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?

I know for a fact that a lot of the really good stuff is creamed off by the staff and volunteers

Creamed off? Do you mean stolen? And if you do, why haven't you reported that? Either to the head office, or through the whistleblowing or anti-fraud line which most charities have.

Or do you mean getting first dibs on this "good stuff" at a fair price? Because that is different, isn't it?

And while we're at it, what are you defining as "good stuff"? As a 50 year old woman, however expensive and designer those wee crop tops and spandex leggings are, they have no appeal to me. I have no need/want for children's clothing or those naff Lladro china ornaments, anything pet related, or other nicknacky ornaments. My "good stuff" is 100% natural fibre knitting yarn, and anything heraldry/genealogy related.

Such a tired trope that all volunteers are just there for what they can steal.

can’t be true as all charity shop employees are too thick to have an anti theft strategy...

At what point did i say it was the charity shop's responsibility ? Think you need to read my post again.

Eh? It’s not a ‘problem’ for me, i didn’t buy either (I was just killing time mooching round the shops as I was early for an appointment). Nor do I have any ‘concern’ for the shop manager
Its just an observation…. it seemed silly to me to price an old T-shirt at the same price as a new one… especially when same brand new ones are next door. Seems like poor research/being unaware of your local competition. Who is going to buy it at that price?

Surely these things work like most capitalism - if it's too expensive, it won't sell, and they will reduce the price. It's not something that's the case with every charity shop.

And heaven forfend that a charity has staff who it actually pays. Whatever next, they'll be expecting a desk and a chair paid for out of OUR donations! This has become a theme I find deeply irritating.

£6 or £7 really! A cup of coffee, which just to be clear I don’t drink and would begrudge spending that amount of money on, costs £3.50 or more I believe, at least the charity shop money is going to benefit others. Go to the shops and buy something decent for £6 or £7. Get over seriously.

The Cancer Research shop near me was selling dresses for £7 years ago. A lot of their shoes are over £7 and some a lot more if they're an expensive make. A lot of tops, not particularly new looking or expensive brands are £4-£6 plus.

Shanghai Diva Who rattled your cage?!

ClarryLove To be honest, selling brand new M&S boots for £3 is robbing the charity of much needed money. They could easily have got £6 for them as they were new.

Yanbu.I have given up buying clothing in charity shops partly due to the prices and partly due to it being so much easier to find what I want off ebay.I have bought kitchen stuff from charity shops though such as pans.I have bought a couple of stainless steel copper bottomed pans for £1 and £2 which would cost far more new and they will both certainly outlast me.

I genuinely sympathise with a lot of your post but had to comment re this section: "..only BHF would come out. They dismissed the furniture as being 'just veneer'. Didn't want it." I think that was perhaps their polite way of saying the furniture wasn't to modern tastes.

When my dad died my mum wanted to clear out some of the family furniture. Near her it was only the BHF or one other local charity that would collect. (So that is a big constraining factor - if you are reliant on collection then that limits choices immediately). BHF were quite clear they would only take items that they were fairly certain could be sold in their furniture stores, so they would look but couldnt guarantee to take. That seemed sensible to me - why would they, or why should they, agree to take furniture that they (knowing their local market) wouldnt sell.

The other charity gave away, or sold at very low prices, furniture. I think in the end it was that charity that had most of the furniture. But sensibly it needed to be furniture that would fit smaller, multi-family homes, and perhaps an upstairs flat without a lift - so could be carried and fit up staircases.

Speaking just for myself, I still enjoy browsing in charity shops but there are only two locally I can actually justify (because of affordability) to regularly buy from.
I source clothing from freebay, fb marketplace or boot sales 99% of the time. I don't like designer labels so that's irrelevant for me.

I understand charity shops need to make money but there has to be a balance surely. The charity shops I buy from are very much community ones. One is a local church one and the orher is a Lions ones. Children's clothes are rarely anymore than 50p or £1 and that's fine.

My issue is the same as others have said, the clothing prices are batshit. You'll occasionally find a gem, but largely it's overpriced.

Secondly, they clearly google items and give an eBay price, neglecting the fact that nobody has gone into their charity shop to buy a Sylvac deer, and therefore they cannot command a collectors price.

RESELLERS

they are a big part of this problem. People the clear charity shops out daily for a living to resell for more online.

@yphtutor some people don't have £6/7, stop being a twat

I got a lovely muddy puddles jacket for DS today for £4, that felt like a bargain to me. I do find that locally I have 2 types of charity shop. One that sells a high quantity of low cost stock and one that sells fewer higher priced items. I'd say the higher priced items must do better as they can afford rates in a popular shopping centre.

I’m in USA and it is hot or miss here. Some of the big name stores like goodwill are high, small church robes usually cheaper.

there is one that makes me laugh. They had a beat up old piano of the kind I see regularly for free on marketplace… they wanted $3,800!!! And $75 for a scraggly old Xmas tree, $40 for rubbish pictures in chipped frames.

Charity Shops have been slowly pricing themselves out for several years.
I haven't been to one for a long time, I'm not interested. I've come to thinking they're being greedy with their prices, that's sad but true. Sure, they want to make as much money for their charity. I'd say an easy 95% of goods are donated so by lowering their prices I'm sure they would get more custom.

Definitely. I have always gone to them before the normal shops and at times it has been my only option. In my local area there have been a few shops that have higher prices on certain items meaning I’ve had to make difficult choices.
it’s very difficult in these times, I have a seven year old and I’m 31 weeks pregnant with my second. I can’t afford much as it is, the clothes I can afford I often get from charity shops. So it’s worrying and frustrating to say the least.

I agree that overpricing in charity shops is ridiculous. I have often donated designer and good quality items on the basis that someone who needed help will benefit.
BHF is the worst. I saw some basic, clearly used, cotton tops from Fat Face for £20 each. You could probably pick them up in the sale from the retailer at the same or lower price.

I live in a expensive area and all but one charity shop is so expensive. We have one charity shop here that is a clearance charity and everything is so cheap. Ladies, mens, and baby clothes range in price from 50p to £3. I’ve not seen anything above £3. I’ve got loads of branded clothes at affordable prices. I don’t entertain any other charity shops as they are too expensive.

I used to get books ..often could get them for 50p each or sometimes a £1 if unread,popped I. To a charity shop this week they wanted £1-50 minimum for one ...

I shop in Charity shops because I can only wear natural fibres truth be told. I am more likely to afford a quality item secondhand I also have an issue with textile waste having made things and clothes in the past knowing modern slavery is the cost of affordable new clothing sadly but Charity shops have been getting so expensive as I live in London that I am actually paying more for these items secondhand then other avenues. I do like that my spend goes on to support a charity but I do wonder as they have unneeded refits and branded tags, bags merch then u consider the salaries at the top I think they have lost their way and will be killing the goose that lays the golden egg. One Charity shop which I mainly donate to as its a hospice one that never had all the add ons so I felt the spend or donations weren’t being wasted now has had a new refit that is so high end its beyond most high end stores. This shop was already very swanky and pristine and didn’t need an update . The shop is now empty when all the charity shops are heaving. It only holds half the stock its done away with homewares which btw were only new coporate donations. The shop just doesn’t feel inviting its actually intimidating because you feel the staff watching you in desperation to make a purchase every time u linger on or touch something and of course the prices are unaffordable as I don’t have the budget for their new prices so I am not making a purchase and will stop visiting. I will also be donating to a charity which I feel is making good use of resources without trying to emulate an art installation!

Running a charity shop is very hard work! I’ve been manager of four over the years. There is no excuse for inconsistent pricing. I would not leave volunteers with probably little knowledge of brands to do it. I priced everything AND I made a huge poster listing all clothing types, by basic, better, best, to make sure my assistant priced the same way on my days off. My prices were always fair. I made a huge effort with display too, and my shop looked like a boutique. Customers loved it. HO however, never visited in eight years, but as my shop wasn’t taking enough money despite my best effort, they came to see. I was told fairy lights had to come down, a table I’d brought in myself had to go, so they could squeeze in another two rails, making the once airy shop look cramped. Too difficult to navigate with pushchairs or wheelchairs! I had a popular £1 rail for clothes that hadn’t sold in 2/3 weeks, I think that’s gone. HO in all charities, large and small, employ too many useless chiefs and not enough Indians!!! They didn’t invest in the shop for 15 years, so I bought paint, and painted the whole shop with a couple of volunteers, inside and out, the whole shopfront, not a word of thanks. I left!

Many, many people (me included), can’t afford to buy a coffee out. £3.50 is a lot to me and I couldn’t waste it on that.

£6 in a charity shop is a lot to me. I used to rely on them for clothing. I couldn’t spend £6 on one item.

Honestly, some people have no idea how others live.