Page 2 | To think people are quite petty to object to charity shop staff getting "first dibs" when they are BUYING the items?

SorcererGaheris · 2024-12-06T20:03:48+00:00

For context, I am a volunteer in a charity shop myself, and if I see something that I want, I will purchase it. The shop doesn't give staff discounts, either; staff pay full price - the last item I bought, a book, cost me £40. Anyway, I COMPLETELY understand people objecting if volunteers were to just take donated items for themselves, but I've seen some online discussions in which people complain about the staff getting first pick of donations when they are *paying* for them. I really don't see the problem in this case, and think people who object are rather out of line. Other retail workers surely sometime purchase items from the shops they work in, so I don't see why volunteers should be begrudged that. A volunteer is a customer as much as any other.

jxpop665 · 11/12/2024 00:33

Yabu

It's a complete abuse and diminishes the stock. I'd be okay that shop stafff could purchase at full price after being on display for 28 days. No purchases from people and family who know people who are staff.

Basically if you would buy it before it hits the floor, the price needs to increase until you wouldn't.

Original poster

SorcererGaheris · 11/12/2024 00:02

FancyAReallyLongUsernameJustForAChange · 10/12/2024 21:43

If they can be resold at enough profit to make it worthwhile, does that not suggest the item is underpriced?

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It could be said that in that situation the items are underpriced - but there may be nothing the staff can do to change that. If @ShanghaiDiva's shop is anything like mine, then there may be a pricing structure set from above that staff are expected to follow.

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FancyAReallyLongUsernameJustForAChange · 10/12/2024 21:43

SnappyGreyLemur · 10/12/2024 20:43

Often items are sold within an hour or so of being put on sale, sometimes by regular customers who have a resale business. Should we stop these regular customers from buying the items so the shop looks more attractive?

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If they can be resold at enough profit to make it worthwhile, does that not suggest the item is underpriced?

InWalksBarberalla · 10/12/2024 20:51

SnappyGreyLemur · 10/12/2024 20:43

Often items are sold within an hour or so of being put on sale, sometimes by regular customers who have a resale business. Should we stop these regular customers from buying the items so the shop looks more attractive?

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Yes, nobody should be able to buy the 'good' stuff so it stays in the shop to entice other customers in (to also not buy it).

SnappyGreyLemur · 10/12/2024 20:43

ShanghaiDiva · 10/12/2024 16:36

I sold a decorative item this afternoon - £25 and I know it went in the window today. Following the logic on this thread I should not have sold it as other customers have not had a chance to see that we have good quality items - perhaps asked them to come back in a week…

Often items are sold within an hour or so of being put on sale, sometimes by regular customers who have a resale business. Should we stop these regular customers from buying the items so the shop looks more attractive?

BernardBlacksBreakfastWine · 10/12/2024 18:16

The13thFairy · 10/12/2024 18:04

Trouble is, not much point in going in if volunteers have cherry-picked the donations ~ and I knew a volunteer some years ago who was selling the stuff on eBay.

🙄Round and round we go!

Original poster

SorcererGaheris · 10/12/2024 18:07

The13thFairy · 10/12/2024 18:04

Trouble is, not much point in going in if volunteers have cherry-picked the donations ~ and I knew a volunteer some years ago who was selling the stuff on eBay.

But why would you assume that's the case generally?

In many shops there are lots of interesting, good-quality things out for sale that the staff have not bought and have no intention of buying.

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The13thFairy · 10/12/2024 18:04

Trouble is, not much point in going in if volunteers have cherry-picked the donations ~ and I knew a volunteer some years ago who was selling the stuff on eBay.

Fairyliz · 10/12/2024 17:50

BernardBlacksBreakfastWine · 08/12/2024 13:47

I’m not sure if you’re being deliberately obtuse?

People have their own motivation for volunteering. It’s obviously not money, but it’s got to be something. Could be because the work is fun - that’s what OP said. For others it’s a deep love for a particular charity. Maybe for others it’s a feeling of superiority they can wield in discussions- who knows?

The point is, your motivation shouldn’t matter if you are doing the work correctly. Which OP is.

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My motivation for volunteering is to get away from my grumpy husband.
Is that worthy enough for some posters?

Original poster

SorcererGaheris · 10/12/2024 17:14

DogCoat · 10/12/2024 17:07

In our charity shop, we get shed loads of good donations. I'd say 50% donations end up going to recycling as we haven't got enough room for all the donated stock.
Thank god the volunteers also buy stuff as it helps to free up space and increases turnover.
Before I was a volunteer myself , I imagined the charity shop would be delighted with my donations. Now I realise they were probably inwardly groaning, thinking not more stuff we've got nowhere to put.
The only donations as a volunteer I am excited to receive are plastic bags. We are always running out of those. A bag for life sends us into a grateful frenzy!

Before I was a volunteer myself , I imagined the charity shop would be delighted with my donations. Now I realise they were probably inwardly groaning, thinking not more stuff we've got nowhere to put.

@DogCoat - The shop I'm in has had to temporarily stop accepting donations because there has been such a backlog of stuff piling up in the basement. This was an official directive from the Area Manager after she visited the shop.

So we've not been accepting donations as a general rule for about two weeks. (Exceptions have been made if someone has just come in with the odd book or two.) But anything more and we've had to say no.

Stuff has been getting worked through downstairs and there is some more space now, so hopefully the 'no more donations' rule will come to an end soon.

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BobbyBiscuits · 10/12/2024 17:11

How can they know what they're missing if you've bought it before it hits the shop floor.
I'd say maybe you'd have an advantage in that if it was a big item you might have more leeway with storing it there before you found a suitable way of transporting it home.
But it's a perk of the job. Same with supermarkets and clothing retailers. I accept if they see something they like they can have it before it gets to general sale. As long as they weren't just buying up all of one particular range leaving shop floors empty.
But that doesn't apply in charity shop anyway. You're a volunteer which is admirable so you deserve first dibs.

DogCoat · 10/12/2024 17:07

In our charity shop, we get shed loads of good donations. I'd say 50% donations end up going to recycling as we haven't got enough room for all the donated stock.
Thank god the volunteers also buy stuff as it helps to free up space and increases turnover.
Before I was a volunteer myself , I imagined the charity shop would be delighted with my donations. Now I realise they were probably inwardly groaning, thinking not more stuff we've got nowhere to put.
The only donations as a volunteer I am excited to receive are plastic bags. We are always running out of those. A bag for life sends us into a grateful frenzy!

Original poster

SorcererGaheris · 10/12/2024 17:03

ShanghaiDiva · 10/12/2024 16:48

@SorcererGaheris what was I thinking…you are of course correct! All items could have a different colour label to show the week they went out and this week we sell only green and next week it’s purple! Just hope it’s not too confusing for the dim volunteers. 😉

And what if you have a member of staff who is colour-blind!?

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ShanghaiDiva · 10/12/2024 16:48

@SorcererGaheris what was I thinking…you are of course correct! All items could have a different colour label to show the week they went out and this week we sell only green and next week it’s purple! Just hope it’s not too confusing for the dim volunteers. 😉

Original poster

SorcererGaheris · 10/12/2024 16:41

ShanghaiDiva · 10/12/2024 16:36

I sold a decorative item this afternoon - £25 and I know it went in the window today. Following the logic on this thread I should not have sold it as other customers have not had a chance to see that we have good quality items - perhaps asked them to come back in a week…

Ah, but then the next people who come into the shop and wish to buy the item are then preventing other potential people from the opportunity to see items on display and purchase them. So it goes on and on...!

Better just have a rule that no items can be bought by anyone until they've been on the shop floor for a whole week...

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ShanghaiDiva · 10/12/2024 16:36

I sold a decorative item this afternoon - £25 and I know it went in the window today. Following the logic on this thread I should not have sold it as other customers have not had a chance to see that we have good quality items - perhaps asked them to come back in a week…

Honeycrisp · 10/12/2024 12:26

ShanghaiDiva · 10/12/2024 12:15

@BernardBlacksBreakfastWine precisely!
many posters love to tell us how to do our jobs because we’re all a bit dim and can’t get a proper job…

There are definitely some odd attitudes to charity shops on here. There's been threads with people seeing their arses when a charity shop didn't accept particular donations, people who think the job of a charity shop is to provide cheap stuff rather than to make money for the cause, people who think having been in one means they know all about how to run them. It's quite strange.

ShanghaiDiva · 10/12/2024 12:15

@BernardBlacksBreakfastWine precisely!
many posters love to tell us how to do our jobs because we’re all a bit dim and can’t get a proper job…

BernardBlacksBreakfastWine · 10/12/2024 10:49

mathanxiety · 09/12/2024 22:30

It's not just about money going to the charity on a transaction by transaction basis.

Part of the job is to make the shop look attractive, and what makes it attractive is a selection of attractive items for sale. Along with that is a customer's perception that they ha e access to quality second hand merchandise.

This can't happen if the volunteers are all doing what you're doing.

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This is silly.

If the few items the staff are buying are so special that their removal compromises the whole operation, then presumably the first customers through the door would also have made a beeline for them and snapped them up given the chance. And the shop would still be without them for most customers.

Alternatively (in the real world), the few items purchased by staff are just part of the normal business of the shop.

Out of interest, why are you so set on explaining to an actual charity shop worker how charity shops should work?

Original poster

SorcererGaheris · 10/12/2024 00:53

mathanxiety · 10/12/2024 00:44

You duck the issue all the time.

Is your thread solely about your specific second hand book shop?

Or is it about charity or second hand shops in general?

Getting people who want to spend their money into the shop for a second, third, fourth, etc. visit is the key to selling second hand goods. Word spreads about spectacular finds, but disappointment is also shared.

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Is your thread solely about your specific second hand book shop?

Charity shops generally, but I base the knowledge and experience I have of my particular shop about charity shops elsewhere.

Given that staff sometimes purchasing some items from our Oxfam bookshop does not have any negligible impact on the shop's performance, then I tend to think that this would also be the case for a lot of charity shops out there. Not all, perhaps. Perhaps there are a number of shops that rarely have items of good quality. But I think it is a little narrow-minded to determine that this means that staff sometimes buying items that they specifically want is a problematic practice across the board.

Getting people who want to spend their money into the shop for a second, third, fourth, etc. visit is the key to selling second hand goods.

And this is exactly what happens at the bookshop that I work at. We have quite a few repeat customers that I recognise. The majority of books on the shelves are in very good condition, which is partly why the shop charges higher prices for them than others might. It's not unusual for the person who prices the history books to put £7.99 or £8.99 (sometimes even higher) on some hardback history tomes.

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mathanxiety · 10/12/2024 00:44

SorcererGaheris · 09/12/2024 22:37

Well, making the shop look attractive has never been one of my own duties.

But even so, the shop that I'm in does look attractive because there is a LOT of books in good-condition on sale. (As well as shelves of DVDs and CDs.)

Staff don't buy items simply because they're "nice", they only buy specific items that interest them personally. There are LOTS of nice books that I don't want, and I'm sure the same goes for the other staff. Most of the time, I don't see anything that I have any interest in buying.

And it's not simply about volunteers - the two managers of the shop are not volunteers, they are paid employees, and both went on strike along with other employees in the organisation last year. Both of them sometimes buy books/CDs that they would like to read/listen to.

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You duck the issue all the time.

Is your thread solely about your specific second hand book shop?

Or is it about charity or second hand shops in general?

Getting people who want to spend their money into the shop for a second, third, fourth, etc. visit is the key to selling second hand goods. Word spreads about spectacular finds, but disappointment is also shared.

Original poster

SorcererGaheris · 10/12/2024 00:41

mathanxiety · 10/12/2024 00:30

It's pretty easy to compare one charity shop in a given stretch of high street against another. This can give you an idea of the sort of castoffs an area is generating. So you can tell which ones are selling the slim pickings, and decide for yourself why they're selling the dregs.

Some people do go weekly or even more frequently to their local charity shops.

You're hair splitting - ALL the good quality items...

The perception of a shop being a waste of time hurts the charity.

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@mathanxiety

But how am I splitting hairs? People's complaints have literally been that there is NOTHING decent in charity shops because the staff buy ALL the nice items.

I'd have to check back to be sure, but I think yourself have literally stated that staff buy "all" the good stuff and that that has a detrimental affect on the success of the shop.

What I am saying to you is that, as far as my shop is concerned, staff purchases have no detrimental effect on the ship, because there is a huge volume of good items on sale that staff do not buy. Why, just yesterday a customer bought a book that I had priced for £6.99.

So what on earth makes you think that the shop I work in is selling dregs?

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mathanxiety · 10/12/2024 00:31

FancyAReallyLongUsernameJustForAChange · 08/12/2024 09:21

I don't have an issue with SorcererGaheris's motives for volunteering - that's fair enough and good for her that she's honest about it.

My issue isn't with what you might call the individual morality of volunteers who buy things before they go out on display - and it makes no difference in practical terms whether they are reselling the things or not - it's with the policymakers in the charity who allow this. They are shooting themselves in the foot.

Charity shops tread a fine line between looking like an Aladdin's Cave of treasures, and a church jumble sale. Some of this is about merchandising, but not all of it. Our Oxfam general shop (now closed) was always well-merchandised, colour-blocked etc. but there was hardly ever any decent stock - the clothes always looked tatty, never any labels to get excited about. Our local independent cat rescue shop isn't half as well merchandised but it has the Aladdin's Cave feel because the stock is good - I've found labels such as Joe Browns and Monsoon, and I got a beautiful lesac bag from there. Consequently I go in there about once a week on average and usually buy something, even if only a paperback that I will donate back once I've read it.

It's footfall that keeps these shops going, and that footfall is generated by the expectation of finding 'treasure'; once people are in there they might spend £2 on a paperback or £4 on a random black t-shirt because they see it and remember they were thinking they could do with a simple black t-shirt, but they have to be in there for that to happen, and they won't be lured in by paperback books and random black t-shirts, they'll be lured in because they found an All Saints shirt in there two months go.

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Excellent post.

mathanxiety · 10/12/2024 00:30

SorcererGaheris · 08/12/2024 12:01

Perhaps because we all know of charity shops that never or rarely have decent stock in?

Fair enough that's that's a number of people's experience and I'm not going to deny that that is what they have personally seen.

But why determine that the sole reason for that is because the staff are buying all the better-quality items? It's also possible that a very high percentage of the donations are just not what you would consider to be of high quality.

And while perhaps some of you visit charity shops quite frequently, you're surely not there all the time, every day. Is it not possible that the shops do get some decent stock which is swiftly bought by other members of the public, in addition to some possible purchases from staff members?

It's a fact that in some shops, volunteers are permitted to buy items they'd like to have without putting them on the shop floor for a period of time first. But I think it's quite a big stretch to go from there to saying that members of staff are buying ALL the good-quality items themselves.

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It's pretty easy to compare one charity shop in a given stretch of high street against another. This can give you an idea of the sort of castoffs an area is generating. So you can tell which ones are selling the slim pickings, and decide for yourself why they're selling the dregs.

Some people do go weekly or even more frequently to their local charity shops.

You're hair splitting - ALL the good quality items...

The perception of a shop being a waste of time hurts the charity.

Original poster

SorcererGaheris · 09/12/2024 22:37

mathanxiety · 09/12/2024 22:30

It's not just about money going to the charity on a transaction by transaction basis.

Part of the job is to make the shop look attractive, and what makes it attractive is a selection of attractive items for sale. Along with that is a customer's perception that they ha e access to quality second hand merchandise.

This can't happen if the volunteers are all doing what you're doing.

Show quote history

Well, making the shop look attractive has never been one of my own duties.

But even so, the shop that I'm in does look attractive because there is a LOT of books in good-condition on sale. (As well as shelves of DVDs and CDs.)

Staff don't buy items simply because they're "nice", they only buy specific items that interest them personally. There are LOTS of nice books that I don't want, and I'm sure the same goes for the other staff. Most of the time, I don't see anything that I have any interest in buying.

And it's not simply about volunteers - the two managers of the shop are not volunteers, they are paid employees, and both went on strike along with other employees in the organisation last year. Both of them sometimes buy books/CDs that they would like to read/listen to.

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