To love pound shops and charity shops..

[Haggischucker]

Today got a bag of mini amaretto biscuits 'amarcini' that are amazing, lots of fab bits for secret Santa hamper from pound shop and an amazing bravissimo dress from charity shop for £2.99!! Did pop some extra ££££'s in collection box in charity shop though. Any other bargains anyone?

Gazpachosoup. Most supermarkets do deals on Pringles 2 for two pounds of buy one get one free. Always somewhere. If it fails go to the "range." No more than two pounds.

As a big lass I have never found anything for me to wear (donated a rake of stuff mind) but have picked items up for others like books, bags, trinkets etc. my best find though was a gorgeous navy blue pram suit originally from m&s that still had tags. I paid £2 for it. It was still available on the website for £22. I washed and dried it in the dryer but the zip teeth melted into the fabric. I said so on the website review. 2 days later I received an email asking me to return it to my nearest store ( no receipt needed) For a new suit or store credit. :o

Hate charity shops, the realisation that someone has worn the clothes gives me the creeps. I know in any store stuff has been tried on or possibly worn and taken back but feels less weird to me. Also I would never buy 2nd hand shoes I don't care what brand they are. Your feet sweat 1/2 pint or something a day. Those 'hardly worn' shoes have at least a pint of someone elses feet sweat in them!!! Also veruccas and warts have been shoved into them and they have been worn In by someone with a totally different fair and foot shape...not good for you at all. Ones that are brand new, never worn would be ok I suppose.

I love charity shops. Agree with Blue that High Street shops are boring nowadays. Remember when Oasis & Warehouse, even Topshop, had nice clothes? I love finding their older stuff in charity shops. The difference in quality is shocking. Also, I get designer bargains. There's no way I'd pay full price! The trick is to frequent charity shops in posh areas. Stuff is often label-on or worn-once. I never shop in Primark as all I see is rails of tat, but ironically I sometimes find the one good thing from them in a charity shop. It's true that some have become too expensive, though... But, the money is going to charity! I get all my furniture in Oxfam Home too. And I remember my Mum buying me old copies of Vogue from our local charity shop, when I was a kid. I loved them!
Pound shops are great for toiletries. A friend of mine, who's hair-obsessed & spends fortunes on "miracle" shampoo, will say "your hair looks great, what are you using?" My answer is always "whatever's in Dealz this week"

I hate pound shops - they are full of unsustainable tat probably made in sweatshops by people who are not paid fairly and it mostly breaks in a matter of days.

I LOVE charity shops - guilt free shopping that benefits everyone. Love, love love.

Well said hoobypickypicky and LovleyRitaMeterMaid - I too am sick of the ageism on MN. I reported the post and can see it's now gone.

I love charity shops but wish the pricing was a bit more realistic. Yes, the money is to benefit the charity, but imho prices should be low for people who can't afford to buy from high street shops.

I love charity shops and pound land,my mother goes in the charity shops every day,my dads always saying don't know why your mother goes in them shes a bloody wardrobe full of clothes ect !!

I love charity shops and often have a mooch around them.

Most recently I needed a posh frock for a black tie event and bought a beautiful long, black dress for about £7. It was immaculate and you could tell it was really good quality. I'd never heard of the make but when I googled it I found out that that, judging by their prices, the dress would have been about £300 when new!!

I wore the dress last night and had so many compliments .

I meant to say as well that I use charity shops as a library - buy books, read them and return them for the shop to sell again.

Everyone benefits!

I love charity shops but the ones near my work are so dear. The ones near my parents' house, OTOH, are cheap and good for a rummage. Obviously I don begrudge charities money but it feels a lot like many of them have been Portas-fied - made into boutiques which are too dear for a lot of the people who shopped there because the high street was too expensive.

I was in the US (New England) recently and I went on a proper thrift shop trail - everything was so cheap! I got Norman Rockwell Christmas baubles for 25 cents, Stephen King books for 50 cents a pop and bags and bags of really lovely wool for a few dollars. It was absolutely bloody brilliant.

I do love Home Bargains and B&M Bargains. There's a retail park near me which has BOTH.

I love nosing round charity shops- but real bargains are few and far between these days. It's much easier and cheaper just to head for Asda or Primark when you actually need something.

Charity shops are pricing themselves out of the market IMO. No one wants to pay £30 for a small bookcase or £2.50 for a used Primark t-shirt.

Your feet sweat 1/2 pint or something a day

Bollocks do they.

Love charity shops. Pounds shops = depressing, full of cheap oil-guzzling plasticky tat made by ten-year-olds.

@hoobypickypicky

It's sickening that MN allows this casual ageism.

FYI - we need things to be reported, thanks so much

I agree re some of the charity shop pricing. You can't charge £150 for a dirty sofa, or £35 for a slightly chipped bookcase that cost £36 brand new.

Pound shops can be great, but I agree you definitely have to watch the sizes of products. Their crafty bits are good value for children though and work out significantly cheaper than the likes of hobbycraft even taking into account the sizes.

Love Poundshops.

I only seem go in a charity shop when I need a photo frame as they can be got a hell of a lot cheaper than in bigger stores.

I find it funny that toffifee have the money to mount an ad campaign yet you can get them in pound stores cheaper than mainstream shops

Recently I bought tree buables for 10-15p each in a charity shop when in sainsburys they £2each.
Couple days ago I was desperate for winter boots and intended on buying in asda for around £20 but popped into charity shop and bought a pair of bearpaw ugg style boots for the same price but with a much better quality sole for winter weather than uggs and certainly better quality than asda.

Usually I would never pay more than £2-£10 for shoes in charity shops but couldn't pass this by.

I'm sorry if anyone thought I was ageist.

I'm not in any way saying that all OAPs are dozy- just the ones I've met in charity shops- but remember I haven't shopped in them since about the 90's.

And that's only my experience. I'm sure there are plenty of articulate older ladies volunteering in them as well.

Witchesglove, would you say it to their faces?

Try substituting "black" or "disabled" for "old" then see how it sounds.

I got a lovely casual phase eight dress for £6. And tons of monsoon boden and next stuff for dd. My mum recently found a pair of unworn clarks boots in dd's size for £5!
Poundshop is great for goodies and household stuff and toiletries.

More sprouts-

No, I suppose not. But many OAPs joke themselves that they are not as sharp as they used to be, so it can't be that offensive can it?
My Mum is 65 and she has been saying since she was about 50 that she can't be expected to remember this or that because she is old.

And moan about how tired she gets from everything.

And as a different point, I myself find it offensive when people ask me why I'm so quiet!!!!! I CANT BLOODY HELP IT!!! How is that different to someone being black/disabled/old????

I am careful in poundshops, they are not always cheaper. Cotton buds, for example are cheaper in supermarkets.
I buy books in my charity shop, one has 3 for a pound. It is 4.60 to go to my library and back on the bus.
Another has one book for 50p-2.00 .still cheaper.
When I have read them I take them back..
Some are nicer than others when you take back, but that's another thread.

I like both. You can get cheapo packets boxes of chocolates for 99p. jars of pickles cheaper than elsewhere and I once bought two packets of Vesta meals for 99p (BOGOF in effect).

The naicer the area, the better quality the things are in charity shops. I once bought a Frank Usher top for £8.

Love charity shops for kids toys and adults clothes.

Love pound shops for household goods and, this time of year- Christmas Decorations!

Just decked out our living room. At £20- it was the most I have ever spent in a pound shop. but so worth it. A friend described the look as "Christmaspocalypse"

Agree with people upthread who warned against the "bargain" food at 2/3rd the normal packet size. Poundland are the worst for this.
Yes, everything is £1- but be sensible folks, ask yourself if a similar item might be less than £1 elsewhere.