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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to be a bit miffed at this assistant in a charity shop?

35 replies

mummytowillow · 12/02/2011 22:58

I had a big clear out last week, loads of books and some decent clothes, (Next, Wallis, M&S etc)

I understand charity shops can get lots of stuff given to them, so I went into the shop to ask them if they wanted it and when I could drop it off. Man tells me today would be great, knock on back door and they would come and get it?

So I this morning, I pop along, rings bell, open boot to get two black bags. Assistant comes out, groans, pulls a face and says 'we don't really need anymore books, how many are there' quite abruptly and rude! I felt really embarrassed and just stood there, she reluctantly took them off me, huffing and puffing!

Wish I'd taken them to a different charity now? Or does this happen alot in charity shops, never heard of them being picky before!!

OP posts:

HecateQueenOfWitches · 12/02/2011 23:04

oh yes. many of them are getting picky.

What you should have done is said "right. Fair enough. Forget it then. I shall not donate again and nor will I buy things." and put everything back in the boot. Then gone home and emailed the charity to complain.

Islandlady · 12/02/2011 23:08

Sorry you had such a bad experience

I work in a charity shop in Ryde IOW and believe me we are more than grateful for anything we can get and take care to express our gratitude to our wonderful donators.

HOWEVER, we do upset people when we say we cant accept electrical goods these needs to be tested by an electrician before we can sell them and we have shelves stacked with goods waiting for the chap to come and test them, so I have had to stop these type of donations for now

Islandlady · 12/02/2011 23:12

Also just to let you all know that our charity like many others get money for
things which are unsellable, like very old dirty clothes and torn books there are plenty of companies that will take rags and
books for recyling.

So even if the charity shop concerned had too many books to put out they would still be able to 'sell' them to a recyling company

Might be worth mentioning that to any picky ones

starfishmummy · 12/02/2011 23:13

Happened to me - took a load of ds's old toys once and got a similar reaction to Hecate's.
They toys were in good condition and I'd made sure all the bits were there etc, not like the crap they usually sell so I was very miffed. Haven't been in that one since.

peppapigbutty · 12/02/2011 23:14

Hecate.

I agree. I have always given mine and my childrens clothes, toys and books to charity shops. Lately I have had charity shop assistants moaning about having to sort them.

Well tough luck I am now going to be e baying them. All our clothes are in excellent condition. DC are in school uniform 5 days a week and in Academy or Rugby kit all day on Saturday therefore they do not wear their clothes before they become to small.

There I was thinking I was helping charities. Obviously I would be better off thinking "Charity begins at home".

Shallishanti · 12/02/2011 23:19

bear in mind charity shops are run by volunteers, some are fab and will have excellent social skills and good customer-serving attitudes...and some will not, some will be doing a few hours so they have something to put on their CVs. Don't abandon a charity - or its shop- just because someone was a but rude.

FreudianSlippery · 12/02/2011 23:28

This is why I don't donate to charity shops now - never experienced rudeness but I've heard they often can't keep or sell everything they are given (and some stuff gets binned!)

It is taking longer but instead I've divided up my stuff to get rid of. Kids books went to DDs preschool where they are pored over all day (a joy to see!) and the local Drs waiting room. Some clothes will be given to women's aid/hostels etc. People go to those places with nothing. Baby stuff divided up too.

I feel by reeeeally thinking about who will get the most out of these things, I am helping more people. :)

Rowgtfc72 · 13/02/2011 07:57

Took stuff to the local womens aid shop just before Christmas.Explained I had toys and mainly childrens clothes.Woman in shop said "we've got loads of toys why would we want anymore,could you sort them out of the bags?" Another woman shot from the back and said "I'll give you a hand geting the bags out the car"Didn't sort them and wont be donating again.

ImeldaSnowboots · 13/02/2011 08:06

Was going to say the same Shallishanti, my DMum helps in a charity shop and is aware some of the other 'helpers' can be a bit unhelpful but for the organisers if people are volunteering then they are in awkward position.

What we usually do is donate by putting stuff in the collection bins that you get around recycling areas.

DoingTheBestICan · 13/02/2011 08:19

I took a huge binbag full of ds' clothes & bits & bobs on Friday & the shop was quite full of customers,i handed the bag over to the lady by the till & right behind her is the back room where they all get sorted out.

Anyway i could see & hear the 3 other helpers rummaging through the donations & they were saying 'oh i'll take this for so & so' & another one said 'yeah,this is nice i'll have this'

A few other people had noticed also & i certainly wont be donating in there again.

mrsgetonwithit · 13/02/2011 08:22

There is a small charity shop near me and before christmas we had a clear out. Lots of toys in great condition and not cheap stuff either..........I never saw any of it for sale not one thing.......mmmmmmmmmmm strange I thought.

StealthPolarBear · 13/02/2011 08:28

Out homebase has books for sale for charity, they are always pleased to get donations

littleducks · 13/02/2011 08:29

When we moved I donated everything I didnt need to a lovely local hospice charity shop staffed by (mostly elderly) volunteers who were grateful for everything and sold it at reasonable prices so I had bought the kids odd toys/books there in the past.

I had deliberately avoided the 'big name' charity shop with paid staff. Unfortunatly the nice charity shop had a flood and as i had already driven into town with the last boot full of baby things i took it to the big shop. They were rude and unhelpful and it really wound me up.

ImeldaSnowboots · 13/02/2011 08:30

DoingTheBestICan that happens in the shop my mum helps in too, its one of the 'perks' of being a helper, they do pay for the stuff though

mrsgetonwithit if its a chain its normal practice to move stuff to other shops, and sometimes will have eg more toys or books in partcular shops.

DoingTheBestICan · 13/02/2011 08:33

MummytoWillow i think we live in the same area,was it the charity shop in the precinct in Buckley?

Islandlady · 13/02/2011 08:53

I would like to Echo what EmeldaSnowboots says.

Aa for toys some people take the labels off
stuffed toys therefore we cant see if they have CE marks and we cant sell them if they haven't got the marks on.

Also we keep stuff back for seasonal events
I have a box full of stuff for both Mothers Day and Easter which will be put out when these occasions occur both for a window display and an instore display so the donators wont see their items for sale just yet.

reluctanthomosapien · 13/02/2011 09:11

It might be perk for some of the volunteers to pick out stuff they want, but doesn't it devalue the shops' business because all the good stuff never gets on the shelves, and therefore the shops get a reputation for selling, well, crap? Do the volunteers get to buy stuff at the price they'd go on sale at in the shop, or at a discount?

I know of one CEO of a major charity who runs a private company on the side selling off unsold books from his charity's shops. I can only hope these books are paid for and some of the profit from the private company ploughed back into the charity

ambarth · 13/02/2011 09:30

They may not have room for them all. The asistant sounds like she was lacking in social skills. She could have politely explained to you why the couldn't take them but thanks for thinking of them anyway.

I have volunteered in a charity shop and we used to get swamped with teddies and books. They all have to be checked to make sure they have safety labels so we can legally sell them (Teddies) or no pages missing (books). It's actually quite hard work sorting through the stuff and making sure no bits are missing, all in working order etc. Especially 1000 piece jigsaws!!! Also sorting it and shelving it all in a limited space was a nightmare.

It would be a shame to stop giving though. Some charites get more donations than others either because they are very emotive (childrens)or just well known. Maybe find one that gets less. I think it is a good idea to check what they need before you drop it off.

Islandlady · 13/02/2011 10:42

reluctanthomospaien

Not really our volunteers (we have no paid staff) are allowed to buy at discount the same way that any other shop worker in say John Lewis does.

With us if a worker wants to buy something another member of staff values it and we get 20% off, BTBH does it matter the money goes to the charity anyway whether it comes out of a customer purse or a member of staff, you have to remember we are volunteers for a charity we personally support, therefore we want the charity to make as much money as possible.

Its really not a case of say a member of staff paying a quid for something we would sell for 3 quid to a customer.

TBH most of the stuff that doesnt go out immediatly are saved for customers we know
collect things and use specific things that way we keep loyal customers.

But then again as an animal charity we get loads of donations and certainly do not have shelves filled with crap

cumfy · 13/02/2011 10:53

Maybe the original guy's enthusiasm for your stuff was contingent on the fact he knew he wouldn't be on duty.

salsmum · 13/02/2011 12:01

I stopped in the village up the road one night to go to the cash machine @ 8pm and saw the manager from the charity shop loading goods (large) into her car boot from the shop. my friend lives over the road from her and says shes always unloading car with goods after work .I went into the shop once after seeing sari's for sale the day before (about 5) my daughter was having a people of the world fancy dress, when I went into the shop I didnt see any saris for sale when I asked the shop ass, she said the manager had prob put them on e-bay ...is this usual practice i wonder?.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 13/02/2011 12:09

I know our local oxfam got given a really valuable old book. Instead of selling it for a fiver in the shop, they sold it to a book dealer for a few hundred.

Surely charity shops exist to make money for the charity - so they will sell items where they will get the best price, not necessarily in the shop where they were donated.

Tramadol · 13/02/2011 12:10

I thought all charities put stuff on ebay? If it brings in extra funds then why not?.

ambarth · 13/02/2011 12:47

THESE ARE REASONS WHY YOU MIGHT NOT SEE STUFF YOU HAVE DONATED IN THE SHOP:

Stuff gets shared between other shops and sold on e bay. The more valuble stuff often gets gets sold on e bay as customers have been known to take the stickers off expensive brands and con the sales assistant into selling it really cheap.

Things that are unlikely to sell in the shop get sold for rag/recycling and still make money for the charity.

Volunteers where I worked bought stuff as long as the manager knew and were charged the same price as they would sell it to anyone else. Not a problem as they had enough good quality donations to go into the shop too.

GabySolis · 13/02/2011 13:31

How rude! If they'd have said that to me, I'd have said 'fine, don't bother taking them, I'll take them to another shop who are more appreciative!'
Then promptly walked off!

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