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 ?

Absolutely. I saw a thin worn next vest for £9 recently. Knew it would have been maybe £11 but it was clearly worn. It’s ridiculous.

I used to work for a charity in head office and part of my job was to identify thd shops not making enough money and put the managers on performance. If they didn't make targets, after support, they lost their job. Balancing act as price too high and no one buys, price too low and you could have made more.

Weird, on my screen it says “a
used one […] from a charity shop” 🤷‍♀️

Yep, my local charity shop is a joke with their prices. I use vinted instead now.

Wedding dresses are usually expensive though. Most people donate to charity because they want to raise money for the charity, not to supply a bargain to some random tight wad.

Absolutely yes I have noticed this too for quite a while . The prices they charge are shocking imo

Exactly. I often have people tell me they bought x item for £y and now are donating and want us to get a good price for it for the charity.

I went to a trendy seaside town in the SE yesterday. Came back with 3 expensive high street label dresses - Reiss, BNWT, £10, Banana Republic (silk), £8.50, Compton des something £6... A few t-shirts (£1 and 50p), £3 fascinator.

And we consider those are fairly expensive charity shops. In the town we live in, for example, DD3 recently picked up a Tod's handbag for £3, and I got a pure wool Liberty scarf for £3.

DD1 lives in Wimbledon. She has learned which charity shops have sale price rails, and picks up good labels from them

In general, you just have to be careful and choosy. Bargains are still out there.

It’s six of one and half a dozen of another.

They need the money to survive. We think it’s overpriced.

It’s six of one and half a dozen of another.

They need the money to survive. We think it’s overpriced.

It’s six of one and half a dozen of another.

They need the money to survive. We think it’s overpriced.

Charity shops in my area tend to charge about half-price for new or near perfect clothes. They don't sell tatty clothes - these move down the food chain.

Charities are governed by charity law, and they have to do their best to meet their objectives. In the case of raising money, it's to benefit the charity, not the customer.

If the shop has a paid employee, and they will almost certainly have paid regional staff, they are being hammered by Rachel from Accounts.

Those poor charity shop managers being put on performance for underselling. I had no idea.

I buy from charity shops every now and then and wouldn’t expect to pay under a fiver for something barely worn from a decent brand. DH disagrees and thinks they are now a rip off.

You must live in my town. Many recently refurbished, but the current managers seem to know nothing about display, so still looks like a total chaotic jumble sale. The cost of refurbishment is enormous. There is no way that cost has been recovered through higher sales. And I also agree about too high prices and poor quality of goods. But not clothing - I dont look at that.

Succinctly and perfectly put.

There are two charity shops near me, about 3 doors apart from each other. The first has mainly children’s toys and clothes from the majority being £0.50p to only a few/a handful of very special items being no more than £2.00, it has a huge turnover of stock and is always extremely busy. The other tries to flog stained, bobbly Primark clothes for more than they would have been full price, and is always empty as everyone just goes to the other one, so I’m surprised they’re able to cover the rent.
also locals are more likely to donate to the cheap one, because it’s nice to see things get used by someone else and not just sit on a rail for years.

I loveeee charity shopping but my god you are so right. I thought it was just me, though I think it depends on the shop. The Sue Ryder near me frequently charges £5-15 for primark / PLT / shein items. I really just dont understand - and this is used, no tags. I once bought two Primark claw clips brand new from there for £2, took the charity shop sticker off and seen that they were originally £1.50 😐

I find Sue Ryder, Oxfam, BHF, and Barnardo's to be as expensive as regular high street shops lately tbh. The Children's Society is my favourite, some things can be a bit pricey but generally always pretty cheap - as it should be. Most RSPCA and Cancer Research charity shops ive been to are fairly cheap, as well. I mostly use vinted lately but the fees are killing me 🥲

Hmmm I do see your point. That sort of thing goes to the tip in our house, I'd only donate the quality I'd be happy buying so no holes or stains. Not a charity's job to sort your rubbish, but I guess not everyone's the same

It’s really sad and I don’t believe it serves the charities or local communities well. Charity shops used to serve a dual function - raising money for the charity, and providing a source of cheap, varied resources for those who struggle to pay retail prices. It was a healthy symbiosis. Now many charity shops price the less affluent out of the market…and they are still struggling and often failing, because the people who can afford to buy the stuff are more likely to be donating it than looking for a bargain.

Do you want to tell us?

Agree! I’m a long time charity shop lover but fuck me, some of the prices now are just ridiculous! It’s such a shame because I feel charity shops are a brilliant idea all round, they’re environmentally friendly, they obviously generate money for charities but they also, imo, served to provide cheap clothes to families on a tight budget. Now more than ever, the latter is needed but alas, it seems increasingly that this is not the case.
It’s also the case that the quality of donations have, for sure, gone downhill. As people have mentioned, that’s probably down to the ease of selling on apps like Vinted etc. I can’t blame people for trying to make a bit of extra money (and I do it too!) but on a charity shop front, it’s a negative.

For the record, charity shops do not automatically get reduced rent unless the property owner has the ability to be generous. All utilities, waste disposal, insurance, maintenance costs, license to play music, etc are the same as any other retail outlet.

Yes vinted definitely better, really seen in the past two years or so charity shops trying to resell Asda/tesco stuff at just a couple of pounds under if buying it new

My local Marie Curie is a 99p shop at the moment. Best buy was a like new monsoon blouse. Spent 11 pounds. Not sure if it is just clearing stock or if it will stay that way.

Charities have to pay rent, electricity, gas, for boring things like till roll, tags, loo roll for the volunteers, rubbish collection, and that’s before wages for store managers, costs of hr, and things like steamers. It’s far from cheap these days. I volunteer 4 hours a week but nobody wants to volunteer as a manager.

the prices are fair here and we choose not to sell poorer quality products, it’s around £10 for a good quality seasalt dress costing £70 new as a rough guide