Charity shops have lost the plot

@HumberSquid Why compare with the PMs salary ^ ? The heads of most corporations, councils, NGOs, NHS Trusts etc are paid more than the PM^.

I used the PM's salary because that is another very top level job that is considered to be a vocation as much as the job itself, and is pretty much considered to be one of the highest level jobs in the UK. Surely being the CEO of a charity should also have an element of it being a vocation. Plus all the lower level staff are expected to be happy with a much lower salary than they may normally get "because they're working for a charity", so why not the CEO?

I think it's the double standards there that irritates me. Either everyone should be willing to work for well under the usual rate or none, not the execs at normal rate and the lower level staff at well under.

To clairfy - new to me. Not new new.

Well I'm just back from the DEBRA charity shop in Kirkintilloch and bought three new tops for £12.

Top 1 - black thin sheer top with white pattern which will be great with black trousers and black vest for work, originally Peacocks, £5. Bit steep for Peacocks I thought.

Top 2 - 100% linen shirt, emerald green, lovely covererd buttons and just felt "quality" when I put my hand on it. £6. Brand is Witchery which on googling is an Australian brand, new linen shirts are $149 Aus or £78 so for £6 this is a total bargain.

Top 3 - short sleeved blouse/top for work, beige, originally Next, on the sale rail for £1. Another total bargain.

There's about 5 charity shops down the shopping street near me. I've had some nice bits from them in the past, but have noticed prices sneaking up. I remember back in the winter there was a lovely knitted-style cardigan in one, but it was £8. That just seemed like way too much for a second hand item.

But a bit further away is a Sue Ryder shop where everything is a quid! I've gone in there about 4 times in the past 6 months, and it's busy every time. I've added some lovely bits to my summer/autumn wardrobe. And for a quid, it doesn't matter if you only wear something a couple of times. And there's a few things I've worn loads already.

If they can do it, I can't understand why other shops are charging so much.

Of course you can criticise @DancingonmyOwn88 . I'm quite puzzled as to why you shop in them though, given how much you're finding to complain about.

Agree, the ones I see are pretty dire and overpriced, and it's not a posh area. In one of them the woman who runs looks up every item and writes a long description on labels with a high price. The stuff just sits there for months, eg a (used) Spode cup and saucer £25. I asked if that was correct and was told yes. It was £26 online new. I would have paid £5 for it. After a few weeks it was still there and I asked if they would sell for less but no, so 6 months later it is still there. IMO better to get a lower price and keep stuff moving. There is a massive pile of stuff waiting to be sorted in one corner of the shop, but as nobody buys the overpriced stock it just gets bigger.
Also can't be arsed when they organise clothes by colour .... some of them do this with books too.

You're the childish one here for throwing insults. Take your own advice! 😉

It's probably because the same sort of person that thinks charity shops exist to allow them to buy nearly new designer handbags at 10p a go are likely to be the same sort of people that think the CEOs of multi million pound organisations should be paid 10 grand a year.

Why compare with the PMs salary @Allergictoironing ? The heads of most corporations, councils, NGOs, NHS Trusts etc are paid more than the PM.

What is the comparison between the charity boss's salary, and that of a CEO of a business with a similar turnover, @Allergictoironing? That might be a more reasonable comparison than the PM.

Of course the chief executive is on a decent salary. You can hardly have a chief executive of an organisation that scale on £50k!

The comparison in that link is that of the UK Prime Minister, responsible for many, many multiples of the charity's turnovers and with an extremely wide ranging remit - earning less than the top 13 Charity CEOs. The expectation of the charities is that staff all accept lower than typical wages for their level or are volunteers BECAUSE they are a charity, but that doesn't seem to happen at C-suite level. Any work they need a specialist to do like IT work they plead they shouldn't pay the going rate for the specialists because they are a charity, so why shouldn't the same apply to their executives?

Im amazed that all these people who are so keen that leading charities be run by Julie from accounts for a salary of 21k pa dont have a go at it themselves.

I've worked for a charity for many years and people are regularly offended that we are renumerated for our time. I don't begrudge our CEO his salary either- he's not paid nearly enough for what the job entails.

That is a fair point, @Somersetbaker - but it cannot be good business for a charity shop to price second hand items for the same price as the same or very similar item new. Obviously, items from higher quality manufacturers should be priced realistically - a Seasalt dress for £15, as @Lulu1919 mentions is probably a good bargain, and will last well - but Primark/Shein/Temu stuff shouldn't be priced at that level, because it surely won't sell. Who is going to pay ££ for a second hand item that they could buy new for the same price?

Oh wow, grow up, we're not stilly trotting out this baseless bullshit are we?! The top organisation in that list has a turnover of £1.5billion, (yes, BILLION). Of course the chief executive is on a decent salary. You can hardly have a chief executive of an organisation that scale on £50k!

I'll say it again... why? Why?!? Why are people so keen to bring down charities? It's just so sad that people prefer to destroy the good instead of just being nice.

I saw a long t shirt type dress in my local one - was Seasalt but was £15 - I thought thats a lot for a charity shop dress ?

Pay peanuts, get monkeys.

Surely if they are pricing the same as Vinted they've got the price point exactly right, and you can walk in and see what you're buying.

I see what you mean but isn't their reason for existing to raise money for the charity they represent, not provide cheap clothes for the local community

The argument that some charities are greedy is valid when you see how much some of their CEOs are paid.
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Maybe you didn't see my post up thread. Hassling a 90 year old woman to give them even more money, followed by chasing up the executors even to the degree of trying to threaten them (with no legal basis), I think would be considered greedy.

Maybe the purpose of a charity is to do good, but you can't say the same about all the workers there either - I'll just say "Oxfam" and leave it at that.

It absolutely blows my mind that anyone could consider a charity 'greedy'. Their entire purpose is to do good. They are there to raise as much money as they can to do good. Not for themselves, no shareholders, it is literally just to do good. It's a legal obligation to do good, laid down in their constitution which is monitored by the government.

The lack of understanding of charity is mind boggling.

Speaking personally, I can afford to buy new. My gripe with charity shop pricing is that it's unrealistic and they overprice things to beyond market value. I.e. I could buy the same thing the same price new or on Vinted.

Or that the workers are siphoning off good items for themselves and their friends (yes this does happen).

It’s not about charging top whack for items, but pricing realistically.

Realistically being the operative word there.

I think that's what has put a lot of people off & led to the comments about them being unrealistic and greedy. When you can literally walk 10 metres to buy the same item only new, for the same or less money, I think it's not unfair to call them unrealistic and greedy. Not just clothes either, cheap household items like bowls & mugs being sold for more than the local Asda or Home Bargains just across the road.