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?

I saw a documentary about charity shops and they showed examples of the awful things some people donate. They opened a bin bag which was more or less full of rubbish clearly just swept up from someone's floor. It included pants with a sanitary towel attached.

Oh the things I have seen when sorting out

Sometimes they end up in the rag bag ,. Ragman comes to collect once a week for those .

I bought Theme Hospital, the computer game, for 50p and when I got home and opened it, it was a random CD given away free with papers a few years ago. I was a bit miffed until my DD told me I could download Theme Hospital for nothing anyway and now I'm busy curing Bloaty Head and TV Personalities disorders. And 50p, for goodness sake, who cares?

It may be that the bin bag with rubbish had been delivered by mistake - perhaps there were two bags, one with charity stuff, and the wrong one got taken out to the wheelie bin.

Heartofglass

Link please ? I LOVED Theme Hospital (had it on a disc) . Didn't know it can be downloaded for free now . Bloaty Head , loll He looked just like ELVIS as I recall

That's possible, MereDinto. It was a while ago I saw the programme, but I think they said it was by no means unusual to find rubbish in a donation bag.

charity shops do check everything before putting them on the shop floor but mistakes happen.

And - especially with children's toys - bits often go astray as people take them off the shelves, open the boxes and look at the contents etc.

If I send jigsaws or anything like that down, I seal the box and put a label on with "complete" or, (for a mousetrap game) "yellow mouse missing" then they buyer knows what to expect.

My main frustration is the pricing which in ours is a joke I think but it's set by head office and we can't change it at will, but they wonder why revenue is dwindling, and it's because they are dearer than Primark!!

Are you oxfam, Pawnee?

I've noticed the prices in my local Oxfam are ridiculous. Sometimes they try to charge more for the item than it would have cost new - I queried this once and was told that it's a head office regulation - all sleeveless tops (other than "labels") are £4.99, or whatever, not matter what condition or brand. Seemed stupid to me if you could buy the same top for £2.99 from the retailer.

I’d never get a refund from a charity shop. However I’d be annoyed and also for people on low income sometimes a charity shop is the only option. The ones that are still cheap anyway. If they get a broken item then they are out of pocket and still without the thing they needed.

YANBU. Just because it is a charity shop, it doesn't mean that they should sell rubbish. I know they are mainly run by volunteers, but our local shop checks everything, then sellotapes the box and puts a shop sticker on it.

Our local charity shops all happily offer refunds. I think it is only right that they do, especially as they often now charge high prices for items. Charity shops used to be somewhere where you could grab a bargain, but often now the prices are as high as, if not higher than they were brand new.

I sat in a charity shop once and counted a 100 piece puzzle. The assistant laughed at me, but I asked her if the shop had checked it was all there and she said she had no idea. I have been caught out in the past by buying things with bits missing.

Another time, I bought a high chair for £5. I checked it all over, and the assistant asked what I was doing. When I explained that I wanted to make sure it worked properly, she said "what do you expect for £5?". I said " well for starters, a chair that is safe enough to sit my child in"!

heartofglass21 I loved Theme Hospital! Can you point me in the right direction for it?!

Of course charity shops should give refunds if products are faulty. Lots of people shop in them not just to donate to a good cause but because they are struggling financially and it's somewhere they can afford to buy toys.

This

Also, I have recently donated most of the toys I had at my house for my grandchildren. I gave them to charity shops to help the charity but also so that someone who needed to buy cheaply could get them. I did check them but I wouldn't expect anyone to buy them, find bits missing and then not complain.

"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!"

I think you are totally ignoring the 'double edged service' that charity shops are in a position to offer, @FireworksAndSparklers.

Yes they are, through saleable donations from the public and time donations from their volunteers, able to collect money for their parent Charitable Organisation, however many of us believe that they serve a second purpose by offering the saleable donated goods at an affordable price to people (who often, not always) would not otherwise be able to afford them.

To do that, the goods must be fit for purpose.

Worth remembering the customers of charity shops are frequently struggling far more financially than the charities.

The last three charity shops I bought from were Cancer Research, British Red Cross and RSPCA. Their CEOs earn £160k to £240k per annum. The RSPCA has enough money to pay it's previous boss over £150k just to leave. (In fact, it’s charitable status has become so questionable that it has recently become the subject of several questions in parliament.)

It's not Oxfam @SchadenfreudePersonified no but another high street name

Pretty much everything is £4.75 clothes wise sometimes even £6 and sometimes item is faded

We also get brand new goods in but the quality is poor IMO

And with the brand new goods they are sometimes way above Home Bargains price for similar and people ask and look at you like ??? If I could afford THAT would I be in HERE

I've had people walk out without paying once they've been given a price often a ludicrous one and I fully understand

I manage a charity shop. Some jigsaws get taken and checked by volunteers but others don’t. The unchecked ones are marked as such and priced at 99p. Some regulars are happy to take the risk then donate them back checked 🙂

Games are generally checked tho. If a few bits are missing we indicate that if lots missing we don’t put it out. Although we do hang onto the bits in case we can make a complete game in the future 🙂

Plus we offer refunds and exchanges and we price realistically. Probably why we are so busy!

I queried this once and was told that it's a head office regulation - all sleeveless tops (other than "labels") are £4.99, or whatever, not matter what condition or brand. Seemed stupid to me if you could buy the same top for £2.99 from the retailer.

Not true. I volunteer in Oxfam and there is discretion. It's very true that there is a pricing policy which gives a "starting point" for each item. But then the volunteer has discretion to go up or down depending on condition, brand, and a whole host of other factors.

There is simply no point in pricing a cheapy supermarket sleeveless top at a fiver. I'd probably stick £1.99 on it if it was Primark/George, perhaps £2.99 for Zara. If it was Phase Eight, Reiss or Hobbs, maybe £4.99, assuming great condition.

I know the OP isn't going to go and get a refund but I wouldn't dream of getting a refund from a charity shop. That money is hopefully going to a good cause. I get that everything should be checked but I was in my local one a while ago and someone was asking about a box of frames. The lady said that they hadn't been priced to yet as they just didn't have enough staff to go through the box. Remember these shops are relying on vokunyeers which I guess aren't that easy to come by. I would just put this as a lesson learnt to check what you by and move on.

I have got a refund from a charity shop before. It was a well known charity . A battery operated toy , I was on benefits and couldn’t afford to give away money to charity. Some people are not buying to support charity but because it is cheaper . However I rarely go in these days as they are generally over priced

We do offer refunds in the shop and tbh we don't judge people for it.

Local charity shop here checks jigsaws and games etc. Then they tape up the boxes. They said people would help themselves to dice etc to replace parts they had lost in their games at home.

Actually we would rather offer refunds and have return customers than refuse and have people not come back. We have people checking the shop daily to see our new stock and we want them to buy with confidence 🙂

I would get a refund from a charity shop, if I felt it was worth going back to do.

I wouldn’t bother turning out to get 50p back from a normal shop or a charity shop, but if it’s closer to £5-£10 and it’s because the item is faulty, of course I would.

I don't know any secondhand charity shops that offer a guarantee on items bought. Customers can ask if something has been checked but think of the logistics of checking everything!

Boxes of Lego might have 1000 small fiddly pieces in it, how does a 60yo volunteer check that? How do you check a DVD doesn't skip 1 hour into the film, do they all have to be watched? What about a board game with lots of 'cards' in it, do you have to play the game to figure out if one is missing? A puzzle with approx 350 pieces?

A second hand game of Doggie Doo probably with no inventory list? I struggle to even think how this could be properly checked? Do people think charity shops have a room in the back where an army of volunteers sit around playing games, in an attempt to check if it has a piece missing.

Buyer beware, its second hand.

What has being 60 years old got to do with the ability to count to 1000?

walking a 60 year old volunteer is quite capable of counting to 1000 did you mean to be so rude and ageist? I manage a charity shop, I am over 60, and have a very competent team of volunteers aged from 14-90.

But I appreciate you probably mean that no one is actually going to count 1000 pieces of Lego or sit and watch every DVD but as far as possible we try and check every item we sell and always give refunds graciously if a customer is not happy with their purchase, for whatever reason.