To think that 35 quid for a coat in a charity shop that has no label is ridiculous?

[comfortablyum]

Er, the title says it all. . Wandered into charity shop (not fair to say what the place is in aid of or where it is), for a look about. Picked a nice coat. The price tag said 'vintage' and was priced at 35 quid.
Now two things:
1, Since when has stuff in a charity shop been 35 quid ?

2, How the giddens can they justify this without the item even having a label ?

I mean it didn't say 'Dior' or anything. Grr... Afraid I walked out in a bit of flounce. Bad of me I know.

Wow that's very expensive.

Don't buy it if you don't want it.

I might roll my eyes too, but when I used to live in an area with lots of rich students they would go gaga for a bit of 'vintage' and would easily pay that much for tat.

I used to buy all this stuff when in my mid-teens for about a few quid. Guess times have moved on!

Vintage is very popular and can be very expensive.

Maybe one of their staff or volunteers has someone who can recognise a vintage item and knows the value.

IME a lot of vintage dealers, who have their own shops/websites, buy cheap from charities and mark stuff up massively for sale in their own businesses.

I guess that they can flog it by calling it 'vintage' without there being any, sorry to sound pretentious, provenance to it that is most annoying. It's not as if it was Chanel or anything.

That is extortionate. YANBU.

There was no label at all. I had a good look.

Um - if it's nice and in good condition isn't it still a bargain?

If you sell a coat for a fiver, then you'll be lucky to get 20p for a t-shirt.

Isn't that going too far?

Someone with an interest or experience in vintage clothing would recognise it as such without a label (from the fabric, the cut/style, details like buttons, stitching etc).

Honestly, you would be amazed at what some vintage items can go for.

Not having a label doesn't mean it's not vintage, though, just that you don't know where it comes from, and someone else might.

I suspect lots of people with money to burn would happily pay that amount for a coat that was in good condition without caring where it came from, anyway. It'll be different from what hundreds of people are wearing from the high street and that's what they care about (plus a healthy dose of pretention in some cases! ).

Blimey. Unless it looks and feels beautiful, that's a bit like selling a car with no badge, but assuming it's a Merc? But if you don't want to pay it, then no one is forcing you. I do a gree though, it's a bit steep.

Mind you, our local charity shop sells Primark T shirts for more than they are new and people pay it, because we are rural and no one can be bothered to flog into town!

H&M are selling new wool coats for £40!

I really have an issue with charity shops over-charging. Yes, their main function is to raise money for charity, but I think that they also serve an important service to the people in the community who can't afford decent clothes.

Saying that I bought a Harrods jumper made from really chunky wool for £2 from a charity shop a few weeks ago. Hadn't had a warm jumper for years as I couldn't afford one, so pleased!

Definitely sounds v expensive BUT could you see what it was made of on the washing label?

Good wool can be £50 or more per metre and a coat could have over 2 metres in it (I'd buy something for the fabric and rip it up and remake it - I have a book of embroidered raw silk samples that I got for a tenner that has about £200 worth of material in it, going to make some beautiful cushion covers)

However as they've just labelled it Vintage I reckon they are just trying to make more money off it

yellowraincoat what a bargain!

OP sounds way too expensive. How nice was it exactly?

I'm off to my local charity shop soon. We have 2 second hand shops and 1 charity shop in our village. Loads of bargains. Coats are around £4 mark.

What use is a label in a coat? It doesn't make it look better, or keep the rain out.
In my posh little corner, coats and suits in charity shops can be up to £50 and are a bargain.
Extortionate? Then go to a proper shop rather than one raising funds for vulnerable people. Try Primark or one of the supermarket chains. You seem to have forgotten the point of a charity shop.

No idea if YABU or not, seeing as we don't know the quality of the coat. If it's a really high quality coat (expensive material, well made, etc) then £35 is a bargain.

If it's nothing special then obviously it isn't a bargain.

Like I said, Fallen , don't you think that charity shops should also be helping vulnerable people by making clothing affordable to those who don't have much?

I've lived in very poor places and very rich places, and the charity shop prices have reflected the economics of the area. I donate a lot to charity shops, and the more they can make the better IMO.

"don't you think that charity shops should also be helping vulnerable people by making clothing affordable to those who don't have much?"

I assume that not all the coats in the charity shop were £35?

Empusa, no, I guess not, but it is a general trend that charity shops are now far more expensive than they used to be. That drives people into places like Primark which are actually terrible for poor people in other countries as they have a really awful sweatshop policy.

It's all a bit of a Catch 22. The charity shops would be better off charging less if they want to do more good all-round.

YANBU
75p each for kids undervests! that's more than they are each in packs of 6 NEW!!!

they have GOT to price them at least slightly less than they are new!
I often see little George and TU tee shirts etc in charity shops for £4.50 when they'ld be £2 in the supermarket!

I want to use recycled clothes! I believe in that form of recycling (sending jam jars to india not so much!) but I refuse to pay more than new prices!!

£20 is a sensible max for a non label non vintage coat!

If they made the clothing very cheap, you'd get mass invasions of people who then resold stuff on ebay or the markets. They price at what the local economy can handle usually.
My dad joined the army at 17 because they'd feed him three times a day and give him boots and a uniform. There are more solutions now for the vulnerable than there were back then. Charities fundraise for specific needs, and I like to be able to choose which areas I support through my donations.

Where was this charity shop, Comfortablyum?

"The charity shops would be better off charging less if they want to do more good all-round"

But they don't - they are run as a business, by and for the benefit of the particular charity - charities have a duty to make the most of their resources to maximise the money raised for that cause - they don't have any duty to the general public, or to vulnerable people.

You should have asked about the price. It could have been a vintage designer coat and that's how they justified the cost. Or maybe it was very good quality e.g. cashmere or cashmere mix.