To be shocked at the price of used clothing?

[GoodShipLollipopBop]

I went into a dress agency yesterday as I've been looking for a very specific colour and style of jumper and haven't seen anything online or in the main high street stores. I found something close to what I was wanting, and was considering purchasing it but when I looked at the tag it was £50. For a used jumper. Whilst I appreciate the brand was Hobbs which does run more expensive, the jumper itself was plain and not identifiable as any particular brand. It also wasn't wool or cashmere or anything fancy. I think it was a blend of cotton and acrylic. This is not the first time that I've been shocked at the prices of used clothing and what people are willing to pay. Most of the time the higher prices are in dress agencies, but sometimes I see quite high prices on Vinted and I wonder will anyone actually pay that?

AIBU to think £50 for a used jumper is reasonable? And that the price of some used clothing is still quite steep?

Obviously brand, style and material will dictate some of this. But percentage wise - for a higher end high street brand is 50% of the RRP still a good deal if it's used? A lot of the time the prices these items are being listed for is more than the clearance sale price that I can buy them for online if they're still for sale.

That top looks burnt?

Vented is getting a lot like that. I've tried to buy the majority of DSs clothes there but by the time I've paid delivery on each individual item, and taking into account the items are only slightly less than they cost new, there's little point. I've picked up.a couple of bargains, especially for one off things like Halloween but I'm thinking it won't save me any money if I was to buy all his clothes there.
A lot of the branded ones are actually more expensive compared to what I've found in sales.

Charity shop prices have shot up, as have Ebay auctions too. I used to get DDs' clothes on Ebay for next to nothing (huge bundles of Next etc) for less than £10, now they're around £25/£30!! Managed to get a few bargains on Vinted though but paying postage on each item, it adds up

These places are laughing! There’s a fashion re-selling boutique near me - I looked into selling some clothes via them and they take 60% of the resale price! Would be a nice little earner to set one up

Trick with Vinted especially for kids clothes is wait until you find a seller selling lots of stuff then use the bundle feature.

I follow a couple of sellers who appear to have daughters a couple of years older than my DD and similar tastes to me and have grabbed some great bundles.

if you pay postage on individual kids items it will add up

Vinted is dirty cheap! The trick is to save searches for favourite brands etc and check them regularly. With no auction to push prices up, you can get some real bargains - but they do get taken quickly. I’ve been shocked at charity shop prices recently though!

Excited today, I decided on looking out my box of winter boots that I am going to wear all winter, and planning on wearing the knitted dresses and tights to go. So I was right onto Vinted once I'd decided this was gonna be my winter look, four dresses for under a tenner minus postage. New or hardly worn. I'm not a clothes snob by any means, if anything I grudge the postage that turns a 2 quid dress into a 7 quid dress. Anyways that will be my nighttime pastime this week to add to them.
To answer the original op, £50 for a charity item is obscene. Not the point of charity at all. I wouldn't buy a brand new sweater for £50 let alone a second hand one!
Guys Vinted is the way to go!

Definitely not unreasonable! I used to love charity shops, now mostly I avoid due to them being so overpriced.
H&M kids dresses which are £2.99 brand new are £2.99 in the charity shop!

I've just used Vinted for the first time, I bought two blazers for about £15 each - one Monsoon and one Gerry Weber (old lady brand but it's a good cut). I've given up on eBay as there are so many fake items and rubbish from China on there.
I've been keeping an eye out in the charity shops but they've not had anything similar in stock. I expect more people will be trying to sell rather than donate their old clothes thanks to the cost of living crisis.
I'm surprised how many people are selling supermarket and cheapo online brands on there, I don't think it's worth the cost of postage to buy low quality clothes second hand.

I dunno about charity shops but I'm a Vinted user and actually feel the opposite. I'm struggling to sell some things at what I'd regard as a fair price (monsoon kid's dresses that have barely been worn and struggling to shift for more than a fiver) However, I've also picked up some real bargains on there so it's horses for courses really

YANBU
£50 for a second hand high street brand is ridiculous. I’ve had jumpers by Jaeger, Joseph, Maxmara etc on Vinted for about £10- £15

Thanks @WinneyWasherWoman I'll take a look 😁 had no idea, only started using it last couple of months.

A children's coat (I think Asda) was £10 in a charity shop this week. No thank you!

I've a feeling it's the people that work in the charity shops that set the prices.

I've been to the same 'chain' in two different towns. One is expensive, packed full of stuff they can't shift (a pair of Dorothy Perkins shoes for £10!). Written labels on crockery/ornaments of the name or brand with a high price tag etc. I was tempted to tell them to decide if they were a charity shop or a vintage shop.
on the flip side, the other store has things really reasonably priced, a rail of brand new items for £5 each, dress jumpers £2/£3/£4. Baby clothes 10 items for £5 and the stuff moves really quickly. It not stuffed full and is nice for a browse around as stock changes regularly.

I mean a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush surely? It’s still listed anyway

Not if it's so little that the seller doesn't think it's worth the cost of packaging and taking the item to the post office or courier drop-off location, plus possibly an extra drop in the sum if you've chosen royal mail, as vinted seems to underestimate postage there. I'm more surprised that you've seen items of clothing you'd pay 3 pounds for, but not 5 pounds.

To answer the original op, £50 for a charity item is obscene. Not the point of charity at all.

The recipient of the charity is meant to be the charitable organisation running the shop (through the money generated), not you as a customer! But yes, a lot for such an item.

A charity shop near me were selling Timberland boots for £90 the other day! Granted, they were unworn but you can pick the same boots up for the same or less than in other retailers. I’ve always shopped in charity shops, partly because I don’t agree with fast fashion, but also because I’m a skint musician. I’m beginning to feel outpriced by some charity shops.

A dress agency as per the OP is not a charity shop-it's a commercial second hand shop. A lot of posters seem to be missing this point. In my day they mainly re-sold ball gowns and other occasion dresses that had only been very lightly worn.

Charity shops have really jacked up their prices round us, sometimes they don't realise the donated item still has its original price tag on, and the charity shop is selling it for more! I'm surprised BHF, Oxfam and cancer research do any trade at all in our area. But I guess they most do well enough, and they are trying to raise funds for a good cause.
I only donate to our local hospice shop now, as they don't over inflate the price.

Oh goodness get yourself on Vinted !

You will get a whole new wardrobe for £50 😝😬✅

Also on Vinted I offer 40 % off the listed price every time and negotiate from there

But why not donate?
They also have to pay staff, heat their shop, put fuel in the delivery trucks tanks. Plus give to the actual cause. If they can get £70 for it, isn’t that a win? If not, it will be refuced

This. The bargains get snatched up quickly. The overpriced items don't sell.

I have snapped up some great bargains on Vinted. But there are some sellers on there who I genuinely wonder how they've made a sale. Like this one - granted the jumper is wool & cashmere. But it's £79 for a used jumper!!! I picked up a 100% wool & cashmere blend thick gorgeous jumper at the Ralph Lauren outlet last month 70% off for an amazing £40 on clearance.

www.vinted.co.uk/women/clothes/jumpers-and-sweaters/sweaters/v-neck-sweaters/2290899699-ralph-lauren-beige-wool-cashmere-cable-knit-jumper 

The bargains get snatched up quickly. The overpriced items don't sell.

This is only partially true. It also depends on how potentially popular the item is, the same market demand applies as for anything else. This weekend I bought a t-shirt for 3 pounds that had been up 4 months, appears to be in good condition. I struggle to see 4 months as being snatched up quickly or 3 pounds to be overpriced. Probably it was just a style/cut/size/fashion that wasn't particularly in demand - I bought it because it was described as retro and I have some vintage t-shirts from this brand that are very comfortable (I believe the modern version to also be okay, though not so good on the sleeves). Admittedly I don't know if it wasn't previously priced at an overpriced 30 pounds or whatever.

Yup I think this is really true. I think more people now are shopping second hand to be sustainable etc rather than because of genuine financial need and while that's great I think a lot of charity shops are starting to capitalise on this and again it makes it harder for people who genuinely need the bargain to get something decent that will last well and still be affordable. I also have seen some primark tops in charity shops that aren't that much cheaper than the original cost!