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?

This recently happened to me when I donated a very good quality household item.
Later, I went back to tell the manager, only because their donations would stop if this person was allowed to continue being rude and offensive.

Of course a volunteer shouldn't be rude to someone donating but you would be surprised at the amount of absolute rubbish we get donated and sometimes just because you think something is 'nice and clean' doesn't mean that it is or that a particular household item will sell. In our small shop there are many times when there is physically just nowhere to put donations... and that is a real trip hazard. I do (politely I hope) have to turn items away and I try to direct them to another charity shop which I know is accepting donations but people sometimes get huffy with me. And people often have no idea what would sell .. our shop is tiny, someone was trying to make me accept a bed the other day and another person dumped a huge 'cat climbing tree' on our doorstep... we are not a cat charity.

This thread has now been going on for six weeks and the discussions arguments are going full circle .

I just can't be arsed with vinted. It seems like such a faff

Posting it all off, uploading photos. It's time consuming

I give my stuff to charity

I also give my stuff to charity, I couldn't be bothered with selling on Vinted or eBay or anywhere like that

Same here.
I like Age UK. Would never give to BHF.
I also bear grudges against shops who rudely refuse goods.

I used to buy from charity shops and donate a lot. But yes, I have become a bit fed up with the rip off prices.

Instead of charity shops or selling, I now donate clothes/nappies/toys etc to local charities with warehouses who actually give out the stuff to families in poverty. That way I know what’s actually being done with the stuff, rather than the money made if I were to donate to a charity shop.

I’ve just finished yet another jigsaw, bought from a charity shop, thats incomplete. No charity shop has enough staff to check every thousand piece puzzle is intact! Who is donating them, and why?

I used to give tons of (high quality) things to charity.

I have been refused too many times now at different stores and sorry to say the tone of staff has been rude. They’re annoyed at having to deal with a donation and make it known. This isn’t just once at one store, it’s multiple times. I’m a volunteer in another respect so understand they’re not paid but don’t do it if you don’t want to.

So something is wrong. Either they’re getting too many donations (is this bad?), or aren’t shifting stock quickly enough.

I now sell very selected items on Vinted because it’s super easy. I don’t especially need the money but in an attempt to reduce my wardrobe environmentally if I sell then I can buy. The rest I put in those plastic bags through the door that are collected. They tend to be more air ambulance or children’s hospitals that don’t have shops in my area and at least I’m not wasting a trip to be refused.

i suspect they are donated by people who don’t want to put them in the recycling bin tbh

Charity shops have done that themselves by hiking their prices even for bobbled and washed out Primark stuff as if they were boutiques. I've not set a foot in any of my local charity shops for months.

IsThat the charity shop I manage is very small and I do have to be selective (politely) about what I can accept ... it's not a matter of increasing turnover by reducing prices ... if I am given rubbish - broken toys, a used disposable BBQ (yes really, that gem came in this week) and the ubiquitous Primark bobbled tops no one wants them even if I put them out for free. So I have a back room full of rubbish waiting for our once weekly collection of 'recycling'. I frequently end up taking stuff home to my own dustbin to get rid of. This creates a viscous circle as I then have to turn away other donations (due to lack of space) which may be quality items.

I don't know what the answer is but really wish people would be more considerate about what they donate to charity shops ... no one wants your children's old socks, hair bobbles, faded school uniform, incomplete jigsaws etc etc. Everyone likes to think they are doing their bit by 'recycling' but really they are just avoiding putting things in their own bin or going to the tip ....

I don’t understand that. Its incomplete and is now in my recycling bin. I wouldn’t want someone else to spend money on it. Its like buying a book and finding the last few pages missing.

@Ragwort I couldn’t agree more! I’m a volunteer, just off to do a shift, no doubt sorting through unsaleable items and binning them will take up a good part of it.

Same

Kindle £0.99 books are my go to now; I check the best seller lists weekly to buy those that interest me.

And there are a lot of 'free' book exchanges in a lot of places now, including our local villages. Old telephone booths are shelved and full of books to swap, and a lot of local cafes/pubs have similar shelves. So paying several pounds for a used book isn't appealing unless it's a book I really wanted to read and couldn't source elsewhere ... that would likely be a new best seller that the library would have.

no one wants your children's old socks, hair bobbles, faded school uniform, incomplete jigsaws etc etc. Everyone likes to think they are doing their bit by 'recycling' but really they are just avoiding putting things in their own bin or going to the tip

Based on your post you are one of the rude people as you’re assuming I’m doing the above. I frequently go to the tip and know the difference between tat and what will resell - since I do in fact resell on Vinted as I’ve just described.

I don’t think charity shop work is for you.

I still love a charity shop, half the fun is you never know what you will find. Currently wearing a tee and trainers which were both charity shop finds.

I do tend to pop old clothes on Vinted, but other stuff like kids toys etc go to the charity shop because they are too much of a faff to post. I think there's room for both.

I don't know what the answer is but really wish people would be more considerate about what they donate to charity shops ... no one wants your children's old socks, hair bobbles, faded school uniform, incomplete jigsaws etc etc.

Not buying poor quality clothing or fast fashion in the first place would help, buying a size up for children if need be but to last, or good quality second hand clothing. It starts when this rubbish is first purchased new in my opinion.

I don’t recognise these charity shops people are moaning about.

I have 8 within walking distance. In recent months I have got branded jeans for under a tenner, several pairs of linen trousers under a fiver each, some great tops in the £4-£8 range and a linen jacket for £6.

It's fairly clear that @Ragwort was using the generic "you" when talking about the crappy donations which are handed in rather than specifically referring to you, @IsThatHuw . 🙄

And she's not wrong! Anyone who volunteers in a charity shop will know that around a half to two-thirds of donations are unsellable. Broken mugs, games with bits missing, ripped books, clothes worn/stretched to pieces. It would make everyone's life so much easier if every donor stopped to ask themselves whether they would be happy to hand the bag of donations to a friend or relative, or buy similar themselves. If you wouldn't buy a stretched, stained shirt, why would you think others would?

Charity shops are there to make money for their chosen cause. They are not an extension of the local tip.

I wonder if charity shops ought to change their model?

If they offered to buy stock then they could insist on quality control eg "we'll give you 50p for a jigsaw if you can provide a photo of the completed picture with all 1,000 pieces". Or, "sorry, we have a full rail of size 12 jumpers already".

Because it is an exchange for value then people would no longer feel enabled to offload tat. The charity would no longer be 'obliged' to take stock that they have no room for.

Obviously, the charity wouldn't pay Vinted/ebay prices but the 'donator' wouldn't have the effort nor cost of listing and shipping either.

The shop could even 'pay' in vouchers rather than real money.

To add, those chipped mugs, incomplete puzzles etc can't be sent to the rag man. They have to go in the bin. Which cost around £120 a year each to be emptied.

That's about 750 50p paperback book sales every year just to cover the cost of bins that are only needed so that we can dispose of chipped mugs.

And that's one small standalone shop.

I personally donate to charity as it is time consuming to list on Vinted and it’s easier and I like to support the charities I donate to.
I just had the letters re gift aid the other day and one of the shops I donate to made over £500 from my items this year - all items I no longer used or needed.
I love mooching in charity shops, and have bought various items over the years - I buy all my cards and gift wrapping from there too.
I am happy the charity can make some money from my items.

This

addition to my post - I am happy the charity can make some money from my items, however they sell it. Via online or in one of their shops.
tbh I would rather my stuff goes to people who will wear it not people who want to snap a bargain and sell it on, but that’s out of my hands once it’s donated.

Our charity shops are doing fine. They're one of the few tyoes of shop in our high street which are. In fact a new one has just opened...