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

[TinfoilHattie]

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.).

P.s the above was an example. I wouldn't spend £22.50 on any second hand clothing - I rarely spend that on new from store!

They are donations and mostly second hand, people aren't just going to buy used goods for high prices just because it's for charity. I don't think people should expect to get something for nothing but both the charity needs to benefit from the donation and the customer from a bargain.

I think that charity shops are due for a re-think.
I started using charity shops in the 1980s when clothes were scarce and expensive. Charity shops were great for someone who wasn't too fussed about wearing this season's "must-have". Over the years, I have amassed a collection of quality clothes and so it's not very often i need to buy something. So when I go into a charity shop and see racks and racks of expensive, poor-quality clothing then it doesn't appeal and I often don't buy. 'Vintage' doesn't cut it either - you know the old adage about "you can't wear it if you remember it from first time around".
Charity shops need a re-think. They are not fit for purpose for the fashionable Primani generation (too expensive) nor the baby boomer generation (not good enough quality).
I predict that, having ruined clothing and books, they will try to muscle in on another trade instead. Watch out for charity coffee shops!

I agree that charity shops are there to raise as much money as possible for the charity whose name is on the door. I don't see that as pendantry - charitable status is not given lightly.

I've come across community second hand shops where everything is priced low and any profits are ploughed back into the neighbourhood. It would be good to see more of them but I don't think it's Oxfam's responsibility to start one.

The worst smelling shops I know are those high end department stores that reek of perfume.

The worst smelling shops I know are those high end department stores that reek of perfume.

No, the worst smelling shop is Lush. I get asphyxiated from the other side of the street. Bleugh.

I'd love to know where these mythical charity shops in posh areas selling designer clothes for a fraction are. I've lived in loads of posh areas and never come across one. They're pretty much the same everywhere.

My dm used to buy from charity shops however she no longer does because of the prices which you can buy new. There's families who had rely heavily on charity shops my own parents did when we were younger in the 1990s they couldn't afford new but now new is cheaper than second hand all because of the label in it. I've donated plenty of clothes in my time,Some gorgeous designer baby items, some bought in the sales. I would like to think they would be sold on at a reasonable price to someone who was in need of clothing for their child that could benefit from them at a fair price when they are struggling.

Our Salvation Army charity shop is fantastic. Very simple and affordable pricing structure and no tat. I have bought some really nice things from there. The Help the Aged across the road, on the other hand, is often empty because they price too high.

I wouldn't pay £20 for a second hand £30 coat no matter how many tags were on it!!

I bought a Carven dress for £ 80 in an Age Concern shop and was happy to do so. It fits like a glove, is unusual and was £400 new.
I do think a lot of charity shops are overpriced, especially Oxfam books, but I still buy items, bring it back to SA and give it to those in need here.

Both really. I worked in a red cross charity shop last summer and two years before and we had a pricing system of 50 cents for tops, 2e for trousers, 3/4e for jackets, along those lines, with higher prices for very high quality brands or handmade. Similarly cheap for cups and plates etc.(30-60 cents a piece), higher for collectibles. We had a high turnover of goods because of the low prices and more donations than we could fit in the shop. A lot of our customers were refugees (we have a reception centre in our town) so they can't afford any more.

I'm working in a second hand shop now and need to think up prices (new shop, haven't opened yet) and most likely will go quite cheap too as we're in the poorest area of town where most of the refugees and lowest income people live.

StillDrivingMeBonkers

All national charities I know have a dedicated ebay trader who weeds out anything that is of exceptional value. They also send stuff to auction. I have never seen anything over £20 quid in any charity shop.*

Nothing over £20? I certainly have

• many many items, many times. Perhaps it depends on the area.

A bit of both. Personally, I wish there was a clothing bank or toy bank or something else that did not sell the items as there are people who genuinely cannot afford things even at charity shop Prices. Maybe there are these things already but I just don't know about them. I also asked about donating books to my local library instead of to the charity shops as our libraries have had a lot of cuts and I am a big book worm who loves to read.

If you want super cheap, go to the second hand markets in poorer countries where the unsold stuff from richer countries gets flogged by weight. It can completely destroy the local textile industry.

If I get a brand new jacket which I can see was bought for £30, I'm going to price it for at least £20 - still a third off the new price, but more expensive than second hand.
...which is why some charity shops are overpriced.
A jacket with a £30 price tag will have sold new, in (albeit at the end of) the current season, for £15. By the time it reaches the charity shop it isn't new, isn't in season, and is really only worth the second hand value of the £15 it last sold for new. You can claim 2/3 of the value for a timeless classic or a good brand, but any jacket with a £30 price tag originally isn't in that bracket.

I hardly buy anything from charity shops anymore, they're full of expensive rubbish and it's obvious that all the good things have been sold online already. In our city the only good charity shop is Oxfam where you can still buy nice things occasionally, but it is expensive.

I think carboot sales are much better for bits and bobs, books, toys etc and if I want cheap clothing I go to Primark or look in the sales.

I completely agree about the smell!

Does anyone know what it is?

My local charity shops mostly have supermarket and primark clothing priced the same as or higher than new prices. These days I glance at a few price tags before I even bother browsing.

One wanted £8 for a totally fugly bobbly old lime green single duvet cover. Unsurprisingly it's been sat in the shop for months.

We have an independent £1 per item second hand clothing shop in the same row of shops. Nobody is going to pay £6 for a worn secondhand T-shirt with that down the road. The local Facebook selling group for kids clothes and toys is always busy and far cheaper than the charity shops too.

Most of the charity shops here have hardly any customers and must have an extremely low turnover. I can't understand how they manage to pay even a peppercorn rent or their power bills.

We have lots of charity shops round here and I find most of them hit and miss. There's a large one nearby that I rarely go in now and wouldn't ever donate to because of how rude they were to someone bringing in a donation. He had a few large China sets and crystal glass decanters etc, all the staff said was 'just put it there' and immediately started googling how much it was worth on their computer and chatting between themselves about how much they can make from it by selling it online. They didn't even say thank you to him! I'm surprised he didn't walk straight back out with his donations if I'm honest.

Charity shops are there to make money for the charity. Unless that charity is specifically there for those on low income they have no reason to support those on low incomes.

There are a huge number of people willing to spend big money on great pieces. Sure some items get over prices, managers and volunteers make mistakes. I know of a shop who had some lovely items of jewellery which sat for a week as they were priced decently as they were gold, someone came in and did a deal as he bought most of it. He was happy to spend almost £200 on beautiful, competitively priced items.

As a donator I give the good items to shops I know will price them accordingly. If I give designer items I don't want them to sell for £2 and end up making a profit for some random person. I donate the items to raise money for the charity.

Seen in South London

On the one hand, YANBU, the purpose of a charity shop is to raise money for charity, not to provide cheap products, although that's certainly supposed to be one of the main attractions/selling points. It's rude to make comments in the shop about overpricing.

On the other hand, I do agree with PPs about some charity shops being overpriced. This is mainly because the quality of clothing has gone downhill over the last few decades thanks to shops like Primark, why would anyone buy an old, slightly bobbly or mis-shapen vest for £1.50 in a charity shop when they can get it new for £1.80 in Primark. Same for tops - why spend £3 on something second-hand when you can buy new for £5? It's simply not worth it for customers.

Of course there are the occasional good bargains to be had but it depends on the quality of the donations. Personally I get a lot of clothes from Primark, supermarkets etc and when it's time to get rid of them they are not even fit to be sold in charity shops anymore. Meanwhile the items I get from higher quality retailers like Hobbs, Boden etc, I tend to keep for longer, and would only get rid of them when they are past their best.

I think they need to look at their pricing and the brand-awareness of the volunteers

Most of the big chains are doing this. We have a large poster on the wall divided into three big columns - value (primark, supermarket, h&m), mid range (Debenhams, M&S, Zara) and premium (Hobbs, Karen Millen, Cos). Every store in our chain has a computer wired to the internet and loaded with search engines. You cannot hope to know every brand out there, it's impossible. We see quite a lot of clothing bought in mainland Europe or the States and apart from the sizing being different the brands are unknown over here.

People make mistakes though, and look at an unknown brand and think it's premium. Primark rarely use their own name on their items, it's Atmosphere, or CedarWood State, or YD on children's. You'll only find the Primark name hidden away on the back of the care label.

As stated many times, a charity shop which actively prices items for more than their original selling price will not be around for long.

As for the Ferragamo bag - pricey yes but impossible to say if it's overpriced as I don't know the original selling price and its condition. If it's a £2k bag in immaculate condition, or is a limited edition or colour which has been discontinued, or is vintage, £300 may be very realistic, especially in Central London.

Tinfoil I think that's why the fun has gone out of it for me! I used to love browsing through tonnes and tonnes of mediocre stuff and finding that one gem. I was prepared to overlook it perhaps having a small mark, or fitting slightly snugly, or not being quite sure about whether I really liked it as it would be cheap. Now it's quite expensive (for me, I am on a tight budget) I just don't take chances any more.

Finding bargains, or older vintage stuff used to be part of the fun. Now it is endless cheap nylon tops, many of which didn't look sellable first time around and undoubtedly that's why they were given to the charity shop. The 'thrill' aspect of the unexpected or the bargain is gone in most places.

Sorry, Hattie but that's rubbish. I as customer don't know every brand or original selling price either but i can tell the quality of fabric (even if 'brands' can't, they try to charge premium prices for synthetics these days ) or whether something has worn well (bobbling, fading, twisted seams, etc).
Try using knowledge of your trade and common sense instead of algorithms.