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 do - I also noted that they are looking to expand their reach across the UK. Why not contact them and see what you can do to set up something similar in London?

There is a need for it - why not do something about it instead of complaining about charity shops doing what they have always done, raise money for the charity?

@BloodAndFire

A quick Google shows that the Salvation Army runs clothing banks nationwide - including about 20 in London.

HTH

I work full-time, have children, and raise money for several local charities already. I don't remotely have the time or resources to set up a clothes bank. I followed the link because you said:

No doubt everyone on this thread who wants their second hand clothes to go to local people in need will be calling them first thing on Monday

I want to donate clothes, i'm not looking for another job to magically fit into the non-existent spare time I don't have.

I'm trying to avoid others also wasting their time gonig to a website for an organisation which serves a tiny, tiny fraction of the people who might see your post. It's useless for anyone who doesn't live in a very tiny area.

My apologies for not being clear - I meant that everyone who wanted a similar clothing bank near them could liaise with them to set up something similar.

I work full-time, have children, support charities, and am setting up a local conservation group. It is possible! I hope someone is inspired by their story to realise it is possible to take action instead of sitting at a keyboard complaining that other people aren't doing what you want them to do...

But as I said, less than a minute of Googling also brought up the Salvation Army. Less time that it took to type my post, in fact!

I'm familiar with the Salvation Army clothes banks. They're all over the place here. They are always without exception overflowing, with loads of clothes falling out and ending up on the pavement, with bags next to them getting rained on and ruined.

And not that it particularly matters, but I'm Jewish and prefer not to donate to evangelical Christian charities if I can avoid it.

I clicked on your link because it sounded like a good alternative option. All you had to do in your post was say - if you live within 10 miles of leeds/sheffield you could use this very local charity.

But instead you made it sound like everyone else apart from you was a scumbag who was only pretending to want to donate clothes to charity for the benefit of people who can't afford them.

Like I said, I already do lots of fundraising for several local charities and volunteer at a weekly drop in for refugees as well as events at my local hospice. I think it is completely ridiculous to suggest that everyone has the time and resources to run a clothes bank on top of work and family etc. and to say that those who don't are 'keyboard warriors'. Stupid comment.

So - you want charity shops to do something they are not set up to do.

You complain about the people who ARE doing what you want, because they are not the right faith to suit you... maybe encourage your synagogue to set something up so you have something local, convenient and meeting your criteria?

And yet we all have time to be on here...

My synagogue runs the refugee drop-in that I mentioned earlier, where I volunteer. That is where I currently donate most of our clothes, but they don't always need all types of clothes. They only require certain categories of clothes at different times.

Unlike you, I understand that my synagogue's refugee drop in service isn't going to be any use for 99% of the people on this thread.

I haven't complained about anything on this thread except for your misrepresentation of your local charity, and your sneering insults towards other posters.

Yes - I shouldn't be. I am procrastinating and getting distracted from work. I don't think 5 minutes of posting shit on a website in between work tasks is quite the same as setting up and running a charity, do you?

I suppose, on the off chance that there is someone local who would like to get involved, I should post the link:

nnlsdropin.org.uk/

www.mynnls.org.uk/refugees

Just as charity shops can't be all things to all people, perhaps?

You really can't possibly admit that you're wrong about anything, can you? I haven't complained ONCE about charity shops or what they do. Perhaps you have confused me with another poster.

You suggest I should ask my synagogue to set up a clothes bank and I show you links to the (far more comprehensive and extensive) service they provide to refugees, which I volunteer at.

Perhaps you could acknowledge that. Not going to happen, is it?

I've been thinking this for a while! I understand that charity shpps have rising costs that they need to factor in, however some of the clothes are becoming as expensive as "regular" clothes. I'm not going to buy a £6 - £8 t-shirt in a charity shop when I can buy them for £3.50 in Primark. As much as I'd prefer to be supporting charities (and do still donate monthly), at a time when costs are rising for everyone and we are all trying to save money, I can't really justify it anymore. I needed a new pair of work shoes so went into my local charity shop the other day and there wasn't a pair less than £11 which I couldn't justify spending, especially as the shoes were all worn and second hand. I ended up finding some in the sale section of another retail shop for £7.

This thread is full of people complaining that charity shops do not provide cheap clothes for local people who are struggling with the cost of living.

My response has been to suggest that they do something to make cheap/free clothing available in their local area, and I provided a link to a group who has done just that, and that wants to see their idea spread across the UK.

As you pointed out this is a local service for local people, I have also provided a link to a national organisation that delivers much the same service, from a faith-based persepctive.

You seem to take this very personally!

Mind you, those complaining about that charity shops should be providing cheap clothes for local people would probably complain about your synagogue giving them to refugees and asylum seekers, on the grounds they aren't 'properly' local 😂

My local charity shop is only for the rich. I looked over the weekend. Shirts 15-25£, skirts 14£. I think all the prices should be under a fiver.

I think all the prices should be under a fiver.

And why do you think that?

Because it would suit you to have cheaper clothes?

I'm sorry, but they haven't been set up to benefit you, they have been set up to make profits that then fund the charity.

Does the expensive second hand clothing get bought though?

If you go once a week to the charity shop do you expect to find new merchandise there every week or will all of last week's offerings still be sitting there?

In the shop where I volunteer we put out new stock on a daily basis and we are one of the more expensive shops.

I'm familiar with the Salvation Army clothes banks. They're all over the place here. They are always without exception overflowing, with loads of clothes falling out and ending up on the pavement, with bags next to them getting rained on and ruined.

YY to the disorganisation of Salvation Army shops.
There used to be one locally and it
Smelled/ airless
Racks were jam packed.
Was a mess - clothing separated by Men's/Women's and after that - nothing.
Pricing was random, if you could stick your hand deep enough into the jammed racks to find a price tag or dislodge an item you were interested in looking at.
Donations were accepted in the form of stuff left in bags outside, with very limited hours where you could be sure your stuff got taken inside.

Local Goodwill otoh is clean, well organised into all sorts of categories, with fixed pricing model. They have fitting rooms and long donation hours where you pull up in your car and they take the stuff out of the boot for you if you want contactless donation, or you can load it into a big bin and they wheel it inside.

That depends on so many factors other than price. Some items have more mass appeal than others - the number of people who would consider buying a pair of plain black trousers is a lot higher than those who want a luminous orange rara skirt. A size 12 or 14 is going to sell more quickly than a 6 or 24 because there are more people of that size. Something very out of fashion (like the endless cold shoulder tops we see) is not going to sell however cheap we price it.

Most shops have some sort of code system for tracking when things are put out for sale to allow staff/volunteers to quicky identify things which have been out for ages. In our shop, these are bagged/boxed up and sent on either for rags, or to another shop. Or if it was a very expensive item which we put out at a premium, we try it at 50% off for another week before sending it somewhere else/

For those asking about Clothes Banks, versus Salvation Army, here's an idea.

My DCs secondary school has, rather cleverly, set up a "community wardrobe".

We all received an email in the school notices on Friday.

Basically, you can email the school via one of their SEN coordinators, explain what size clothing you need, be that specific items of school uniform or even stuff for parents like warm coats, shoes and just general clothing. There is stuff for teens and younger children too. They will have a package ready for you to collect, discreetly, from the school shop. No questions asked, no forms, and you may give a donation, but only if you can afford it.

I'm very proud that the school has recognised that locally, a formerly pretty well off area has a huge amount of people now struggling for the first or possibly second winter in a row, post Covid and cost of living. Many people lost their income and rents here are extortionate.

They've asked if anyone has good condition clothes to donate, to do so. They've also said that the Rags2Riches collection they have taken part in for a few years now will change and the school will check what's been handed in, and take out anything worth saving, meaning only actual rags will be recycled for money for the school fund.

So perhaps suggest this or variations of at school?

An excellent idea 😀