Charity shops seem to be unrealistic with their prices and I can't afford them anymore!

[AutumnFairy01]

Firstly, this isn't to do with not giving to charity. I give to charity separately and donate items to local homeless charities, food banks, etc but I've always loved supporting charity shops too. They're great (or were great) for grabbing a bargain and reusing an unwanted item. I love secondhand wherever possible.

However, I've now come to the conclusion that charity shops are largely unaffordable for me now. I browse round charity shops weekly I would say (in more than one town) and the prices are just crazy! I always buy secondhand clothing for myself, dh and children but quite often the charity shop prices seem more expensive than buying new or at best, very little difference. For instance, in Chelmsford the other day, I went into the BHF shop and I saw a very simple baby's top, not designer or anything and it was £4! And then for adult clothing, I couldn't see anything below £6/7.

Boots sales and Facebook marketplace are my go to places more and more now. Sometimes freebay too.

I can understand charity shops putting their prices up a little with rising costs of everything but there has to be a balance surely?

AIBU to think charity shop prices are unrealistic for secondhand items?

Are they becoming unaffordable for anyone else?

My daughter wanted a beany boo in one the other day. Was staggered to turn it over a find it was £6.
They are a fiver new!

I do think that it's real shame it's come at a time where some really need them

this thread has been useful, I have an appreciation of the goals of charity shops and now understand they are not interested in the prospective purchaser, fair enough, I’ll make my decisions as to where to donate and where to buy accordingly.

But you bought it?

Why didn't you go elsewhere if it was so unacceptable?

I only go to v local charity shops now as the pricing annoys me. Its all been corporatised and I think its wrong to use volunteers if you are going all out as a business to raise funds. Fundamentally a charity does not run shops - the shops are a separate business entity that covenants any profits to the charity - same for christmas cards as well.

My other find is Tip shops - usually run for the aid of a charity however they are much more realistic on pricing although tend not to have clothes but I don't really use them for that

We have one where nothing is more than £3. I'm lucky that my local ones are pretty reasonably priced, although they do have designer rails where things are more expensive. Some in the local area charge ludicrous prices. One shop will charge more than the item was new but then sell brand new Gabor boots for £15 (Reader, I bought them).

YES! Exactly this!!
In a very large charity shop local to me, this has been going on for 10+ years. When pointed out in a local info/opinion page, the vitriol towards the “complainant” was palpable. There followed a realisation by quite a few other local charity shops, that they could charge whatever the heck they liked because nobody would dare openly complain.
Fast forward to now and what do we have? Extortionately priced charity shops that, because people can no longer justify paying inflated prices, are beginning to lose money and who cannot afford to reduce prices because they then won’t meet unrealistic targets.
in the meantime, other charity shops have popped up with very reasonable prices and continue to go from strength to strength 😀

There are a few reasonable shops near us, I don’t know where they get the prices from. I use Vinted a lot.

Then the ones that charge unrealistic prices will close. Although if one has been running for 10+ years it suggests they are meeting the unrealistic targets, surely?

If people are paying these prices - which they obviously are as stock is moving and shops staying open - then the shops are absolutely right to get as much as they can for any donated item. A charity shop is there to raise money for charity, not act as a clothing bank or recycling centre.

Also, "thrifting" for clothes from charity shops has become a very popular activity for young people - and in comparison to prices on eg Vinted or Depop, the prices in charity shops are still cheap, so they willingly pay it.

I totally agree with you some charity shops charge the earth , donated purse I saw the other day yes it looked new but it was £12, a river island one, handbag as new it was slightly worn when you looked inside £20, most of the clothes were £10 and over ridiculous , this was a shop called the dogs trust

Funnily enough I said exactly this after a quick wander round our locals yesterday. There was an Orchard Toys puzzle that was more expensive than it would have been new, and kids 'learn to read' books were £3.50 each!

I don't mind paying out for branded items in the chazza. It's the overpriced primark and supermarket clothes that irk me. Not that I'll buy them

That sounds ridiculous and so disappointing at a time when people are throwing away so much extra stuff. Charity shops should be helping to recycle as well as simply making money. Maybe it's time for the "thrift" store concept to catch on.

Those that say Head Office insists on unrealistic/unreasonable prices:

Why do you think they do that? I haven't worked in charity retail, but have worked in fundraising. You are judged on the money you bring in. Why would Head Office staff, judged on the profit they make, deliberately set pricing policies that do not create maximum profit?

Or do they not have the skills needed to make those decisions? Or are ideologically committed to a policy that reduces profits? If so, why would they work in an industry where you are judged by profits?

Certainly unrealistic when a Mulberry is £5 - the same as an M&S plastic handbag next to it.
Guess which one I bought? I did make a substantial donation & suggested that the manager is in need of training.

Why should they? Their legal obligation is to maximise the income for the charity and its beneficiaries.

I thought this when I was in a kids charity shop the other day. A fisher price phone that looked quite manly was £6! It's £10 new! Ended up buying sometbing for £3 and felt robbed

Who knows, @Sigma33 . There is this attitude that charity shop volunteers and managers are just a bit thick, and enjoy it when nothing sells and takings slide. Or that people in head offices are similarly dim and can’t read figures from a spreadsheet.

Yes!! One had blankets for $12 there $5 new!!

I am a lifelong charity shopper but it is harder and harder to get bargains or even good quality stuff, so much Primark/ H&M/ Zara out there. I got a bit jaded about charities because my father who had dementia was relentlessly targeted by endless charity begging letters, and he felt pressured to give a bit to all, who then sold on his details to other charities so every time he made a donation the begging letters went up exponentially. It got to the point where I was intercepting the bloody letters and binning them. You can check a charity’s financial status here register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/225971/accounts-and-annual-returns.
Interesting to see that for the BHF for example one member of staff earns £200 000 a year and several are on £150000+.

On a side note. It's not the charity's fault but I think many shoes/trainers/boots that end up there are often because they're not the size it says on the label. Re-sizing them (ie. label say x but they're actually y) might result in more sales.

@TheGander we can only sell what we’re given. If people are choosing to sell the good stuff on vi red and giving us the tat, there’s not much we can do about that.

We visited Lytham a couple of weeks ago. Quite affluent area, which is reflected in the charity shops. I regularly shop in charity shops, but only good brands, ie Joe Browns, Joules, Mint a velvet etc. i wouldn’t buy supermarket or cheap brands, as it’s hardly worth it. But I think some of the volunteers in the shops are of an older generation, and often don’t know the difference between brands. There were Primark clothes priced up at not much less than Joules branded stuff. No way would I pay £4 for a Primark t shirt when I know you can get one for not much less, brand new.

I used to buy clothes at charities but no more, they've become so expensive! so I just buy in primark.

some are absolutely overpriced and often see primark clothes for more than the original some of the worse ones have so much stock you can’t move in them and back rooms full of bags that can’t go out! Should be cheaper so people can afford and to sell more. I prefer to give stuff to homeless centre that gives clothes and household items away free so that people are not being ripped off.