Do you think charity shops have lost their minds with overpricing items?

[luluxxx]

Been into my local charity shop (not a big city ,just a local area and it’s in a pretty working class area )
Used to be able to get some bargains but today they have two new rails “new with tags “ and a “top brands “ rail.
On the new with tags was a skirt from select (£7 ) the skirt itself was only £14.99
A Primark pair of beach trousers (£6 ) tags were £10
Then on the top brand rail was a clearly used M&S jumper for £8 and a shein dress for £6
Are people really going to pay this ?

I do think we’ve had a few of these threads before but I personally think charities tend to overprice. The local bhf charity shop has shut and it had similar pricing. We have an excellent thrift store locally which is cheap and cheerful so I donate there. It’s run by community charities for a week at a time and it’s generally a solid £2k a week fundraiser whenever I’ve volunteered.

I donate stuff as I hope it’ll be reused and a bit of money for a good cause seems like a bonus.

Yes I totally agree. As a buyer it’s often cheaper to get something on Vinted even with the fees and postage.

I think it’s a rock and a hard place for the charities. Their costs have gone up just like everyone else’s. Knock on effect.
I work for a charity and we get minimal government funding for what is considered a very important service and half our funding comes from shops,
it’s a very difficult balance.

I agree. These days, it's better value to buy a brand new t-shirt from Primark or something, especially in the sale, for £8 or whatever rather than a used one for say £6 from a charity shop.

Yep, all the bargains were just after Covid, in the past year it’s gotten very silly indeed. Not only are they over pricing but they are not getting decent stock from what I’ve seen, I think many are now selling on Vinted regardless of if they only get a few ££. Col and all that.

I need a few pieces of furniture and went into one today. Selling junk (worn out, very dated) for just a few pounds cheaper than what you'd pay in IKEA. Absolute madness. The ones that sell clothes are also very expensive but are always full of people, so the prices obviously aren't putting people off.

Not the one I went to last week. I got a brand new good quality branded soft shell jacket for £8. Also got a ski coat from the same shop. Also brand new for £20.

I used to often go into a charity shop. Hardly bother these days. The quality of the stuff in general has plummeted whilst the prices are a joke sometimes.

Misshapen, covered in bobbles, stained, faded, shrunk stuff should be in the bargain bin. But they are often on the rails at prices not much cheaper than brand new.

When I do find something I like (rarely), I then look at the price and think - nope!

Oxfam bookshops are always overpriced compared to almost any other charity shop that sells books. Often twice the price.

I've certainly noticed this. Charity shops here are now always more expensive than vinted etc and often not great quality. I imagine part of the reason is that more people are selling better quality items. I can see that the shops have increasing costs but I'd have thought that if items were priced more cheaply they would sell more. Our local shops don't seem to have a problem with quantity of donations so surely since they are all donated selling more at a lower price will mean more profit than one or 2 at an inflated price.

I saw a preworn wedding dress in a charity shop the other day. I'm not looking for a wedding dress but I was curious as to how much it would cost. It was priced at £400. 😯

Obviously I don't know the original price. It looked nice but nothing very extravagant. I just thought that considering it would have been gifted for free to the shop and the gifter was probably wanting to help a bride on a budget, that £400 was pretty expensive really.

we haven’t had one of these threads for a few weeks..
I volunteer in a charity shop and was working this afternoon. I was doing markdowns today so had plenty of opportunity to look at prices. Majority of tops about £4, lots of dresses at £4 with most expensive at £9.50, shorts at £4..etc.
we were busy all afternoon and we are one of the top performers in our area.
Prices have gone up- I price recently published paperbacks at £2.50, but as the retail price is now £10 I think that’s fair.

Oxfam is definitely more expensive, 2.99 for a paperback but they tend to have a better selection than other charity shops so am happy to pay £2.99 for a book I am unlikely to find elsewhere.

Some of the charity shops round here have redecorated their shops and are laying out their wares like some bijou shabby-chic emporium. With prices to match.

Yes, went into one at the weekend and prices were more than brand new! E.g Basics Primark T shirt £10.99, a Matalan midi skirt was £19.99 and a Shein dress was £19.99 too.

Found a great CD for 50p though so was really pleased. ❤️

Not sure why clothing prices have gone awry!

imo clothes in really poor condition should be ragged and not put out.
if we have an item with some damage eg missing button or tiny hole then we will put it out ‘sold as seen’ for a nominal amount.

Those prices are bonkers!

Cost of living has affected charity shops too.

That means their costs have gone up so their prices need to go up too

I work in a charity shop . I sort and price . You're right , some shop do overprice . My shop is an independent animal rescue so we don't have guidelines as some of the big ones do .
We sell cheaply and have a quick turn over . We get some fantastic donations because we are local and independent, we even get remembered in people's wills . I'm usually horrified by the grotty grubby overpriced tat I see in other shops .

I’m looking for an occasional chair, I want it be be a bit quirky or retro, to go in a corner of a bland room I want to fancy up a bit. I thought I’d take some time to look around. I went to a charity furniture shop yesterday, all of the decent stuff had sold signs in them, saying they’d been sold on eBay.

in my youth charity shops were set up to allow poorer people to get things they could afford, the charity was to the customer. Things have changed now, they sell stuff to make money to use for other things. The focus is now making money.

I think some people sometimes forget charity shops are there to raise as much money for charities as possible, not to supply clothes to the thrifty at bargain prices.

If they price too high then they won't sell, sales do not cover costs and shop closes.

I don't know what pricing structures they use, but if it were me I would price high for a couple of weeks to see whether there were any takers then reduce gradually until they sell, or maybe then move to online auction. If you are not seeing the price transitions it's probably because they are pricing high and selling from the outset, or because you are missing the price transition before someone else buys/ the item goes for online auction.

The cost of living has definitely affected the quality of donations as more people are selling their items online which is of course completely understandable.

Some charity shops are cheaper than others. I got a nice Phase 8 skirt for £8 a few weeks ago.

I donate to charity shops and also sell online. I know what sells online.

I agree some are overpricing. And not distinguishing between clearly worn items and those which are "as new". At the weekend I was trawling our local charity shops looking for something specific for a fancy dress costume and overheard one volunteer telling another that one of the other volunteers had under priced a pair of worn shoes and she was putting the price up!