Charity shop manager- AMA

[iwishi]

I'm the manager in a charity shop in the U.K. I won't say specifically but it has British in the name. AMA!

What is the strangest item you have had donated?

Oooh that's a tough one. The grossest was a used loo brush - not envy. Strangest is probably a run that has some ashes in

Urn

Omg! They obviously didn't like the deceased very much!

Have you ever had someone come back to the shop and ask for their donation to be returned? (thinking item rather than cash)

As for the urn - I suspect it was someone clearing a house that didn't know what was in that old "vase".

How much control do you have over your opening hours? I’d love to shop and donate but all my local shops are open 8-4, if that, so I can’t really get there.

@SmudgeButt books, quite often and I've had two others for pieces of clothing (been doing the job since January). Unfortunately one had been sold, the other transferred, both were okay with it luckily.

@LizzieBananas hmm. I have the authority to open one hour after said opening time as long as I'm working, not rocking up an hour late. They can tell by clocking in time. I can also close if I'm alone for lunch or toilet break. Other than that, not at all really, unless an emergency.

Do clothing items that Are not suitable for sale get recycled?

My sister is one too, she is brilliant at it and her shop is lovely .. not the typical 'smelly' shop . Much more like a boutique . She gets some awful people arguing about pricing , stealing and verbal abuse but on the whole she enjoys it .

How much of the stock you have is new (rather than donated)?

I was told just to give any clothes to the charity shop and any that were no good would go for rags.
But then seeing people moaning that the clothes aren't suitable for sale e.g a bobbly primark top which I would of put in for rags.
Do I separate them. Send everything in one bag for them to pick through?
I want to try and help them. I always bag an little bits of toys and make sure they are tied to whatever they're from so it's easier.
Anything else I could do from a donating pov which would make your life easier?

I was told just to give any clothes to the charity shop and any that were no good would go for rags.
But then seeing people moaning that the clothes aren't suitable for sale e.g a bobbly primark top which I would of put in for rags.
Do I separate them. Send everything in one bag for them to pick through?
I want to try and help them. I always bag an little bits of toys and make sure they are tied to whatever they're from so it's easier.
Anything else I could do from a donating pov which would make your life easier?

@OccasionalNachos yes, I'm very hot on that.

Our shop is very much like a boutique too, all white and grey, my area manager said in 15 years she's never had so many compliments on a shop

@indianbackground I'd say 30% donated, rest transferred from larger shops or new.

@Iwantacookie that's very kind of you.
I'd say anything rag worthy- which is anything really bobbly/ripped/dirty could be separated which makes our lives easier as we actually get money for the rags. Other than that, separating shoes/books/linen etc really helps

What's the most valuable piece you've ever had donated? Any pocket watch worth gazillions?

Also do you let your staff pick over the donations before they go out onto the shop floor?

Just makes life easier especially with toys. I couldn't tell you which parts go with which toy and I've played with them so a volunteer isn't going to know.

I know years ago youde say no to electronics/buggys unless they had the user manual. With these days of the internet could you not sell them anyway knowing you could find the instruction book online?

Do you prefer someone to drop off one bag at a time or loads? I normally take a couple of bags on random road trips for a couple of weeks in the boot before I remember and feel guilty for dropping loads off at once.

What happens if you find a photo/paperwork do you try to reunite it with the owner?

@Ratbagcatbag not as such, we do get designer clothes sometimes, a few time's with tags. We have had an antique appliance which I believe sold for £40 (was valuable). Re volunteers and first dabs; it really depends on what you mean. If they see something they like whist steaming then yes (pay with staff discount) I would but if it's something like an antique that I thought they'd sell on then no, they'd have to pay full price.

How much do you earn?

@Iwantacookie so we can't sell electrical things without sending them off for testing but we still accept them. As long as prams have the CE mark then we accept them but, depending on ship size, we might transfer them. It doesn't matter if you take lots of stuff at once or a bit at a time, honestly. If it's a quiet day they may appreciate having something to do! If I find something like you're suggesting then I would definitely try but might not be possible. If they have a loyalty card with us I could look up their number and contact them or if they're local/come in a lot, I'd file it and wait until they next came in and other volunteers aware. If it's a one off donation with a loyalty card, it's unlikely it'd be possible unfortunately

@JaneyJimplin about £15000 after tax

When my relatives were clearing out my grandparents’ house when they moved into a nursing home, a bag of potentially valuable figurines accidentally got sent to a charity shop with the other bags! Thankfully they realised quickly and the shop still had them - a relative wanted them (they’re an acquired taste kind of thing!)

I was shocked to find out that people actually haggle in charity shops! How do you deal with that?

Why is there so much bitchiness and back stabbing behind the scenes in charity volunteer work?

@TakeAChanseyOnMe oh god haggling happens every. Single. Day. It's annoying and it depends. Say the jacket had a dodgy zip and was labelled for £8 and the label didn't SAY it had a dodgy zip then it may have been an oversight and it's worth an ask tbh. I would personally offer 20% off or more depending how much it is. But if it's not damaged and is priced then we just stand by that and say it's priced accordingly, no exceptions.