Charity shops have lost the plot

I donate to them but very very rarely buy.
The day my local one put paperbacks up to £3 -when I could get two brand new ones for £5 in Tesco- was the day l stopped looking.

But the core point is this - The purpose of charity shops is to raise money for the charity. Not to provide bargains.

I had some time on my hands whilst the dogs were at the groomers this morning. I was looking for an odd little dish to use as a quench pot and anything else that caught my eye. £4 for an old plain white china ramekin? Not even a matching set!

After visiting 6 I bought a new one in the market for £1.50

They made no money from me this morning. All were the chains. Sadly we don't have any small independents any more.

I agree that I think they're going to have to change direction. However, that direction needs to be guided by their purpose, which is staying viable, not providing the service of cheap goods. As people have said, cheap goods are very widely available. Yet it's only when sold by charity shops that people think they should be able to call the prices and everything should be geared towards low income customers rather than anyone prepared to buy.

Like I said, being a charity shop can make people think it has an obligation - some might say makes them feel an entitlement - that they don't put on other sellers of cheap goods. You can put in a lower offer to someone on Vinted but if they refuse it, nobody thinks they are morally failing, or failing their purpose, even if they think it's a daft decision. Even though that seller might be hard up and really need that pound or two...

If charity shops can't compete on price any more - and maybe they can't, with an internet full of mega cheap stuff with filters to find exactly what you want - then maybe they'll have to compete on something else. Quality guarantees, easy returns, the things you don't get from Vinted. I don't know. But it needs to be based around their purpose of raising money for the charity, not providing cheap stuff. That might not be the way for them any more.

What i was saying was that although charity shops hold that view they are a shop, many people see them as a place for bargains. You are not going to change people's perception of that by just putting a few garlands around the stock and having a nice display sadly.

Yes i guess charity shops are not obliged to provide cheap things, but most people view charity shops as a place to buy things that are cheap. Having the attitude of being able to price how they like because they aren't a service to people on low incomes isn't going to do them any favours, because a lot of buyers are these people, as well as people who just like a bargain.

I just don't think the direction where they are going in really works. We have a lot of threads like these and I've heard other people say about pricing too. People do expect donated goods to be cheap and to sell, not a few quid less or more than the usual ticket price. Some people donate not just because of the charity, but because they want the item to have a new lease of life, or in my case with toys, I'd like to think it was priced so that a struggling family could buy it. The 'charity' aspect of donating (and it is for me) is not just about the charitable cause running the shop, but giving people on a low income somewhere where they can buy items they need cheaply. I don't want my stuff to be overpriced, I want my stuff to be available to everyone because it is supposed to be a charity shop and not a 'vintage' shop.

Some of our local charities run shops and they do seem to price things better and they are always busy and seemed to have nice stuff in when I used to shop in them. I think that's an interesting observation.

And then at the end of the summer reduce a whole load of clothes because they were overpriced to begin with.By that time no one wants them.

We have one that is so ridiculously priced everyone in the village comments on it. But what gets me most is that they more often than not won’t take donations as they are too full. Yes, because no one is paying upwards of £10 for a top from Shein! So nothing sells and the racks are heaving. Surely it’s better to have a good turnover. I don’t take a thing there now. Every now and again they have a 50% off sale and it’s always so much busier.
It also drives me mad that the volunteers tell me that if it doesn’t sell in our shop after a month it goes to a different shop in an another area (fine, good plan so it doesn’t just get binned etc ) but at a much lower price as “this is an affluent area”. Not everyone by a long chalk is wealthy in our village!

No, it's mission and means. The shop's mission is to raise money, and the means, usually, is selling cheap stuff. Sorry, but this simply isn't a matter of opinion. That's its purpose. It may fail in that purpose if it doesn't give you cheap stuff, but that's not the point. If it could raise more money selling designer stuff to Lord and Lady Muck, it would do that (higher end boutique charity shops do exist in some places where there's a market for them). In this sense, they operate like any other business.

I'm not saying they don't need to revamp their business model and pricing. I'm sure they do. But their purpose isn't to provide cheap stuff for you. Just as you don't really care about the charity, they don't really care if their customers are low income families, resellers or aristocracy acting as Common People as long as they're selling.

It's only because they're for charity that people think not pricing low enough means they're failing morally rather than practically. See the PP complaining that it "says it all about the charity" if they don't match or undercut Vinted.

25 odd years ago i worked for an international charity that took donations for a developing country that were suffering a famine. The primary population were nomads and sheep herders.

A shoe company donated 4000 shoes. That is - 4000 LEFT shoes only. And sandals which were entirely unsuitable for the conditions. Even if the target population only had left feet all the same size between them.

Another company donated thousands of Pentium one computers. To nomads who did not at that time have any electricity to speak of, nor plugs, nor were able to make use of computers 15 years out of date at that point.

I have no doubt that these donations came complete with a sense of the warms and fuzzies from the numpties who decided they were donating in a good cause and clapped themselves on the back for being Very Good People. .

Rubbish. I've picked up some of my most-worn clothes in charity shops. Our one for a local charity is fab and I've picked up M&S, Oasis, Seasalt, Phase Eight in there for all less than £8 each. I don't find things in there often that fit/suit me, but when I do I really appreciate it.

And gloves and a mask! I hope!

How can anyone donate dirty items like that with no shame?! Disgusting.

The aim of the charity shop may be to make money.
The aim of the customer base is to get a bargain.

That's what its actual purpose is because without the customers there'd be nobody to sell to.

It's theory vs practice.

One local to me is selling Primark t-shirts for £5.
Ridiculous.

It would be better to have a £2 rail.

Yes I do get that if they're lucky enough to get an actual designer dress in good nick £50 is apt.

I helped sort clothes donations for refugees at Calais for a while. It was ridiculous what people donated, knowing fully well what they were donating to. Stiletto shoes, Halloween costumes, dirty thongs covered in period blood..

I was thinking the same today OP when I saw perfectly ordinary dresses for £9.95 (Next, Asda type dresses).

Thank you, we approach every bag with a sense of humour and great optimism!

I find accounts like this one and @letmebetheone’s absolutely horrifying, @Lifestooshort71 - I would never dream of donating dirty or damaged items to a charity shop. Everything is clean and in good condition - if it isn’t in a condition where I’d buy it from a charity shop, I won’t donate it.

The people like you who have to sort through such disgusting things have my sympathy and respect, and I’m angry on your behalf.

It got to a point where some high streets were dominated by charity shops. There were far too many, some places became oversaturated.

Where I live, 3 charity shops have closed down but 6 still remain (down one small road). This is just in a tiny area. The prices in a few are all over the place and the shops are quieter than they used to be. The prices don't match the quality. Cookery bric-a-brac is really expensive which means I might as well buy brand new.

I would spend more money and time in charity shops if there were bargains to be found. The bargains are very, very difficult to find where I live!

That is truly awful!

I should also say that I only donate to charity shops who I feel will get a good price for my stuff as I don't want my dresses or jackets to be sold for a few pounds by one charity shop when I know that another can get at least £10 - £15 per item and they have in the past written to me telling me how much they made, on one occasion making £240 which I was really pleased about.

Although the charities may get reduced rents, they still have to pay rates, lighting, heating, water, cleaning, insurance, costs of running at least one van, costs of disposing of unsaleable donations and wages.
They are often also heavy managed by HQ in the sense that they have financial targets that they have to reach and they have price guidelines they have to adhere to. They are run as profit making businesses and they are not there to provide cheap clothes or toys for the community. If the money raised by the charities to help those who really need it is going meaningful (respite care for those with disabled children, palliative care in a hospice) it needs to be significant and this is not going to be the case if those shopping there are looking for dinosaurs at prices less than vinted/Ebay and dresses for under £8. Those people may not care about the purpose for which the charity exists or the people it is trying to help but at least the charity does!

I won't name the charity or shop location, but last year, I was in our Town's branch of a well known charity shop. I lad came in, he about 25 year old, trainers were old, joggers faded and bobbled, genuinely looked like someone needing a hand rather than a barging hunter. He put a £6 pair of F&F shoes on the counter pull out £4 and asked for her say this is all he had an he had an interview for a job the next day and wanted to look smart. They person on the till refused. He pretty much pleaded. She refused. I gave him the extra £2. I thought it was absolutely disgusting!

I understand that the British Heart Foundation send all the goods out to their shops pre-priced!

But if they are turning over high volume but making no money for the charity they are busy fools and might as well close anyway. Charity shops don't really work when we have such a throw away society.

The high street is dead - charity fundraising will adapt with the times.

And we wonder why dozens of shops are now being closed?

They need turnover to create revenue. They can hold on to things at high prices forever but it'll bring in no income.

I wish we had enough staff to look through the bags before they are left. It may have deterred the woman last week who put a black bin bag in our donations bin. When it was opened there were 3 reasonable bath towels nicely folded an a throw underneath them. Once they were taken out we found a frying pan still full of old grease and fat, an electric kettle with no base, 4 broken plates, a plastic bag full of used sanitary towels, a collection of half empty shampoo bottles, several used disposable razors, half a dozen cups with mould in the bottom etc, etc.
Its maddening to think we give up our time to be faced with this. We never turn away donations as we have a large sorting room but if people didnt donate crap then those shops that have limited space would be able to accept more donations.

There were 2 near to us, right next door to my gym. I used to pop in there often with my daughter and they always had people in but sooooo expensive!! Bought a Zara dress for £10 which ended up being too small but given I had a receipt I took it back - too expensive to not get a refund back on it

Both closed down recently within a few weeks of each other

Laughably one of them had a £1 sale going on in their final week - this is how the prices should be all the time.

I think charity shops have had their day. Too many people now sell their good stuff on vinted and send the shit to a charity shop to feel better about themselves than it going direct to landfill.