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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think a charity shop is taking the piss asking these prices?

248 replies

FrasierReboot · 21/12/2023 18:29

Went into a charity shop today. Yes, I get that the charity needs to make money etc etc but....

£40 for worn bobbly Primark and George at Asda coats. Would probably have been half that price brand new

£7 for worn jeans with holes in the bum and or/crotch or seams, again brands such as Primark or George.

AIBU to think this is mad?

OP posts:

Teenagehorrorbag · 22/12/2023 21:01

Shops do seem to vary enormously. Our local one has a maximum price of £3 for anything - so I now only donate tat to them as decent clothing won't be appreciated (I take it to a neighbouring town where there is an army base and prices are much higher). But I agree - charging high prices for rubbish is ridiculous.

I bought a pair of black pumps in shoezone recently for my daughter for her school play - £4.99. Then went into the charity shop next door and they had a second hand pair of the same pumps for £5! I know these people are volunteers and are doing an amazing thing - but ??? (I suppose it's hard to get everything right though).

I also went into another shop a while back and they had a superdry teeshirt pinned up on the wall as a 'top item'. It was £8! I was only looking up at at it when the assistant came over and said, all enthusiastically - 'it would be more but it has a stain on the front and we don't know if it will come out....'. Bless - what were they thinking.....🙄!

Needmorelego · 22/12/2023 21:05

@Teenagehorrorbag the "what were they thinking" should also apply to the person who thought it was appropriate to donate a top with a stain on the front. That annoys me more tbh.

Seymour5 · 22/12/2023 21:15

Needmorelego · 22/12/2023 21:05

@Teenagehorrorbag the "what were they thinking" should also apply to the person who thought it was appropriate to donate a top with a stain on the front. That annoys me more tbh.

Any stained fabrics are sold in bulk as rag, they should never be displayed for sale. I’d rather have them than damaged ornaments, cracked plates, broken toys and pans with half their dinner stuck to them.

Teenagehorrorbag · 22/12/2023 21:19

Needmorelego · 22/12/2023 21:05

@Teenagehorrorbag the "what were they thinking" should also apply to the person who thought it was appropriate to donate a top with a stain on the front. That annoys me more tbh.

Very true. I've never worked in a charity shop but imagine they see some awful donations! I always ensure everything is clean and in excellent condition - anything that isn't I put in a separate bag labelled 'rags' which they are happy to take.

flosset · 22/12/2023 21:26

I was in one the other day and they had a levi jumper covered in bleach stains and frayed sleeves for 12 quid. It was so tatty

anon666 · 22/12/2023 21:43

YANBU - charity shops trying to "maximise their income" is grabby and a shame.

I know countless people will come on here to argue that they are obliged to get the most money for their causes, but I'm doubtful this strategy actually works. I'm convinced that people will just avoid buying stuff they might otherwise have done, and eventually (like me) stop bothering going in at all.

I really think charities have gone too far with this "income maximisation" approach, which includes chugging, relentless pestering of existing donors and so on. I suspect it's one of the reasons why Brits have declined contributions from once being one of the most generous charity donators in the world.

mylifestory · 22/12/2023 22:10

I've had some business dealings with a harity shop in the past, oxfam, the manager was saying to take the 99p tags off some poundstore shit like socks and price them at 2.50 and they'd sell. She was right!

Thistlewoman · 22/12/2023 22:20

YABU. No body is forcing you to buy there.. if you dont want to pay those prices dont do it. If the Charity Shop is charging too much punters will vote with their feet. On the other hand-too many people think they are going to buy things in Charity Shops for next-to-nothing which is equally unreasonable. Charity Shoos exist to raise funds for their charity, not operate like a jumble sale selling things for pennies!

nomadmummy · 22/12/2023 22:51

HamHand · 21/12/2023 18:34

I struggle to believe this tbh. The odd thing will be missed, like some holes, but I’ve never seen that kind of pricing for those kind of brands and I’m a reseller so am in LOTS of charity shops.

Why wouldnt OP question the shop? Sounds like someone lacking training did pricing.

Lindyloomillion1 · 22/12/2023 22:53

It depends so much on where you are donating (or where you are shopping.)
We have a lovely shelter shop at the bottom of our road that takes EVERYTHING! So you don't have to hawk around your good but used kids car seats, electrical gear, mobility items. They are not fussy and have a lovely attitude.
But if I have stuff that is worth money, I won't take it there as they sell so cheap. I'll go for the fussy place up the hill

Likewhatever · 22/12/2023 22:58

The fact that there are resellers trawling charity shops for bargains tells you that pricing is often too low.

helpplease01 · 23/12/2023 00:03

No, it’s disgusting what charity shops charge ! I live in Edinburgh, and the prices around me are ridiculous.

Platypuslover · 23/12/2023 01:09

Yet none of the higher value brands like Boden, Frugi etc are ever in the shops funny that. Especially after I dropped some
off. Do they just steal those are they so stupid they put them in the rags??

Platypuslover · 23/12/2023 01:11

On top of that PDSA are breaking the law by being agist and refusing to employ people under 18!!!

OnSecondThoughts · 23/12/2023 01:16

Supermarkets sometimes do this silly stuff too. I go to the reduced shelf and I see something reduced from say £4.50 to (wow) £3.85. I mean, for the sake of one day's sell-by date! Either reduce it to £2 or don't bother! For the sake of it being in date, who cares about saving, like, 15p? May as well buy the full price.

NowWhatUsernameShallIHave · 23/12/2023 01:49

I went to the British heart foundation

they had definitely some very overpriced stuff- it’s a shame really

Poodleydoodley · 23/12/2023 07:12

The charity shop I volunteer at has reasonable prices but I’m not sure how/if they make any money. Shop rent is over £30k per year plus lights, heating, wages for two staff etc.

ShanghaiDiva · 23/12/2023 07:44

Platypuslover · 23/12/2023 01:09

volunteers are either stupid or thieves… my bingo card is complete.

Gazelda · 23/12/2023 08:04

So depressing, isn't it @ShanghaiDiva?

Ignorant volunteers, amateur business models, chancer fundraisers, arrogant charities, criminally overpaid CEOs in their fancy cars etc etc.

Sigh.

CoatOfArms · 23/12/2023 08:31

it's the same old same old which is why @ShanghaiDiva has her bingo card at the ready. Thieving volunteers who are cramming their houses with the "good stuff" even though nobody can define what the good stuff is, and without realising that no two people's good stuff is the same. Thick managers who couldn't run a raffle never mind a shop.

What it boils down to is that lots of people who comment on these threads either never set foot in a charity shop and think they know it all, or are pissed off that they can't snaffle a designer dress for 50p any more.

Anyway fellow volunteers, enjoy your few days off. And brace yourselves for the January deluge.

KimberleyClark · 23/12/2023 08:37

Needmorelego · 21/12/2023 19:43

@Sodapop1 I don't mind paying more for books in Oxfam because they set their shops out like actual bookshops (A-Z, crime section, classic section, non fiction, children's etc) so if I am looking for a specific book I can go straight to the relevant section to see if they have a copy the same as I would in Waterstones.
The charity shops that sell cheaper often just have books in a miss-matched order with no logic. That's fine if you want to just browse and see if something catches your eye but annoying if you are looking for particular books.
I am quite happy to pay more because they are essentially offering a better service.

I buy a lot of books in charity shops, it’s something of a hobby of mine. Went I to one shop where the books were grouped by colour of their spines. Made no sense really. Who buys books by colour?

JMSA · 23/12/2023 08:38

YANBU. I only really shop on Vinted now, for that reason.

GraceFairbrother · 23/12/2023 08:42

I've helped out at a charity shop and the donations vary considerably.
Knickers with a used sanitary towel stuck on it was probably the worst donation I saw. Most donations are a bit meh, and some are good quality and good condition.

CoatOfArms · 23/12/2023 08:43

Poodleydoodley · 23/12/2023 07:12

The charity shop I volunteer at has reasonable prices but I’m not sure how/if they make any money. Shop rent is over £30k per year plus lights, heating, wages for two staff etc.

Do you not get that sort of information though @Poodleydoodley ? The place I am at now send a weekly WhatsApp to the group with all the weekly figures for the region showing sales, % of gift aid sales, and then our shop sales broken down by category. Makes it very easy to track what categories are performing well and which are struggling - for us currently we are doing very well on bric a brac, toys and ladies tops, not so well on men's clothing and DVDs/CDs.

The previous charity I volunteered for sent out similar weekly stats which the manager would print and put on the noticeboard in the kitchen.

nottaotter · 23/12/2023 08:45

I agree many prices are too high, a couple near me are not taking any donations, so presumably they are not selling much.

I think vinted is good value and I like the idea of reusing items. I give a lot of stuff away on FB .

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