Charity shops aren't doing themselves any favours

[Downatthefarm]

I can afford to buy new but prefer to buy second hand. I enjoy the experience of sifting through the varied clothes in the charity shops and finding things I wouldn't otherwise see on the high street at that time, and of course I like other thrifters love a good bargain.

Over the last 5 years charity shops have really gone downhill where I am. They price second / third hand clothes similarly to the original RRP, sometimes even more expensive.

They are stocking more and more brand new items, like Frenchic furniture paint, priced higher than it costs at places like Wilko's and B&Q.

I already know somebody will say "the shops purpose is to raise as much money for their charity as they can, not to cater to people who don't have much money" but hasn't being accessible to people with low incomes and being good value for money always been one of the most appealing aspects of them?

I still donate but do the vast majority of my own second hand buying on vinted now and I know lots of others are doing the same.

AIBU?

Agree there are monopoly issues here.

Both are problems.

But that would take common sense and it's sadly lacking.

The fact most people buy and return to the charity shop...win.win.

Those of you who genuinely believe that charity shops are 'full of stained Primark tops & over priced paperbacks' .. how do you account for the fact that charity shop revenue has increased year on year (stats were provided earlier in the thread).

It is clear that the majority of charity shops are thriving. I have just got home from an incredibly busy Saturday in the charity shop I manage, lots of happy customers delighted with their bargains... and my book sales are up 100% on the previous week! (Minimum price £2 ... more than one customer has said to me today that they like coming to my shop as they know we have a great selection of books that are very well presented).

Well exactly! There are obviously lots of people out there finding stuff they want to buy at prices they are prepared to pay. But what do we know, hey?

Any thrift shop in high cost of living areas in the US will typically have tons of great items and typically at great prices. Also check pawn shops in places like Vegas, Atlantic City, etc (casino cities) because people pawn amazing jewelry, watches, art, you name it… to gamble - really sad but great finds!

So staff and volunteers in charity shops have no sense…
no doubt the council would be overjoyed if we blocked the pavement with super cheap goods…
The issue with no taking any more donations is usually down to two factors: back room space and lack of volunteers to sort and rotate the stock. Perhaps some of the charity shop experts on here would like to volunteer and show us all how it should be done.

The no big risk to customers-uniform pricing model really works.

We were discussing books !
Why not sale them cheaper...more people buy,read and return the book to be resold.

in the shop I volunteer in we have customers who do exactly that: read and return. We price books at £2 to £3, more if it’s a just published hardback. A new paperback costs £10 therefore £2/3 for a vg condition paperback is a fair price. Sales are excellent and we always need more binational so why would I lower the price?

Donations, not ‘binational’

itsmylife - do you work in retail? You don't seem to understand the concept of what sells ... I know my customers, they don't buy chick lit or similar at 5 for £1 ... they want more interesting, unusual titles .. I've sold a lot of Classical Greek & Latin titles this week (yes really - a great donation I received from a Classics student). I don't need to sell them 'cheap' and I don't really want the same books re donated all the time .. my regular customers would recognise the same titles .. they want to see new books on my shelves.

Because you may sale a lot more books if they were slightly cheaper .

Yesterday’s bargains. Bnwt M&S jeggings, £5. As new condition Cath Kidston spotty bag, £7.50.

I've been coming to the conclusion that the paperbacks sold at the shop I have a link to are underpriced. All are offered at 50p.

Yet even at 50p, we don't sell a huge amount.

We try to refresh the titles frequently because, as @Ragwort says, customers want books they've not read before. Not the ones they donated last week. And we can't afford the floor space for too many of a category that doesn't shift quickly.

On the other hand, our location, donor and customer demographic puts us in the higher bracket when it comes to value of stock and the amount that customers are prepared to pay. We never put primark on the rails because it simply wouldn't sell. Whistles, oasis etc fly of the shelves.

So, a perfect example of low priced items not necessarily being the answer to increased £sales.

It's not about low priced items though, it's in comparison to RRP.
There's a bit of a trap here because people tend to donate in their nearest charity shops. Those nice brands are rare in lower income areas (in my experience). And even if you did display them they won't shift unless cheap.
The Primark etc that they DO get is priced to similar for what it can sell new.
Which nobody buys... why would they?

It's difficult to have a blanket 'all charity shops blah' but the best bargains I've found are in areas not full of charity shops (because erm the high street is basically dead. like my own town).

You don't though. We tried this - the good/popular books just sold for a lot less and the dross stayed on the shelves. Yes we sold more books but we made less money overall. Buy 2 get the third half price or 3 for 2 worked better.

@itsmylife7
not sure how to make this any clearer:
book sales are excellent and I always need more donations. The only way I would sell more books, would be if I had more books to sell.

They would need a license to put stuff outside in the same was cages have outdoor seating. Definitely not poor practice.

But what @Ragwort was saying was that she doesn't have a licence. The charity shops where I have volunteered don't have one either. Yes they could get one but it costs money and if you're making very little from what you're selling or giving away is it worth it?

Also displaying books etc outside means someone has to bring them in every time it rains.

I just saw this interesting post on LinkedIn - there is a lot of truth in it:

I think it's time for charity shops to revisit their model.

They're now perpetuating the system of over consumption and fast fashion.

When consumers donate their fast fashion items to charity stores they're absolving themselves of responsibility.

They're cleaning out their wardrobes, affording the space to buy new.

And at the same time they feel good about their actions.

They are placing their burden on sorters from this point onwards, and I can tell you from experience that this is mentally challenging.

Selling books cheaper does work for some stores though. A local(ish) charity shop used to be ridiculously expensive for most books, more so than dedicated Oxfam bookstores and the same books sat on the shelves for 6+ months. Now they sell books 5 for a pound and they're constantly having to put new stock out. I'm not saying that stores have to go quite that low, though I'm not complaining but it definitely works for some. Every store and their clientele is unique though so it definitely won't work for all of them.

Now they sell books 5 for a pound and they're constantly having to put new stock out.

Which again relies on having enough books to replenish, and enough volunteers to do it.

Yes, hence why I said that it won't work for every store and every store's clientele.

Outside? You mean…where the rain is..?