I volunteer in an Oxfam bookshop - AMA

[SorcererGaheris]

As the title says...

Well, yes, my reasons for volunteering there are simply to have fun. I don't take much interest in what it does as an organisation. I'm there to enjoy myself, and that's that, as far as I'm concerned.

I heard about the language guide, but didn't look into it - volunteers were certainly not required to read it, I'm not sure if paid employees were either. I got the impression that the publication was intended to be a list of suggestions, rather than dictates on how people must speak, so I don't see that I need to adapt how I speak/write to conform to it. I also don't think I'd find it very interesting to read, so I have no intention of reading it.

I'm thinking it could be problematic managing a shop where most of the staff are volunteers. I mean in a retail shop, where everyone is getting paid you pretty much know that most staff are going to turn up. Are most volunteers really reliable or is there more of an element of uncertainty about staffing when people are not paid. Do you find there is an element of "flakiness' in people who are not getting paid ..or not. I mean are people more likely than paid staff to not turn up if, for example, it snows, they have a cold, sudden decision to go away for a few days ext?

sure don’t read it, I don’t care. It’s outdated and condescending to say third world countries. I know you don’t care what Oxfam does but as a volunteer you also do represent the organisation, and I find it appalling that you are so flippant about it and about the language you use.

I'm not the manager myself, but I suppose it is tricky and difficult for a manager to handle at times. Certainly very bad weather might be one reason that some volunteers might not show up. And if people have a cold, I'd honestly rather that they stay at home, rather than show up and expose me to it. A cold is still an illness, if generally a more mild one.

As a volunteer, I try to be reliable in being there on my self-allotted days and believe I generally am, but obviously I don't have to be there, so if something else takes precedence I will take the day off. Volunteers are of course allowed to have as much time off as they like. Unless something unexpectedly crops up, I usually have some awareness of not being able to come in on "my" days, so I am often able to let the manager know in advance.

Well, if it's widely seen as condescending, then I will refrain from using the term.

I don't know what else to say expect that - my interest in the shop is the fact that it sells books and I enjoy the tasks that I do. So the fact that it's an Oxfam bookshop is irrelevant to me personally, and I don't take an interest in what Oxfam as an organisation does. I simply find books interesting, enjoy the work I do and enjoy chatting with fellow volunteers. My lack of interest in Oxfam as an organisation doesn't affect the quality of the work that I do, so there's no harm being done.

Hi there @SorcererGaheris I do the same as you! I have been surprised by how much like proper work it is though, as I think people (ie. me, before I volunteered) have the general impression that volunteering is pretty easy, or at least as difficult as you make it and I've found it's hard work and at times the shop can be chaotic and quite pressured. I blooming love it though and I love the team of people I work with! I would recommend volunteering in a charity shop to anyone who has time on their hands, would you?

It certainly can be hard work, but I suppose that also depends on how you go about your volunteering. Being a volunteer can mean that you have some choice in the roles you take on - well, in the shop I'm in that's how it tends to be, not sure if it is in yours? For example, we have had some volunteers who come in solely to price a certain category of books and that's it - some would then re-stock/cull that particular category, others would stick to just the pricing alone. So that's relatively easy-ish work, I would say.

If someone's a bit more of an all-rounder and is happy to do a variety of tasks, then yes, it can be pretty hard work.

If someone thought they would enjoy volunteering in a charity shop, I'd recommend that they give it a go. For me, enjoyment of the experience is the only reason I volunteer, so I do think it's important that volunteers are largely having a good time with their experience. If they think they'd like that sort of think, then yes, I'd recommend they try it out and see what they think.

How long do books stay on the shelves before they are culled?

Also - I've noticed my local Oxfam sorts out the more valuable books to sell separately for a higher price. Who makes those decisions, do you have some expert pricers who go round the shops for instance?

How long they stay on the shelves - that can depend. For subjects in which there's a significant number of donations each week, then I'd say it hasn't sold within 6 or 7 weeks, then pull it off, if there is consistently plenty more to go out.

For other categories and subjects, books might stay for a bit longer - there are some subjects for which we don't get consistently high donations each week, so if it's a case of having, for the time being, minimal stock of that subject, then better to let books stay on the shelf, even if they've been there for a while.

In the shop I'm in the managers and certain volunteers look up prices of items that appear as though they might be valuable. (Over time, you can develop a bit of an eye for judging whether something might potentially be more expensive.) If I'm unsure, I check anyway. Sometimes I've looked a book up and it's not been very expensive, other times, my "intuition" has been correct and it's been something around £50 (or higher.)

@SorcererGaheris sounds very similar to our shop. I do anything and everything, so just fill in as necessary depending on who is in what's needed. I don't think the shop would keep volunteers if we didn't all have a good experience and felt valued. I'm particularly lucky with the group I work with as we all get on really well and that makes a big difference. I'm not sure I'd do it if I didn't have a good time!

I think when someone's not being renumerated in any way, then it's pretty vital that they enjoy their volunteering experience. I can't imagine anyone volunteering if they weren't enjoying the role to some extent - unless they were so hugely dedicated to the cause that they were prepared to be frustrated/bored/miserable or unless they felt there was some other benefit (like having work experience to put on a CV.)

I volunteered for a couple of months in an Oxfam bookshop.

I made it clear when I applied that I could not carry heavy loads.

Of course they gave me the task of carrying piles of heavy books and crates full of books up and down the stairs...

I was stuck in a tiny space at the back on my own for the entirety of my shift sorting book and carrying them up and down while the other volunteers (all men) did the till or sat in front of a computer dealing with their online sales.

The above added to the organisation dodgy politics and behaviour meant I quickly realised this was not the volunteering opportunity for me...

How does Oxfam decide the pricing for its books?

I once did a big and ill advised book clear out. Took them to local Oxfam. Bitterly regret it as had hardly any acknowledgement from the apathetic staff , even though there were some especially valuable items and interesting bookplates.

Never went in there again.

Sorry to hear your experience wasn't an positive one. If you specified that you could not carry heavy loads when applying, then you would have been well within your rights to raise that point in the shop and refuse to carry out that particular task. I realise that not everyone may feel confident enough to speak up, though, especially when they're new.

I've dropped off around 200 read once, undamaged books to two branches over the last couple of weeks. I've put my donor number into each box or bag. How does Oxfam log which books came from who, so the gift aid is recorded accurately?

I think it's mostly guidelines from above (head office, etc?) that the managers are informed of, and the managers tell the volunteers how to price accordingly.

If someone looks like it might be valuable, we're encouraged to look it up online (on websites like Abe Books, Ebay and Amazon) to see what it's selling for secondhand. If it's a more ordinary or regular kind of book, then I think the current "rule" is that we should generally price it at 1/3 of the original price. I tend to go a little lower at times and make it a 1/4. So, if I put out a hardback that originally cost £20 I'll usually price it at £4.99

From what I have seen, when a donor registers for Gift Aid, they fill in a form which gives their full name, address and postcode. The Gift Aid Donor Number they receive then corresponds to that particular person and address. So it's logged by the presence of the Donor Number itself, as each is unique and corresponds to that particular individual.

I’m not a fan of Oxfam due to the issues in Haiti and elsewhere as already mentioned upthread.

Also, I seem to remember reading a newspaper article where if the books donated weren’t put in the store to be sold they were physically destroyed and thrown away so no one else could get any use out of them. It seems very unsustainable. People donate books and they are destroyed and thrown away? I get some Oxfam branches may specialise in rare books or records that sell for more but to destroy items donated in good faith is terrible. Offer them for a small donation at least.

I imagine that the condition of some books is pretty dire. My cousin found a used dog poo bag in a pocket when she once tried on a coat at another charity. I'm sure some books are beyond redemption.

I'm not entirely sure if the shop is allowed to put out stock at what would be considered an exceptionally low price. There might be some exceptions here and there, but the area managers, etc can see from till weekly totals (that get sent off) what items are being sold and for what price. If a book is in such a bad condition that we couldn't justifiably charge around £1.50 or more for it, my inclination would be to throw it away. With a few exceptions that are dependent on genre (people seem to be okay with buying rather tatty science fiction) we often find that books in pretty poor condition just wouldn't sell at the prices we're supposed to put them out for.

One could say - "Well, put them out for 50p and maybe they'll sell then", but I don't think the shop is allowed to sell stuff as cheaply as that.

Some donations are beyond sale, certainly. We've had books come in with the covers hanging half off, some where several pages are falling out, some which are practically splitting in half. Nothing we can do with those except scrap them.

How much is your ceo paid.

I have no idea. People can probably find out with a Google search, though.

Will confirm that I will buy quite tatty scifi paperbacks if the cover image is kitsch enough. Same goes for 70s Agatha Christies.