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?

Our local Mind is priced really well as are a few more in town but BHF and some others I avoid completely as massively overpriced. I don't think they should necessarily sell things cheap as its there to make a profit I just don't understand why they sell things at only a pound under the new price as I doubt they will sell much.

No, I just get crossed that they abuse the generosity of local people and volunteers. So I donate to those charity shops that sell cheap to local people in need (like the RSPCA shops and the food banks as, as much as I want to care more, what happens in Sudan it’s out of my radar when there is so many people cold and hungry around me.

Buy yourself a Christmas goat 👍

I was once in an Oxfam where they sorted through donations and handed back any they didn’t like to the donor. Although I didn’t get anything handed back, it put me off.

It is the same in most charity shops were I live, you get there with the car full and start trying to convince them that it is worth it to take the stuff you have with you.

In a way, I don’t blame them as many people donate stuff that is not fit for further use (stained and hairy ages old dog bed, broken toys and crockery, clothes that are dirty or only fit for the bin). What angers me is when they sell old damaged second hand stuff for as much money as if it was new.

My pet hate is when you see them selling second hand Primark or supermarket clothes more expensive than what they cost new.

I completely agree with you GetThatHelmetOn

We are lucky hereabouts re charity shops inspecting donations pre acceptance. There are a few rules and regs to be aware of though. Leather childrens shoes are a no no. Socks and undies likewise and cycle helmets

This happened to me in Oxfam too....I have never set foot, nor donated to them again.

Spend an afternoon in a charity shop sorting donations and you too will understand why some shops choose to inspect before they accept. Do people really think we can sell a 40 year old M&S suit where the lining is so old it is stained a yellow tobacco colour?
sorting through this type of donation takes time. Probably why I don’t have time to count jigsaw pieces…
on a serious note we refund all jigsaws which are not complete, but surely the onus is on the donor to check before they donate？

It's interesting how many people have had negative experiences of Oxfam.

I won't go to our local ones. The ones near me think they're vintage boutiques with much higher prices on everything from clothing to books. They're still in business so their strategy must be working, but their target audience is more students/young adults who have higher disposable incomes and probably sit around discussing their thrifting finds.

Other charity shops in the same town have much fairer prices with a nice mix of stock for all ages and a nice range of clothing stock. I tend to go to those ones instead.

@mastertomsmum why no leather children's shoes?

One charity shop by me sells used car seats and the like. They very much make it clear it's buyer beware but I wouldn't feel comfortable selling safety gear I have no idea of the history of.

How very dare they not be pathetically grateful for whatever you chose to give eh?

I check what they take and give accordingly. Never had anything that's got as far as the shop turned down but equally I don't get enraged when they don't want my old dvds.

Totally depends on the area. I always found the ones in London/other big cities or ‘posh’ areas expensive.

The ones near my parents are brilliant. Winter costs for £2/3 , branded jeans £1.50 etc. Kids clothes 3 items for £1.
They get a lot of donations and want things shifted, so prices are low & realistic.

Slightly off point but I would love to volunteer to build jigsaws all day to check all the pieces were there!

Also OT but why can't they show stuff by size? Yes, it looks lovely when done by colour but what a pain looking through 20 green tops only to discover there are none your size anyway so you have to traipse over to the blue rail...

Cancer research today - worn Hobbs denim shirt £12 and a dated body con dress at a similar price, too expensive

yes @Usingthisone
for goodness sake,
please sort by size
not colour
why on earth do they do this,

Just bought myself an M&S shirt for £4z DH got a Fred Perry shirt for £5 so yes a slight discrepancy there.

Charity shops do pay rates. OK, they get an 80% reduction, but they still pay rates. And rent at full whack, no discount on electricity, gas, other expenses.

Of course they are run like businesses. How else would you expect them to be run?

Charities do not pay "good wages". A department manager at somewhere like Primark works in a large store with a whole management team and structure around them. A charity shop manager works on their own, as the only paid member of staff, responsible for everything from Health and Safety to banking the cash and being the person who gets out of bed at 4am when the alarm is going off. The salaries for the two roles are broadly similar. Shop manager vacancy currently being advertised near me in the chain where I volunteer - £20,252. 36 hours a week. And I'd imagine the bloke/woman in charge of Primark is on an awful lot more than the CEO of a charity.

Charity shops aim to raise money to fund the work of the charity they belong to. I don't understand why people don't realise that. I've volunteered for three and I can tell you prices are set to sell. Most of the stuff in the shops where I've volunteered was more or less new and on sale at a fraction of the original price.

Course she doesn't.

And the line about "very little going to the cause" or lavish dinners while 1% of takings going to good causes - that's patently bollocks. Anyone who is interested in the finances of ANY registered charity can go to the charity commission website and look at their accounts. That's true whether it's a massive charity like RNLI or Cancer Research, or a small local charity.

But the people who are very anti-charity never bother to do any of that, they just repeat tropes and things they only half-remember, apparently from That's Life, circa 1984. 🙄

I totally agree and on another note, it really annoys me that they have the heating belting out over the door which ‘has’ to remain open! I have challenged so many on this during the heating crisis.

I volunteer in Oxfam and we have a big long list of things we can't sell (by law) and won't sell (because of policy). That list includes things like car seats, bike/riding helmets, car seats, lifejackets, buoyancy aids. "Buyer beware" is not applicable to goods bought from a retailer, even a charity retailer, which have to by law be fit for purpose. If we flog you a lifejacket, it doesn't work, and your child dies, we'd be negligent as a shop.

We also have a policy of not selling fur items, and it's illegal to sell anything counterfeit. We can't sell ivory, extremist material, anything racist or homophobic, toys which are not CE marked - the list goes on and on.

The Goodwill chain in the US does uniform (low) pricing and has huge turnover of merchandise. My local store is always heaving. People leave with trolleyfuls of clothes, lamps, jigsaws, books, CDs, LPs, shoes, bags, framed art, seasonal tat, etc.

BHF the other day, mans shirt £11 or one near enough the same in Primark £10

I agree, I often find something when they display clothes by size. But if it's a free for all, by colours or not, I don't bother. I don't like rummaging.

If they wash and steam things, why do some shops smell?

As for prices, I got a Dartington tumbler in one for £2.50 the other day. They cost a lot more than that new!

The reason given was that ‘leather shoes mould to the shape of the child’s foot’ but - get this - they only apply to childrens leather shoes not adults. Je ne comprent pas!