Charity shops and their hugely inflated prices..

[Charityshops21]

I've always loved charity shops and usually pop in whenever I pass one but I've noticed since they reopened post lockdown the prices have more than doubled in many places.

Take the Sue Ryders local to me, women's tops and dresses used to be between £3 and £5, I went in this afternoon and saw that the same type of clothes (not expensive brands in the first place) have at least doubled in price.

£9.99 for a second or third hand faded jumper with loose threads.

£7 for an atmosphere (Primark) blouse that I know only cost that brand new.

£15 for a battered pair of shoes.

I understand the need to recoup losses but AIBU to think this is bad and will alienate their most frequent customers? IE poor people me

When Hatchimals were the big thing a few years ago, and cost about £50 brand new, my local charity shop had one in the window - £25, with the packaging or egg 😱

*WITHOUT the packaging or egg that should say

@FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop

*WITHOUT the packaging or egg that should say

I was going to say, I bet the charity shops had a glut of hatched Hatchimals after Christmas. I remember the threads on here from people who'd got them for their DC saying once the hatching was over, the hatchimal itself was fairly boring.

Thank you for this thread. Just popped into v.small local charity shop and got some lovely things tres cheap.

@4fingerKitKat

I think a lot of this comes down to the fact that people have an expectation that charity shops should be selling things cheap as chips, and that by not doing so they’re doing something morally wrong.

There’s an independent gift shop type place on our high street - I know a lot of what they sell I could buy cheaper online if I chose to. Similarly the independent bookshop is often more expensive for popular titles compared to big chains that discount. No-one seems to throw their hands up in outrage about this, indeed people usually say we should support local businesses.

But when it comes to charity shops there seems to be an attitude that they owe us a bargain.

Good point

YANBU - i have noticed the same,worse is the silly errors - a few years ago BHF had a Rupert Fascimile Annual in their glass cabinet with a price of £45.00 as its "1951 " but it was still on sale direct from the publishers for £14.99 .They clearly do not know want they are doing.The RRP sticker was still on the cover !
Pre covid a betel CS had approx 20 ladybird books but all were very tatty but all priced at £2.99 each,after lockdown they still had them on sale and last week still there - you would think they would take the hint ,as one can buy well read editions for 25p each on ebay .
also noticed no fresh stock in any local ones despite the media saying they have no room for donations .

With regard to fleecing customers: we don’t strong arm customers into making purchases. If you are happy with the price: buy it, if not: look elsewhere.
It’s exactly the same as any other shopping experience.
I love the shop I volunteer in: we have a quick turnover of stock, lots of regular customers and we price fairly imo and know the brands: brand new with tags white stuff jumper for £12.99, but loads of other jumpers from £3.50. There are 12 charity shops in the small town where I volunteer so if we were way of the mark with pricing we would soon notice.

With regard to fleecing customers: we don’t strong arm customers into making purchases. If you are happy with the price: buy it, if not: look elsewhere
No you don't strong arm, but if a charity shop is knowingly and willingly pricing used lower-end clothing at the same price as new on the grounds of "well we don't force people to buy", they're relying on some of their customers not knowing what Tesco/Primark clothing is new. It says a lot about a shop's ethics, or lack of.

I'm not concerned about different shops pricing a Fat Face dress a few quid different in price.

But when it comes to charity shops there seems to be an attitude that they owe us a bargain.

Given that most of the merchandise in charity shops is used, I think it's a fair argument. Independent bookshops and independent gift shops are selling items that are new.

There's a national charity shop chain in the US called Goodwill where pretty much everything from Walmart brands to JCrew is priced the same (definitely on the low side). The model is based on high turnover of stock, and the pricing is obv a part of that. High turnover encourages frequent browsing visits and buying when you see something you really like because if you don't, then someone else will.

But when it comes to charity shops there seems to be an attitude that they owe us a bargain.

Italics fail there.

Charity shop managers do owe the charities they support the best pricing strategy they can devise, and if their prices are keeping customers form buying then they need to have a rethink.

With regard to fleecing customers: we don’t strong arm customers into making purchases. If you are happy with the price: buy it, if not: look elsewhere

A charity shop with that attitude is not serving its charity. It's a vanity project on the part of the management team.

@mathanxiety

But when it comes to charity shops there seems to be an attitude that they owe us a bargain.

Italics fail there.

Charity shop managers do owe the charities they support the best pricing strategy they can devise, and if their prices are keeping customers form buying then they need to have a rethink.

But the best pricing strategy might well be pricing things higher even if that turns off a decent chunk of your potential customer base. If Oxfam are charging £3 for a paperback, they can afford to annoy people who expect them to be priced at 50p as long as they’re still making sales.

I live in a deprived town, one of those where the big names are leaving the high street and there are a lot of charity shops. They all have stock that is almost entirely Primark, Asda, Matalan, occasional bit of Next. No high value brands, and condition often poor. A lot of them overprice that and complain about stock not shifting. One sells expensive used jigsaws when there is a market stall outside their door selling nothing but jigsaws for 20% of what the CS charges and he gives your money back if it's not complete. The CS complain their jigsaws don't sell....

I donate mainly for the environmental impact. There is one CS in our town that prices fairly low, and discounts if stuff isn't sold in a week or so. They have a huge footfall, stuff sells well and unless the other shoes they take good quality shoes , bras and school uniform. They also run a great programme for giving work experience to long term unemployed and people with learning difficulties. That's where I donate. And the branch wins awards pretty often.

@mathanxiety

With regard to fleecing customers: we don’t strong arm customers into making purchases. If you are happy with the price: buy it, if not: look elsewhere

A charity shop with that attitude is not serving its charity. It's a vanity project on the part of the management team.

My point is we are serving the charity: we don’t price products at 50p so that customers can have a bargain. We know the brands and price fairly. Last week a customer queried the price of a £20 dress. It was priced at £20 because it was escada. She did not buy it: this was her choice. The price is fair for the product.

Totally agree. I priced a bag of very nice stuff this morning - 2 pairs of Whistles jeans retail price £80 each, a Yohji Yamamoto top, a Vivienne Westwood dress, couple of other things of a similar ilk all brand new with tags. I think the jeans went out at £19.99, the dress and top for £25.

As soon as they went out I heard one customer comment that £19.99 was ridiculous for a pair of jeans, didn't we know it was a charity shop, blah blah blah. But I wouldn't have been doing my job properly if i'd priced them cheaper. £20 for a pair of bnwt whistles jeans or £25 for a brand new Westwood dress IS an absolute bargain even if it's not cheap cheap.

I don't mind higher end stuff being priced accordingly. It's when a charity shop prices a new look dress at £6 or a Next top at £3. I may as well spend a wee bit more and buy new

But the best pricing strategy might well be pricing things higher even if that turns off a decent chunk of your potential customer base. If Oxfam are charging £3 for a paperback, they can afford to annoy people who expect them to be priced at 50p as long as they’re still making sales.

The crux is as long as they're still making sales.

What is the sale to foot traffic ratio?

My point is we are serving the charity: we don’t price products at 50p so that customers can have a bargain. We know the brands and price fairly. Last week a customer queried the price of a £20 dress. It was priced at £20 because it was escada. She did not buy it: this was her choice. The price is fair for the product.

The 50p example is a reductio ad absurdum.

But even still, a fair price for a second hand item is what a customer is prepared to pay. If the dress is still hanging on the rack and your customer is shopping elsewhere, are you really supporting your charity?

The point is not to hold out for the best possible price per item, surely? Would it be a good idea to get people walking into the shop because they've heard how great the prices are; when they're in, they might spend money. They are not going to spend money in your shop if they don't set foot in it because it has a reputation for being pricey.

An alternative to generating foot traffic is online sales. An Escada dress might be an item to try to sell online instead of a bricks and mortar location where your customer base is necessarily limited.

But the best pricing strategy might well be pricing things higher even if that turns off a decent chunk of your potential customer base. If Oxfam are charging £3 for a paperback, they can afford to annoy people who expect them to be priced at 50p as long as they’re still making sales.

Omitted the italics there..

I wouldn't have been doing my job properly if i'd priced them cheaper. £20 for a pair of bnwt whistles jeans or £25 for a brand new Westwood dress IS an absolute bargain even if it's not cheap cheap.

Yes, if you are trawling every single charity shop in your local area for those particular items, those are good prices.

If you just want a pair of jeans and can't afford to pay much for them, then that's a lot.

Are you located in an area where people are prepared to pay that much for used clothing? Where people know their brands and for some reason tend to buy second hand rather than paying the full whack?

You should be selling your NWT designer and higher end items online.

Finding it similar where I live. I used to buy a lot of stuff, but in the last few years the offerings have been crap and over priced. I use EBay now and often get nice dresses for 6-7 quid, which would be priced higher in a charity shop. They are also competing with other shops which can sell you a reasonably decent dress for a tenner, so why would you buy a heavily worn one (even with a designer label in it) for the same price.

@RaspberryCoulis

Totally agree. I priced a bag of very nice stuff this morning - 2 pairs of Whistles jeans retail price £80 each, a Yohji Yamamoto top, a Vivienne Westwood dress, couple of other things of a similar ilk all brand new with tags. I think the jeans went out at £19.99, the dress and top for £25.

As soon as they went out I heard one customer comment that £19.99 was ridiculous for a pair of jeans, didn't we know it was a charity shop, blah blah blah. But I wouldn't have been doing my job properly if i'd priced them cheaper. £20 for a pair of bnwt whistles jeans or £25 for a brand new Westwood dress IS an absolute bargain even if it's not cheap cheap.

Trouble is as my DH would agree Charity shops cannot win what ever they do, I can switch between this page where people are complaining abut high prices and the 'Charity Shops not so Shit Finds' on FB where customer are gleefully posting about the bargains they are getting., gloating that the shop obviously don't train their staff properly, and bragging about how much they get when they resell an item on ebay.

Why are you perturbed that people are gleeful about reselling on eBay?

It's FB pages like that that entice people into charity shops. The publicity you get is priceless and you are complaining about it.

Fwiw, the big American chain, Goodwill, took in $4.52 billion from its operations in approximately 3,500 retail shops and online ($115m) across the continent in 2018. The pricing model keeps people shopping. That is the whole purpose of a charity shop.
www.thenonprofittimes.com/news/nonprofit-retail-sales-soaring-as-thrifting-picks-up-steam/

Hundreds of thousands of people buy stuff at Goodwill and resell. It's an industry that keeps families off the breadline. It also keeps people browsing their local Goodwill shop and the website. The bottom line is the money keeps on flowing to Goodwill. If items on the shop floor were priced to reflect original value nobody would bother.

I use charity shops a lot and have worked in them in the past.
Charging higher prices does not always equate to higher revenue for the shops.
Some of the pricier chain shops are always empty.
Low pricing means the shpo will be busy, not only with people buying, but people will tend to donate there too, so stock has a higher turnover, items are fresh, so people tend to visit more often.
My favourite local ( independant) charity shop always has a queue, they get tons of donations but sell stacks of stuff too. All clothes are £1/£2 or £3/4 for a suit or a coat.
Pricing high is short sighted imo. It reduces shop footfall, decreases donations, decreases turnover of stock.

I soent £25 on a dress from a charity shop yesterday for my cousin's wedding. At first it seems very steep but was brand new with tags, a label , rrp £90, beautiful and in mint condition. As it was just what i was looking for i didnt mind paying. Apparretly the shop had shut and donated their stock to charity.

@mathanxiety

Why are you perturbed that people are gleeful about reselling on eBay?

It's FB pages like that that entice people into charity shops. The publicity you get is priceless and you are complaining about it.

Fwiw, the big American chain, Goodwill, took in $4.52 billion from its operations in approximately 3,500 retail shops and online ($115m) across the continent in 2018. The pricing model keeps people shopping. That is the whole purpose of a charity shop.
www.thenonprofittimes.com/news/nonprofit-retail-sales-soaring-as-thrifting-picks-up-steam/

Hundreds of thousands of people buy stuff at Goodwill and resell. It's an industry that keeps families off the breadline. It also keeps people browsing their local Goodwill shop and the website. The bottom line is the money keeps on flowing to Goodwill. If items on the shop floor were priced to reflect original value nobody would bother.

Of course people resell on ebay, my DH has regular customers who do just that, as long as he gets the price he wants he is happy, but this site is not made up of people genuinely pleased they got a bargain and made money as well but of people who take pleasure in posting about stupid volunteers who don't know their pricing and of course that page wouldn't exist if as you seem to believe all charity shops are overpriced