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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Would you ever do this to a charity shop?

78 replies

BupcakesandCunting · 07/07/2011 15:29

Would you ever try and knock them down on a price? Would you ever return goods for a refund if you changed your mind on them?

AIBU to think it's a bit of a shitty thing to do?

OP posts:
PoppyPopcorn · 17/08/2017 22:34

I'm a charity shop volunteer. I don't mind doing refunds for things people have bought and don't fit. We don't have a changing room - it had to be removed as there was so much ticket switching and stealing going on. So unless it's a jacket or something you can try over your clothes, you can't really trying things on. Most customers are very polite.

BUT, if you come in with an item you say you've bought from us but the tag has been removed and you don't have the receipt then no, you can't have a refund as you're a cheeky chancer. And no, you don't have the "right" to a refund or a replacement.

Similarly with people offering less than the asking price - it's a judgement call. Our shop is very busy and things get missed. We might not have noticed a hem coming down or a missing button and of course if that's pointed out I'll use my initiative and knock off a quid or two.

We also know easily how long something has been on the shelves because we use week codes. If an item has been out 2 weeks, not sold, priced at £10 and you offer £8, I'd probably let you have it. If on the other hand something has literally just gone on the shelves, no chance. People don't tend to make offers like that on clothing though, it's mainly the homewares or jewellery. Tea sets especially, we'll accept SENSIBLE offers on items if you ask politely.

Key words being sensible and politely...

PoppyPopcorn · 17/08/2017 22:43

People steal from charity shops shock Are they very poor people?

Not in my experience. I used to work in a busy city centre department store as a student and there was at that time a shoplifting "type" - mostly very dodgy looking or an addict. I now volunteer in a charity shop in a very nice area of town and things go walkabout all the time. We do not have the stereotpyical dodgy looking people so it must be the very ordinary other people.

Some of it is plain taking things of the shelves and walking out without paying. That's maybe less common.

More common is the switch - someone will come in wearing a scabby old jacket, choose something off the rails, pull the label off the "new" jacket and leave their scabby old one on the hangar before walking out. This happens at least twice every Saturday - I find hte scabby stuff when I'm in on a Monday morning.

Charity shops are an easy target. No CCTV. No alarms. Usually only one person in the shop at a time while the rest of us work through the back. And people think it's OK to take our donations as we didn't pay for them in the first place.

tigercub50 · 17/08/2017 23:19

I don't haggle but I have taken things back & not asked for a refund so the charity gets the profit again 🙂

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