To think charity shops have got just too expensive?

[Arnoldthecat]

The high streets of even the fairly affluent towns now often have a selection of charity shops because no one else wants the retail space. Inevitably i often browse them and i dont think im alone in thinking that they have just got way too expensive.

I tend to look for factual books but as a matter of interest, i look at other stuff and prices. Example,used mens shirt £8 ! It was nothing special either.

I spotted a woman looking at a teapot. The label was partly obscured nd she thought it was £1.99 when it was actually £19...oh i dont think so,she said,as she put it back on the shelf.

No one is buying anything. They get it all for free,why not just keep prices reasonable,shift volume,get the money in and get new stock on the shelves/hangers?

For things like books it must work against them.
Our high street has 2 charity shops next door to each other. Paperbacks in one are 50p, £2.50 in the shop next door.
I buy about 6 books a week in the 50p shop (I read a lot) read the books & take them back to the shop.
£2.50 book shop has the same books for months, probably because Sainsbury’s next door has the same books, new, for £2.99

I have also notice primark t shirts that have been washed to death for more than they cost new.

I agree- I have been looking for toys the last few weeks for my job. Crappy shape sorter with Pieces missing for £3. Scuffed Books for £1.50. Scruffy wooden cars for £3. One second hand train set for £30!

It does depend on the charity but most are just too much.

I think location makes a difference which is understandable because it will be more expensive to have a store in a fancier location. There's a rather affluent town near us and the charity shops there are expensive but generally you can get quite good brands, so say you wanted a phase eight dress you may have to pay a tenner but it would have been £120 new.

I also find some charities are cheaper than others. Usually the bigger more well known charities have higher prices. It makes sense I suppose.

If you just want cheap then you may as well go to Primark I wouldnt advocate that.they couldn't give a toss about sustainability or the labour used to make their garments. Not to mention the fact that their products are often shit and will last five minutes. Far better to buy from charity shops. If you really want bargains Facebook selling sites and online auction sites can be the way to go.

I feel the shops could do with remembering that they are appealing to a certain demographic - people who need to save money on the items they buy. By selling items at a good price they are doing local families a favour.

An unrelated comment - Shoes are difficult in charity shops. Comfy shoes get worn till they're pretty scruffy so if you see a newish pair in a charity shop you can bet they're uncomfy and give you blisters plus they're very expensive.

They're pretty cheap in my town, but it's nickname in the surrounding (well heeled) villages is Chavtown, so I expect that helps keep prices down. Oxfam was always horribly expensive anyway and has departed to much relief from everyone.

Where I live, it varies, depending on the shop.

BHF is ALWAYS expensive, but the shop about 3 units down sells everything for £1 (except on '3 for a £1' day).
I guess it is an 'area' thing - depends on the demograph of your High Street. Most shops are pretty cheap by me not saying I live anywhere undesirable . If anything, they don't ask enough for the odd 'named' items they get in.

I bought a winter coat from our local Cancer Research shop for £80. It was vintage (probably 60s), boucle tweed and had a fur collar. A woman next to me told me to haggle because she thought it was far too expensive for a charity shop. Personally I thought it was a fair price: there’s no way I could buy a new coat of that quality and there’s no way I would haggle in a charity shop any more than I would haggle in Marks & Spencer.
It turned out to be really warm and went with everything - I wore it for ages.

Not all donations are 'free' there is often a cost depending on how they get their stock, my DH is a cluster manager he runs 2 shops, and to be honest (and I have helped him sort) a lot of the free donations (bags taken in from customers) are crap I went through 20 black bags on Saturday and I only got about 20 items of good quality stock the rest were dirty, smelly and broken.

One of his shops has no back area at all and the other has a huge stock area so when people donate non seasonable stock - like thick jumpers and coats in July, he has to take the stock out of the smaller store it in the larger shop and then feed into the smaller shop when the seasons change - that costs money as he has to hire a van that cost comes straight out of his profits but the alternative would be to rag all stock he cant sell at the time, which could leave him short of saleable stock when he needs it most.

The other way he gets his stock is to order it from HO, this stock has been collected from bins around the country, sorted and then sent out, he has to pay for that stock and of course its sent to the larger shop with the added cost of getting it into the smaller shop when needed.

However it seems to be working both his shops are in the top 5 in his area of 30 shops with one being second in the region of 60 shops.

So when you look at a £3 top and moan it should be £1 because the shop got if for 'free' it might not be the case at all.

BTW I have even mentioned the utter crap that's gets left outside the front of one of his shops every day by people too lazy to take to the tip last week someone had dumped a load of broken furniture right by the door, it was too much and too heavy for him to move (he is 70 FFs) the shop was closed for 2 hours while he waited for the council to come and take it away and guess what that costs money

Ebay is cheaper for new items. Quality items new and used for less than charity shops or Primark.

I honestly can't see why people spend in most of them but there are still a few good ones around but not many.

I donate to them but I never buy. I just don't get why they smell so bad.
If people give decent clean items, why do they all end up smelling? Do my donations sit there smelly?

Good stuff is redistributed, I volunteered in a charity shop once. It tailored donation to specific towns.

Nobody in Grimsville will buy £10 Per Una dresses they get sent to Bouquetville where they will sell.

The local hospice and volunteer animal charity shops are still good low prices.

We have a ‘boutique’ charity shop opened on our suburban housing estate precinct. It’s actually called a boutique charity shop. Prices are general retail level.

How else are they going to pay for their senior executives' salaries and trips?
Not withstanding their media people

they are appealing to a certain demographic - people who need to save money on the items they buy.

But that's not always why people shop in charity shops. Lots of people choose to buy secondhand because they object to fast fashion or want to cut down on waste. Lots of people want something different to what you can find on the high street. Or to give their home an individual look with a quirky picture or brightly coloured china cups. I think with the likes of Primark the balance has definitely shifted - if all you are after is cheap clothes, then that's where you go.

Charity shops shouldn't be trying to undercut the cheapest high street stores. IMHO, a second hand Hobbs dress in good condition for £10 is a far better bargain than a new £8 from Primark.

Metempsychosis

Good points and appreciate them. Cancer Research does great work, I’ve had cancer myself and something has to pay for their invaluable advice lines as well as research. But no-one is going to pay £3.99 for a Primark t-shirt with a stain and the hem undone, don’t think too many people are specifically looking for those
I’m afraid Hobbs is out of my reach anyway so I wouldn’t know such a bargain if I saw one!

in one of my local shops some of the ladies are quite elderly, they don't know the difference between Primark and Hobbs

Ah yes, that will be it. When you hit pension age, your brain is automatically wiped of any experience of shopping in different stores plus you just become really stupid overnight

Perhaps the elderly ladies are in fact conscious of the concerns raised on this thread? And perhaps they remember when the joy of shopping in charity shops was a bargain Hobbs amongst the Primark?

Just picked up M&S autograph range wrap dress for £5 so happy.

I buy from charity shops to donate to the charities and to save the planet. Don’t expect them to give things away, but the occasional bargain is good.

perhaps they remember when the joy of shopping in charity shops was a bargain Hobbs amongst the Primark?

I think this is an important point. I know myself that if I buy an item that I perceive is a bargain i'm more likely to go back to a shop. The next items I buy might not be as much of a bargain, but it definitely encourages me to keep looking.

Contrast that with the shops in my town which I find massively overpriced. I don't get excited about looking in them as the prices are off-putting, so after a while I just stop going in.

The teapot could be a collectible? Sometimes they do seem steep here but it's because I'm comparing against the likes of primark, if it's well made and good quality it's worth more than a primark fast fashion item

Depends if it feels fair really - i live in a fairly posh area of london and the charity shops are terrible - 35 quid for a joseph dress with sweat stains and bobbles is not on. But the charity shops in clapham and balham are amazing - usually 5 to 10 pounds an item, barely worn as mainly young professionals who probably buy more clothes than they end up wearing. Once got an amazing bargain there for a tenner - weird denim jacket that turned out to be designer. I didn't recognise the name and the jacket was bonkers but i loved it.

But charity shops have a moral and ethical obligation to sell things cheaply

They really don't. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the laws around charity. The "moral and ethical obligation" is to use the money and goods which are donated in the best way to achieve the charity's aims. That means charging as much as they can, while still maximising sales.

Some charities have a side aim of alleviating poverty in the UK - Salvation Army springs to mind. But RSPCA is about raising money for animals, Cancer Research for well, cancer research, Barnardos to support children's projects etc etc.

They don't have a duty to sell things cheaply. They have a duty to support their core cause in the best way they can.

You may think that Redannie, but the Charities Commission thinks otherwise. If you’re a local church charity, maybe not even registered with the charity commission then of course you can put local social factors into the mix, but if your purposes are unrelated then you need to keep a strict eye on the fact that you’re there to cure cancer (or fund the hospice or whatever) and everything else is secondary. Don’t be a bastard, but don’t sell things for a fiver when you think you could get twenty quid.

I popped into the local Cancer Research the other day and they were pricing hardback cookbooks at £6.99. Had to pick myself up off the floor.

I've definitely noticed a trend for charity shops to try and style themselves as "boutique" shops, usually with the price tag to match. A couple I visit regularly have gone for the boutique look without the silly prices and they do very well and turn over a lot of stock. I happily pay £10 for a Hobbs dress or £15 for a good quality coat. But not £4 for a bobbly Primark t shirt.

YAdefinitelyNBU!

I literally cannot afford them. Debenhams blue cross sale is often more affordable for the quality, or TKMax (and TK do great crockery, cups, t pots, vases, kitchenwear they excel in that area hands down) and most definately Primark.

The one exclusion is sheets and duvets. Those are usually reasonable in charity stores. Forget other home furnishings such as curtains, may as well buy them new!

It's ridiculous. The poor person has to go to the exploitative highstreet mega store to get 'charity'.