Can I just say how much I LOVE charity shops

[BillyJoe111]

So I wanted to get dd one of those activity center things shaped like a car for her first birthday a couple of weeks ago. Only they are about £80, which we can’t afford. I was a bit gutted, dd didn’t care one bit and was over the moon with a box of wooden blocks.

Walking past a charity shop this morning, guess what was in the window?

Yep, the car activity centre, for £3.50

All lights and music working perfectly, good as new. Only thing missing was the shapes to put in the shape sorter thing the car door, but, they had a shape sorter for sale for £1 and the shapes are the perfect size

Dd has now been sat in it for 45 mins pressing buttons, and laughing.

So, so happy!

I’m a massive fan of charity shops, especially for baby things, and I always donate when my children have grown out of things and this made my day.

Another charity shop fanatic here. I visit 3 shops in small rural towns, all for local charities. They have the best finds. In the past I’ve bought several crystal wine glasses, Waterford, Stuart and the like. They don’t match, but the quality is lovely and at an average price of £2.99 it doesn’t matter. Quality pots and pans are another find.
Today was a Mint Velvet Cashmere jumper, unworn for £6.

Oooh, I love charity shops too, my old tv stand was dying a death and I really didn't have the money to replace it with a new one, I found this in the charity shop for £12, it's really solid and well built and I like it!

My DCs' elementary school (US) held a uniform 'swap' on the last day of school every year. It wasn't really a swap - you could go and swap, or you could just donate or just acquire. It was all free.

I feel like they’ve become greedy in recent years. They’re looking at labels and pricing based on how much stuff costs at those shops. My local had a lovely dress but it was priced £200. It was probably £300-400 new, but still... people go to charity shops for bargains. The same with any labelled goods - an Emma Bridgewater mug for £8, it was probably £20 new but still... The best stuff gets whisked off to EBay and doesn’t even reach the shop any more.

@illuyankas - there are US charity shops dedicated to raising money for their cause as in the UK. I like to visit the local cats' and dogs' shelter one, but I haven't bought anything there.

The term used in the US is 'thrift' shop.

The one I go to most is Goodwill, a national chain, whose aim is to offer employment opportunities to people who might find it hard to get a CV together - ex-cons and others returning to the workplace with few skills, people with mild disabilities, people finding their feet after homelessness, older people who find it hard to get a job elsewhere, and also young teens.

The shop I go to has a computer room at the back where people can get help putting a CV together, searching a database for jobs, getting interview coaching, and putting together decent interview outfits. Interviews are sometimes held on the premises.

All items are uniformly priced, or priced within a narrow range. Most items are under $7. The shop is nicely organised, clothing sorted by size and colour, there are trolleys, fitting rooms, loos, a staffed donation door at the rear, help available to schlep furniture out.

I used to go to my local Salvation Army shop occasionally but it was a mess and it smelled. It closed down two years ago.

BillyJoe111 I'm in total agreement about Worcester being fab for charity shops. I was there this summer to do the Elephant trail and combined it with a charity shop rummage. A great time was had! I also like Lichfield for a rummage.

I’m charity shop obsessed. I’m lucky that there’s a good few within walking distance to me. I’ve had some fab finds over the years. I even seek out charity shops and flea markets on holiday so I can have a good rummage.

Boomkin I don't think £8 for an Emma Bridgewater mug (assuming it is in good condition) is expensive . I recently sold an EM mug for £12 in my shop, it was a discontinued design, VGC and the customer was delighted to find it to add to her collection.

Charity shops exist to raise funds for the charity, not to provide 'cheap' stuff. There are plenty of 'value' shops where of course you can pick up a mug for 50p or a £1 but it is a misconception that charity shops exist to provide cheap items for the local population.

And as other Posters have pointed out, there is quite a reverse snobbery about shopping in charity shops.

I have never got 'fantastic' stuff but was really happy to get a heart shaped pendant from the Heart Foundation. I had bought one before but lost it in a move. I do sometimes get books, cds etc. I got some glasses and a lovely cup and saucer. I have the pretty milk jug that my aunt got from a charity shop.

I rarely get clothes because not many seem to do larger sizes. If they do it is M&S tops that are not terribly exciting!

@Ragwort

Boomkin I don't think £8 for an Emma Bridgewater mug (assuming it is in good condition) is expensive . I recently sold an EM mug for £12 in my shop, it was a discontinued design, VGC and the customer was delighted to find it to add to her collection.

Charity shops exist to raise funds for the charity, not to provide 'cheap' stuff. There are plenty of 'value' shops where of course you can pick up a mug for 50p or a £1 but it is a misconception that charity shops exist to provide cheap items for the local population.

And as other Posters have pointed out, there is quite a reverse snobbery about shopping in charity shops.

I agree!

The purpose of charity shops is to raise money for the charity. Not everyone who shops at charity shops is scraping pennies. Some shop at charity shops because they like being environmentally friendly; others like to see if they can pick up a treasure.

So, yes, £8 for an Emma Bridgewater mug is a fair price. You'd pay at least that on eBay, plus shipping. There are always shops that will sell cheap mugs for £1 or two.

And, yes, £200 for a coat that sells for £300 or £400 new is fair, too.

@MyCatEatsPrawnCrackers

BillyJoe111 I'm in total agreement about Worcester being fab for charity shops. I was there this summer to do the Elephant trail and combined it with a charity shop rummage. A great time was had! I also like Lichfield for a rummage.

Oh, my eldest has a training thing in Lichfield in a couple of weeks, I’ll have a look around while i’m waiting for him!

And yes to the plus sixes clothes!!

I was a 24 at my largest, I donated loads of clothes as I lost weight but was never able to replace any from charity shops.

Now i’m a 16/18 and I still struggle - where do they all go?

Ragwort. Obviously I am out of touch. When I was younger charity shop buys were a lot cheaper than they are now. The idea was to buy clothes or other items that you needed for a very cheap/reasonable price. Sometimes you would donate into a box on the counter for the charity.
I would never be able to buy anything for more than about 100 quid even if it was brand new.
I find it ridiculous that some charity shops charge so much that people can't afford to buy there.
Also the attitude of some of the staff who work there is not the best. As can be evidenced by reading your last post.

See, I think a charity shop should be cheap.

Because otherwise, who would shop there, really?

I’m sure there are more people than not who would prefer new to second hand.

I mean, I know I could buy a plate from poundland, but I would rather buy a quality one from a charity shop that has already lasted 30 years.

High prices price people out and you see the same things hanging around for months and signs up saying they can’t take any more donations. Surely they would make more money over all and turnover quicker pricing things cheaper, with the added bonus of helping people out who don’t have much money.

Charity shops exist to raise funds for the charity, not to provide 'cheap' stuff
See, I disagree. Part of the social contract is that charity shops benefit everyone. Donors get rid of stuff without sending to landfill. The charity profits. People get a bargain. The poor get stuff they couldn’t otherwise afford. If the charity shop gets greedy then the whole cycle grinds to a halt because people don’t buy, the poor are forced to go to cheap shops like Primark, the charity shop has low turnover so they reject donations which then go to landfill, and stuff doesn’t get recycled.

Charity shops are a business and they run on the same principles as any business. If any stock sits there too long it gets reduced. If you go into a high end area you’re not going to buy an £800 coat for £10 they’re going to try for £200. Am I prepared to pay that ? Somebody may well if I don’t or they’ll discount it. When you consider that we now produce twice as many clothes than we did ten years ago this isn’t an issue of need. We’re all swamped with clothes ….. wardrobes bursting. We just get bored of it and donate it and then fill the gap with something else. We don’t have tons of clothes going to landfill because charity shops are too expensive it’s because we have an addiction to fast fashion and we buy too many poorly constructed clothes that we bin when they’re out of fashion. Charity shops only re-sell a fraction of what we get rid of. Eventually no clothes will be worth buying second hand because there will be no one prepared to buy good quality items new.

But what do people consider 'cheap', as I commented earlier, no one (in my town) wants to buy brand new High Street label school trousers and skirts even for a £1 each. Yet people are more than happy to pay £8 for an Emma Bridgewater, £20 for a VGC Laura Ashley dress etc.

And we have a responsibility to our doners to achieve 'fair' prices for their donations, many customers who bring items to my shop specifically say, 'I want you to have these items as I know you will raise the most money for X charity'.

I do frequently offer a 'sale rail' or similar, but I can assure you that items rarely sell from it (and I am not talking stained Primark tops etc - I would always rag those sort of things).

I agree there is a balance, but if charity shops do set their prices too high they simply will not sell anything and will be closed down ... and this does happen.

'Cheap' is relative, not absolute. There is a question of expectation: people expect good quality items at cheap prices because they're buying from a charity shop. That's nice in theory but it doesn't always work that way in practice.

Billy I promise you that, in my experience in charity retail for many, many years, hstock does not clear just because it is 'cheap'. As others have said, we all have far too many clothes, it wouldn't matter if I put things out at 50p each ... if people don't want something, they don't want it. I will always 'barter' with my customers (I do understand that many charity shops don't do this) but it genuinely makes very little difference. On the back of a similar thread a few months ago (these types of threads crop up very regularly ) I asked customers to suggest a price for something they wanted to buy - with one exception everyone said the prices were fair ... they just didn't want or need the item but were just happy to browse.

@Ragwort

Billy I promise you that, in my experience in charity retail for many, many years, hstock does not clear just because it is 'cheap'. As others have said, we all have far too many clothes, it wouldn't matter if I put things out at 50p each ... if people don't want something, they don't want it. I will always 'barter' with my customers (I do understand that many charity shops don't do this) but it genuinely makes very little difference. On the back of a similar thread a few months ago (these types of threads crop up very regularly ) I asked customers to suggest a price for something they wanted to buy - with one exception everyone said the prices were fair ... they just didn't want or need the item but were just happy to browse.

My experience where I live now things have been a good price.

Some of the shops when I lived in London were ridiculous though, especially the ones aimed at children’s clothes. Old supermarket clothes being sold for far more than you could buy them new for in Tesco. That was crazy.

There is one near me though who price everything from ebay though, nothing ever seems to move in there. I don’t know how they keep going to be honest. dh took a baby item there a few months ago, it was £25 new they have it for sale for £40.

Part of the social contract is that charity shops benefit everyone. Donors get rid of stuff without sending to landfill. The charity profits. People get a bargain. The poor get stuff they couldn’t otherwise afford. If the charity shop gets greedy then the whole cycle grinds to a halt because people don’t buy, the poor are forced to go to cheap shops like Primark, the charity shop has low turnover so they reject donations which then go to landfill, and stuff doesn’t get recycled.

The assumption that the poor are willing or interested in buying charity shop clothing and other items that they couldn't otherwise afford isn't really relevant in these days of Primark and Pound shops and dishwashers and TV for all. I think it's an outdated model that doesn't take into account people's memories of having to dress in second hand clothing and used footwear when it wasn't fashionable. The poor don't necessarily feel bad about going to Primark. Many people love to dress themselves and their children in new clothes.

These days you are more likely to find people who can afford to go elsewhere shopping in a charity shop. Charity shops are in competition with the likes of Depop, eBay, etc for customers in many areas. If they have low turnover it's because they are not selling online or because they are not choosy enough when it comes to stocking the shop. If they're not selling clothing for rags they are also missing a trick.

The US thrift Goodwill moves items that don't sell in their shops or items that don't make it to the shop floor to their locations where you buy clothing by the pound. I have a friend who makes felted crafts from wool sweaters she buys for very little, and sells for a considerable amount on Etsy.

My local Oxfam shop has jigsaws for £7. I can buy new ones (not as good quality admittedly) from The Works and off Amazon for a fiver. I go to the local hospice shops for mine (£2-3) and I hand them back when completed - a win for both of us.

I am surprised they can sell jigsaws for £7 but presumably they can? No shop manager is consistently going to put products out at prices that don't sell unless they are incredibly stupid.

I do charge a little more for books in my charity shop than other charity shops in the town but I can sell books at the price I set, our book department is very well stocked, well presented and many customers tell me they like coming to my shop because they know they can find good books ... another charity shop sells them cheaper but they are not sorted, just piled up on a table & the customer has to rummage through to find their favourite author ... I know some people like to rummage but some don't. Also, as I said earlier, many customers want to donate to shops that will try and raise as much money as possible for their favourite charity. I know not everyone has a 'favourite' charity shop that they like to donate to, but we do gave a lot of loyal doners as well as loyal customers.

Like all retail outlets ... some will be more popular than others. We have over 10 charity shops in my town, some if which I just wouldn't go into.

Okay so the God of rummaging were smiling on me today too. My father really likes a particular artist but her oil canvas prints go for £250 framed.

I found one today! TWO POUNDS FIFTY! Framed as well

My dad has dementia and dh had to do a very early morning dash to go and get him yesterday and bring him to us as he had a frightening episode.

I popped out for a walk today as it’s been hard going and I needed to clear my head and be alone for a while and found this. He’s thrilled, it’s given him such a lift and he can’t wait for dh to put it up for him when he takes him home, he hasn’t stopped looking at it and we’ve had a proper conversation about the artist, looked at her work online etc - first time he’s spoken properly since he arrived.

I originally thought I’d walk the charity shop route as my teenage ds really wanted a vintage tweed jacket and they go for about £30 on ebay - found him one, perfect fit for £3.

Someone up there likes me today!

(Mind my foot in the photo, was so excited to find it i had to text dh a photo there and then!)