200 charity shops closing (cancer research)

They have become a business instead of a charity shop that helps the buyer get something cheap as well. They get all their stuff for free and they charge ridiculous prices.

I think Vinted is taking them out of the game.

A charity shop I went to on Sunday was selling dusty, worn Nike shoes for £25. On Vinted for £25 they would have to be something special.

I;ve said it before on these threads but charity salaries across the board are uncompetitive.

The manager's position came up a couple of years ago at the Oxfam shop where I was a volunteer and the district manager encouraged me to apply. I didn't, for a lot of reasons. The salary was about 30p an hour more than minimum wage. I would have been the only paid member of staff in the store, the salary was 35 hours a week and the store was open 52 hours a week. For my just over minimum wage salary I would be responsible for everything - doing the banking, complying with health and safety legislation, getting out of bed at 3am if the alarm went off, training and recruiting volunteers, safeguarding, and that's before you even get to managing donations and hitting targets. It's a LOT. All the time working with a "staff" who don't have to turn up if they don;t want to, and can pick and choose the parts of the role they fancy doing and refuse to do the steaming/till/sorting if it's not their cup of tea.

At the same time there was an advert for a department manager in a large Primark - more money, none of the challenges of volunteer staff, other managers around for support/cover, general manager in the store above you. Obviously anyone wanting a career in retail is going to choose Primark over charity in that situaiton.

@roundaboutthehillsareshining

Totally agree. If charities take on some paid employees, they should pay them all a fair, and decent wage.

Unfortunately, this isn't always done with staff on the lower end, and was a key reason why Oxfam workers went on strike in December 2023. Oxfam shops were closed on a few days in December because of it.

Charity chief executives generally aren't on high salaries for their position though. I find this expectation that people should work below the market rate for their skills and expertise, just because it's for "charidee" baffling. If you have the skills, qualifications and expertise to be C-Suite level, then you should expect to be paid a salary commensurate with that. The C-Suite jobs can't be done by just anyone - modern charities are large, complex organisations with organisational needs around corporate finance, HR, cybersecurity, etc etc. The people who manage those areas of expertise deserve to be paid fairly for doing so, just as those people who work in other areas of the charity do so too.

I just read that the charity sector lost about a third of its volunteers during the Covid period - and the numbers haven't picked up to where they once were.

So fewer staff is almost certainly a contributing reason to why some charity shops are closing.

Just looked at the list - a few that I go to are closing😞The one in my town closed yonks ago. I hope it's not going to be a trend across other charities. I have to say, the charity shops I go to (and I spend loads of my free time wandering round charity shops, not just in my own town) always seem to be doing a brisk trade!

@Arran2024

It's because if they paid everyone who works in the shops, then the amount of money raised for the cause would dramatically fall.

Currently, Oxfam gives 80% of their takings directly to their cause. If they didn't have volunteers and hired employees only, I can only imagine what that percentage would be. Not nearly as much as 80%.

Yes, chief executives are paid very well (though, it's worth pointing out, they are typically NOT paid as high a salary as they would be if they were working in the private sector) but that's because the jobs the chief executives do require a lot of experience and skill and a LOT of responsibility. If they offered low salaries for those positions, qualified people simply wouldn't take them and you'd be left without competent people running things.

My daughter has special needs and isn't able to work and people often ask why she doesn't volunteer in a charity shop. Actually her supervision needs are too much for most shops but anyway, it does raise the issue of why these large charities rely on unpaid labour. Their chief executives are on high salaries yet they expect people, often vulnerable people, to work there for free.

Even Loros, Leicester’s hospice has changed one of their shops from one that sold suits, posh dresses for weddings etc to everything a £1. Obviously the shop doesn’t sell the suits anymore

There used to be a great charity shop (not Cancer research) near us. Then the staff changed, all the prices went up and they started selling everything half decent on line - so now it's just crap.

@CrostaDiPizza there's also several community bookshelves in many shopping centres 😂
It's not just a train station thing.

Yes but you don't just leave the book on the train?
You take it with you.
When not actually reading it's in your bag whether you're walking around from shop to shop, en route to work or doing the school run or whatever.
A paperback book in your bag.
Seriously.... what's the difference?

@Sunshineandoranges

I don't know specifically which roles you mean by 'management' but if you're talking about the shop managers, their wages are definitely not huge. If anything, they're probably underpaid.

@Needmorelego If you're out shopping you are walking about and the book will be carried in your bag.
If you are about to spend a while on a train, you'll be sitting with the book either in your bag or in your hand.
Not sure why you needed to question the logic.

@Nocookiesforme

That's offensively low. I wonder if wages vary according to location? If a shop is located in a more affluent area, is the wage a bit higher?

Our shop is based in Cambridge. I don't know how much the manager earns, but I can't imagine it's much more than 25k.

A couple of years ago, lower-level Oxfam employees went on strike over the low pay - our shop was closed on a few days because of it. Some of the employees had been having to use food banks.

Why not drop them into a clothing bank?

I just didn't understand your logic of why you said it's harder to carry a book while out shopping than it is to carry a book while commuting on a train.
Never mind 🤷

I do buy them, but they are heavy, and the same books are on display each time I go in.

Don't buy a hardback then 🤔
(which most charity shops don't usually have many of anyway)

for some people who shop with us I am sure that’s true, but ime many people who donate have a personal reason for supporting the cause and do want us to achieve a good price for their donations. We also have a lot of gift aiders where I volunteer (42% of our sales are gift aided) and they receive regular updates regarding how much their donations have raised so I do think a good percentage of people do care about us achieving a fair price for their donations.

I volunteer for one of the more expensive chains and we offer a vg selection or products at different price points. Today I sold a Ted Baker jacket for £35, another coat for £25, fashion tops for £3 and some picture frames for £2.50. Am I going to sell the Ted Baker jacket for £5? No. Do we have other jackets at a much cheaper price point? Yes. We cater for a range of tastes and budgets.

@Needmorelego Paperback aren't heavy, but hardbacks are.

And the have to factor in the huge management salaries!

I worked in charity for many years - charity shops get sooooo much stock that they don’t know what to do with. I think the problem is the area managers dictate the price point as they’re greedy and the stock just doesn’t shift, so shops don’t make their targets and they eventually close. I used to sell cheap and lots of it, making my shop the best earner on the area. I see primark for £7 and now lots of shein for the same price.
I was talking to an area manager the other day who said their donations have really gone down (the quality) and they are looking to buy in second hand stock. Madness.

@Sunshineandoranges there's a "boutique" clothes hospice shop near me.
There's never anyone in it.

Apparently prices relate to areas. Ours are posh platignum band so fairly expensive. The childrens society one doesnt sell any toys or childrens clothes and feels more like a boutique. I only pop in if waiting for the bus which stops outside.