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 too have donated alot of my things to a charity shop in my town and when i have gone in there - they have really overpriced the item - i was surprised at the price.

Yes, I’ve donated clothes to my local charity from Shein that I bought for 5 pounds and have seen them later hanging in the store for 12. Seriously, it’s getting out of hand.

I just use Vinted now. Charity shops near me have an unwelcoming atmosphere, you are made to feel like they are doing you a favour allowing you inside, and the goods are generally overpriced. For example I recently saw a Fatface dress that cost £45 ISH new, being sold for £30 and it was faded. It's a shame, but I guess they are making money for the charity (and the CEOs), I've no idea how the actually manage to sell anything, and they usually have a sign up saying they can't take more donations at this time. They'd probably clear more money if they priced things realistically.

That is a bargain for a decent sofa though. We got an incredible 3 seater with matching armchair for around £260 4 yrs ago, VERY high quality and comfy...

Argos furniture for me has always been tat and falls apart very quickly.

I live about 1 mile from Brixton, OK it’s in London, but the Charity Shop near me is ridiculously overpriced, used bottle of perfume £40, a jacket that they said has a stain on back that might come out with cleaning £300, a pair of Sorry ugly designer trousers £1000, who go into a charity shop to spend that kind of money.

Sorry ugly designer trousers £1000, who go into a charity shop to spend that kind of money.

Nobody - which is why they are for sale online?

I actually think the furniture is really well priced. You generally get better quality than you would get from the likes of Argos and it's already made.

Some charity shops are ridiculously priced.
I realise it’s for charity but!!!!

The pricing does seem a bit delusional sometimes when a pile it high and sell it cheap strategy might work better in many cases.

I got 2 sofas, one Armchair and a matching footstool all leather for £100 many years ago. I think £100 is a Total steal. I said to dh at the time even if I fell apart after a few years it still would be way cheaper than buying new. It still look immaculate.

Yes love a good bargain, but they would be charging so much more in this Oxfam shop, who would buy used, open perfume for £40: when new it would be £46…

At some places it is actually to the extent that it puts me off the organisation. Fair enough charging what something’s worth (ie not undercharging) but some places are operating in a parallel universe. It comes off as grabby and, I mean, they’re ripping people off. Why are you trying to charge me £10 for a £4 primark top?

’Fuck Sue Ryder!’

is a common refrain in our house.

Apologies if I am repeating something already posted, but I am not reading 26 pages on this.....one word: re-sellers!

I used to be real denizen of charity shops but for a variety of reasons no longer have the urge to do so. I have donated loads to them in the past and hope to continue to do so, but a couple of things strike me.

a) some people use the shops as a dumping ground for stuff they can't take to the tip. I'm thinking electrical goods, clothes that are ripped and damaged. Despite copious signs outside that they can't take the former and can't accept stuff dumped in a black plastic bags outside the shops after hours, hundreds of people still do, and the shop then has to pay the council or a contractor to get rid of the items at cost, reducing the income for the charity. When confronted, these people are awful - "You should be grateful I've made a donation" etc etc

b) people moaning that some charity shops and charities in general have staff (gasp) that are PAID. What fresh hell is this ? People being paid to work instead of volunteering?

Ultimately, the market will decide whether or not a price is fair or realistic. I've certainly noticed a huge divergence in sales prices say, for books in Cambridge at Oxfam and the same shop Huntingdon, despite them being a short distance apart, which has something to do with the clientele and the type of books on sale. I often see stiff marked down in price when it fails to sell at the unrealistic price originally marked.

@riceuten I agree with everything you’ve said. I’m a charity shop volunteer, and the rubbish that is ‘donated’ takes some getting used to! Domestic bins are emptied free of charge (council tax) but private premises have to pay to dispose of all the broken and damaged goods so kindly donated. Old, torn clothes and other fabrics are sold by weight, they’re OK.

Greasy, dirty kitchen utensils, burnt pans and odd chipped bits of crockery? Who buys those? Shoes with the soles hanging off, odd shoes, ancient very worn shoes? Who buys those? Broken toys, jigsaws with pieces missing?

Of course there are paid staff, our charity might raise a few ££ if it was run by people like me, but because of the professional infrastructure we make ££ millions to spend on research and treatments. We try and price according to guidelines, but we know our locality, and keep prices as low as we can. We send some valuable donations to Ebay, our aim being to get the best price. We often reduce items, to provide space for new stock. If we seriously overpriced, we wouldn’t sell, but the odd error of judgement can happen, as unlike normal retail every item for sale has to be priced individually.

Agree with everything above. I volunteer in a small local independent charity shop. We are not overpriced. The worst case is people who come in saying my mum / dad has died & im clearing their house as they tend to literally dump everything in bags & bring it in. Dirty crockery, chipped, broken ornaments, toys that have had batteries left in & have leaked - all of which we have to pay to have taken away. We have ONE paid staff member

Oxfam are very expensive but I boycott them now anyway because of their horrible cartoon of jk rowling
I am a very recent vinted convert and the prices are much more reasonable
Obviously this is not going to charity but I donate monthly direct debits to my two preferred charities already and support three local charities with stuff I donate on regular sort outs so feel I am still doing my bit

Yes that is disrespectful

I used to love going charity shopping with a friend but have to agree with you, their prices are ridiculous sometimes. Cancer Research is the most expensive. Also I never set foot in an Oxfam shop anymore. The best one near me is a church thrift shop.
I have asked various managers why they have signs up for save the planet and climate control yet leave the door open and the heater above blasting away in cold weather. Company policy apparently.

CRUK near me is great. I don't think I've seen anything over £5 there. Got some real finds there.

Do please note some of the "chipped" crockery might be 100+ years old, and some even older. Great survivors and carries some value. But yes mostly agree with many comments here on over-pricing of clearly modern stuff.

Remember they pay rates, and very high shop rentals in many areas as well as at least one paid member is staff.If prices were too high people wouldn’t buy and their takings would be down. They are a business the same as others on High Streets.

Had someone complain recently that things in our charity shop are 'too expensive'.

We had a Ralph Lauren shirt (not a polo shirt, but full sleeve, 100% cotton) donated, brand new, which we priced at £25, and a dress from White Stuff which we priced at £9.
We check online for anything branded to see the average price on ebay/vinted, etc. and price below that.
Any Primark stuff is priced accordingly.
Guy yesterday was arguing about the price of a piece of vintage silverware that we'd had valued by our auctioneer contact.

We have a paid manager, everyone else is a volunteer. We spend ages checking prices for items, place excessively valuable items online where people can purchase (or not). We review prices if things haven't sold within 4 weeks, and adjust them.

Tbh your prices sound ok. I'd pay up to a tenner for a white stuff/ boden/ east dress in very good condition. It always seems to be tired supermarket/ next/ primark where I am and that £8 price tag overly optimistic. I wouldn't pay a premium for new with tags as I'm happy enough to buy a lightly worn version for c. £10 but everyone is different.

I've paid £25 for a designer item that I had been on the lookout for, about £13 for a pair of shoes that were beautiful and have by now been worn hundreds of times, £13 for a seasalt dress that was as good as new etc. Compared with their retail price (currently similar items would be £155, £99, £56), the prices were good, although by my charity shopping standards they were expensive.