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AIBU?

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Original poster

AIBU to think charity shops are there to make money, not provide cheap stuff?

358 replies

TinfoilHattie · 17/04/2017 22:13

Cards on the table - I'm a volunteer at a charity shop. One of the large ones which has branches nationwide.

We have one regular "customer" who is nicknamed the Smiling Assassin by the volunteers because she comes in a lot (3 or 4 times a week), smiles and says hello to everyone, then spends the next 5 minutes bitching about the prices. She rarely buys anything. She is of the opinion that our shop is there to provide her with cheap stuff. Cheap as in 50p for practically everything. She is horrified when volunteers explain that we're trying to raise as much as we can for the charity, and the best way of doing that is by pricing realistically - not giving away Jaeger suits or "mother of the bride" type outfits for £1.

She was particularly horrified and commented loudly on a bracelet we have in the cabinet priced at £170 - it's antique, 18 ct gold, emerald and sapphire, and has been valued by a jeweller. We would be daft pricing it at £19.99, even if it is the most expensive item in the shop by a long way

So anyway, what do you think charity shops are there for - raising money or providing cheap things?

(Disclaimer before everyone starts about their local charity shop which prices bobbled Primark tops at £29.99 - mistakes happen, stuff slips through the net. Even if the manager has a "price to sell" policy, she/he isn't going to check each and every item and some items will be priced too high or too low by well-meaning volunteers.).

OP posts:
Gwenhwyfar · 17/04/2017 23:57

"Charities get cheap business rates and that's it. "

That's a big deal. Charity shops have a duty to their local area because of this. You have a duty to provide affordable second hand stuff to locals as well as to make money for your charity.

BackforGood · 17/04/2017 23:58

I think charity shops do several things.

Obviously the main one is to provide an income for a charity.
However they also are a source of affordable clothing for folk on a budget, and they also provide a structure to the week, and some human contact for a lot of folk who volunteer in them who wouldn't get out of the house or speak to people many days without that volunteering.

Re pricing though - I charity shop a LOT. Our High Street has 6 or 7 charity shops in it. One prices it's clothes considerably higher than the rest (fell for the Mary Portas rubbish and went and redecorated and spent money on all matching coat hangers etc). I just don't ever go in there any more. So - if me and lots of other potential customers feel the same - then it is not taking any money off us, so it therefore isn't making money for the charity.

With all these things, you have to look at the demograph of the folk that live in your area, and the 'competition'. If they look in your shop, which other shops are they looking in, and what can they get for their money there. If you aren't competitive then it's stupid to price things up at a higher price, if they don't sell.

CheeseQueen · 17/04/2017 23:58

The busiest charity shop in our town (and we have many) prices everything at £1

Same. One charity shop prices all clothes at £1 and it's always heaving and doing really well.

MerchantofVenice · 18/04/2017 00:01

I'm with OP.

I'm afraid this notion that charity shops somehow owe it to the community to provide cheap stuff is what I call 'total bullshit'. The word 'charity' in the name 'charity shop' refers solely to the named charity for whom the shop is fundraising. That is not my opinion; that is fact. If you believe otherwise, you are simply wrong.

I'm afraid this thread reveals a lot of unpleasant attitudes. People look down on charity shops and judge them in a way that they wouldn't dream of judging any other type of shop. As OP says, there are customers who will loudly criticise and deride the prices in a charity shop. Would they do that in all the millions of other shops where cheap crap is massively over-priced? No. They sneer at the volunteers and their (as they see it) ineptitude in pricing items in charity shops, and then come on threads like these and talk about the greed (!) of charity shops. It is almost unbelievable.

By all means avoid charity shops if you don't like them. But try to keep your disdain for good causes to yourself.

Gwenhwyfar · 18/04/2017 00:04

"I'm afraid this notion that charity shops somehow owe it to the community to provide cheap stuff is what I call 'total bullshit'. "

If the charity doesn't want to owe anything to the community, they can decide to pay full rates.

SinisterBumFacedCat · 18/04/2017 00:05

I'm tempted to bet £170 on that vintage bracelet not selling. No one walks into a charity shop looking to spend that much money, in fact it's frankly rubbing salt into the wounds of anyone who goes into there looking for cheap stuff because they are struggling. Your customers are there mainly due to need for bargains rather than good will.

Pooh2 · 18/04/2017 00:08

I completely agree with OP's point! I also feel that people maybe are more likely to sell their stuff on ebay/shpock/local facebook pages if it's of any value, so the charity shops end up with less of the good stuff :(

EatSpamAmandaLamb · 18/04/2017 00:08

A charity shop near me charges £8 for a Primark top with holes and armpit stains. The one across the road would charge £2-3 max depending on who priced it but probably £1.50. Guess which one is always rammed and has more donations?

Lionking1981 · 18/04/2017 00:09

YABU. The prices charity shops are charging at the moment are crazy. I recently looked in them looking for a fancy dress costume for a child. £4 for a 5 year old white shirt,£3 for a scarf - its pretty much what I would pay brand new. Books priced more than half the price as new.

The charity shops that sell children's books for 50p or under is where I will be sending my donations from now on.

BackforGood · 18/04/2017 00:10

I'm afraid this thread reveals a lot of unpleasant attitudes.

Yours is the first unpleasant post on this thread MerchantofVenice Hmm

People aren't posting about any disdain for the charities, people are suggesting they will take a lot more money, if they don't price themselves out of the market.

MerchantofVenice · 18/04/2017 00:10

If the charity doesn't want to owe anything to the community, they can decide to pay full rates.

The favourable rates are in recognition of the charity's status as a charity. That is it. It is right that in a civilised society charities are given certain breaks. They are not a commercial enterprise, and that is recognised.

It doesn't mean they have to sell all their clothes for 50p. Clearly.

haveacupoftea · 18/04/2017 00:11

All businesses have a responsibility to benefit the local community to some degree, charity shops have historically been at the heart of that. How sad your attitude is merchantofvenice

Bunnyfuller · 18/04/2017 00:11

People who generally use charity shops are doing so to spend the little money they have, not to donate. Sorry, but it's true. Presumably I should only shop in my favourite charity shop then? And as its for donation, just give money if there's nothing I want or can afford?

Those that overcharge will simply not sell in the volume they wish.

HopeClearwater · 18/04/2017 00:12

People look down on charity shops and judge them in a way that they wouldn't dream of judging any other type of shop

Charity shops are different from most other shops. I don't know of one single charity shop that doesn't have a vaguely unpleasant smell, the stuff is capriciously priced, the presentation is generally appalling and whether you get good customer service is a matter of luck.

Gwenhwyfar · 18/04/2017 00:12

We can decide not to give those favourable rates though Merchant.

EatSpamAmandaLamb · 18/04/2017 00:13

If charity shops can moan about customers (as is their right to do) and say they are a shop like any other then surely customers can moan about prices? I moaned about the price of butter in Morrisons on Saturday I also raised an eyebrow at Miss Selfridge dresses marked as "designer" and being sold for £40 in a charity shop on Thursday.

JayneAusten · 18/04/2017 00:13

Charity shop volunteer by any chance, Merchantofvenice

The community donate to these shops - it's not like all the cheap shops selling tat. People contribute. And selling other people's second hand stuff that you're given for free at a vastly overinflated price well beyond the value or remaining life of the garment IS greedy. And a lot of people are voting with their feet.

madamginger · 18/04/2017 00:15

Our town has loads of charity shops, 4 have opened in the last month alone! In fact we have 2 age U.K. Ones about 5 doors apart Hmm
I love looking in them but the big chains price their stuff too high, the local charities are more affordable and seem to have nicer stock as a result.

Bunnyfuller · 18/04/2017 00:17

I don't see any judging, other than judging for overpricing, which disadvantages those in need. There's no disdain for good causes, rather a wish to see it return to a proper 2-way good cause - selling secondhand items very cheaply and making money for the charity st the same time. The pp who mentioned fancy dress is bang on - I regrettably now hit eBay for those as charity shops end up costing more than new (and that's after the struggle with DC to choose something!)

MerchantofVenice · 18/04/2017 00:18

Yours is the first unpleasant post on this thread MerchantofVenice

Nope, afraid not BackForGood. Look a bit harder.

My post was, admittedly, a bit more forthright - but I hate snobbery and snide judgemental bullshit. Sorry.

Why is it ok to sneer at the good, often unpaid, work of charity shops? Why is it ok for the OP to have to put up with this loud criticism from customers? Oh, it's because all the shit in her shop is (shudder) second-hand.

Many people on here think they are above charity shops and, as such, are OUTRAGED when charity shops get all uppity and try to make a bit more money for (remember) charity.

If you'd rather spend your money in Primark... go for it! But why waste your time criticising all the goods in the local hospice shop if you can get better elsewhere??

user1491572121 · 18/04/2017 00:18

Has anyone mentioned the common sight of Primark T shirts on sale for more than they originally cost? I've seen that a lot in the UK charity shops.

Since moving to Oz it's like going back in time...charity shops...or "Op Shops" as they call them here are cheap in the way they used to be in the UK.

I was amazed at the jumble sale prices. And here there's NO stigma about using them either.

People are open about it and as a result the shops do great business.

MerchantofVenice · 18/04/2017 00:20

Idon't know of one single charity shop that doesn't have a vaguely unpleasant smell

Ha ha! We have a winner!!

Bunnyfuller · 18/04/2017 00:21

No one is complaining about their work, they're complaining about the prices, Merchant.

I've not seen anyone say they wouldn't buy secondhand, either.

MerchantofVenice · 18/04/2017 00:21

We can decide not to give those favourable rates though Merchant

Can you? Didn't realise you were in charge...

EatSpamAmandaLamb · 18/04/2017 00:21

I volunteer in a charity shop which benefits a local hospice. I previously volunteered in a charity shop for a national chain. It had a make over and prices went from 75p for a paperback to £6.99. In the space of a week it when from 20-30 customers an hour to 2-3 a morning. I moved across to the place I am at now and their prices are aimed to sell. The items mostly sell to people who donate, so they are in effect getting money from the same people twice over. They don't get special rent reduction and rents aren't cheap however the huge streams of customers and donations from happy users of the shop means they never struggle to pay rent and associated bills or help the charity. If our customers moaned about prices on a regular basis I expect we would have meeting to figure out what we are doing wrong and why we are driving custom away.
The large charity shop ended up closing that branch.

You can't say charity shops are like any other business and then not listen to you customers in the way that other businesses do. Yes all charity shops get the odd moaner in but on the whole you can tell the difference between them (the kind of people who haggle over a penny at a bootsale) and people who were happy to support a charity whilst suiting their purse strings on second hand items suddenly being priced out of the market and taking business elsewhere.