To stop donating things to my local charity shop because I don't agree with their recent price hikes?

[MarmaladeShatkins]

Expecting to have my arse handed to me...

I've noticed over the last year or so that our local hospice shop has become REALLY expensive. I'm talking £6 for a child's Primark shirt when they are only about £4 brand new and yesterday, a Sainsbury's maxi dress for £9.50.

I've been a loyal supporter of the hospice as they cared for my aunt in her last weeks but I don't agree with them pricing out people that rely on them as a cheap way to clothe their children and buy books etc. I'd rather use a charity shop than Primark because it's recycling and not feeding into the child labour cycle BUT I won't be taken for a mug, either!

They are appealing for stock but I really don't want to hand it to them, I'd rather find a women's refuge and give it to them.

AIBU? I really don't know.

A few weeks back, I saw a charity shop worker putting crockery in the bin,

Ok maybe they couldn't sell it, but what was the need to break every single one of them as she put them in the bin.

I am sure a lot if people would be grateful for it.

YANBU. I'm in Australia, where the vast majority of op shops as we call them are religion-based. I've finally found an animal rescue one for all our stuff. On the price side, Salvos, the Salvation Army take the piss with prices, while Vinnies, St. Vincent de Paul Society are reasonable.

no, YANBU. I went into one and found a dress from autograph at m and s that would maybe have cost £35 new for £12. It was very worn and had some holes in it but also would have been great for shoving on over leggings and with a cardigan in the winter as quite flattering. Not for £12 though. I asked the lady if she had noticed the holes and she referred it to the snotty shitty manager who said "she can have 10% off but she needs to be aware this is a charity shop"

Well fuck you then! I said to the lady loud enough for the manager to hear, "no thanks then, I know it's a charity shop but that's in awful condition. Good luck finding someone prepared to pay that."

Hi everyone, the charity shops near me have hiked their prices up aswell, I used to get some real bargains but not any more. I'm afraid (and please don't think bad of me) that with the increased price of food, petrol, bills and just general living costs, I am sorry to say that in our house charity begins at home. We have realised from looking a baby things, budgeting for when I am hopefully on maternity leave and still affording to go out once in a while, we need to be more careful with our money. I set up an ebay account, and I've done so car boots and sold some bits from the newsagents window and all the money I've made, I've banked for the baby x

up to you

i dont donate to places that undercharge. i donate to raise funds. otherwise i would give to, say, sally army or a refuge

so each to their own

YANBU. I work (for free) in the Sally Army in Balham, which is dead cheap, I am pleased to tell you. Coats and dresses a fiver, everything else 4 quid, kids' clothes 25p. We sell loads, so we can afford to keep prices low.

We refuse to mark up the brilliant stuff we get, by the way - it's part of the ethos of the shop that if you get a bargain, so much the better.

If we get genuine, very valuable antiques they are whisked away to make proper money for the anti-human trafficking campaign the Sally Army runs, but otherwise the principle of the shop is to provide decent stuff for local people at affordable prices.

On the other hand, the other charity shops in Balham position themselves as 'vintage boutiques' and slap 12 quid on primark tops they cut the labels out of.

Our local church that runs a food bank also accepts good condition childrens clothes. They wash them, iron them and then make up bundles for say Boy age 9-10 that might have 2 pairs of jeans, 5 tops, a couple of jumpers and a jacket. They put in a multipack of new undies. And then wait til they get a referral or spot someone who would benefit.

would donate to them (although i dont share their religious beliefs) a millon times rather than to a charity shop - one of the purposes of which used to be to enable people with little money to clothe themselves.

We have a Barnardo's near me they are quite reasonable I buy kids clothes and books usually ,I understand they have to maximise there profits but in a lot of cases people on a budget shop in charity stores and they are pricing themselves out of buissness .

my local stores are doing the same thing OP. but like someone said above, is it due to the increase in utility rates? what I despise is when toys are £1 when they are from a happy meal or somewhere free, think Kindersurprise. I want to get the toy, but I know that it isn't worth a pound.

Ditto for the atmosphere items from Primark.

I agree, my local charity shops are so quiet now as they're just too expensive. There's a special children's Barnardos which just stocks children's/baby items, but they sell Primark baby vests for £1 or £1.50 each! Why would anyone pay almost the same price for one slightly stained and beginning-to-bobble vest as they would for a whole pack new??!

I just don't go in any more. I used to spend £5-10 a week in charity shops on books and clothing, but I'm sick of spotting something nice and finding it's priced at twice what I expect, so having to leave it. So they've lost probably £100s a year from me alone.

I was reading a blog about this recently, which I'll quote. I agree that part of the point of charity shops is to provide a service to the community and raise awareness and build relationships; it's not just about short-term profit, or it shouldn't be. Good will also has value.

"It seems as though charity shops are becoming increasingly run like businesses, attempting to increase their profit margin above all else. It is obvious and irrefutable that the main aim of the charity shop is to raise money for its cause. The charity shop’s primary responsibility is raising money for its work, not providing a cheap shopping option. To this end it would seem that charity shops should raise their prices as high as possible. But is this the best strategy?

Given that the primary objective is to raise money, I think it would be prudent for charity shops to think about their longer-term fundraising in the bigger picture. Being viewed favourably by the local community will have a positive impact for the charity, increasing donations, sales and volunteers. Having the same stock week in week out is likely to deter browsers, but a regular turnover of stock is likely to increase shoppers. Also, it is possible that selling more at a lower price could be as beneficial as selling less at a higher price. There is no point pricing an item so high that it simply sits on the shelf and never sells.

Whilst charity shops should be focusing on raising as much money for their work as possible, I would urge staff not to get too hung up about the pricing of individual items. Instead think about the longer-term positive impact of having regular satisfied customers, and a positive reputation within the local community."

From this blog.

Charity shops exist to raise the maximum amount of money for the charity. Not decide that they'll indiscriminately subsidise the whole community.
I'm more cross that our local hospice shop will be closing after more than 15 years because their landlord wants a Costa in the unit instead.

I have noticed that too, some of the prices are outrageous. Once I asked about it and they said that people would buy professionally and sell it at much higher price on eBay. So what? Was my answer, you still make your money, from things that have been "donated" to you. You aren't robbed of anything. Along with the chuggers who hassle me every bloody lunch break, it annoys me so much that I have mostly stopped giving and am even less inclined to go in a shop. Must be the only one though, every shop that has opened in our little town this year has been a charity shop, at least 6 of them. All decent shops are closing, due to high rents and business rates, and the only things that are taking their place are coffee shops (only a rare treat for me), restaurants (can't afford to go out) and charity shops.

It really annoys me too. Sure they're doing a good thing, they're charity. But if you and I have been put off visitig them because they're no longer what we think of as cheap, then I am sure we're not the only ones.

Honestly in the town I live in there are 4 or 5 charity shops I think. The main ones are of the opinion that It's fine to charge more for primark clothes, than primark does, and that a £50 tag on a second hand coat is fine. Okay perhaps if it was a top-notch designer coat or something, but it wasn't!(Just an example).

I don't HAVE to shop at charity shops. I do it because It's more ethical, more interesting, and cheaper. Slowly I am getting put off shopping at them at all, when new goods are often cheaper and more convenient. I find it quite sad, really.

Could be new manager being put under pressure to make more money and desperately trying anything, like increasing prices.
Is the price increase random or consistent? My volunteers went through a weird patch of pricing high end stuff at £2.99 and Primark stuff at £8.99! I couldn't be everywhere at once and some things slipped through and ended up on the shopfloor. I've put a set price plan in place now, which helps a bit.
The thing is, charity shops exist to raise funds for the charity. As a sideline, they do help socially, but it's not their number one aim. It annoys me when customers complain about a piece of clothing which is £3.99 because that's the same price as a bloody frapuccino, and the money my charity shop raises goes directly to people who need it (they'll be declaring famine in South Sudan by the end of August). People also seem to think that charity retail salaries are fabulous, but they really aren't. I'm the only paid member of staff, and I'm employed part-time.
Another point I read was about waste and culling. Charity shops have to rotate stock, to stay fresh. If they left the same items out for months and months, they'd make no money at all, and the regular customers would be sick of the sight of this stuff that's always there. Only something like 3% of my charity's waste ends up as true waste, and everything else is recycled. In my opinion, anything else is unacceptable, though I appreciate this is logistically harder for smaller charities. When donors hand their donations over, they're agreeing for the charity to use their donations to the best of their ability, in order to make the most money for the charity. Sometimes the donations are unsaleable and are best used as recycling, which my charity and many others still receive money for.
Have a word with the manager about the prices, but don't complain to the volunteers about it, because it's not fair on them.
Hope my post was helpful and informative.

V interesting, peaceloveandbiscuits

Charity shops are facing all of the same pressures that other retail outlets are; those CS that pay rent (a lot do) have experienced increases, utilities and fuel (for deliveries) have increased in cost, ever increasing requirements for risk assessments, electrical checks, routine maintenance etc. incurring professional fees, managers wages, staff training - it all adds up.

At the same time, their "stock" supply has become scarcer (in lean times, fewer people donate) and lower quality, as people hold on to items for longer or sell on eBay rather than donate.

Of course, budget-brand clothing will be cheaper new. Large stores use those as a loss-leader and have buying power. But premium and designer brands can still be found in charity shops at bargain prices; often new or bearly worn.

PeaceLoveAndBiscuits. While I appreciate that it is not how you run your store I was accessing that bin about once a week for 18 months. I know from the price tags that the only reason they weren't selling their perfectly good stock was over pricing. The £1-£2 ikea platter is a case in point. They hasn't even removed the original pice ffs!

Having lived off society's waste for quite a time it still shocks me the extent to which perfectly good things are landfilled as though this planet had infinite resources for us to plunder to our own selfish ends.

I realise it's partly a personal experience thing but I just couldn't throw out all this stuff knowing it could be put to use. Like I say why not call women's aid and offer it to them for families starting again with nothing.

Surely that's the true meaning of charity