To think certain charity shops are charging far too much?

[wintersnow]

Our family isn't very well of and I rely heavily on charity shops for clothes, toys etc as we have no cheap shops in our area - primark/matalan and the like. Certain ones like Oxfam are so expensive I no longer go in there, some of the things are cheaper to by new! Obviously I realise the money is for charity and they need as much of it as they can get but the cheaper shops are always full of customers and get massive donations whereas teh more expensive ones are always empty, can't see the logic.

I agree that staff do seem to be out of touch with how to price things properly and fairly. I've also been short changed at times by about 1.50 and when I've mentioned this they act as if it's uncharitable to ask for the money back (1.50 is two loaves of bread for my family thankyou very much).

Just because you don't see something hanging around for months on end in a charity shop, doesn't actually mean it was sold. We had to bag everything up after week three and it was mostly sent to the rag man after that. They get paid for the rag bags, so it may not be a waste - but it sometimes seemed very stupid that a dress people had been trying on and wanting to buy for three weeks would not be sold because it was a tenner or two more than people were prepared to pay, then would be sold off as rags that go for a fraction of the price.

I think a charity shop is there to raise money for their own charity, not to provide cheap stuff/charity to general public who shop there?

So, if the stuff has been donated to them to raise money for the local hospice/helping people living in total poverty overseas, don't they have a responsibility to sell it for as much as they can get for it? If there is nobody willing to pay the price then they will reduce it.

Admittedly, not sure how the staff getting first dibs fits in with this but I guess it's one of the perks attracting people to volunteer.

Do feel for you though wintersnow I miss the days of cheap charity shop bargains

A charity shop is there to generate revenue for their charity, they will charge the highest price they think someone will pay. The staff may be given first choice and discount as a way of incentivising people to volunteer and work for them. Charity shops are just applying some coroprate principles used in retail to try and increase their revenue

what i dont understand is why more charity shops dont discount goods once they come up to the end of their time on the rails , a couple locally do this ,as they still get alot more for items than if it goes in a bag for rags

I live in a very different sort of town Adversecamber, and I do know that the charity shops that are national operations price stuff high here, but send unsold stuff to other shops in less prosperous areas.
As a student, I lived on Cowley Rd in Oxford, but visited the charity shops in posh Summertown.

I have seen some motheaten trousers in the window of one of our locals priced at £7! They were cheap cotton trousers - now all threadbare. Agree they are definitely a bit overpriced at times.

I work in a charity shop and although I agree about some shops charging too much, the one where I currently work actually charges too little.

For instance, we had a glass bowl bought in and one of the staff put it out at £1.50, I have the same bowl which I paid a fiver for, however its German glass and when I bought mine discovered there were two on ebay
one was BIN for £45 and one was on at £25 with 5 bidders, there was no way I was going to let that go for £1.50. Therefore its currently out the back waiting for me when I have time to take it to the local antique
shop I wont get £45 for it but I will get a lot more than £1.50 I am doing that with a lot of things now

Clothes are a minefield the problem is that most charity shop workers dont know primark from prada its a nice red top I will stick it out for a fiver seems to be their method
so I am constantly going round and adjusting prices up and down.

As for getting first dibbs I am all for that
after all I dont get paid, yet I have keys and cash up and lock up, this is the same responsibilty as any retail manager has. I do pay for things albiet with a discount but yes its nice when something really nice comes in and I get my hands on it first.

Thumbwitch, I had the same experience with furniture in a Salv Army store the other week; a pair of bedside tables priced at $800 because they were antiques. Which struck me as...well, ok, I can see they need to charge for their goods appropriately, and I understand that they're raising money for services, not selling to poor people. But do people who are looking to pay full price for antique furniture shop in the Salvos? I wouldn't.

I was looking for the cheapest bedside table I could find, so I ended up in St Vinnies, as I always do.

It just seems like their marketing is a bit off. I shop in SA for cheap things, if i want antiques I'm not going to go into there. I think a shop can either be high end or bargain, but not both without isolating its customer base.

I think staff first dibs is fair enough. They don't get paid and there are always perks to working somewhere. No matter what the shop, staff get first dibs, it's just one of the perks. Charity shops are no different

Islandlady, I think if you volunteer, you should also be using your knowledge to support the charity.
So if you recognise they have something valuable handed in, and they don't, you should tell them so that the charity makes the profit on the item and not you.
It just seems a bit unethical to me.

Yanbu.

They vary - as others have said some charge too much, some too little.

I wandered in to one the other day. They were selling a nappy bag which was a freebie from a magazine for 4 quid and a Primark dress for 12.95 which was still on sale in Primark for 8!

Goblin I took it that Islandlady was getting higher prices on behalf of the charity rather than herself. May be wrong sure she can clarify.

I hope so.
DS has spotted some rarities in his place and helped by writing a label explaining what they were, and thus why the price was higher.
Another friend is an amateur expert in Victorian and Edwardian jewellery and offers advice on which bits to send to auction.
I do agree that pricing is often inaccurate because the staff don't always know what they are looking at.

Islandlady - good for you for getting the bowl correctly valued. However, you choose to work unpaid. No one is making you. So since it is a choice, you should not have 1st dibs on anything. A discount yes but put the item on the shelves for at least a day.

Serenity - all shop staff get first dibs, charity shop. It's just the way it works. It's a perk of the job.

that should say charity shop or other shop.

This has been the way in every shop I have ever worked in.

Oxfam in my old town is cheap. They often have half price day when say skirts are £1.49. Also their coats are all £4.99. Dp got a really expensive (if new) leather jacket for £4.99. I've bought loads there.

Hi yes The bowl went to a antique shop and the money that was paid - WENT STRAIGHT INTO MY SHOPS TILL no way would I personally make a profit for myself

And as for first dibbs I also donate a lot of things to the shop I work for so I am a bit of an an exception take this morning, someone donated a lovely pair of wooden elephant bookends I bought them for myself and paid a fiver for them, as I price most of the bric a brac I would have priced them for sale at around the same price maybe £5.50 - 6.00 as they were solid wood with bone (not ivory) tusks at the same time I donated an old coat, leopard and bang on trend, put it in the window for £15 and sold it within 10 minutes so I guess its swings and roundabouts.

TBH I dont buy stuff every time I work there
and I do tend to donate more than I buy.

Sorry forgot to say I took it to the antique shop this morning with a print out from ebay
to show what the bowls are going for (£40) I got £20 for it I would have liked more but thats what the ownewr would have paid a member of the public, still £20 is better than £1.50

All the charity shops near me are ridiculously expensive, Oxfam in the worst. I don't shop in them now because it actually is cheaper to shop in New Look or at Supermarkets.
I used to buy tons in Charity Shops.

i would never pay those prices for second hand clothes what a rip off

Oxfam near me is silly, I hardly ever go in there. I shop in charity shops all the time, most of my clothes are from them, so Oxfam is losing my custom by over pricing.

The local Hospice shop and the local Church charity shops are great, good prices, good turnover, friendly staff and homem made jam and cakes.

Best buy - a cream Per Una duck down coat, immaculate, for £3. I actually felt guilty buying it.

If you're keen to support a charity, it's probably more sensible to list and sell items yourself on ebay and then donate the profit. At least it's more likely that the item will reach the widest audience. Or buying stuff from outlet shops and then donate the money you've saved. And then you can give donations via gift aid via your salary (which some employers will match) so it's more tax efficient.

Charity shops are a redundant business model, I think their main advantage is allowing people to feel good about their purchases even though it would be more cost-efficient to support the charity in other ways.