To think this is the end for charity shops?

[Therollockingrogue]

I mean is it? I love charity shops, nearly everything I own is second hand, from car boot sales, charity shops etc etc . But the thought of a rummage now makes me feel a bit bleeeurghh. Anyone else?
Given that in some of our towns the high streets are just alternate vape shop/ nail bar /charity shops, what will happen?
Who would want to work in such an environment anyway after this, especially when most staff are volunteers ?

How will it be managed?

In the same way it's always been managed.

Charity shop sorters have always had to be careful because of, as you said condoms, skiddy pants and worse. They'll probably be among the best at being careful whilst sorting because they are used to it.

Plus people will be more careful in charity shops because it's second-hand whilst they'll likely not think as they rummage through the clothing rails in M&S or Topshop about all the other people who've been rummaging through the rails

Donors need to be prepared to be turned away. Ask at the door before taking the stuff out of your car or phone in advance to see if ok to donate.
Set days or time slots might help but expect an increase in things being dumped outside.

You can get some great DVD bargains in charity shops but I think the Corona virus has changed everything.

Perhaps people could launder and photograph their donation first then email the store and hand it over with an acceptance code or something 🤔
Perhaps weighed at home then weighed on handover to confirm it was the same lot?

I can't wait to hit the charity shops again. They are the only place I get my clothes from. Really looking forward to a good charity shop browse and I've two bin bags full to donate.

But plenty of the stuff that is donated is pretty grubby . And lots comes from house clearances.
Will anyone want to sort this stuff? And would volunteers really do this work for free?

They could initiate ways of managing the risk. First off, if they simply left the donation bags untouched for a week before sorting, the chances of picking up any virus infection from them would be negligible.

They could issue all staff with gloves and masks.

They could require all customers to use hand sanitiser upon entering the shop (the shop would supply it).

From a customers point of view, in terms of Coronavirus risks, I don’t think shopping in a charity shop is any different to shopping anywhere else.

I suppose that the charity shops will be taking more precautions around accepting and sorting donations, and volunteer numbers might be affected. But I think there’s also going to be a big backlog of donated stuff from people who’ve been decluttering during lockdown.

I don’t think that this will be the end for charity shops at all.

You can get some great DVD bargains in charity shops but I think the Corona virus has changed everything

Why?

How does CV make getting a bargain DVD less likely?

Once they're open again they will still be able to sell items like DVDs.

I think charity shops will be over run with donations as everyone I know has been having a big sort out.

They could initiate ways of managing the risk. First off, if they simply left the donation bags untouched for a week before sorting,

I think a lot of them are going to have a space issue with doing this.

@Bakeachocolatecake That seems really harsh. We're quite rural. We make about a grand a month after rent and bills. Most of that money goes on vet bills. We pay council tax and a special waste tax. Any more than that and it wouldn't be worth doing. It's like comparing chalk and cheese. We sell cheap, nobody takes a salary... I don't understand why you'd begrudge us what little we have.

Ah well good! It seems from the small sample on this thread that the charity shops will survive , and the customers are as enthusiastic as ever

Nope I think they will be inundated with all the stuff people have finally managed to spend time sorting out.

Our local charity shop has reopened for donations on two days a week, at specified times. No more than 2 standard-sized carrier bags per donation at the moment. Once they get the scheme up and running, they might be able to increase the volume.

It's all about adapting to changed circumstances. Those shops that adapt will survive.

I don’t think it will be. Libraries have been given the green light to be reopened in Wales and well if you think how many people touch the books in libraries...
(Im very glad they are reopening by the way, and hope it’ll be the same here in England) I think that places like charity shops will just have to disinfect more, maybe put the bags in quarantine for a bit. They’ll be inundated with stuff when they do eventually open I can imagine!

Our local charity shop has reopened for donations on two days a week, at specified times. No more than 2 standard-sized carrier bags per donation at the moment. Once they get the scheme up and running, they might be able to increase the volume.

Very surprised they are allowed to do that, surely that's not essential?

I think it’s kind of essential because of the enormous increase and devastating environmental impact of fly tipping. It simply is unmanageable for struggling local councils

They shouldn't pay business tax. Both recycling goods and money going to good causes should be strongly encouraged.

the one I work in has put in place measures to isolate donations, protect staff and cutomers with ppe and screens and its not true that most stuff donated is grubby and dirty when sorted that goes straight in the bin, we get a lot of decent stuff some clothes still have tags on shoes with tags good quality bric a brac , clothes that are not saleable but clean go to rags and I for one cannot wait to go back to work ours is an animal charity and they have zero income at the moment but still having to help cats even though the centre is closed thank god for foster people

33covetingthepreciousthings yes, space is a problem. That's why currently my local shop is only accepting donations at specified times and in limited amounts at the moment.

I agree that they should pay rates - they are already getting a lot of labour and stock for free. They used to have the dual purpose of helping poor people as well as raising money for the charity, but these days a lot of the good stuff is siphoned off and bargains are rare, so I don't see why they should get special consideration.
The people running a business or working in normal shops have needs which are as important as the charities needs. Why should they be at a financial disadvantage?

Accepting donations isn't the same as opening the shop.

I used to work in charity retail and some of the smaller shops barely broke even anyway. So it's going to be tough.

I think the main problem is that for many people it's an experience to go and browse. It's not like going to sainsburys for your weekly shop where you need stuff. If people have to wait in a queue and socially distance, when they don't even know if they'll find anything they like, will they bother?

On the plus side if a lot of people lose their jobs then some of the cheaper or clearance charity shops may do a roaring trade in things like clothing.

Why on earth would rummaging in a charity shop make you feel any differently from any other shop? The risks are, if anything, less than they would be in a big supermarkets where the products may have been touched by loads of people.

What is the problem with sorting donations? Charities only have to leave stuff for a few days to ensure it's virus free.

Given that so many people have lost their jobs or gone down to very low incomes, charity shops will be needed more than ever.

All these doom and gloom posts; the end of this or that. As long as there is a 'need' for charity shops, they will exist. Maybe not in the very short term but 2,3,4 years from now? Sure they'll exist - as long as people want to rummage in (mostly) junk