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?

I wish that the clothing items I donate were priced at £1 - 2 or less, so that people who can't afford, can.
Surely dirt cheap would encourage more charity shopping , so higher turnover?

Also, British Heart foundation sells secondhand furniture and white goods. £100 for a secondhand ancient yellow washing machine? It will only be the poor that buy , hence ripping the poorer off.

The thing is Lola, that Otra’s lovely boutique charity shop might be the exact same one that one of the PPs is moaning about for being a rip-off. There might be loads of local MNers walking past every day who are too skint to shop there, or who’d rather buy new from Primark for the same price and are sneering “who’d buy that at that price?” but actually as long as there’s a critical mass of hipsters/environmentalists/people who like the thrill of the chase with money to spend then Otra’s strategy is the right one.

I’m sure there are shops out there who do get it wrong and could make more money if they priced cheaper, but all four of my local charity shops, with their very different niches and price points, have been going for twenty years so they must be making a profit.

I agree. I do buy a lot of clothes second hand, so have noticed this in recent years. I would at most pay 8.50 all in for a nwt dress that would cost £50+ on the high street new. I've seen new look dresses at this price which are used. I don't mind paying for designer nearly new clothes, but a lot of it is overpriced.

Some shops do everything for less than 3 quid, and it has the same stuff as the more expensive ones, so it's a no brainer where I look first.

The most successful/profitable shop in our area is right in the middle of student hipster-ville. We sometimes get the clothes and bric a brac that they haven't managed to sell and the prices are so much more than we can get away with charging. It is definitely an art not a science.

I still don't believe though that having a "fill a bag for a fiver" or "everything £1 or £2" is right as a blanket policy though as if someone's good enough to give us an expensive item it's our duty to turn that into as much cash as we can.

People don't go into Waitrose, pick up stuff and comment loudly to the staff that they can get it cheaper across the road in Asda. So why is it OK to do that in a charity shop? If you think it's too expensive then don't buy it. If lots of people share your opinion, sales will dip and the manager will make changes. But if prices remain unchanged then maybe the management are happy with the sales volume and turnover.

Metempsychosis
Surely people can work out target clientele though?

For example when I went to university there was a wannabe vintage store charity shop that would probably now be deemed shabby chic or something. It was ridiculous as far as I could tell, but as a local student I could totally appreciate how they'd pegged their market as the more affluent rah type students who would probably love spending 30mins telling their friends about this delightful little find they had and it was so 80s it was such a bargain at £20.
It didn't appeal to me (and probably didn't appeal to most people who lived properly within an hour of the town), but I could understand their market.

Whereas there's no reason for anyone to be selling tatty paperbacks for more than new in an area not known for being alternative/eco conscious (not only that but part of being eco conscious is i know which books I want and consume fewer print books rather than buying whatever is in the shop). There's no reason for average high street like new look or Primark to be marked up loads in an area known for low wages etc.

I don’t mind paying £10 for a Boden dress that was £85 new. But I wouldn’t go near brands like Primark or ASOS etc as I know I could probably buy that stuff cheaper new.

What I REALLY want is to locate a wedding shop full of second hand dresses. I’d love to go have s rummage.

Charity shop volunteer here. Laughing at PP who says the problem is all the elderly volunteers don’t know the difference between Primark and Hobbs, hence the erratic pricing. Where does she think they go to do their shopping - same high street as everyone else. So we are in the wrong for charging too much, but also for no t charging enough. Just to clarify for all those blaming the elderly out of touch volunteers, I shop at Whistles and Jigsaw mainly so am well able to differentiate between brands. Most of my volunteer colleagues would say the same. Usual Mumsnet ageism.

I agree. Many around us have stopped children's selling stock after massive price increases means no one buys it. Stuff stays on the shelf for ages. Also I've picked up primary tops marked a higher price than it is to buy then brand new in primary. People are fed up with it. Prices are too high.

The problem with brand pricing is that Primark in particular has about twenty so you do need to be on the ball and if you personally always shop at Tesco you might not know that Tu is a Sainsbury’s brand for example.

I do know that many charity shops keep a list up in the back to help everyone keep track, because they’re not stupid:
George=Asda
Tu = Sainsbury’s
F&F = Tesco
Atmosphere/whatever/whatever/etc etc etc etc etc =Primark

I agree to be honest. I do find some bargains, but I do find it a bit weird when they are selling second hand primary items for close to what you'd spend new. Why would anyone spend £4 on a second hand primary top when you can get a new one for £3?!

I could add something about the volunteers - I volunteered when I was at 6th form and I had no idea about retail. I was not in charge of pricing. But I did help sort once and there were things like dirty crusty y fronts that were stuck together with some awful yellow mystery substance.

My colleagues were a mixture of the young, the old, and some people with learning disabilities. I think the manager was sometimes frustrated with all of us because we were all a bit wet behind the ears or had no previous experience, or worked more slowly than employees in a regular shop would. I thought at the time that we were all getting good experience but we weren't the most efficient team of course.

As I recall our prices were really cheap and the customers mostly elderly people.

When I was a student I couldn't have afforded the so called hipster prices. I was skint. That's the deal when you're a student isn't it?

To support the charity perhaps? Or because you can no longer get that particular style/colour/size in the shops? Or because you like it and your nearest Primark is 20 miles away?

Sorry that was to hoopdaloo

sheshoots Oxfam have a number of bridal boutiques or try looking at Oxfam online.

I think the key is whether or not you have a good team in your local shop that understands charity retail. I have a long career in retail, the last 5 years in charity retail and all the successful managers in my Charity know the demographic of their local area & price accordingly. If they can't manage a charity shop successfully, like in any other profession, they will probably realise and move on, or be recommended for extra training.

Only today I have sold the following brands, Fat Face, Kath Kidston (brand new handbag with tags, I offered it at one third of the retail price which I think is fair), East, Pull & Bear, Radley etc. All offered at fair prices and all my customers seem happy.

I used to go traipsing around the many charity shops in a town or two years ago, but was put off by the high prices, The Heart foundation,Oxfam and Cancer research were my main gripes for high prices, Now I just go into a local hospice shop,and it's great. Everything is affordable all through the shop. The shop is well set out,and always has a new double window display set up every week.All the staff are lovely too. I often buy books from there, the paperbacks are usually 2 for £1.

Two weeks ago, I bought a lovely pair of Thermal lined,long curtains,ring top, brand new,originally from Dunhelm. costing me £4 from this hospice shop, so it's the only charity shop for me now.

Yes I have also noticed this
I have seen items selling for more than they were originally

I think it is getting a balance between obtaining money for the charity but not pricing too high so that there is a turnover of stock.

I agree with the comment about using eBay and sold prices on the internet as a price guide The same applies for using the full price as a guide. I've seen items priced higher in a charity shop than they were when they were in the sale from the original brand.

Prices in my local charity shops seem to have risen quite a lot over the past few years but there are still bargains to be had. The best bargains are in my local hospice shop or Help the Aged shop.

On Saturday I bought:

Too Face Limited Edition Sephora Exclusive New Gift set including a full size eyeshadow palette for £3.99 (rrp £55.00)

Brand New Miss KG Diamante Heeled Sandals for £6.99 (rrp £80)

Jack Wills padded Coat in immaculate condition £8.99

Brand New in Box Vans slip on trainers £8.99 cost (rrp 54.99)

On the more expensive side last month I found a brand new Dodo Bar Or designer dress which still had its tags on. It was £50 but the original retail price was £495 and it is still currently for sale in outlets for £299. I knew my daughter would love it so I have put it away for Christmas for her.

Why is the price of "new at Primark" the benchmark for fair pricing in so many posts? It's largely terrible quality in primark - my last purchase was a top where the strap broke in the bag on the way home! (Hence it being my last purchase!)

I've bought beautiful quality m&s and designer tops for a couple of quid in charity shops that I'd never be able to get the equivalent of at Primark.

I do think the pricing in some places is a bit odd so not disagreeing with that, just surprised that people seem to think if it's new it's automatically better, even if it's from primark!

We are not in an affluent area so clothes in charity shops are primarks, supermarkets etc with maybe the odd decent piece. The charity shops often charge for the clothes the same price you would pay new!

BarbariansMum

Maybe, but as another poster said, the quality of primark clothes is usually quite poor. I'd be happy to pay whatever for a quality piece of clothing. I shop in charity shops a lot, I support them, I think they are great, but they should really be pricing things accordingly.

Why is the price of "new at Primark" the benchmark for fair pricing in so many posts? It's largely terrible quality in primark - my last purchase was a top where the strap broke in the bag on the way home!
Because surely nobody would want to pay the same price for used Primark as it costs for new Primark.

At one of my local charity shops they literally charge the same as what cheaper high street chains charge for something used with signs of wear.
Eg £4 for a used Primark top / £15 for a used New Look dress

It's not a case of "I'll be a bit grumpy with the charity shop for pricing a t shirt more than Primark" because that's unreasonable. It's a case of "it's a bit rich to price used Primark things at new Primark prices".

We usually work on a three week rule - if something hasn't sold after three weeks it's half priced, if it still hasn't sold a week after that, it gets sent off for rags

This is kind of what I thought. But why oh why not just sell it more cheaply in the first place?
I prefer to donate in shops that I buy from, where the prices are more reasonable for the area. I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't be too happy knowing their donations go off for rags because the store prices too high.

Why is the price of "new at Primark" the benchmark for fair pricing in so many posts?

I totally get where you're coming from and I agree. Primark - and other fast fashion chains and supermarkets - have driven down the price of clothing. It's cheaper than it's ever been. I remember as a student paying £10 for a pair of jeans in 1990 and thinking I had a real bargain.

Fast forward almost 30 years and you can get jeans in the supermarket for the same or less. Clothing isn't something you save up for, buy as an investment and love so much that you wear until it falls to bits. Under 25s now shop at Boohoo, ASOS, Pretty Little Thing, Primark and so on with the aim of wearing something once. Then it gets binned, or chucked in he charity bag.

So we have the dual problem of the stuff which is being donated to charity being lower quality than in the past. And when you do have a better quality top from a brand from Cos, Hobbs or Phase Eight people look at the £6 price tag and remark that they could get two new tops for that price in Primark.