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?

@felineflutter Charities have a legal obligation to maximise resources for the cause they stated they set out to support. If you don't like that then campaign to change the law, or just don't go to charity shops - but your suggestion that the staff are doing something wrong is incorrect.

@TheLittleRedToothbrush DH is the same as you - regularly goes in very early and stays well after the end of his shift, and goes in on his days off if they're short of volunteers and wouldn't otherwise be able to open. I'm sure if you and he divided your pay by the number of hours you actually work you'd be on less than minimum wage.

@PiccalilliChilli

I live in a "naice" area and you can definitely see the difference in prices from the charity shops near me and those at a more ordinary area. DD and I have both found bargains at shops outside our postcode but finding one within is hard.

Having said that, the type of clothing and donated bits are often barely used, or unused, and from top end retailers. My mother in law had a nosy and found a lovely winter coat still with the sales label on from its original retailer at £150, but offered in the shop at £90, and it looked brand new.

I live near a naice area...it's so nice that there are zero charity shops in the town centre. There's a couple of independent ones on the outskirts of town

Secondhand has become fashionable amongst the more financially secure.
I no longer give the local charity shops any spares, I'll pass them on through free cycle or a local family.
It used to be a two way street supporting the charity and those without much money, no they're for profits and use ebay as a price guide.

@SchrodingersImmigrant

Many if them could save a fortune on moving from the most wanted, hence super expensive prmeises to still very busy but not on that particular street premises... I know two who are in 50k a year super prime location premises when few streets away, very busy street btw but not funky and full of restaurants, same size is 26k.

That's just not true. I managed a number of very central London stores and the difference in income between a "main street" store and one just off the main street was astronomical. Far, far in excess of the substantial extra rent.

@felineflutter

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

Most people involved in charity shops are volunteers.

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

Most people involved in charity shops are volunteers.>>

The management and store representatives are on a high wage.
The CEO's on foreign aid charities are on mega bucks.
Yes the volunteers kindly work for free.

There are so many misconceptions about charity shops ... if you all think you are the experts why aren't you running one?

It is just not true that 'if everything was £2 cheaper charity shops would sell more' ... on the back of a very similar thread a couple of weeks ago I regularly over a few days asked my customers to suggest a price if they felt the prices were too high ... with one exception no one wanted to change the price ... either people like the item it they don't and price is rarely a factor. (And yes, I will 'haggle' in my charity shop although I know not all charity shop managers will).

In my experience (many years in charity and non-charity retail) the people shopping in charity shops are looking for quirky, original items ... they are generally not shopping in charity shops because they can't afford to shop in 'mainstream' retailers. I've said this numerous times on similar threads - we sell brand new, High Street label school uniform items at £2 each and no one is interested ....

I've had a couple of good buys this week, a lovely mug for a £1 and nearly new book for £2. The clothes are never up to much ime

The bric a brac can be good too

One in my town sells a bit of everything. I look at the second hand books, and the DVDs are right next to them. All the children’s DVDs are £2 each, which I think is a lot. Some are compilations of episodes eg six episodes of Thomas and Friends. I have no idea what they’d cost brand new in somewhere like b&m but I don’t think it would be a huge amount more, with no rush of scratching, jumping etc.

Evenstar

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.”

Spot on. My own my experience of charity shops until just a few years ago was US. Known as thrift, they are very upfront dual purpose, in serving both the beneficiary and receiving communities. So, so many would be sunk without them. In the UK, that doesn’t seem to be appreciated so much?

@aggathapanthus

Evenstar

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.”

Spot on. My own my experience of charity shops until just a few years ago was US. Known as thrift, they are very upfront dual purpose, in serving both the beneficiary and receiving communities. So, so many would be sunk without them. In the UK, that doesn’t seem to be appreciated so much?

What's US charity law though? As pp have said, UK charity law is very exacting about how charities have to operate and use their resources.

I'm not sure that UK charity shops are the equivalent of US thrift stores.

Depends on which charity shops you go to. I love a good rummage in a charity shop & buy a great deal in them. This week alone I've spent 12 quid on 6 items of clothing including 3 at 1.00 each & 3 books! As a general rule of thumb the small independents are more jumble sale like in their presentation & take longer to rummage in but are cheaper than the big chains.

lilyofthewasteland

You got me, no idea 😁

Just seems to me, if you’re a charity you want to help both 🤷‍♀️

I want to pay a fair price for things but I do think that the price should reflect that there's a lack of choice.

Someone mentioned a Gap hoodie for 50p. Great find. But say that Gap hoodie is £35 in their outlet shop in all colours, and the one in the shop is £15 with tags on - but it's lime green or purple. You then need to not only find the customer who was in the market for a hoodie, but also one in that size, and that colour.

@blublub

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?

Especially with the introduction of new goods products, kinda dilute s the idea of the purpose of a charity shop, as then the business model is changing to basically a version of a high street shop like Argos combined with a clothes shop etc,

That may be a odd way of putting it, but hopefully it makes sense.

There are the following charity shops in my town :

British heart foundation- too dear , have never bought anything , shoes around £8 plus per pair etc

Salvation Army - too dear , dresses priced at £12 each , only Debenhams designer range etc

Two local children’s charity shops - too dear , again dresses between 10-15 , out of date Lipsy styles etc

One local mental health charity shop - well priced , items between £1 and £3 , regularly do 50% off sales / racks too

PDSA charity shop - too dear plus half of the shop is filled with random brand new stuff like Buddha garden ornaments and greetings cards

Local heart charity - great pricing from 99p to £3 , had a queue to get in after lockdown , regularly reduce items that have been out for too long , kids clothes from 50p

The busy stores that go through lots of stock , that I see people actually shopping in are the £3 and less stores.

The other stores are like tumbleweed and seem more pre occupied with merchandising like a high street shop chain.

When I was a child I remember charity shops were very much seen as being for poor people. They are ridiculous now. Ones near me sell primark stuff for more than it probably cost new! I remember walking past one and seeing a sweet set of Dora the explorer books...£20! I didn't buy them..even the woman working there thought it was a ridiculous price.

There’s no point in shopping in charity shops anymore if you’re actually poor - brands like Primark are already dirt cheap. I agree they’re overpriced anything from these brands should all be £1. But the charity has operating costs and so actually loses money.

The sweet spot is for decently made stuff that lasts (like a £30 dress going for £15) or castoff expensive brands.

@LateAtTate there’s still plenty of reason to shop at charity shops, it isn’t just about money - it’s so much better for the environment than places like Primark.

[quote Minionbums]@LateAtTate there’s still plenty of reason to shop at charity shops, it isn’t just about money - it’s so much better for the environment than places like Primark.[/quote]
It makes no difference to the environment of you buy Primark branded charity shop clothes . If they have been worn you won’t get much more use out of them anyway and if they haven’t then it’s the same as buying them directly from Primark. This is a relevant point because the OP is talking about clothes which are a similar price new.
As I already mentioned well made clothing is a good buy from charity shops.
The trouble is that well made clothing costs money which people don’t want to pay. They want everything cheap cheap cheap which is why the environment is screwed.
And before anybody starts on about being poor - as a student on a tight budget all my clothes were from charity shops. I didn’t have money but they lasted me a good few years. Compared to friends who had lots of £3 dresses from places like Boohoo. We don’t NEED that many clothes with modern inventions like the washing machine...

*didnt pay a lot

The one I went in today is brilliant. All women's tops £1. Any 4 books £1. It's always busy compared to others in the town. I've been in some and been horrified at the prices.

It may be partially be a response to Depop etc resellers who will scour charity shops for things they know they can turn a profit by selling it on. Thrifting is often considered cool atm, so I think the charity shops are trying to take advantage of this rather than risking underpricing items which a reseller will then profit from.