Charity shop donations

[Seymour5]

I'm a volunteer in a charity shop, and it's an eye opener. The items for sale are gratefully received, even unsaleable old and torn clothing is sold in bulk, as are damaged books.

However, donations regularly include: Chipped and cracked ceramics and glass; bog standard odd plates, cups, saucers; odd bits of cutlery; ancient plastic utensils; bags full of plastic coathangers; shoes with soles hanging off; opened and part used toiletries; broken toys.

My question is, who do donors think would buy a broken toy for their child? Or a filthy, plastic drainer, or a torn lampshade?

Nothing wrong with mismatched crockery!

Our cat has his own crockery selection for his dinner bought from the chazza!

@SoLongFurlough

Agree with Slash that you would be sacked if caught selling on eBay And I find it hard to believe that unworn designer boots wouldn’t be sold in any charity shop

I don't doubt that they were sold, I just don't think they reached the shop floor.

It is a common thing for CS workers to buy and then sell on Ebay, especially if there are set prices or the staff don't know the worth of the items. Although it is more usual to find things overpriced than underpriced.

I don't know why @SlopesOff is getting a hard time! At a 99p Barnadoes I go to the manager keeps the "best bits" for her friend who sells them on on eBay. This isn't a secret and talked about openly (obviously as I know!). None of the stuff even hits the floor as it's squirrelled away at the back. The friend comes in head to toe in designer gear. Makes me really sad tbh.

Our shop would put new boots or shoes on display, designer ones might go into a locked display cabinet, if they didn't sell we'd send them to Ebay. We also have pricing structures, so I'm often confused when people say they can buy new items more cheaply. Yes, a brand new Primark top will possibly cost the same as a better quality brand in a charity shop. Some shoppers prefer to buy for quality.

We do bag up small toys and at the moment, Christmas baubles, (which we've saved since January) several for £1. Can't keep up with the demand.

We also have pricing structures, so I'm often confused when people say they can buy new items more cheaply.

We are selling coats for £3 (unless it's designer or something) so M&S, New Look, Dorothy Perkins etc probably £30+ new and we still get people complaining and trying to haggle because a button is loose (not missing, loose) or there is a thread. We tend to put new goods out for half the retail price so a pair of shoes, in the box with the stickers still on the soles or the plastic thing which holds them together. Price on sticker is £15 and we sell them for £7...the complaining.

@PurpleFrames

I don't know why *@SlopesOff* is getting a hard time! At a 99p Barnadoes I go to the manager keeps the "best bits" for her friend who sells them on on eBay. This isn't a secret and talked about openly (obviously as I know!). None of the stuff even hits the floor as it's squirrelled away at the back. The friend comes in head to toe in designer gear. Makes me really sad tbh.

What’s sad about it?

The charity is still getting money, and surely you’re donating because you want them to make money off your stuff. So who cares whether a random shopper or a volunteer/manager buys it?

Because the manager shouldn't be allowing items to be sold for 99p when they're worth much much more. Infact the whole idea of that store is that it's a clearance store and better items go to the regular stores!

@PurpleFrames

Because the manager shouldn't be allowing items to be sold for 99p when they're worth much much more. Infact the whole idea of that store is that it's a clearance store and better items go to the regular stores!

You have absolutely no idea how much she’s buying them for.

We also have pricing structures, so I'm often confused when people say they can buy new items more cheaply. Yes, a brand new Primark top will possibly cost the same as a better quality brand in a charity shop. Some shoppers prefer to buy for quality.

It may vary from shop to shop. A pp mentioned they sell clothes at £1.50, but I don’t think you would get tops for less than a fiver at my local one.

But I do as every item in the store costs 99p! If that's not good enough I have waited to pay while this woman picks through the goodies saved for her at the till, so literally seen it with my own eyes that she pays 99p. Not sure why you have a problem with my experience?

It may vary from shop to shop. A pp mentioned they sell clothes at £1.50, but I don’t think you would get tops for less than a fiver at my local one.

It can depend on area, there are ones near me where they wouldn't even put out New Look or Topshop because it's in a more upmarket area and they just wouldn't sell.

@PurpleFrames

But I do as every item in the store costs 99p! If that's not good enough I have waited to pay while this woman picks through the goodies saved for her at the till, so literally seen it with my own eyes that she pays 99p. Not sure why you have a problem with my experience?

Okay, so you’re donating items to a charity shop knowing that everything is being sold for 99p, but are annoyed because a certain person is buying them?

The charity is still getting the 99p you know they’re going to sell your stuff for when you donate so what’s the issue?

You’re donating to benefit the charity, not the customers. The charity is still getting that exact benefit.

I've volunteered in a charity shop for about 5 years and I hear you OP!!

Everything would be so easily solved if donors took a minute to ask "would I pay money for this?" We regularly see things like DVD boxes without the DVDs in them, colouring in books which have been coloured in, headless dolls, chipped mugs, dried-out felt pens, broken toys.

OP is right - odd china doesn't sell. Yes the nicely patterned 80s or older stuff does, we have a 3 pieces for 99p baskets and it sells well - a lady who makes candles regularly comes in and buys up all the old chintzy china cups. But not your bog standard supermarket or Ikea white plates.

I don't mind any old clothes or textiles as we rag what can't be sold. But really - all the tat like chipped mugs has to go in the bin and we pay for disposal.

Please don't.

DVD boxes without the DVDs in them

We got an entire box of fake DVDs, not even ones which could be mistaken for real ones. Blank DVDs with the name of the film written on it.

No- I don't donate to that store/charity as I disagree with the practices I have mentioned.

What is wrong is that a specific person benefits due to knowing the manager- not every donation given to the store is sold in that store. The branded donations are supposed to be transferred to other stores (this is the charity policy) and Primark/supermarket brands etc stay at the clearance store.

So the manager is really cheating a lot of money out of the charity by mislabelling high end items as lower end.

So the manager is really cheating a lot of money out of the charity by mislabelling high end items as lower end.

Any decent charity will have procedures to stop this happening. Report the manager.

In our store, everything we buy gets written in a book. So it will say "Raspberry, 2 x balls wool, £3.99" or whatever with the date and receipt number. We never price anything we're thinking of buying ourselves. No staff discount. We get spot-audited every so often and the auditor goes through the staff purchases as well as loads of other stuff. If you were really determined to steal you probably could, but my colleagues are all honest and there to raise money for the charity - and we're some of the shop's best customers.

On the prosthetic leg comment - why is it a volunteer's job to deal with all the stuff you can't be arsed to google to see if anyone wants it? We have enough to be going on with, believe me. We are really, really struggling for volunteers at the moment, we've lost a lot of our older volunteers who are staying away because of Covid.

I'm really glad to hear that other charities have those sort of policies, that's exactly the way it should be. Can you share the name of the charity @RaspberryCoulis ?

I think it might be the case of a "rogue" staffing... The manager undercharged me once and I realised from the receipt. I went back and tried to pay the difference but she was having none of it... I ended up putting it in the donation jar on the way out...

Nobody thinks broken shit is sellable , the giver is just too fucking lazy to make two trips so you get donations and shit for the bin.

No I'm not divulging the name but it's one of the big ones with loads of shops that everyone will have heard of. Large charity chains are run professionally. Some independent shops are too, but there is more opportunity for a mss as Maher to do their own thing.

@RaspberryCoulis

No I'm not divulging the name but it's one of the big ones with loads of shops that everyone will have heard of. Large charity chains are run professionally. Some independent shops are too, but there is more opportunity for a mss as Maher to do their own thing.

My DH is a cluster manager for one of the better known high street Charity shops as you may know the Charity Retail Association has taking the unprecedented step of publishing a letter asking people to be kind to Charity shop workers due to the amount of abuse they are having to deal with, with (until last week) having to quarantine donations for 48/72 hours and having to turn donations away, asking people to wear masks and sanitise their hands only being allowed a certain amount of people in the shops, now all retail staff are having to put up with the same but when its an elderly lady who is giving her time for free being shouted at, sworn at and generally abused then something needed to be said. As usual you get people on threads like these who 'know' someone who works in a charity shop and is stealing big time, when the truth is that most workers and volunteers want to raise money for their Charities not steal from them, and the usual moaning about the prices when most times its the head office who set the prices and even in the shops it's usually managers or paid staff who price not volunteers. I volunteer on Saturday with my DH and so am entitled to staff discount but don't take it, instead I donate loads of stuff and of course gift aid it as well.

I guess people are trying to send less to landfill and wouldn't necessarily know you don't take odd plates etc.

I would imagine used sex toys are worth a fortune in a niche market, just got to find the market for them.

I'll let someone else Google that.

I genuinely could not use/buy used cutlery. How do people do it? They are so cheap if you must buy cheap, why would you buy cutlery/cooking pots/cups etc from a charity shop???

There is always a bad smell in the shops I wish they would air them out (my friend used to drag me in there to buy books).

I am not against charity shops but I genuinely do not understand how they can sell used cutlery

Eddyf
Do you ever eat out at restaurants?
It's used cutlery 🍴