Charity shops

[Worzilgummidge]

To think they have become a tad expensive.

I'm finding that the stock is nothing like it used to be it charity shops.

One of the main reasons is that professional ' spotters' go round buying up all the brands, then marking it up by 800% in their ' vintage' outlet.

It's become a little business for individuals as well, gleefully snapping up a bargain then making a profit when selling it on ebay ( with no intention of giving a bit more to the charity )

Also in these austere times, they are just really popular.

Still, you can't been a good chazzer is posh small town..I'm looking at you Harrogate and Ilkley!

I think there are different expectations too. Most charity shop volunteers (me included) tend to think that the main purpose of the shop is to raise funds for the charity. Cheaper clothes for the shoppers is a good "side effect" of this. Most shoppers seem to think that the sale of cheaper clothes etc is one of the main "points" of the shop. So both groups will always see things differently. Most of our customers clearly have no clue what shop they are in, and are not interested anyway. All our donors know exactly which shop they are giving to, and have chosen it specifically.They nearly all know someone who has been helped by the charity .We do have some lovely donations but we equally have fly tippers who just use us to save them the effort of going to the local dump. Some of the stuff dumped has to be seen to be believed and as pp have mentioned, its really time consuming dealing with it all. As regards "high" pricing, we have to sell everything quickly, we can't have it hanging around for weeks, so it's priced to sell. If it didn't sell it would end up going to the rag man which is clearly not the best way to raise money

One of the main reasons is that professional ' spotters' go round buying up all the brands, then marking it up by 800% in their ' vintage' outlet. Ah, but when they are spotted most charity shop managers will have a chat with them and come to an arrangement.

We set aside some stock for a couple of ladies who do just that! They get first dibs and we get more money. They get more as they take it off to another city that pays more for certain articles. We also have a shop in a more upmarket area, so often send our posh frocks there to get more money. We also have an arrangement with another charity that sells very specific items.

Most charity managers do all sorts of deals behind the scenes. They know so very many ways to get more pennies per donation! It is a skilled job, calling for very good communication and bargaining skills!

We do similar to Samphire. For example, it's against the charity's policy to sell items made from real fur or angora.

But vintage fur jackets, hats and collars are worth a lot of money. So although we're not "selling" them, we have an understanding with a lady who runs a vintage place who comes in every now and again, picks up what we have, and gives us a donation. Far more than we'd get for rags.

The charity I volunteer for also has its own online shopping site where the more valuable vintage stuff goes. A Biba dress from the 60s sold on there last week - we'd have been lucky to get £15 for it in store, a London hipster paid £50 for it. Lots of vintage stuff is also bought by costume hire companies who work with TV / film. Often costume designers want to source real clothes from the 40s/50s/60s/70s than try to make a replica.

The one i go to charges 99p for five books, another one not far away charges £5 for three books.

nothinglikeadame that's quite normal for 'spotters' to go to charity shops to seek out their stock. How do you think secondhand/antique shops source their stock. Charity shops are one of those ways. As someone said a charity shop may have a good relationship with a regular buyer - who yes may sell that product on for more - but who will pay to the charity shop a decent price for a job lot of stuff. Items that may not sell to the average person off the street so a dealer buying it means the charity shop is getting money vs not getting anything. That's well known and normal.