To not take vintage clothes to a charity shop?

[galliton]

A load of vintage clothes have come into my possession and I was advised just to bag up and take to a charity shop. I don't want to deprive a charity of money but this just seems a dreadful waste and I can imagine things being sold cheaply for others to make a profit on. Forgive my cynicism, but I have heard such stories of items either being binned as they are considered old-fashioned or sold dirt cheap to people who buy to make a profit. AIBU in rethinking this or should I just give to charity? Suits are ladies' designer probably twenty years old but unworn, excellent quality.

Charity shops generally aren't daft and don't give Dior away for the price of secondhand Primark. But why don't you sell them to a vintage shop if you want to be sure.

Vinted or Esty maybe? Make some pennies for the winter fuel bills.

Also, twenty years ago was the early Noughties; I'm not sure that's really "vintage" in either age or style, unless they happened to be retro-styled suits in the first place.

If you want to sell them yourself just do it, unless there is a reason you can’t?

Are twenty year old clothes “vintage”? If they’re genuine designer names and classic styles then you should be able to sell them yourself relatively easily if you price them right, but do have the faff of photographing them nicely, clothing is difficult to sell if you don’t.

A suit from c. 2002 - has it a label?
If it's not high end then it's not worth much.

Could easily be someone who would never otherwise afford it at charity shop who keeps the clothes. Or if someone very savvy trying to make ends meet sells them for a better profit than the charity shop then good for them.

Do whatever suits you best and don't worry about what happens next.

Who advised you? Just ignore them.
You could sell them and then give a charity donation.
Depends on the level of label though, you may well not get much for them.

Research your local charity shops or ones a bit further afield to ask what they do about vintage designer clothes. Some collect them and pass them on to other stores within in their own networks which specialise in particular clothing types, eg. Vintage or wedding etc. If you go to charity shops in posh areas you’ll find lots of vintage designer clothes on sale and not given away dirt cheap either.

What should happen is that the charity shop sells them and keeps the money, for the charity. Small chance they don’t see that they are worth something though.
Maybe have a look on eBay first at sold listings and see if they will actually sell for anything? Or tell us what brands they are.

What designers are they?

I wouldn’t buy a 20 year old M&S suit as it’s not vintage it’s just old fashioned. I’d sell it yourself if you can be fussed, if not, give to charity.

Sorry, I should have said but designers are the like of Dior, YSL. Some items are vintage as in fifty plus years, others are designer from about twenty years ago.

I would be more than happy to help someone struggling afford something nice via a charity shop, but i have heard too much that quite often it is people buying for profit. Sorry if i am just being too cynical and I am wrong, but that is why I am checking here.

Sell them online for a reasonable price. You’ll make someones day.

Why does it bother you if the charity shop makes £50 and a trader makes £150? You’ve helped both a charity and someone who works for a living.

I can't work out what you are suggesting as an alternative? What are you going to do with them if you don't give them to charity?

If you don't want to give to charity then either sell them yourself or give/try to sell to a vintage fashion shop to sell on although then they would be making a profit which seems to be your issue?

If you don't want to keep them or sell them yourself then a charity shop is the next logical step.

So what are you going to do with them?

Can you not sell them yourself and the. Decide what to do with the funds .... either keep them or donate them to the charity you would have donated the clothes to.

In that case I’d either take them to a vintage shop/dress agency
or a charity shop in a city centre that will sell them on for charity funds.

Stuff like that I'd sell to someone who knows what they're worth, and then give the money to charity if it's important to you.

Charity shops would be very pleased to take those - believe me, they won't sell them for £5! There's a charity shop near me that has Prada and YSL - very pricey for a charity shop, still a good price for a discerning customer but a good fund raiser.

Also the people buying and selling from the charity shop to make a profit are probably doing so because they are skint and need the money, I'm not sure why that's such a bad thing.

The thing is people who buy those items from charity shops and re-sell on vintage sites are adding value, because they can be bothered, to identify, photograph, measure, list and post them. It's not robbing anyone, it's how the economy works. I doubt anyone is a millionaire from secondhand clothing on etsy.

You remind me of a friend OP. 'I need to get rid of this bed, it's never been used and just takes up room.' Sell it. No, too much effort. OK, give it away, put it on freecycle or whatever. But what if I give it away and then they sell it? Eh? It doesn't seem fair . . . For crying out loud. Wear them, sell them or give them away. Solved.

In my city there’s a branch of a cancer charity that sells only vintage clothes etc at higher prices. Could you see if there’s one like that near you?