To think Vinted has killed charity shops?

[Finlesswonder]

I'm sure in posh towns or areas they are still alive and well but I went into 3 or 4 in my city yesterday and they were completely barren, I guess because people are now thinking why give their unwanted stuff to a charity when they could make a few bob?
It's a bit sad I used to love a mooch around a charity shop but these were seriously slim pickings! Anyone volunteer in one and know if that's true or did I just get unlucky with the day?

First off, charity shops get a bashing because they are not what they used to be.

Second off, other retailers get a bashing because they are not what they used to be, either!

You used to be able to get some decent stuff at chazza, at reasonable prices. Other retailers' quality has gone down (synthetic materials, but the price stays at natural materials level), this inferior stock feeds through to the chazza who then charge over the odds. It's a double whammy.

Forgetmenott we have a similar charity shop in our village. It’s wonderful that people have the opportunity to donate, recycle and show care for the planet and each other.
The donations are all good quality, reasonably priced and it is the go to place for a special occasion outfit that will probably be worn once. ( Then donated back).

I once found an amazing skirt in a charity shop but it was pricey at £7, I even left it couple of times. I eventually asked if they’d sell it for £5, they told me sorry no, the same skirt is selling for that amount and more on eBay.
Fair enough but I was surprised that they’d rather keep hanging on to it for £2 rather than get a sale there and then, surely they’d lose more than that in ebay fees unless charities are exempt from them.

They have to factor in postage and fees so that’s a non starter.

I remember in one charity shop - can't remember which one, seeing a Primark top, with it's original tag still on, being sold for more. I pointed it out to staff but they couldn't have cared less

To be fair, they get told what to do by head office. Just like any retail staff. And they're not being paid for the hassle.

Yes, same for me. I donate to the charities I want to donate to (which don't have shops anyway) and donate items to clothing banks because I want to get rid of those clothes but don't want them to go to waste (if they are still decent by the time I've finished with them).

I get Seasalt clothes on ebay. But I see they now have their own outlet here: https://www.seasaltcornwall.com/reskinned

But it’s bashing the volunteers and staff which is so tiresome. Read through this thread and we are accused of being a bit thick, clueless about pricing and taking all the good stuff for free.

Exactly.
prices have increased, rents have gone up and utilities have gone up.
if we don’t increase our prices, we don’t raise as much money which is the purpose of the shop.

It's not the fault of the volunteers as individuals or the shops it's that the rest of the world has changed. People aren't going to pay inflated prices for what they see as tat out of sympathy for a charity. They are just going to donate in another way if they want to.

But not all prices are inflated. I’ve never seen the mythical bobbly Primark T-shirt priced higher than a new product or the £25 per una top.
Shops which are not meeting their targets (and overpriced goods will not sell) will be closed.
Prices have gone up: i price books at £2/£2.50, but a new paperback is £10. The shop I volunteer in is opposite WH Smith and when we have new hardbacks donated eg Spare, I will check their price and price our donated copy accordingly. I am not going to sell ‘spare’ for £2 when I know I can get £6 for it- pristine condition and it sold the same day.

If it was that amazing, I'd pay an extra £2 for it, especially if it meant I could walk away with it there and then.

But not all prices are inflated. I’ve never seen the mythical bobbly Primark T-shirt priced higher than a new product or the £25 per una top.

No neither have I @ShanghaiDiva . But what do I know, I'm only in a shop pricing goods 4 hours a week, for the last 9 years.

I get that you feel criticised but, OTOH, I don't think that I have ever heard charity-shop-staff respond with "you have a point there". I get fed up with the MN term of "bashing". It's not bashing to raise valid points. Nobody and no profession is beyond criticism.

However, we should all try to avoid the dreaded generalising. I agree with the complaints about some of the big chains (I don't ever bother to even cross BHF's threshold, for example) but there are a few in my town who are good. They charge reasonable prices and never do the "stockroom full" routine. I buy from them and I donate to them. As has been made clear to us, this is a commercial business: I don't donate to shops whose staff piss me off, no matter how worthy their cause.

Shame on you for haggling in a charity shop....
Do you haggle in Tescos, or Lidl.....?

Totally agree with this!

I'm not sure why so dismissive though, unless you're claiming to volunteer in every charity shop in the country.

Who is collecting these bags that they put through your letter box? It is a registered charity? Or just a company?

As the particular request for handbags rang a bit of an alarm here. There are places (companies) that get in donations and they resell these items in bales to poorer countries. Ie one that I live in. There are bales of everything you can imagine available...but for a price. They aren't being donated, only sold.

What happens , person here will buy a handbag bale, trainer bale, dresses bale etc and then it's opened up and literally piled up high, sometime on the corner of a street, but also sometimes into smaller shops. There is also a term for these 'shops', translated into English the place is called 'the bend down store' (as people are sifting through stuff which is in the ground ). People came along and sift through the piles and buy single items for really cheap prices. But no charity (afaik) has benefited here.

People are donating in good faith that it is always going to a good cause. It's not always the case. People here are making a lot of money bringing in and selling bales.

Go have a search on Tiktok, it's quite an eye opener.

So as I see the other side, if you want to donate to a cause, take it to that particular registered place. It's very possible that charity shops excess stock are also sold on like this, as I have seen items come in via these bales with heart foundation and a fair few other charity labels still on. In my mind, then at least the charity would benefit somewhat then, even if they only got rag value.

I don't get why people take things so personally either. A lot of people love charity shops as they are and lots don't for reasons they outline which are dismissed.

It’s one thing to criticise, but to suggest we are stealing the best items which are donated is frankly quite outrageous.
I am happy to listen to a customers’ perspective and sometimes we will reduce and item if we have had it out for 12 days or so. However, I am not going to reduce a brand new pair of Hotter shoes to £8 because a customer thinks that £20 is too expensive. Particularly when the shoes have only just been put out for display. And after failing to get a discount she bought the shoes!

Dismissive perhaps because it’s the same item quoted again and again: the Primark item being sold for higher than retail!

It’s one thing to criticise, but to suggest we are stealing the best items which are donated is frankly quite outrageous.
Just to say: I haven't personally made that allegation. But it quite often comes up, even saying "it's my mum / sister / BF / whoever" doing it. It is outrageous but do you truly believe that 100% of charity staff (or any demographic, for that matter) are squeaky clean? Of course not! It's not "bashing" the whole industry to say that it happens. A better response would be to say "that's outrageous but I know it can't happen in our charity because XYZ controls are in place".

I live in a poor area and there’s a stigma attached to charity shops. People here would rather buy new Primark/the market or order from the fast fashion companies. So if my local CSes started to charge heavily they wouldn’t do well. Many of them want to turn over their stock pretty quickly. So it’s in their interests to price reasonabll

Depending on the charity, tops are as low as 50p up to £5. I buy most of my clothes in CSes and Vinted.
I recently bought 3 tops for DD for £1

Yes, you are correct there needs to be balance. Sadly, comments which are positive about charity shop staff seem to be absent from this thread.

Why? It’s a second hand item that’s been previously worn, I donate loads to charity shops all the time but I was really struggling for money at the time and needed new clothes due to losing my baby weight plus some, there’s literally no harm in asking, they said no, I said ok and moved on.