Annoyed at people ranting about charity shops

[Dowhadiddydiddydum]

This is one those threads that’s a release of frustration. So apologies for it being so boring.

AIBU for getting pissed off at seeing people moaning constantly about charity shops and their pricing? It’s driving me insane.

Most people’s objections seem to be based on….

• Charity shops should be cheap…because they’re a charity ain’t they
• I could buy that stuff cheaper elsewhere.
• people give them things for free then they make loads of money from it.

Now am I loosing my god damn mind or do people not understand the point of charity shops is to FUCKING RAISE MONEY. So of course they want to raise as much money as possible. Of course people donate stuff for free….because they donate it so the charity can make money from it!! If you think you can get it cheaper elsewhere then bloody do it….if the shop is that over priced it’ll close down won’t it.

Been tipped over the edge by a shitty TikTok video someone made slating a local
hospice charity shop for selling their items for “too much”. The video has so many shitty comments under it….all apparently oblivious to the fact the shop exists to raise as much money as possible to support those with life limiting illnesses not so Barbara and Jeff can get a cheap table.

Re the “primark tops priced higher than new” that is always thrown at charity shops - do people regularly see this?! I did a charity shop rummage today through 4 different ones, I didn’t find anything I wanted, but no clangers like that. I did see a couple of primark tops at the £3 mark, but they weren’t T-shirt, they were the sort of blouse top primark would charge you £10-15 for. Anything below £2.99 and really it shouldn’t be in the charity shop taking up space.

a Boden dress at £15 when they are £70+ new doesn’t seem unreasonable pricing, the unreasonable bit is allowing clothes that are bobbly for resale. But I have noticed the quality of what’s being donated is dropping. Guess more people are putting their things on vinted.

Thats a fair point and i agree with your perspectives, i guess then the debate would be one person may not pay x price and another would, just the same as the debate for one person would think the chairty should get more for x item rather than eg the cheap price they are currently selling it at.

Agree with this. There is a road where I live where there were loads of charity shops selling stuff at quite high prices. They are all gone now.

As someone who has worked in a charity shop for years I can assure you that hospice charity shops don’t have a good reputation. The amount of clothes that go to rag is disgraceful. The reason being they don’t want the really down market stuff because of their image.
unlike our shop ( local charity) we sell anything and everything.
Why do you think most of them don’t have electric items: you have to pay someone to do the PAC testing. Or you have a volunteer.

I totally agree that the primary purpose of charity shops is to make as much money as they can for the charity so I don't expect them to sell expensive items at half the price you can get them on e-bay (as some people clearly do).

But the other weekend I went looking at charity shops in a city near me and found that about half the clothing stock looked badly worn and/or damaged but was for sale at the same price as the items in good condition. Especially in the 'premium' section where branded items (not very high end designer) were priced at £40-£50 even if they were badly bobbled, stained or torn. I imagine that most of this stuff will end up being sold in bulk for rags after it's been in the shop for a while. The problem I have with this is even if one or 2 people buy this stuff at an inflated price they will be putting off loads of potential customers who don't want to trawl through rails of things that are unwearable, which means fewer future customers so more chance that they will have to close and the charity will miss out on income.

Who says that? Our charity shops seem to be stupidly cheap. I always think they could and should be charging more but still be a decent bit less than a new item.

im going to stick my neck out here but I work in the used textile industry and I know the price of rag.. I supply a lot of charity shops and can tell you the clothing is overpriced and often you could find the same item cheaper elsewhere. Cheap second hand fast fashion has such low value and charity shops sell or try and sell it often at ridiculous prices. I see it more and more! And often it doesn’t sell and comes back to the rag trade!

I didn’t word one of my points properly - I apologise.

Maybe what I should have said is that the single aim of a charity shop is to raise money for the charity, but that an important side benefit of them is that people on low incomes can afford things they couldn’t buy new.

YABVU.

I don't care if the 'bottom line' is to raise money for the respective charity and to hell with customers the FACT is that people who CAN afford new clothes will buy new.
Who the heck trawls through charity shops if money isn't an issue? Granted some people do but not many.

OK I understand a designer item being sold at a good price if in good condition so I'd be more than happy to pay £40 for a designer coat in good nick but high street stuff should all be about a fiver tops. Perhaps a tenner for a coat.

So sorry but your ruthless attitude stinks AND is misguided.

The REALITY is that poorer people shop regularly at charity shops and they should be catered for so screw the 'business model'.

And frankly while I'm all for swearing, there's no need for it here.

The purposes of each charity is set out formally. This is what they need to raise money for and they are measured against . It may be sensible for a charity to price lower to increase takings There may be charities with object of alleviation of poverty in the UK and maybe those can have dual purpose of cheaper clothes for poorer people
An example below nothing to do with helping stop poverty
In Scotland British heart foundation

The objects for which the Foundation is established are: to attack and defeat diseases and conditions of the heart and circulation and other diseases illness or conditions, by undertaking and promoting research for the public benefit into their cause , diagnosis, treatment and prevention, promoting their diagnosis, treatment and prevention, educating the public and alleviating suffering and promoting the welfare of persons afflicted and those who care for such persons

I’ve been an avid charity shopper for 53 years and over that time I’ve bought some fantastic items. Some have been a bargain, some not but that doesn’t bother me. I just look for well made and unusual items. I also donate regularly.

i have noticed a change recently because of the trend for selling pre-owned clothing via Vinted and Marketplace, etc. I think this has resulted in a lot of good quality items being sold on those selling platforms rather than given to charity shops. It has become trendy to shop in charity shops whereas it used not to be, shall we say, to everyone’s taste.

If stock doesn’t move quickly the shop begins to smell musty and, as others have said, it’s obvious that the same clothing is still languishing on the rails… for good reason - it’s overprice tat.

The shops local to me seem to think that the trend for reusing clothing means they can charge ridiculous prices. They are wrong, as they can’t sell the stuff and have signs saying they can’t take any more donations.

that i can understand but then you also get people that can afford new but want cheap prices so then i guess its how the charity balances the pricing strategy

Fact is they sell secondhand stuff and therfore the pricing should refect that.

• people give them things for free then they make loads of money from it.

** Now am I loosing my god damn mind or do people not understand the point of charity shops is to FUCKING RAISE MONEY.

This bit I agree with you, it’s a silly thing to say and of course the point is to make as much money as possible for the charity. However YABU because the fact is they DO charge too much, the problem being that this will lead to them not making as much money from donations as they should.

Our local charity shops will put a crappy bobbled M&S jumper for sale at £7, it probably only cost £15-20 brand new and can be bought from Vinted in better condition for £3. So people won’t pay the charity shop prices meaning they don’t sell as much and end up getting rid of loads as rags that they could have sold if they’d lowered the price to £2, for example. Much better to sell eg 200 items every day at £2 each than a handful of things at £7.

An example below nothing to do with helping stop poverty: BHF
Don't we know it! Like I said, I don't even bother looking in BHF shops because they are overpriced.

I've never heard of anyone shopping in a charity shop because the want to support a charity. People are looking for bargains.

Pretty much all the charity shops I know are overwhelmed with stock and the shop floor is rammed with loads of crap.

Pile'em high-sell'em cheap should be the motto. They'll sell loads more stuff if it's cheap, and therefore make more money. It's a no brainer.

I’m all for charities making a decent profit but the fact remains that they’re selling second hand items that are donated for free. Yes they have running costs but they don’t need to recover any costs per item.

Whilst I appreciate they have strategy and marketing teams I’m not sure that the cost of those teams alone are recuperated by not taking advantage of a steady supply of stock turnover sold at lower prices. Some stuff donated will be beyond sale but I’m pretty certain that a huge percentage of donations are never even given the opportunity to be sold.

All things considered I’m not sure it’s proportional that my criticism of some charities pricing structures is likely to harm profits more than their reluctance to even try and sell some donations.

I think people do realise but they don't have to like it.

Perhaps you had to be there to understand

I understand your premise but I'm not paying £4 for a not best condition primark t shirt when I can buy it new for £4.50. I don't think many charity shops in the bricks and mortar sense will survive, most of the time they are only there as they get rates relief for the owners.

I've been shopping at charity shops since I was a teenager, mostly out of necessity. They're not just to raise money, its also to service a need for those who want to dress well but don't have money for brand new items. So I do think they are much pricier these days and I do think its greedy given that a lot of people are shopping there because they need cheaper clothing. I donate because I want someone else to get something they like without paying full retail, and perhaps a small amount is raised for a particular charity. I don't expect these stores to become a major source of funds for charity's. I think the criticism about pricing are fair. So yeah, YABU.

Charity shop near me

‘tag on an m and a s top size 12’ saying £7 the top is second hand and used - it was £6 in the summer - ridiculous
very worn dress from joules - second hand £20
wtf?

Just no.

someone returned a jigsaw brought for £5 because bits were missing and the person on the till said ‘we are a charity can’t you consider it a donation’

you can’t have it both ways, volunteers to staff, low rates etc and high prices. I can’t remember what it was but if it’s selling for higher prices than original or indeed eBay then it’s too much - they get it for free so it’s 100% profit effectively. There has to be a bit of give and take

our local one won’t take cds or dvds at all and won’t sell them - I would like to look - one further away does and often I pick something up it’s about reusing as well

I'm sure that most people can cite an example of poor pricing in a charity shop.

I suspect most of the same people have also found an absolute bargain or two in their time.

Charity shops have all the same costs as any other retailer, except for the stock.

But they give far, far more back to society. Not only do they raise £ for the charity they work with, but they give enormous social return too. A recent study showed that Social Return on Investment equates to £billions each year. The average social return on each £ expended is £7.35.
socialvalueuk.org/british-charity-shops-deliver-tens-of-billions-in-social-value-alongside-economic-impacts/

Yeah it's nice that a charity IS supported but let's face it people go in for a bargain.

Why don't they get this (obvious) fact?

Just sell high street clothes for no more than a fiver and coats a tenner tops.

These charities are as guilty as any other organisation of having managers who have to invent nonsensical rules to justify their existence.

Charity shops are depriving themselves by pricing high, why do you think Alan Sugar made a fortune stacking high and selling cheap?