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?

I completely agree op. Whilst i hear about fancy items being sold in charity shops in london, my local charity shops sell all manner of old fashioned or primark esq tat thats mostly fit for the bin, and then they have the gall to try and sell it all at quite lofty prices. I remember as a child going to the charity shops with pocket money and coming out with stacks of Enid Blyton books. Nowadays, its all 3 inch thick cook books and id be struggling to afford even one of them with pocket money.

I'm really lucky as people near me donate clothes that I like and the 5 charity shops price them decently. I have recently bought Seasalt, Fatface, White Stuff and Mantaray clothing (which I like and suit me) for waaaay less than they go for on Vinted. As new Seasalt tops and dresses for about £7-8, Fatface cardigan for £4, and my absolute favourite was a button through dress for £8, really unusual American brand that I wouldn't be surprised is the only one in the UK (BNWT with the price tag in US dollars).

Yet, at the beginning of the thread I mentioned my charity shop bingo card (where I included comments about volunteers being a bit think and stealing the best stuff) and you said that as the same comments come up time and time again, perhaps they are true…

@PurpleButterflyWings
72p in every £1 goes to research at BHF.
https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/annual-report#:~:text=Did%20you%20know%20that%2072p,to%20the%20British%20Heart%20Foundation.

I'm not slating the volunteers or people who work in charity shops? I'm talking about the pricing, influx of brand new items taking over etc.

Who do you think does the pricing? Pixies?

Yeah I do find rounding up to be a bit cheeky to be honest. I like being generous if it's not done under compulsion. The whole point of charity is it's not meant to be done under compulsion which is why I can't stand chugging or cold calling by charities. I get that the people doing this are just earning a living so it's not them I blame but the organisations themselves.

Our local TRAID store puts stuff out at quite high prices to start off with - eg eighteen quid for a Zara dress: I'd only pay their full prices if it happened to be exactly what I was looking for.

But if things don't sell fast they regularly have flat rate sales: a blackboard goes up saying "all coats a tenner, all dresses eight quid.." and so on. Then if after few days at those prices things still haven't sold they take two quid off all the prices, then another quid then another quid until it's all dirt cheap (and quite "quirky"/hideous). Then they clear out the shop and start again with a new batch of stock at really high prices.

It's the best of both worlds IMO: the charity attempts to sell its goods for the maximum price, but has a fall back position of getting a few quid and the punters getting a bargain. But it only works if you've got enough stock to resupply the shop at the end of the sale.

I've pretty much given up on charity shops as their prices are too high. If I need clothes, I go to a car boot where most things are 50p or a £1. I use the village hall book swap for books, and Freecycle and Trash Nothing for house/garden/animal items. Local Freecycle groups seem to have more clothes and shoes offered than I've ever seen before. I think the second hand market has changed in recent years with so many different outlets, including online, that unless charity shops price more keenly, then they will go the same way as many high street shops which is a shame. I certainly used to love shopping in them.

I was referring to the prices, things being priced as new or more than they are in the original shop.

Also yes to the bobbled primark jumpers, not the volunteers being stupid fgs.

I was under the impression that the store managers are given price guides from higher up, are they not?

Oh and on the "rails of BNWT last season's Zara" - large chains like Zara make corporate donations to the large charity shop chains. Either items with a very minor fault like a missing button or easily stitched split seam, or more likely, stuff ordered online and returned as not suitable. So 100% perfect.

The amount of internet returns is insane and when your business model is (like Zara) to have a constant churn of stock, by the time a customer returns an item, it may already be off the website and shelves. So it's donated. The last place I volunteered got about 75 boxes of Zara returns over the period of about 3 months. Basic start for pricing was a third of whatever was on the ticket assuming it was without a fault. So customers were getting brand new Zara winter coats for £20, a dress for £15. tops for about £8 to £12. And they flew off the rails at that price.

feeble attempt at back tracking…

I was under the impression that the store managers are given price guides from higher up, are they not?

Varies. Both places I have volunteered have a banding price guide so for example the starting point for a H&M/Primark top is £4, one from M&S/Zara is £6, Hobbs/Cos is £8. But after that it's discretion. A good team will know their market and will know what their customers will pay.

The shop I'm currently in has no paid staff at all - it's entirely volunteer led. There is a paid regional manager who is based in Preston and covers every shop from Manchester north. We as volunteers are very much left to get on with it.

i got a fab brand new Zara winter coat for £30.

😂

YANBU I don’t bother anymore. I stopped after seeing a pair of new kids trainers for £11 - they still had the Tu sales sticker on which read £8 🙄

I've spoken throughout the thread about being a carer and parent to a disabled child. I've made clear that I'm aware lots of charity shops employee volunteers just like my son. If you think, dispite that, that I of all people would make sweeping judgements that charity shop volunteers are "stupid" then I don't know what to tell you.

I won't be drawn in to your attempt to make me look like a shit person.

It may as well be pixies because the pricing in our charity shops is so bad there could be no other explanation. More/better training may be needed.

I was under the impression that the store managers are given price guides from higher up, are they not?

And - if you think this is the case, do you really really think that the people in the head office of a charity have a deliberate strategy to try to make money by selling items at more than they would cost new?

Is it not possible that head office may be out of touch because they do not buy their own clothes from Primark/H&M/Zara etc

As we're always reminded on here the charities sole objective is to get as much for an item as they can.

I'm not saying it's a conspiracy, but it happens, many have seen it. You'll know more about that than me though, given that you work for one.

I'm merely a customer observing my locals.

Ahhh dose this include Red Cross? Our local one seems full of Zara stuff, all new.

Red Cross has Zara. At BHF we have a lot of ex top shop, principles, Debenhams.

Oxfam got Zara too. They also have a long-standing relationship with M&S. And in the past got corporate donations from Ted Baker and Speedo. I was in a Shelter shop today too and they had lots of accessories like belts and purses from M&S.

I have said it before on these threads but you would not believe the quantity of information that a charity shop manager or volunteer team gets about sales. Broken down in every way possible - per square foot, by department, against last week/month/quarter/year, against other stores in the area, price per transaction etc etc etc. You do not have to be a spreadsheet genius to spot where you are making money and where you are not.

Also these threads are always people moaning about clothing. That is only part of what charity shop sells. Where I used to volunteer we made more on books, or bric-a-brac than we did on women's clothing.

I've given up on charity shops because (at least in my area) the quality of the clothes is just shit.

I can't help thinking that this is a knock-on effect from the generally worsening quality of new clothes on sale. I'm in my 50s now and the rise of disposable fashion over the last 30 years or so has really screwed second hand shopping. So many pieces now were never very good in the first place, so by the time they hit the charity shop they're just not worth having.

Of course the rise of Ebay and Vinted etc doesn't help; people can sell their good quality stuff themselves now for extra cash (and who can blame them). Plus I live in an area where a lot of people are doing most of their shopping in Primark or similar.

One way or another, the charity shops round here are full of manky polyester tat, sadly.