To expect a charity shop to check things before selling on

[Allyg1185]

Just as the title says really.

We were dropping of toys etc at our local childrens charity shop yesterday and my ds 7 had some pocket money he wanted to spend. He got a book, a dvd and the game Doggie Doo.

Got home and over half the bits of the game are missing. It was basically the dog and a few scoops! He was disappointed obviously and felt he wasted his pocket money. We gave him the money back because we felt sorry for him. He is yet to try the dvd!

I think some people see charity shops as an extension to the local dump and rather than sort stuff out between the two the lot goes to the poor bloody shop. However surely the staff should also be checking everything that comes in?

Maybe it was a genuine accident from the donor? Our local charity shop accepts refunds as they do t have time to check everything eg jigsaws

Yanbu but I'd ask in future if you can check whether things are complete before buying.

You'll have loads of ppl on here saying the volunteers don't have time or space to check everything but imo stuff like games etc should be routine. It might not always be obvious to staff if bits are missing though...

If selling without all pieces, it should be clear on the box, however, I always check too before buying.
However, Doggy Doo never worked for us, and reading reviews it wasn't just us, so either way, it would have been a waste of money.

I never thought about a refund. Didn't think a charity shop would do that!

Doggie door is a pile of..... As a game!

Don't get a refund! It's a charity shop, FFS! You've donated some money, by some error got a dud item, shit happens!

And, yes, charity shops do check everything before putting them on the shop floor but mistakes happen. Are you seriously considering going to get money back from a charity!? Do people do such a thing!?

Fireworks, a charity shop is still a shop like any other. Most don't do refunds but will allow exchanges or a "voucher" with the cost of the broken item on it. I was a manager in a well known chazza shop and my staff and higher ups would have all known to check all items, it's part of the job. Why should a charity shop be allowed to sell defective items and not reimburse the customer? They're not exempt from normal commercial laws.

Was the box all taped up? If not it's possible a customer or the child of a customer took the pieces/put them elsewhere in the shop.

No I'm not considering getting a refund! Hense why I gave my ds his money back myself. I just mentioned I didn't know charity shops do refunds

No box wasn't taped up and the game was up on a high shelf

Yes they should be checked. I’m sure the shop would be happy to do a exchange?

Charity shops will give refunds, I work in one. We do try to check all games before putting them out but it’s not always easy. But take it back, you should be given a refund if you want one. People bring things back costing just one pound occasionally, I personally wouldn’t return something to a charity shop if it was less than £7 or £8 but for customer goodwill nearly all charity shops will offer you a refund or exchange. High levels of customer service is just as important to a charity shop as any other retailer.

I'm a charity shop volunteer and we do try to check as much as possible that nothing is missing. Lots of games will have a list saying "six counters, three spinners,, four money wallets" or whatever so you can check against the instructions. Often though it's impossible to make sure everything is there and it's a judgement call. We have so much stuff to go through that we can't devote ages to a game which is only going to sell for a couple of pounds. We'd also happily refund someone who had discovered a game was incomplete.

I think some people see charity shops as an extension to the local dump

This is sadly very true. It's got noticeably worse in the last year. People are more of the plastics issue which is great, but donating your plastics to your local charity shop rather than binning them isn't always the answer. Just ask yourself "would I be prepared to buy this" before handing it in.

Oh god please ignore suggestion to ask for a refund--consider it a donation to a good cause, as a PP suggested.

You're right that these shops are often used as dumps. The volunteer workers are no doubt too busy with other matterslike sorting out the pure rubbish left at the door, dealing with ratty customers asking the impossible, arranging & tidying displaysto check every item. Besides, it wouldn't necessarily be apparent to an adult that a toy or game was lacking pieces.

I can't imagine buying anything from a charity shop without taking a close look at it first. Do so in future & consider this a lesson cheaply learned.

I agree that so many people are using charity shops as dumps these days, at least half of what we are donated is totally unsaleable and the shop team then have the problem of disposing of the stuff, it is a very serious problem. Local recycling centres don’t like taking charity shop rubbish, often the charity ends up paying for the disposal of donations. I am working today in my charity shop and my biggest problem will be trying to get rid of the absolute rubbish we are donated.

often the charity ends up paying for the disposal of donations

We do - we have two massive dumpsters at the back of the store, one for recyclables like cardboard boxes and the other for rubbish. The large rubbish dumpster is emptied twice a week and it's always full. The worst are people who say "do you take electricals?" you tell them no, they hand you a carrier bag and when you look inside it's full of electricals. Straight in the bin. Similar with video tapes - just landfill.

The box wasn't taped up - why didn't you check it yourself before buying?

Our local op shops tape them once they check them so if not taped I would always check myself.

Crikey Fireworks is right name for you so angry at this time of morning!

OP never said she was taking it back just that she was surprised they refunded. She gave her son the money back because he was so disappointed.

I never knew they refunded either. I am busy making jigsaws to take to charity shop and hospice at the moment. If it is just one piece missing I write it on the box and offer it. I don’t mind buying one with one piece missing but recently did a really difficult one to find about twenty random pieces missing. I think it came from a charity shop but it was 1000 pieces so can understand them maybe not having time to count them.
I go past one on the way home that people leave stuff outside of the night before. Ridiculous as if it rains they will be ruined and then the volunteers have to dispose of it. Plus some of it gets taken. A couple in a posh four wheel drive left a pile of stuff one Sunday and it was already raining. I would have said something to them but by the time I had driven over roundabout to park near there they were in their car and away. The pile would have been ruined by the Monday morning.

Why do people do this?

Just to clarify, I didn't say that charity shops don't or shouldn't offer refunds. I was questioning why anyone would want to request a refund from a charity.

I disagree with some of the comments. While I think it's excellent that he's going outside so much, at nursery age staff should help him into suitable clothes for outside and be able to enforce that.

(sorry - wrong thread)

my local charity shop seems to be used as a dump. It gives me the rage when I pop to the local mini supermarket next door in the morning around 7am and there is literally always a mountain of stuff dumped outside their door. Most of it looks like utter shite, I always feel so sorry for the staff that have to wade through it in the morning, looks like a load of fly tipped crap. The last time I bought a kids game half was missing. I chalked it up to annoying experience and chucked it. They had a load of lego in the window recently - some of the sets they'd marked up at £80..... so expensive when you can't really be sure they have all the pieces. I've always been lucky with puzzles though, yet to have one with missing pieces.

I use charity shops a lot and have never asked for a refund, and at least like to think I never would.

OTOH a lot of charity shop customers are using them out of necessity and really couldn’t afford to waste even small sums on useless items. So, yes, I think there are valid reasons why some folk would be justified.

If, as in this case, it's a child's own money then there’s a whole new set of things to consider. Should we leave the child feeling disappointed through no fault of their own? Are we teaching them the value of money and responsibility if we simply replace the cash from our own pocket? Maybe we should explain the facts about charity work and their consumer rights, as simply as possible, and let the child decide?

I don’t think there’s a universal right or wrong way to handle this. It comes down to each family deciding for themselves based on their individual circumstances.

I shop in charity shops a lot. Some of them are very thorough and will check games/jigsaws etc, these are usually taped up and/or marked with 'checked' or 'complete.' A lot don't though and you either check them yourself if you can, or if not you decide whether you're willing to risk it.

It is disappointing when you buy something that's not complete especially if it's something for a child. It's annoying but mark it up to experience and make sure you check next time. You do have to be very careful what you buy, I've missed holes in clothes even when I've given them what I thought was a thorough check over. Always check the children's books for writing and scribbles in too!

I would just add that charity shops are still shops and charities are branding themselves in a highly commercial style. They advertise and promote themselves far more aggressively than a generation ago and demand to be taken seriously. So it’s hardly unreasonable to expect them to play by the same rules as businesses when they see themselves as big businesses.

They should be selling goods of merchantable quality and fit for purpose, or mark them clearly as 'incomplete - for spares/repair'.

But I can understand how the sheer range of goods sold means the staff can’t easily know what every game should include.

Sadly, as pp's have noted, some people use charity shops for dumping. There’s also a high risk of loose items being lost when van collection starts are conducted.