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.).

foureyes

That's why I buy more from the Salvation Army and our six Scouts jumble sales a year than from the high street charity shops.

I don't see a problem with either the expensive bracelet or handbag. It does sound as though the donors have been generous and want the charity shop to benefit from selling a high-end product. How the shop prices the items is their concern, not mine.

I donate quite a lot to my local charity shops - everything from arm sweeps at the 99p shop to good quality items that I have decided I no longer need. I find it gratifying to donate something, have it priced by the shop and see it being sold before I've even left the shop!

I also donate 1p and 2p coins that go towards the shop's radio licence so that they can play music.

zoemaguire

It's not pedantry to be aware of the purpose of a charity shop. What an odd thing to say.

You are quite right about people voting with their feet - I made a similar point upthread. My view was that if charity shops are so rubbish, they will all close and then none of you will need to be so offended by them...

Once you understand that the charity shops are NOT there to supply people with bargains on tap, it becomes harder and harder to understand the crossness on this thread. Sure, dislike charity shops- but why the anger some are displaying?? The pricing policy is what it is; if it doesn't suit you, move along. If it doesn't suit anyone, the shop won't be there for long. It's simple economics. But all the anger about it suggests some people think charity shops owe them something. They simply don't. That's my point.

Knowing the brand is just a starting point though, excluding other factors like type of material or standard. A silk top from M&S will be priced for more than a plain cotton T-shirt from Hobbs, for example. Bobbled clothes rarely make the rails, but we might stick out a slightly bobbled Hollister hoodie for a fiver because it's a very popular, premium brand.

Experience has a lot to do with it but the starting point is always "is this Primark or Prada?"

It's pedantry to insist there is one single exclusive purpose to a charity shop. Clearly it does function as a place people can get bargains, and as a social good for those unable to afford more expensive shops. That's just the reality of the situation, what the bizarre insistence on denying it is about I'm not sure. Some shops may decide to ignore that function, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist! The best shops imo like the sally army and many local charity shops acknowledge and build on that dual role. It's clearly both possible and commercially sensible.

My local charity shop is a nightmare.
I donated loads of good stuff that if I had put on eBay I could of got quite a bit for.
As I left I noticed a rocking chair that would of been perfect for DDs nursery (I was pregnant at the time ).
It was priced at £50 with make me an offer on so I offered £45 as it was all the cash I had on me, the woman was so rude and acted as though I'd offered 2 quid.
They have a new manager and the price of stuff is absolutely ridiculous, really old cheap and nasty stuff being marked as retro and vintage, and priced as such when it's just fit for the bin. An example being an old baby anabelle with the eyes pushed in fgs!

Also, the reason for people's ire is precisely that for decades it was an absolutely clear dual role, it's only since Mary whatsherface that it has been abandoned. Like i say, just because you deny your social role doesn't
mean that it does not exist, or that you haven't priced out people who used to rely on you. The recent shift to boutique model like it or not IS a new development that has priced out a whole section of the market.

It also functions as those things (in some cases), zoe. That's not the same as those factors being part of its reason for existing. Call me a pedant, sure. But from my perspective, I was answering OP's main question (what are charity shops for) with a fact. Then I guess I stuck to that fact rather than accepting non-facts and going, in a wooĺly sort of way, "Oh yeah, you're right too. We're all right. Hurrah." If that's your definition of pedantry, you are not the most rigorous spreader of knowledge...

zoe we seem to disagree at a fundamental level. I see those secondary functions of a charity as just that - a happy bi-product of the charity's decision to raise funds through selling second-hand stuff. I think I'm factually correct (or a 'pedant' if you like).

A social function of a coffee shop is to provide a place to meet. But that will always be secondary to the cafe's need to make money. Or should the proprietor be obliged to give someone their coffee for free because they're short of cash? Of course not, and people wouldn't ask, because they respect the cafe and its prices. Certain posters feel they shouldn't have to extend the same courtesy to charity shops. It's pure contempt.

People may well be pissed off if they can't afford something. Not fair to direct that anger to a shop that owes you precisely nothing. I expect the hospice for which the shop raise funds is angry about lack of funds. Do you expect them to come round to your house and loudly complain that you're not spending enough in their shop??

I wouldnt pay £5 for a bobbled top no matter the name. bobbled is bobbled and looks a state.

IME local shops in villages and small towns are the best priced. My favourite one help local charities and change the charity every month. I love going to them and also giving my stuff to them.

Most big named one are very over priced. It should be cheap, I avoid over priced ones, otherwise they would have had my custom.

They served those dual functions successfully for years and years. They changed their business model and priced out a lot of people who had come to rely on them. They are not like a coffee shop, they do not operate on a standard commercial model (relying as they do on low business rates and donations). They price out other shops. Should their sole raison d'etre be maximisation of income to their charity? Well, some charities clearly think so. Not all do, some think their particular position in the market comes with wider responsibilities. Who is morally right? You and i disagree on that, but that doesnt make you more right! The purpose of a charity shop isn't inscribed in the Rosetta stone or ordained by divine right.

A social function of a coffee shop is to provide a place to meet. But that will always be secondary to the cafe's need to make money. Or should the proprietor be obliged to give someone their coffee for free because they're short of cash? Of course not, and people wouldn't ask, because they respect the cafe and its prices. Certain posters feel they shouldn't have to extend the same courtesy to charity shops. It's pure contempt.

That's a poor analogy. People don't often haggle about services (although they will for big ticket items like building) but they will haggle over goods. I was in an secondhand antiques shop over the weekend and haggled down the price because I bought three items. I have negotiated prices at car boots. People do discuss prices (although the one in the OP is ridiculous. They should just ban her).

People won't haggle over coffee prices but they will vote with their feet and go somewhere better value. You are trying to pretend that you are a hipster, freshly-ground-bean 'experience' when in reality you are a Greasy Spoon. Your customers can see it for what it is. There are enough, repeated threads on here about this subject.

I'm not a lawyer but as I recall, the Charity Commission is pretty clear that any trading should be for the purpose of supporting that charity's specific aims - not for the general good of that community. I stand corrected if I'm wrong.

I still think it is better to not be too expensive as if the shop is affordable then things will shift, new items can be put out and people may come In and donate. It will bring people in.

Have a cheap rail for things that won't shift.

Floisme you are not wrong!

senua well people shouldn't haggle in an aggressive way (as they DO in charity shops) when there are often signs explaining that haggling is not an option. They have to have those signs because people think charity shops are fair game. You wouldn't do it in Debenhams; don't treat the charity shop with contempt by trying to do it there (unless they are explicitly fine with it). It's a shop; not an auction, a jumble sale or a car boot
It is abundantly clear that many people look down on charity shops.

Good points, Merchant.

Haggling in a charity shop is unseemly.

You wouldn't do it in Debenhams; don't treat the charity shop with contempt by trying to do it there

Yes I would! Why do you think that haggling is contemptuous? And, with the greatest respect, you are not the equivalent of Debenhams. Stop trying to pretend you are something that you are not.
You say that "any trading should be for the purpose of supporting that charity's specific aims". You seem to be concentrating too much on "specific aims" and forgetting that there is no onus on anyone to "trade" with you if you are not good value. If I want to give money to charity then I can simply donate, I don't need to pay over the odds for bobbly T-shirts.

Wait, what? People are advocating haggling in charity shops?

If they price out other shops then what are you complaining about zoe?? That obviously means they are really cheap. So are they just not quite cheap enough??

Honestly, the entitled attitudes on this thread! "Charity shops always used to be really cheap so they must remain that way for my convenience."!!

As far as you, the customer, are concerned, it's a shop. You go in, pay your money and take your choice. It's not your immediate concern what rates they're paying or anything else. Don't like the prices? Vote with your feet. It's really that simple.

People should go into a charity shop with the same level of politeness and respect they'd exercise elsewhere. They don't, hence OP's post.

I've never haggled in a charity shop but I have seen others do it. I just walk away if it's more than I am prepared to pay, which I'm doing with increasing frequency these days.

You say that "any trading should be for the purpose of supporting that charity's specific aims".
I was the one who said that. I was stating what I believe is the Charity Commission position. By all means overrule me if I've got that wrong but they set specific rules about how charities can behave when they trade.

Of course you're only going to make money if you price the goods at a point that the community concerned can afford.

senua I think you're confused. I am not the equivalent of Debenhams, no - because I have no connection with any shop, charity or otherwise. I'm a teacher. But yes, as far as a customer is concerned, a charity shop is the equivalent of Debenhams in terms of the level of respect you should show. Why would you behave differently?