To think charity shops refusal to reduce is sometimes unreasonable.

[roseforarose]

I realise that some charity shops aren't allowed to but i think some shops must lose quite a bit of business by their outright refusal to accept a "knock down", usually saying "we aren't allowed, it's a set price" sort of thing.

I wonder if that's always true, because recently i asked if they'd take a bit less on some walking boots which i thought were a bit dear, got told "no we can't" then i noticed the brand new price underneath theirs and it was only about £2 less brand new. When i pointed it out she said "well if that's the case I will reduce them for you" . So she did have the power to reduce after all.
So when they say they can't reduce, maybe in a lot of shops they can if they want to?

[Reality16]

People don't have to shop there, they have to care about their customers. customer care isnt about dropping prices though

[Somerville]

Most charity shops would rather have it pointed out to them of their mistake rather than being stuck with something they can't sell.

OP, you can keep saying this, but that doesn't make it true. There are multiple charity shop managers and volunteers on this thread who have told you it is not true.

Staff do not take customer opinion on the prices for good reason - including because they could be wrong, and because other customers could hear and decide to follow suit.

The vast majority of opinion on this thread you started is that it is you who are being unreasonable, not the charity shops. You asked - we answered, so you should now listen.

[LunaLoveg00d]

I volunteer in a charity shop and we have discretion. If we have a very expensive item like a tea set or an ornament out for £80 and someone offers £60, we will discount it usually, but this decision is made by the manager if she's in, or the most experienced volunteer if she's not. You have more chance of getting a discount on something if it's been in the shop 2 weeks already - we know how long it's been out as there are week codes on everything.

You have to remember that charity shops are there to maximise income for a charity. We do not set priced unrealistically high, but if we are selling every other top for £5 we're not going to reduce something to £2 just because someone asks. Someone else may be willing to pay the £5.

To be honest very few people ask for a discount anyway, it's mainly on the larger or more expensive items, or when someone tries on a coat and discovers a button missing - happy to knock off a couple of quid for a fault we've not spotted.

[LunaLoveg00d]

If a charity shop is clearly overcharging (as they're often prone to do) it's absolutely acceptable to point it out and offer less

But who is to say what is overcharging? I volunteer in a charity shop where the standard price for a paperback is £2.50. But we only sell as-new books which have been published in the last 2 or 3 years. Lots of people horrified that our books are £2.50 when new books in the supermarket at £3.50, BUT our book sales are high, we have a rapid turnover of books and lots of customers are happy to pay the money. Clothes is even tougher - nobody is an expert on each and every clothing brand and may not be aware that "Atmosphere" or "Denim Co" are Primark. Yes mistakes happen, but most of the larger charities have regional/district managers who are constantly monitoring sales figures and pricing - should sales drop, prices come down. People working in charity retail are not stupid.

Also any registered charity has to be open and transparent about how they spend their money. This information is widely available if you dig around for it online. I know that in our shop we have lots of overheads, not just the one staff salary but things like electricity, water rates, business rates, costs for things like black bags to bag up the donations for recycling, charges for window cleaning, bin collection costs etc etc etc. Costs for things like point of sale and posters which are produced by Head Office and split between each shop. Each sheet of bar code labels we print for Gift Aid donations costs us 14p.

[SpartacusWoman]

You initially asked for a reduction because you thought they were too expensive for you though. That is haggling.

It's only after being told no and then looking under their price tag you saw the original retail price and then asked again.

I got the impression from your OP that you were a bit annoyed at being told no on the first request, rather than making you ask for a reduction twice. Pointing out a genuine pricing error is one thing, but that's not what you initially did, and it sounds like that you pointed the original price out as a justification for why they should reduce for you rather than trying to be helpful for the charity.

I love a good rummage, I'd wouldn't pay close to the original price for a primani t shirt, I'd out it back on hanger and go buy new. I wouldn't ask for it to be reduced for me though, I just couldn't.

[OurBlanche]

So to recap, charity shop is charging just slightly less than the original price, result stuff left rotting away on shelves, no one will buy, because they can get brand new just slightly dearer. Except it doesn't. Any item that does not sell (the tickets have dating codes on them) goes through a process: it gets discounted, may get a second discount; may get sent on to another shop if someone thinks it is a good item in the wrong shop; gets sent off to the man who buys clothes; gets sent off to the rag man; given to local hospitals, hospices, etc.

As little as possible goes into the bin - mainly because charity shops have to pay commercial waste rates!

And by definition a charity shop has exist to support a charity. A shop that sells stuff and gives a % of its profits to a charity is not a charity shop, it is a philanthropic business!

[FourEyesGood]

OP, were the boots unused? Just wondered why they still had the original price on them. If they were, surely it's reasonable to charge just a couple of quid less than the RRP? You'd still be paying less than in the original shop, and helping a charity too.

And to be honest, I'm pretty appalled by your quibbling about whether or not haggling (for this is what you were doing, in spite of your protestations) in a charity shop is OK. It's not, as many many others have pointed out.

[LunaLoveg00d]

Agree - if we get a pair of boots or anything else which still is brand new, with tags or still on the box and has price stickers on we'll knock another couple of quid off - still a bargain.

Did that this morning with some brand new still in the packet bedding which was donated, a double duvet cover set which had been £20 in the sale was priced up at £15 and sold within half an hour.

[OurBlanche]

That Luna is because we are charity shop volunteers, not daft

[barinatxe]

YANBU. Charity shops have overheads for rent, bills etc, but their stock and staff are free. Their prices seem to be set by people who have no clue as to what the item is worth - either ridiculously cheap, or insultingly expensive.

I regularly go into my local Oxfam bookshop but it has got to the point where I usually check the used price on Amazon before I buy. I understand comparing prices for new books when I'm in Waterstones, but why would I pay four times the price for a secondhand book I can get online - and in better condition at that?

Charity shops used to be places where you'd find real bargains. The turnaround of stock would be rapid, and you'd come out with impulse buys. But now I see the same overpriced items on sale - at the same price - month after month. Usually getting in worse condition because of all the handling they get from people picking the item up and hurriedly putting it back down again when they see the price!

The atmosphere of charity shops seems to have changed too. All too often customers are treated as an inconvenience these days. Perhaps the items are priced so high because the staff would prefer it if they were left alone?

In any case, I genuinely believe charity shops would make greater profits if they cut their prices. Their stock cost them nothing, so surely shifting three times the volume at half the price means happier customers, repeat customers, and most importantly more money for the charity!

[roseforarose]

You've all missed a lot of the point though. I said that the person who served me said that they aren't allowed to lower prices, that it was company policy and all that. But it wasn't true, she reduced it when i pointed out the blatant overpricing.....so she was able to reduce the price, at her own discretion as well. But carry on ignoring the relevant bits.

As far as "haggling" goes which is how some of you describe it, no it wasn't. i was pointing out that the boots were hardly any less than the "as new" price, that isn't haggling. Not the haggling which Martin Lewis advices us all to do in the big stores anyway.

[LunaLoveg00d]

The atmosphere of charity shops seems to have changed too. All too often customers are treated as an inconvenience these days. Perhaps the items are priced so high because the staff would prefer it if they were left alone?

Really? People who volunteer in charity shops are there because they support the aims of the charity and want to help raise money for them - and that happens by selling stuff. Everyone I work with loves it when the shop is busy and stuff is flying off the rails. We certainly don't have things for months either - as other volunteers have stated upthread stuff stays on sale for around three weeks for clothing and bric-a-brac, bit longer for clothes and music, then it's boxed up and sent on to other stores. Independent charity shops may have stock longer. It makes NO SENSE to keep things forever, the same customers come in all the time and want to see new stuff.

All these people who have some very odd ideas about charity pricing and how shops work would really benefit from working a couple of shifts and seeing what goes on.

[OurBlanche]

I can't speak for the big players, I volunteer for 1 of 5 shops raising cash for a local hospice.

We cannot and will not drop our prices to beat all of the Cheap Sheds, we can't afford to. You are ignoring the facts that all charity shops have to pay at least 1 wage per shop, utility bills, rent, rates, commercial waste removal rates etc.

If you want a bargain, shop online.

If you want to support a specific charity stop expecting the cheapest price, you will be increasingly disappointed.

Charity shops will change to meet the new demands, even if it is only to become a recycling middle man. And that won't be because the shop's ethos has changed but that customers now demand that a charity shops benevolence includes them!

[roseforarose]

No the boots were used, i think i mentioned that up thread.

[OurBlanche]

I said that the person who served me said that they aren't allowed to lower prices, that it was company policy and all that. Which is true. Discounts are not down to the staff at the till, are guided by the swing ticket and manager.

But it wasn't true, she reduced it when i pointed out the blatant overpricing.....so she was able to reduce the price, at her own discretion as well. because, as someone pointed out a page or so back, because you introduced a second issue, not a straight discount but a pricing correction, which she may have had more discretion on.

But carry on ignoring the relevant bits. Precisely

[FourEyesGood]

No the boots were used, i think i mentioned that up thread.

So why was the original price still on them? I've never worn any footwear with the tags/price still on, nor have I ever seen anyone else do this.

Also: were you pointing out the "too-high" price in order to get it lowered? Because if so, that was haggling - just a less direct form of it.

[yaela123]

Funny story:
My DM recently bought a top from a charity shop. When she took it home she realised it was too small and noticed the label said H&M so instead of taking it back to the charity shop, she tried to take it back to H&M. And then when they asked for a receipt in H&M she gave them the receipt from the charity shop. 1/2 hr and 1 very confused old lady later, I think they just took the top off her to get her to go away (but no refund)

[waitingforgodot]

Can you explain OP what you meant about not all charity shops being charity shops?
To ask for the price to be reviewed absolutely is haggling. I'm not sure why you visit charity shops if you view them with such contempt

[Oliversmumsarmy]

They are not nice cheap shops for people who want a bargain ( that's often a happy side effect)

The ones in my area are super expensive and usually you can buy what I want new and far cheaper elsewhere.

There is rarely anyone in there

[TheCustomaryMethod]

I think there's a difference between those who haggle when they could afford an item but think it's overpriced and (for instance) a financially struggling parent trying to assemble a second hand school uniform for their child who only has £3 and sees the skirt they need for £4. The shop doesn't have to accept the lower price.

[Jayfee]

I was in a charity shop looking at something when one of the volunteers started dragging a big bin round the floor. She then proceeded to smash several glass vases and some ornaments into the bin. I was amazed. I had looked at one of the modern vases and might have bought it but it was Ikea and they are cheap in Ikea so I had hesitated.

[FormerlyFrikadela01]

I'm in 2 minds about this. I wouldn't haggle on smaller items however I work with people who have been in hospital and/or prison a long time and have on more than one occasion gone into the bhf furniture shop and spoken to the manager with "I've got £100 and basically need everything for a kitchen what can you do for me". This as often resulted in me/the patient getting stuff at a discount. However the money often comes from a charity too so we need to maximise what we get.

[LunaLoveg00d]

But charity shopping isn't necessarily about "cheap" either. I'd much rather spend £6 or £7 on a Cos or Hobbs top from my local charity shop than the same amount on a top from the supermarket or Primark.

Lots of the stuff you'd find in our charity shop you can't really get elsewhere - 1970s retro tea sets, vintage linens, original pictures and other artwork - just lots of random stuff which sells really well and can't be sourced easily elsewhere.

[TheNaze73]

YABVU

It's a charity shop, not a ha'penny bizaar

[Jayfee]

Oliversmummy you probably live in a platinum area. My friend helps out in a charity shop and the area manager told the manager that she had to put up their prices as their shop had been upgraded to platinum ( from gold level perhaps??)