why are charity shops so expensive now?

[mklanch]

AIBU to think charity shops are now so expensive and overpriced?

i havnt been to one in about 3 years, but there is one near me that always has a lovely window display. i went with my husband as i saw a lovely jug and bowl in the window and was hoping to purchase it.
once inside i went over to the jug and it was slightly chipped here and there but so pretty. i turned the tag over and was shocked at the price. i was expecting a maximum price of £15-£20......but it was £50!!!
i thought well perhaps its a well known one, so continued to browse the shop. came across a little butterfly trinket box, it was very pretty but has a very large repaired crack right through the lid. i expected it to be under £5, but no, it was for £25!
even used clothing from regular brands (tu, George etc) was priced at over £6 for just a t-shirt!
when did they get so expensive?
i went in there because i don't have alot of spare money at the minute and really wanted to get something nice but not spend a fortune. how the hell have i been priced out of a charity shop?

I’ve thought this recently. I saw a lamp in our local one, priced at £5, which sounds really reasonable - I have the same one at home from wilko’s and it was only £6 brand new.

I understand they have to make money for their charity but of course the items are used and in worse quality than they would be new. The price should reflect that. It’s a shame though because I like to buy second hand and you used to be able to get good bargains. I bought a lot of my first DC’s clothing second hand and I could dress them nicely for not a lot of money but nowadays it would be easier to go online for ‘bundles.’

Don't buy anything then - go to regular shops.

I think a lot of the people involved in the charity shops, managers etc are on high salaries.

@Kanaloa

I’ve thought this recently. I saw a lamp in our local one, priced at £5, which sounds really reasonable - I have the same one at home from wilko’s and it was only £6 brand new.

I understand they have to make money for their charity but of course the items are used and in worse quality than they would be new. The price should reflect that. It’s a shame though because I like to buy second hand and you used to be able to get good bargains. I bought a lot of my first DC’s clothing second hand and I could dress them nicely for not a lot of money but nowadays it would be easier to go online for ‘bundles.’

its crazy that its cheaper to buy it new than used!

@felineflutter

I think a lot of the people involved in the charity shops, managers etc are on high salaries.

thats what i dont get, they have so many workers in there who are working for free (volunteering) so surely that should keep their costs down.

2 reasons;

1. The purpose of the shop is to make as much money as possible for the charity.

1. A lot of the work in the shop, including pricing of items, is done by well meaning volunteers who don't actually have much idea about labels or consumer value. I used to manage charity shops and would often go into a shop where a volunteer, usually an elderly woman, had been pricing the clothing as they see fit for over a decade. They might price a bland Primark dress for £25 because they personally liked it and couldn't imagine it was only ever £15 new. While at the same time pricing an Armani dress suit for £12 because they didn't like the colour. That's not exaggeration, it's an actual example of pricing I found on a shop floor and the volunteer would not accept that their pricing was anything other than exactly right because there was no way anyone would ever pay more than £12 for a suit in that horrible shade of blue.

@trancepants

2 reasons;

1. The purpose of the shop is to make as much money as possible for the charity.

1. A lot of the work in the shop, including pricing of items, is done by well meaning volunteers who don't actually have much idea about labels or consumer value. I used to manage charity shops and would often go into a shop where a volunteer, usually an elderly woman, had been pricing the clothing as they see fit for over a decade. They might price a bland Primark dress for £25 because they personally liked it and couldn't imagine it was only ever £15 new. While at the same time pricing an Armani dress suit for £12 because they didn't like the colour. That's not exaggeration, it's an actual example of pricing I found on a shop floor and the volunteer would not accept that their pricing was anything other than exactly right because there was no way anyone would ever pay more than £12 for a suit in that horrible shade of blue.

lol, that made me chuckle!!

Demelza82

“Don't buy anything then - go to regular shops.“

Lots of people can’t: charity shops serve more than one purpose.

They’re trying to recoup some of the past year’s losses. Short-sighted policy.

Come to my town. They're cheap as chips here. Often have adult clothes at 2 for £1. Got my sister a brand new Gap Hoodie for 50p. Bought a used Trunkie for £2. Books are often 20p. Got a Mini Micro Scooter for £5. Etc

I used to manage a charity shop. I think it’s become very corporate and target driven. Always pushed to increase sales so try and charge more to cover this. Problem with this is you end up with loads of unsold stock. Stack high and sell cheap I say. Turns over quicker. But then if you get no donations you’re left with an empty looking shop. Maybe they were trying to avoid people buying stuff?

If you do a search there is thread already covering this topic in great detail.

I manage a charity shop, I don't think our prices are expensive at all - like with anything, there will be well run charity shops and badly run ones ... if you don't like the prices, shop elsewhere. If the charity shop is not making money ... it will be closed down. This regularly happens in the charity I work for.

As a PP said, sometimes the price is a genuine mistake made by a well meaning volunteer, of course it works the other way too ... one of my volunteers priced some brand new Levi 501s at £5 - the customer was delighted .

your right, its good to know that not all are overpriced.

ill have to look around

There is a certain charity renown for over-prices and I used to volunteer for them, it was actually kind of fun as you would come across some really cool items and some horrific things.

I got a new superdry hoodie in a charity shop recently it was £10.00 still had labels on but much cheaper than it will sell for in Superdry itself.

I think charity shops are "cool" to shop at at the moment due to the current fashion trends and they appeal more and more these days. thifting is in. I remember being a kid in the 90's teen in the 00's and charity shops were for the very poor or stingy. Now i see all sorts of teens in there looking around.

I think many shops seem to have priced themselves too high .A shop near me wanted about £60 .00 for a picture .All right it was a good one from a local Artist ,but similar pictures are not that much more TBH! The guy in the shop told me that they have a team of "experts" to price this kind of merchandise. Lots of clothes on the high side as well .Maybe trying to recoup their losses from the pandemic? No idea !

I say this to DP all the time - if they lowered their prices to a couple of quid per item at least, they'd make more money overall. I know how much one of our local charity shops throws out because it doesn't get sold. Their business model isn't great!

I know someone who was convinced 'Tu' was a designer brand. If she was responsible for pricing it would reflect that.

there is an antique emporium near me and their prices are cheaper.

maybe its just the bigger franchise charity shops that are priced so high

A charity near me has a clearance shop where everything is £1. They give things a few weeks in the full price shops and then sell it all off in the clearance shop. It works really well especially as the full price shops are in more affluent areas and the clearance shop is in a less affluent area with lots of young families and students.

@felineflutter

I think a lot of the people involved in the charity shops, managers etc are on high salaries.

They are run on a shoe string... I worked for one in head office and the smaller shop managers were on not much above min wage. Bigger shops maybe a couple of quid more so £11/hour tops. For quite a busy role and they have to meet their targets or they go on performance plan.

Some charity shops instead of being where more hard up people could get a bargain of a Asda t shirt for £2 now it’s green and ethical living. And some quarters buying new is a no no problem quite happy day I bought this for £5 “oh I never buy new”. Personally I’d rather go naked then have to source my wardrobe purely on rubbish we get around here.

I think some charities have lost the plot. It used to be that they served the dual purpose of raising money and enabling poorer people to buy things cheaply. If they raise prices too much then neither objective can be met - people will just go to Primark or order clothes from Shein. It's not like the old days, when clothes were more expensive than second hand, wherever you shopped.

Also I won't shop in Oxfam anymore - I don't view shopping from there as a good thing.

Charity shops now see themselves as only out for the charity - its peed me off for a while that they are pricing out people that genuinely can't afford to be buying new and need second hand - they are now forced to go to boot sales and often these are not easily accessible by public transport on which they lie.

Staff are not on high salaries - that is utter bollox frankly - they are for the most part still volunteers, salaried managers often managed several shops or work part time and salary is at the bottom end or below market salary (but why if someone is doing a job is that? Pay the salary if you are going to pay get volunteers if not, stop undervaluing those who lets face it are mostly women!).

By pricing high (and we have all seen supermarket t shirts at a 5 er as that is "policy" ) they reduce turnover but make the same money - so basically less work for the same money which is a purely commercial decision - I say they have a moral obligation to still cater for those in need - so they should have two policies one for pricing luxury goods and one for basics. That would be far more ethical.

Some franchise chains seem to overprice, there is one that appears to buy in large volumes of new clothing stock too, which I’ve always found strange and at odds with the second-hand donation/ re-sell principle of charity shops. You can tell they are new clothing lines as multiple sizes available and same style in different colours etc. Often found independent charity shops more fairly priced, my local has a £1 rail which is great! Also depends on store location, had a short b&b break in a posh town years ago and nose in charity shops there, loads of amazing designer stuff (but all with designer prices!)

Clothes are fairly cheap enough especially if you shop the sales you only got to shop savvy. For example river island I got a dress 12 pound new sandles 7 pounds. Same for matalan loads of bargains in there.Debenhams I got alsorts in their closing down sale. I wouldn't entertain shopping in charity shops because I can buy things at an reasonable price new than some of the stuff they sell in their shops.

@Footloosefancyfree

Clothes are fairly cheap enough especially if you shop the sales you only got to shop savvy. For example river island I got a dress 12 pound new sandles 7 pounds. Same for matalan loads of bargains in there.Debenhams I got alsorts in their closing down sale. I wouldn't entertain shopping in charity shops because I can buy things at an reasonable price new than some of the stuff they sell in their shops.

🤣🤣 Okay then.