I am a Charity Shop Manager - AMA

[mrspink27]

Charity Shop Manager jumping on the AMA bandwagon - fire away!!

Shops

I found a rare old piece of Emma Bridgewater in a local charity shop for a fiver. Was probably worth £80-£100. I wouldn’t have paid that for it but I gave them £40. I’ve still got it.

lostinjapan

selling on eBay for a profit?
I hope that we sell at the market rate but I know that there are folks that do make a profit. We simply dont have the manpower to sell every pair of Levis or other desirable items on eBay and so inevitably there is money to be made. I am looking for a steady stream of repeat buyers and so if buyers think there is profit to be made on a regular basis they will keep coming back to buy.

And what about haggling in charity shops? Acceptable or not?

Two ways to look at this one.... you wouldnt go to Next or M and S and haggle so why is it acceptable in a charity shop? As long as the pricing is consistent, fair and reasonable then everyone wins. Some shoppers are downright cheeky and think we were born yesterday when asking for a discount on certain items. For some customers the haggle is cultural and it is hard to shift this mindset!
The other view is that as long as there is money going into the till it doesnt matter - I will take a bit off the price if an item is almost at the end of its' time in my shop but one has to be aware of the precedent set as this becomes the expectation and then it isnt fair for every other customer who is prepared to pay the ticket price. I have a few regulars who i know are on hard times, and I am probably a soft touch, but a discount is more likely in this case.

MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig

That was very honest and very generous of you! I wish every customer was the same way!