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?

My daughter prefers to shop in charity shops rather than fast fashion, and it makes her wages go further (she is low paid). She has definitely discerned that proves are going up and she is now switching to car boot sales

I agree that the model needs reworking. Fast fashion just fills the (overly-numerous) charity shops with crap that must be hard to sell.

My nearest charity shop is an independent one. They have a permanent “No Donations” sign outside. I weakly tried to donate a bag of (good) stuff but was told imperiously that they had to sell all their existing stock first. That same stock has been there for about three years now!

Isn't it amazing that everytime someone comes up with a good idea eg "sell books cheap to keep them moving" someone else says "yeah but".

It's almost as if those of us with a lengthy volunteering CV in charity shops know what we're talking about! We understand the barriers to, for example, selling everything cheaply. We have also been three long enough to have worked out what increases revenue, and what doesn't. And it's all about total revenue / profit. Not volume.

Different things work for different shops, in different locations.

Why not volunteer in a local store? You can then see what issues that particular store faces and offer some solutions. As pp has mentioned not all shops face the same challenges.
I have just finished my afternoon shift, sold plenty of books at £2, nobody quibbled about the price so why would I reduce it? The only problem I have is keeping the shelves full.

I don't know why I keep commenting on this thread but I just want to reiterate that price is not the sole factor on why stock doesn't move ... I was at a 'Freecycle' type event at the weekend .. everything was free, no questions asked, take as much as you want ... and guess what? Stuff still didn't go .. it doesn't matter if stuff is 'free' .. if people don't want it .. they don't want it. I ended up taking all the 'free' stock back to my charity shop (no one else wanted it) and selling it .

I suppose eBay et al have done for a lot of donations. I sell my “very good” stuff, and donate supermarket etc clothes. Then charity shops in turn look up the eBay prices and price accordingly and sell good things online. Leaving, unfortunately, a sea of bobbly Primark and Sophie Kinsella books.

There are some exceptions - some bookshops and shops in affluent areas - but I live in an “ordinary” place and I can tell you the stock is crap.

@Ragwort Sorry, I might have misunderstood what you are saying, but if the free stuff didn't go at the "Freecycle type event" because "people don't want it", how did you manage to get people to want it and spend money on it because it was in your charity shop?

Thrifty I guess because different people have different tastes .. maybe the people at the Freecycle event didn't like the stuff that was being offered ? If you think about it .. if you go into a charity shop (or any shop I suppose for that matter) and you were told you could have whatever you wanted for free .. would you genuinely just take things or would you look to see if there was anything you actually wanted?
I guess my point is that people on this thread keep saying if the price is low enough stock will be cleared and turnover will be higher ... but not if people don't want it in the first place. Clumsily worded, but I strongly believe - (& I have years of experience in retail, both charity and mainstream) pricing is not the major factor in what makes a charity shop successful.

I've jut had a major moth infestation which I think came from a charity shop buy. Lost two really nice wool items which now have huge holes in them :(

I've noticed this too. I used to love a good root round the charity shops, but have definitely found their prices too high. Also have seen Primark t-shirts costing more than new. The exception, in terms of getting good value, is if you make sure to visit charity shops in really affluent areas. If designer stuff is your thing, it's often possible to get really good quality second hand. Trouble is, I can't really afford those items either.

Mmm Barnardos selling a baby's sleeping bag for £10 and a newborn one for £8. Girls dresses for £10+. I do think these prices are disgustingly greedy, grabby is not the word. They were bog standard labels too. Not sure how they live with themselves.

Wow. The world has gone mad when charities are described as grabby.

If they manage to sell it for that price great. If not, they’ll reduce. I really don’t blame them for trying to maximise the profit they want to give back to disadvantaged children.

I buy most of my books in charity shops. It’s great to be able to buy a hardback in decent condition for a couple of quid.

So I posted this up thread nearly 2 months ago. I happened to be looking on eBay this morning and this handbag still hasn’t sold. Surely they must have realised by now they aren’t gunna get a buyer at £45. It’s been on eBay 6 months,

What a breathtakingly naïve and clueless post.

There was an unbranded purse on eBay, rather shabby but the colour would have perfectly matched a bag I had - the seller wanted £30 for it. I stuck it on my watch list in case it was reduced - it is still there two years later😃

What’s naive and clueless about it?

I know…raising as much as they can for Barbados, instead of selling everything for £1 …how do they sleep at night?

Oops Barnados, not Barbados!

Love charities shops but some of them are selling some right tat.

Bag with child's name scribbled on front in sharpie

Doll with no head

Pot with fake plant taken out so it's just stones with a hole in the middle. Can't put another plant in!

Baby reins with nowhere to for parent to hold, just a harness

Bobbly and soiled tops and jumpers £6

Mug with chocolate smeared on...

There are some lovely ones but the prices are astronomical. Not for my demographic, I don't think!

all of this stuff is being flogged for £2+

Stuff people don't want for free (unless they missed the chocolate smears etc)

I saw a jumper the other day with what looked like a lump of dried-on porridge on the front. It was bobbled all over - £4.50 - not a deluxe brand either. It was fundamentally a nice jumper but it was handwash only and I couldn't face hand washing someone else's dried on food.

I don’t think those items should be for sale- a complete waste of shelf space.
we do get donations like at where I volunteer, but they go straight in the bin.

I worked in charity retail for a decade. Tell me which bit is naive.