever seen the amount they throw away?

They are all trying to tart the shops up and lose the 'jumble sale' image - but that means higher prices and less stock going on the shelves.

A local hospice shop gave dd a bag of books last week as they were apparently not in good enough condition to sell, due to creased spines, and were about to be thrown out. All the books they sell now are priced at £1.50 or more. But why not just put them all out (obviously not if they had bogeys on the pages or suchlike) and price them all at 50p?

[Tortington]

clothes go to a clothes bank - i dont take to a charity shop - unless it doesn't have a notice on the door and them sometimes i leave stuff outside on a mon am.

it seems embarrassing to be told that they don't want your stuff

i dont think that they are competitive pricewise - i really dont.

i understand that they are supposed to be raising funds but its always cheaper to buy t shirts from primark or some such shop

its only worth it if it is a good brand

but the charity shops are brand savvy - and often charge huge amounts more for branded stuff

we usually just peruse for nicknacks

i really want a PINK racing steering wheel cover. not fluffy. and i dont want to pay the guy on ebay who has nicked a load off the back of a lorry (clearly)

so i will continue on my quest that has already taken 6 months

[Nagapie]

Could you not save up your charity items and put them in the bags on the kerb for collection by the charities??

It is a bit of a cheek to start being selective and picky about donations ...

[freshprincess]

It annoys me also, but yhey only turn it down when they haven't got any more room for it.

Pricing, the ones near me seem to have a set rate for different items, ie skirts £5, small handbags £3, which doesn't take into account how much it cost new. They also tend to be staffed by old dears who wouldn't know Primark from Prada.

(I have a friend who took a bag of clothes in, the old lady in the shop had a rummage through and then said 'no thanks'!)

[Nagapie]

Saying that, when the airlines lost my MIL and SIL's luggage, it was thanks to the charity shops that they were able to get a reasonably priced and suitable outfit for my DD's Christening...

[Thefearlessfreak]

I know.. I just hark back to the "good ole days" I suppose; It IS embarrassing to have your donations turned down!

I totally agree about books too - it just doesn't figure to have to pay more than 50p for a 2nd hand book. I do like shopping in charity shops; often ds's clothes are still bargains...but they should charge less to do their bit for stopping sweat shop labour. I sort of feel that i am persuaded back to Primark etc for the cheapness of NEW goods; rather than over priced second hand.

[mumfor1standmaybe2ndtime]

I know what you are saying. I was looking for some cheap trousers in my local oxfam to wear as maternity trousers for work, I found some drawstring joggers and they wanted £4.99 for them! I put them back and thought I may as well go to Primark and buy new! Then they wonder why they can't shift their stock.
Some of the shops forget that they don't buy the stock in, but it is given to them!

[Tanee58]

Used to love the serendipity of charity shops, got all my party clothes from them when I was a student and lots of nice things for DD when she was little. I still trawl them out of habit, but buy less and less. They seem to know the value of everything and nothing and even overprice 'collectables' with cracks in them just because they have a 'name'. Have seen Primark clothes priced at MORE than they were. Yes, boxes of books at 50p would sell so much faster. So they get left with stock that just won't budge.

[potatofactory]

Yep - our local charity shops have nothing but supermarket clothes, for sale at probably more (in some cases) than they were sold for. Everything is too expensive, and they have def lost sight of what they are, They should not bother trying to be classy, and I was told I couldn't buy something out of the window as it was part of the 'display' WTF?????

[AnarchyAunt]

I have seen a McDonald's Happy Meal toy priced at £2.99 .

I will name and shame too - it was in Help the Aged. I thought it was a mistake and asked but no, it was for real.

[Tanee58]

Nagapie, I have twice filled bags and left them outside, and they have not been picked up. And I try to avoid those leaflets from taking old clothes and flogging them abroad. Seems like exploitation all round.

[zippitippitoes]

the argument for selling at a healthy price rather than a knock down price is duty to the donor to get the best possible price for their generous donation and a duty to their beneficiaries to make as much money as possible for the charitable cause

you could arvue that there is also a third duty to the local community to make goods affordable

pirces do vary as they are set locally by the manager

[mumfor1standmaybe2ndtime]

Lol! At the display thing! I am a window dresser by trade and find it funny that they get fussy with their displays.
At work we had some mannequins we were going to bin, so we asked a charity shop if they wanted them for their window, the lady behind the counter turned her nose up and said 'well, I suppose so!'
We are talking about full bodied mannequins with heads in excellent condition!
(We didn't donate them to that shop btw!)

[Cappuccino]

I do agree, tho I have found some nice things in charity shops

Oxfam particularly is the worst for this, the pricing, and I don't want to buy second hand Primark stuff for nearly the full price either

I do think that ethically we should buy second hand clothing tho, as well as expecting people to wear our old cast-off tat, and that is one of my main reasons for shopping there

also it is a donation to a charity

I also think with rising business rates etc, though, it must be impossible to price everything at 50p

[rebelmum1]

Yes I had the same thing happen to me and obviously if it happens once you'll never do it again. They didn't want any toys or electrical goods.. I took a perfectly good printer to the tip in the end and lots of toys.

[rebelmum1]

they over price what they think are antiques too

[rebelmum1]

I was sent away once asking for something that hadn't been priced, they wouldn't let me have it.?!

[Nagapie]

That would be even more annoying!! I only fill the bags that come from a charity I recognise - like Age Concern and BHF. I don't do the leaflet ones (exploitation as you said) but the reg charities usually have a no. on them that you can ring if they don't collect..

Am I right in thinking that a lot of charity shops are targeted by the East European gangs who buy the clothes 'cheaply' to then have them shipped to the respective countries and sold at a premium?? Or this is just another scare story...??

[zippitippitoes]

most are not aqllowed to sell electrical goods because of risk

charity shopos do get 80% business rate relief but they do now increasingly pay commercial rents

[mumfor1standmaybe2ndtime]

I didn't think charity shops paid the same rates as say a 'normal shop' as it was a charity selling 2nd hand goods?

They do however still try to sell new goods within their donated goods.

[Tanee58]

Except the antiques sometimes have 'as seen in them' - in other words, 'this is old, but it's got a chip' - and still £10+ - perhaps they think we're all going to sell them on Ebay . (actually, I've seen people scrutinising the marks, who probably are dealers).

[Thefearlessfreak]

I find it hard to think Charity still = Big business

At least they should be trained to be polite to people who try to donate - that is what they run on (well...some of it) It is meant to be a fair trade.

I can't stand all the new crap that lots of charity shops sell now too.

[rebelmum1]

when was the last time a person was killed by a printer? They could get stuff pat tested.