What wouldn’t you buy from a charity shop?

[CoolPlayer]

What wouldn’t you buy from a charity shop? Why? What do you buy? What’s the best bargain you’ve picked up? Genuinely curious, I’ve always picked up kids toys, books ect I think it’s a great way to re use / save money. never any kitchen bits but I know people pick up some good bargains..

Exactly what I was going to say. Second hand pants? This literally doesn't exist. Most of the chazzers I know have a little section of new socks, hats, gloves and sometimes pants. They're very clearly new and packaged and labelled as such.

My absolute best gloves were new from British Heart Foundation.

Yeah, a couple of my local charity shops stock new socks of a design I particularly like, and they're pretty cheap too, so I usually always buy socks there.

Deleted. I see someone already said what I said!

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(move on, nothing to see here)

Who are these people getting fungus from shoes? I have bought most my shoes second hand from Vinted and never dealt with any fungus etc.

I think that’s just an old wives tale or something.

A lot of people on MN seem to think that any object ever touched by any other humans will be filthy enough to kill you.

I guess I wouldn't buy jigsaws unless they're sealed. I wouldn't want to buy a 1000 piece one, and get to piece No 993, and find out 7 pieces are missing.

Yeah, I'm always put off stuff like that unless I can be absolutely sure it's complete.

I saw a nice vintage Scrabble set the other day, but I didn't have time to count the tiles to make sure all 100 were present!

Shoes, underwear, cutlery and mugs/cups (just a mental block about using something a stranger has had in their mouth and yes I know restaurants etc don’t use new cups and cutlery just for me!)

I rarely bother looking at clothes in the charity shops but do pop in a few times a month for books and toys for DC mainly. I also like looking at the home bits. I am also so shocked at some of the prices. There was a velvet dress in the ‘new and designer’ section of a local charity shop last Christmas when I needed a new dress for the work Christmas party. I went to have a look and it was by George at Asda and they wanted £14! It was neither new or designer 😂

I love the threads on here about the bargains people have found. I never go into charity shops as I'm just not a rummager but enjoy marveling at other people's finds.

Finding good quality bargains is getting harder these days. Most charities will now put more valuable items straight onto eBay as it maximises their profits, and they tend to price stuff much higher now than they did even just a few years ago. I used to buy old cameras and tech items in charity shops and sell them on at often quite good profits, but that's almost impossible to do now.

The people who are saying underwear must be people who don't ever go into charity shops? When have you ever seen a rail of used knicker? Never

My daughter has bought earrings from charity shops but I feel really icky about it

This has already been established a number of posts back.

I go to charity shops and go on vinted. I won't buy used footwear, the risk of fungal infection is too much, and once you have it, it is hard to get rid of. I have been mainly pleased with vinted, despite not being able to properly see what you are getting, it has mainly suited me fine for the price (which is lower than the charity shops), although charity shops are great to browse, and I feel, freshly laundered, also probably feeling the pain from everyone selling their stuff on vinted rather than donating. I still like charity shops, but some have got a bit ridiculous from a pricing point of view (£18.99 for a dress seen recently) Got two work dresses recently on Vinted for £2 each, really lovely and unworn, but stunk of mothballs / mould when they arrived. Took the labels off, washed them, and now wearing them on repeat - they are not what I would have chosen had I been in a shop, but they really suit my figure and style, and whether it is vinted, ebay or charity shop, recyling things has got to be better than just fast fashion and buying new.

Shoes, but I don't like feet so the thought of wearing used shoes makes me feel gross.
Underwear, for obvious reasons.

I usually buy kids books and some clothes if they catch my eye, but my main reason for going around them is things from my past. I love finding old ornaments I remember and random stuff from my childhood.

Yes, I wouldn't expect a half decent op shop to put anything like that out for sale. The reason I don't buy secondhand shoes is because they've moulded to the shape of someone else's feet, not because of cleanliness (and my feet never touch the inside of shoes - there's always socks and orthotics twixt me and them).

FOR THE BILLIONTH TIME CHARITY SHOPS DON'T SELL USED UNDERWEAR.

False teeth

THAT'S NICE TO KNOW, THANK YOU FOR YOUR POLITE AND CALM REPLY. MY KEYBOARD ALSO HAS CAPITAL LETTERS.

I'd not buy wig, duvet, pillows.
I bought many many times- books, clothes, shoes ( hardly worn Louboutin, Rogier Vivier), household items, decorative items, designer bags, designer hosiery new, accessories

I absolutely love a charity shop. Give me an unexplored high street with a load of charries, a few bookshops and some indie cafes and I can lose a day.

I buy cs books, read, then re-donate - kind of renting. Trying to get rid of records, CDs, tapes & videos tho ...

Clothes, jewellery, bags - yes, but not underwear (yes, they do sell bras & slips), swimming costumes, anything shabby, stained or whiffy, nothing Primarkesque. Especially like things of quality (my lovely Jaeger grey wool maxi skirt, green devore velvet kimono top, olive green silk velvet evening skirt ... 🤗)

Shoes - clearly as-new only.

China and glass - I like cut glass & crystal which most have as it's gone out of style. I can recognise pieces from different eras, especially art deco, and often see things we had in the 60s, 70s and 80s. I usually have a hopeful look, wondering if I'll have my Lovejoy moment and discover some blackened silver, or something equally exciting for £3. (I often see American thrifters showing some random modern piece they've picked up cheap, together with a screenshot from the maker's website showing it retails for $500...)

I can imagine getting a vintage finds business going ...

I don't like ... That Smell. It's funny, some do have the smell, some don't. I wonder why?

I wouldn’t buy used underwear

Cuddly toys. I bought an "Anger" Inside Out toy for a couple of quid to surprise DD. When we got home I realised there was a really bad smell. Pulled open the velcro bit where the voice box was and it contained a large, very caked in, shit. DD loved it at first so I had to scrape the vast majority of the shit out of it with wipes and put it in the washing machine (which killed the voice box). It still stank so after DD quickly lost interest it was binned.
Who donates a toy to charity in that state?! How did a child put a shit in there? Shit elsewhere and then shove it in? Who closed it completely up with the Velcro? What kind of parent donated a shit filled Anger to a charity shop?!

Clothes or shoes. Or anything you would eat from as it may have been used for....other things. Yes I know, you use things that've been used by others in cafès & restaurants but they're generally not used for anything else besides food & drinks.