200 charity shops closing (cancer research)

Because I have this romanticised image that a customer will browse the rails and shelves and come upon my donation with happiness. The customer wins, the shop wins and I win.

That rose-spectacled image is somewhat ruined when you think the staff have claiming rights.

I agree it's not a totally rational view.

@nomas , if you work/volunteer in a charity shop, why shouldn't you be allowed to buy something? I doubt that they buy much. `

i use a clothing collection, they come to your door and collect no charge. I can’t be bothered with the local charities, too inconvenient in terms of their times, what they accept and just incredibly fussy all round. I don’t have time lugging bags from door to door as well.

so who buys the rags?

@nomas

Why would it put you off donating more valuable items? Since staff are buying them, the charity is still getting the money, which is presumably the reason you donate the items in the first place?

Where I volunteer, yes, if staff see something we want to buy while sorting, we are allowed to buy it straight away - BUT we don't get a discount. The item must be priced by another member of staff at the same price that it would go on the shop floor for. Staff purchases are also recorded on the till.

Of course, while I'm placing stock on the shelves, I'll also sometimes see a book that's already been put out for sale that I want to buy, and go and buy it then and there.

@MumChp

Lower than it was pre-Covid. To be fair, I think there are numerous factors for that, and it's not just to do with charity shop prices. A lot of people are spending less in general.

I do think that Oxfam is on the pricier end when it comes to charity shops, and I can see an argument for pricing things a bit lower - but pricing the stock dirt cheap ultimately wouldn't help either, I suspect.

I think pricing at 25% of the original price would perhaps be a better bet, but it's not my decision to make.

@SorcererGaheris yes I love the Oxfam and BHF bookshops.
They are like a "proper" bookshop rather than a charity shop.
I actually don't mind paying a higher price for books if it's a particular book I am looking for.
Cheap prices doesn't mean sales.
A charity shop near where my mum lives has children's books for 10p. I went there at the tail end of the summer holidays and then just this weekend gone (so 6 weeks ish later).
They still had some of the same books (children's books is my thing so I am always having a really good look).
10p and not sold. Why? Because they are all dumped in dusty baskets, no order (so teen books with baby picture books) and just a big mess.
Keep up the good work @SorcererGaheris 🙂

where do the rags go?

Probably sold 50p per kilo or in landfill.

But that over exuberant mistake costs customers which in turn loses them money. Surely just because most are volunteers you shouldn't just brush it off. Many charities are run as businesses.

Thing is the rrp on the book is very rarely the price I find them for in shops and say places like the works they always have deals on and bundle this and that. 10 books £10 on the children what I call floppy books. Or the 3 for £7.50 range.

If they want say captain underpants I’m not searching the charity shops I’m looking for that book alone likely via Google.

Charity shop books for me are oh that could be good while I’m in here and it’s cheap so the works 3 for £7.50 would fit that and has filled that space when I’m in there grabbing craft stuff.

i have bought a gravy boat today from a charity shop, it is beautiful
i dislike those charity shops that order in colour rather than size
and those where there is nowhere to try on.
i remember the snooty woman when i tried to bring something back suggsting that i swap it for something else, she seemed quite affronted. so i dont bother now, if i can't try it on i dont buy it

the worst culprits are those who order books in colour!

where do the rags go?

I tried buying stuff for me from charity shops and they were very hit and miss, some of the shops stank of BO so goodness know what state the clothes were in!
I then moved to Vinted which was great for a while but over the last 12+ months clothing described as 'new' turns out to have been worn and then just re tagged for sale. I no longer trust sellers describing clothes as brand new.
So I stick with primark and shein, I know I'm not buying a future antique but at least it won't be a smelly, bobbly disaster that is a pain in the arse to send back!
I am not surprised charity shops are on their last legs tbh.

I think it's overwhelming for them to receive bin bags full of stuff.

When I have one or two things to donate, I put it in my car and take it in to the shop the next time in the high street and ask if they want it. They've never said no.

Charity shops have dwindling income, increased rent and overheads and lack volunteers. It's a shame, but all charities ultimately need to put their funds where they are most likely to generate the highest returns.

What is the policy for shop staff / volunteers selecting from donations? Do they have first dibs to buy? That does put me off a bit on donating more valuable stuff. I just think I can sell it on eBay and continue my usual money donations to my charities.

I think this is a fair point. We have a great thrift shop near us which is taken over and run by various local groups and charities for a week at a time. It’s very much about passing stuff on and reusing. There are free rails of kids coats, wellies, school uniforms. Nothing is pricemarked so you just go up to the counter with your stuff and make an offer. All my plates are vintage bone china from there at £10 for a dinner service.

There’s lots of goodwill and people are thoughtful about what they donate whether they are supporting that weeks cause or just dropping off as local. Clothes tend to turn up freshly laundered and ironed!

I think it’s a really successful model and you want high levels of community engagement. Possibly the groups involved could make more but it’s always a good £1k+ for the week. Each group brings their own volunteers/ cash tin, stock stays but you aim to get rid of at 20% yo make way for the next lot!

How is your sale?

@BettysRoasties

As a general guideline, the deputy manager of the Oxfam bookshop I'm in said that books should be a third of the original price. £2.99 is the minimum price, so books up to about £10 would be £2.99, then £3.99 if the original price was £12.99, etc. I'll put out a £20 hardback at £5.99, typically.

If a book is VERY new - for instance has been available for a year or less - then I think the standard price is 45-50% of the original price.

Yes when my children were toddlers we would pop in every time they walked by and add yet another £1 book to our collection.

Now I just order books on Amazon, vinted or the works because charity shop books can be basically new prices.

@Needmorelego

"Books displayed by the colour of the spines."

I agree that that is an unproductive way to display books. It's okay if people are not looking for a specific book, but if they are, then as you say, it makes it harder to see if they have what you're looking for.

Fortunately, as the charity shop I'm at is a bookshop, we don't display the books that way. All fiction (general, crime, fantasy, children's) is displayed in alphabetical order (by author's surname.) Other books are not in alphabetical order, but are in specific categories (science/maths together, several shelves for history, several for religion, etc.)

The nearest one to me has closed, but I rarely bought from them anyway as they were so expensive. That small market town has so many other charity shops, Age UK is the main national one but the other - better - shops are local hospice, local animal rescue, local charities and are better both for prices and displays.

The AgeUK shop is funny about pricing, they have price brackets based on brand names but seem to be a bit muddled as to what constitutes a premium brand. They put anything by M&S at £7.99 or higher!

I've stopped shopping at thrift stores. Prices have skyrocketed.
In the spring I passed a thrift store with a box of children's books marked down to £1. I bought a handfull but so rare to find..

I think it's the pricing, people don't want to spend £5 on secondhand Shein or Primark, and people sell their good stuff on Vinted.

I said upthread about how I prefer buying the non clothing stock from charity shops (books etc) but thinking about it so many of the charity shops just make things harder for themselves for stock to actually sell.
Books displayed by the colour of the spines.
What the actual f is that about?
Yes it looks so pretty but it's a right pain in the bum if you are looking to see if there's a copy of a specific book.
For example I have never read a Jilly Cooper (who has just passed away RIP).
If I went to see if a charity shop has any of her novels I want to be able to look at the shelf and look at the spines under C for Cooper.
Simple.
A charity shop near me actually has a sign up saying "no more books please". They do have 3 shelves of them.
Unfortunately the shelves are all high up (I am 5ft - I have to stretch to reach the BOTTOM shelf). They double layer the books and have several in wobbly piles.
If I could actually reach the books and actually see what there is I might buy some !
Sorry to any charity shop workers out there.....but you really don't help yourselves sometimes.
Grumbly rant over.

I'd actually say this is a key change - people won't pay any amount at all for a bobbly Primark top because new clothing is so cheap. Five years ago you might have got a couple of pounds for it but you wouldn't sell it for 50p now as no one wants it. There aren't enough people who are poor enough to not be able to afford the cheapest new clothes. It just goes to landfill.