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Original poster

Charity shop wishlists

151 replies

shiningcuckoo · 30/12/2022 07:13

Does anyone want to share a list of the things they are looking out for in charity shops? Mine is as follows ..
A wooden musical box that looks like a grand piano, preferably with a Spanish dancer painted on the lid. I had one as a child!
A welsh wool cape
Delft Amsterdam houses
Folkmanis hand puppets
Mexican silver jewellery.
Picture books about different destinations ie 'This is London' , 'This is New York' and so on.
A vintage bust of the Queen. I already have Prince Philip.
I have a ceramic statue of Jo from Little Women. Apparently the other girls are out there somewhere too.

OP posts:
pinneddownbytabbies · 31/12/2022 19:00

I currently have a short list:

Set of small wine glasses
Miniature or vintage Christmas decorations
Lilliput Lane cottages
A decent dinner service
Vintage brooches

I'm a sucker for gardening books but I have too many really, so I'm going to have to restrain myself when I'm in charity shops in the coming year. Grin

romdowa · 31/12/2022 19:11

I've quite an unusual wish list

*Trivial pursuit expansion sets
*Different themed monopoly games
*Bert from seasame stret teddy , I have Ernie and he's lonely on the shelf 🤣
*dh is always on the look out for retro games

pinneddownbytabbies · 31/12/2022 20:08

No wonder I can never find vintage Christmas decorations, not when so many of you are looking for them as well!

Teatime55 · 31/12/2022 20:12

I had a no spend year a few years ago and in my local charity shop they had a set of glass dishes, in these beautiful jewel colours. I didn’t buy them and they were only £5. Regrets!
Theres nothing ever in my local charity shops as well, I still look though.

foxlover47 · 01/01/2023 00:16

@Mommabear20 how much is your mil selling her wierd bunnies for I really like them now lol

foxlover47 · 01/01/2023 00:17

I moved from a town that was full of charity shops and where I live now there isn't even one , so have to travel to the next few towns and I really miss a good old weekly rummage in the charity shops

SchnauzerEyebrows · 01/01/2023 03:35

This dress in size 8-9! It’s from Boden. It’s the one thing my little girl desperately wanted for Christmas but I missed out on it by a matter of days 😢 I’ve scoured the internet, even done image searches on Google, FB Marketplace & eBay and done wanted posts on Facebook groups - Nothing! So holding out for Charity Shops.

Charity shop wishlists
Bassetlover · 01/01/2023 09:05

Traditional Welsh wool blanket
Fly London size 7 boots

PurpleParrotfish · 01/01/2023 09:53

Just clothes for me. I have a general rule to try and buy tops and dresses from charity shops only, I think I stuck to it last year, and finished off 2023 with a lovely haul of three dresses.

I try and be open to serendipity, e.g. buying things out of season, but my current wish list is a nice jumper, not bobbled at all. It’s surprisingly difficult! They often look much more ‘obviously second hand’ than other clothes.

PurpleParrotfish · 01/01/2023 09:54

…finished 2022 I mean!

senua · 01/01/2023 10:13

SantaBakula · 31/12/2022 18:35

Ah I see , that makes sense , I know I look terrible in green !

Show quote history

@SantaBakula
It's more subtle than that; it's a matter of knowing the right shade of the colour. The basic rules are (1) does yellow suit you? (2) are you best in clear or sludgy colours?
I don't have a yellow undertone to my skin so most yellow-y colours (e.g. many shades of green) don't suit me. However there are colours towards the blue-green end of the spectrum (as opposed to the yellow-green) that do suit me. Thus I can do turquoise (a soft blue-green) but not aquamarine (a bright, clear blue-green).

londonmummy1966 · 01/01/2023 23:07

@pinneddownbytabbies - you would be better looking for a dinner service on either ebay (set it to nearest first) or thesaleroom.com. I bought a fabulous dinner service on the latter about a year ago. It came from Edinburgh and cost more to pack and courier but even then it was under £200 for a full service of 12 places that also has a lot of extras. When I looked the mark up it said it was Bloor Derby from the mid C19th so worth a lot more than I paid if I get bored with it...

pinneddownbytabbies · 02/01/2023 11:20

londonmummy1966 · 01/01/2023 23:07

@pinneddownbytabbies - you would be better looking for a dinner service on either ebay (set it to nearest first) or thesaleroom.com. I bought a fabulous dinner service on the latter about a year ago. It came from Edinburgh and cost more to pack and courier but even then it was under £200 for a full service of 12 places that also has a lot of extras. When I looked the mark up it said it was Bloor Derby from the mid C19th so worth a lot more than I paid if I get bored with it...

Yes, I do look at ebay from time to time, but nothing has sparked my interest just yet. Setting it to nearest first can be rather frustrating though, as there are a couple of people fairly nearby who deal in vintage china and have hundreds of listings of individual plates and whatnot.

Gatekeeper · 02/01/2023 13:57

for all those MNetters looking for vintage Christmas glass decorations... I shall now make you all green with envy Wink

4 years ago I went to a sale at a mission hall in my village and mentioned to the lady serving that i was looking for old glass decs. The next day she turned up at my house with 5 biscuit tins full of them, dating from 30's, 40's and 50's. They had been tidying up in an old store cupbaord and found them and were about the throw them out!!! Wouldn't take anything for them so I made cakes and pies for their next cake sale/coffee morning

HelloDoris · 02/01/2023 14:17

Woods ware Beryl/Iris/ Jasmine - I genuinely have so much but always buy it when I find it.
Clothes - I try to buy the vast majority of the clothes I wear from chazzers..
Vintage broaches - this is a new collection for me, started by my MIL on my birthday
Any 60's/ 70's wooden decorations such as the classic deer/birds
Face pots - these are so expensive to buy now
Anything that catches my eye..

londonmummy1966 · 02/01/2023 14:50

@pinneddownbytabbies - that must be really frustrating. I would recommend getting an account at the saleroom as then you can set a search for a dinner service and it will scour auction catalogues for you and email you with its findings. I would suggest giving it six months as there is a lot of dross out there but it takes seconds each day to look to see if there is anything you want and if there is it takes you to the auction house where you can bid online etc.

Original poster
shiningcuckoo · 03/01/2023 09:00

@Gatekeeper omg. I am so jealous about the vintage tree decs. I have never found a single one.

OP posts:
AwkwardPaws27 · 11/01/2023 21:18

Resurrecting this thread as I had a win yesterday; I wanted a black jacket for dry days when my parka is overkill, ideally a bomber or lightweight aviator style. Found a lovely River Island bomber jacket in faux suede with a borg collar - its actually menswear, but fits perfectly over a cosy jumper. It looks brand new, £10 which I was happy with as it was exactly what I needed.
Kick up the bum to donate some items that are no longer used / no longer fit now!

PurpleParrotfish · 12/01/2023 07:22

@AwkwardPaws27 Congratulations on your find! I know what you mean about the need to get rid of stuff too, I’m running out of hangers which I think is a sign.

PritiPatelsMaker · 12/01/2023 08:11

That's a great find @AwkwardPaws27!

lanesra01 · 12/01/2023 10:47

Brilliant !!

I have another question sorry …

what is the etiquette around if something doesn’t fit ? The changing rooms aren’t in use in my
local shop and I wondered if it was bad form to take something back -you just have to take a risk on it fitting or if it’s perfectly fine to take back and ask for a credit note or something?
I’m very tall with long limbs so it’s hard to find stuff
thanks !

HufflepuffRavenclaw · 12/01/2023 11:10

Not bad form at all. Our changing room is closed too and we process refunds regularly.

todays bargain for the vintage decoration lovers. A whole 99p

Charity shop wishlists
senua · 12/01/2023 13:15

what is the etiquette around if something doesn’t fit ? The changing rooms aren’t in use in my local shop and I wondered if it was bad form to take something back
If I'm not sure on fit (e.g. buying for someone else) I always ask the policy before I buy.

Beebumble2 · 12/01/2023 13:21

Lovely new navy Zara jumper £5. No intention of buying, I only went in with a friend.

ehb102 · 12/01/2023 13:56

janedani · 30/12/2022 07:21

Love this! Love a charity shop hunt. I always head straight to the bric a brac...I am on the look out for anything from the Royal Albert enchantment range and Royal doulton sonnet range have had some luck. My last charity shop purchase was a thermal top for husband brand new in pack £2 obviously wasn't on my list but very useful never the less.

Funnily enough I saw a set of Royal Doulton Sonnet on Facebook marketplace just last night. Somewhere near Chippenham I think. Never seen the pattern before. Still there if you are so inclined.

I look for Royal Doulton English Renaissance (the unusual pieces) and Gardenia (all of it,. that's my pattern). Glengarry crystal too. Just to top up my glasses.