To be annoyed the charity shop would not accept my donation

[Bearbehind]

I've had a bit of a clear out and had some stuff to take the the charity shop.

I checked on line it was open today then took the stuff into town.

You can't park right outside so I carried the stuff, in the snow, to the shop only to see a sign which said they no longer open on Sundays.

Oh well, I thought but, all the lights were on and I could see at least 3 people inside so I knocked the door and someone opened it.

He said they were shut and I explained I didn't want to come in, just drop these donations off.

He outright refused to accept them, because they were shut, and I'd have to go to another branch of theirs that was open today or come back tomorrow.

AIBU to think that if someone has made the effort to bring a donation to a charity shop and if there's are people there, they should accept them.

I'll be buggered if I'm taking stuff to them again.

I don't think people realise that by laying into op calling her stuff shit they are actually sounding quite snobby towards charity shops and what they sell

Try justifying it all you like round, I'm not the only person who is saying they won't bother in future after the vitriol shown by posters on this thread towards people who donate to charity shops.

I've actually found a charity collection bag that came through the door so im going to put it in that.

I'm sceptical about how legitimate those are but it's better than the bin I suppose.

I have donated to charity shops, even though they are not always polite to me. Some shops are lovely. The people working in them are only human - some nicer than others. If I think I have something sellable which will thus benefit the charity, I will persevere. I have occasionally seethed silently because someone was rude to me, but remind myself that I'm there for the charity, not the irritating person in front of me.

The posters who are saying OP's donation was crappy stuff etc. are not getting their point across by slagging off her donation, you don't get your point by across by being insulting.

OP's reaction was wrong, all she could think about was lugging the bags to the shop etc.

She didn't stop to consider the people (volunteers) working in a Sunday, and everything they have to put up with, the fact that the shop has been forced to reduce opening hours etc. They have probably had people like her pounding on the door all day.

You are not a person who donates to charity shops, though, Bearbehind.

Hysterical round

On this occasion I was unable to donate, that does not mean 'I m not a person who donates'

The vitriol and insults on this thread have probably done a lot more damage than good. I hope you're all proud of yourselves.

Really surprised by some of the responses here...

YANBU OP. It would have taken seconds to take the bags and put them to one side to process when they could.

Do you have, for example, a Samaritans collection point at a nearby supermarket (one nearby to me has one next to all the recycling bins) that you could lob it all into?

Bearbehind - you started this thread and then continually refused to acknowledge that there was any acceptable reason for your donation not to have been accepted. Your vitriol towards someone asking you to go to a shop that was actually open is immature in the extreme. If you have frustrated people with your intransigence and childish throwing of toys out of the pram, that is your problem and yours alone.

Many have suggested it's easy to take in the bags and process later, however -

It's not uncommon for some items to be infested, or even pose a danger (canisters, electrical items with dodgy batteries, flammable materials etc).

It's not unheard of for people to leave lighters in coat pockets, or drugs, or needles etc. I am not for one moment suggesting this would be the case with the OP, but it's simply something that can (and does) happen.

That's why it's not always as simple as 'just leave the bag for later'.

In addition to all that, if someone leaves a few bags at the store, to be sorted through later, those items MIGHT be of an unfit standard, which then leaves the store in a position of having to dispose of them (at their cost!). Again, there's no suggestion that this would have been the case with the OP, it's just a general comment on factors that have to be taken into account.

round given the circumstances, there was no acceptable reason for my donation to be accepted.

They said nothing about stock checks, being inundated etc.

Only that they were shut, except with the door now open.

And it's not actually my problem, it's the problem of the charity shops you and your cronies have encouraged me and others not to bother with.

Even your attitude is uncharitable!

running a large number of posters on this thread have implied mos people who gives to charity shops do so because it's shit stuff they can't find another home for.

Very few people don't have to option to chuck it straight in the bin so, however it gets to the charity shop, it's more effort than chucking it out.

The absolute disdain demonstrated by so many on here has shown me it's not worth bothering.

round given the circumstances, there was no acceptable reason for my donation to be accepted.

They don't have to justify why they aren't taking donations - they are closed, that is justification enough.

Sometimes it is necessary to give information but sometimes, the more information you give to people who won't accept that "no" is a complete sentence, the more they will use it to argue and keep your attention.

What the volunteers were doing in the store is none of the OP's business - whether it was because they were doing a stock take or because their shelving unit had just collapsed, dumping the store's previously organized stock into a huge pile on the floor - all that the OP needed to know was that the store was closed, they could not take her donation but X store was open and would be happy to receive it.

They don't owe you any explanation. They weren't in a position to accept your donation at that moment in time and that's that.

I agree with you OP.

You went to some trouble to give stuff to charity, checked your facts and then the donation couldn't happen because of administrative reasons to do with them.

It's no wonder people chuck stuff in landfill or even fly tip when donating is so difficult.

They weren't in a position to accept your donation at that moment in time and that's that.

They were shut!!!!!

Someone was kind enough to tell you where you COULD donate, as they obviously thought that you wanted to support the charity and were wanting to tell you how you could do so.

Bearbehind - the absolute disdain you have shown towards the colunteers who gave up their Sunday to drive into town on a snowy day, park a walk away from the otherwise closed charity shop and spend hours doing whatever had to be done in there, shows it is not worth bothering with you and your attitude. I have a sneaking suspicion from your intransigent behaviour on this thread that you were rude to the person answering your knocks on the closed shop door, bcause you were already irate that they were not open.

God forbid those poor buggers that actually work for free tell you to fuck off with your discarded shit.

Your post is crazy.

Some of these replies are putting me off giving anything to charity too.

But why would they tell you why they couldn't accept it?
It's nothing to do with you.
It doesn't sound as if they were rude to you, just they couldn't take it, here is the nearest place that could.
They didn't have to answer the door but they did.

I have seen a problem with charity shops recently. I’ve done a huge clear out of my house plus other people have given me stuff (I was going to do a car boot but it just didn’t happen) so I’ve been donating around a car load a week for a few months.

First donation after Christmas and the manager of the local cancer research shop looked at my bags and said “oh just put them in the conga line” with an eye roll.

Fucking appalling. No more donations for that shop, ever.

The other charity shop in town was very thank ful for my donations despite seeing a similar level of generosity as cancer research. So they are the ones who will benefit year round.

Shame I have to say it but it’s nice stuff before anyone jumps on me.

It's no wonder people chuck stuff in landfill or even fly tip when donating is so difficult.

It is not difficult! The OP went to one shop who weren't in a position to take her donation as they were closed. The OP would not be unreasonable to be annoyed that their website wasn't updated to show this but these things happen. Despite this they still directed her to another shop that was open and could take it ... how is that making it difficult?!

The fact the OP made a special trip through inclement weather is not the shop workers' fault - she didn't have to come today, she chose to. She also chose not to take the stuff to another store and instead come back, post this thread and post about just chucking it in the bin instead.

Yanbu OP and I think charity shop workers could at times be more accommodating. I frequently give really good stuff into my favourite charity shop. (Toys and kids clothes and books in excellent condition, which I know could be sold on for a decent sum) The ladies there are lovely and that's why I choose that one. Life is too busy to spend a Sunday afternoon carting your donation around to effectively have the door shut in your face _ I'm sure they could have taken in your bags and put them to the side to be checked tomorrow. Please don't give up because of one bad experience and some stroppy posts on here! Also, if charity shops are keen to get the best of stuff they would do well to open a couple of hours on a Sunday to receive donations if they can staff up for it. It would be rational to imagine this is prime time for people who work full time , and possibly have he best stuff to donate, to drop donations off).

Nice stuff doesn't always sell. Something can be really good quality, just not popular, and simply won't sell.
I think it's a really difficult thing in charity shops, as some people use them as a potential dumping ground for rubbish, and others bring in some amazing things, but the staff still have to discern one from the other which takes time.
Then there's the issue of what will sell and what won't. A beautiful item that is simply not popular right now can take up space in the shop for months, whilst a fairly mundane item that will sell quickly returns a profit for them within hours.

Of course, I'm not discounting that sometimes you just get grumpy so and so's who give a shop a bad name.

At the end of the day, I'd still look to the ultimate aim, which is providing charity to those in greater need, and to not let red tape / grumpy staff / legitimate procedures get in the way of that. Doing the right thing still feels good even with (maybe) other's aren't.

Try another branch, or another charity :-)

Donating to charity shops involves people going out of their way.

If the generally accepted stance is that it’s mainly all shit anyway, why would anyone bother in future?

I’d be interested to hear what charities actually think of that stance.