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

[FrasierReboot]

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?

@Thistlewoman , not touched a raw nerve at all.
Sometimes I buy things for myself or for family, and they might not fit or not suit them. If it's worth reselling, I will.
Sometimes the items need to be washed carefully or repaired before reselling.

If it's not worth reselling, I donate it. I take care when donating because some of the charity shops won't sell everything. For example, one won't sell children's shoes, one rejects books and another won't sell unused toiletries.

It's your 'moral highground' attitude I don't like.

I haven't looked at all replies. A charity shop near me has ridiculous pricing. I asked about it and was told it is 1/3 less than new. But new doesn't include the price in a sale. Sometimes the packaging isn't there and more to the point these are second hand worn items. They also never reduce an item but send them on to a Charity outlet shop. As an example a Bora cashmere jumper, very worn with bobbles was price at £98.00 and a new Paul Smith white shirt at £65.00. the shirt has been there since mid Summer.

@Thistlewoman Not at all. My job is literally buying things and selling them at a profit, so I’m not interested in paying top retail prices from anywhere. I expect that you get paid for your job? Why don’t you think I deserve to get paid for mine? If I see something that I think is a good price, I pay it and then carry the risk that it may not sell for a profit, if at all, whether that is from an auction, fair, shop or a charity shop. They are all sources of stock to me, just the same. The original vendor, whoever they are, has accepted that price and already has their money. It’s up to me to work hard to make mine. I think the issue here (as so many posters have said) is that charity shops are so often charging top retail prices which are more than an item is worth. I can and often do get the same items cheaper in an antique shop than a charity shop. Most people are just looking for a good item for themselves at a reasonable price, and the issue is that charity shops often aren’t charging a reasonable price. If other retail outlets charged more than what customers perceive to be value for money, they’d go out of business pretty quickly, as they’d actually be paying for stock that they can’t sell. So perhaps if charity shops charged reasonable prices for what is essentially free stock, they might sell more, have a higher turnover of stock, be able to accept more donations and make more money? Isn’t that what we all want charities to do? 🤷‍♀️

@GraceFairbrother Well I dont like charity shop resellers expecting to make money on bargain finds-and thats the attitude I dont like. You do you. Just dont dress it up as anything other than profiteering. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I count myself fortunate to live in an area where I can pick up great labels like All Saints, Brora and Didriksons at great prices. What I have noticed is that high street labels even if they are a bit bobbly and well worn like Monsoon, Marks and Spencer, Topshop and Zara seem to be commanding premium.

@Thistlewoman so genuine question.....if you went to an antique shop where would you think the stock came from?

It's not profiteering. It's getting rid of purchases.
Some of it might be like the buying the outsize jeans, but it's usually me buying something for me and if i change my mind about it I resell and make a small profit. Similarly, if I buy from vinted or ebay, I want to buy at a price where if I resold, I would not make a loss.

Had I not bought the outsize jeans they would probably have gone to recycling.
They were so huge that when I bought them, I thought I could use the fabric for crafting. They sold pretty quickly and I might have made about a tenner on them.

As I pp I don't like your moral highground attitude.

@Needmorelego , house clearances, auctions, charity shops, car boot sales etc.

@GraceFairbrother exactly 🙂
But according to @Thistlewoman that's a terrible thing to do 😂

Not as bad as me. I'm profiteering by doing Bad Things like buying a nice garment, doing some research, going to the trouble of maybe repairing it, photographing it, describing it, and making a small profit.

I'm probably really bad by buying clothes for myself and family, when I could have left them for the deserving poor and instead gone to the regular shops.
I don't know how I can live with myself.

Oh, @GraceFairbrother, we must be truly evil people. Wait until @Thistlewoman finds out that evil Waitrose buys food for (whisper it) less money and then sells it on FOR A PROFIT! And if she part exchanges her car, the evil car dealer will (whisper it) sell her old car on FOR A PROFIT! And that IKEA buys cheap plastic shit made in China and (whisper it) sells it to middle class arseholes FOR A PROFIT!

Grown adults living in capitalist societies suddenly surprised that they’re living in capitalist societies shocker.

My problem with charity shops now is the general quality of clothing is so poor, so much doesn’t have a second wear in it. Just rails and rails of acrylic where I go.

I’ve been reminded that Mary Portus also did a programme to improve Stockton High Street, which was also a disaster.

@LeggyLegsEleven we get a lot of shein etc (some brand new with tags) and the quality is atrocious and hard to sell even at very low prices.

I’ve been known to buy clothing just for the fabric to sew with, it’s impossible now as nothing is made from cotton.

Clothes are still made from cotton, but the mass-produced fast fashion clothes tend to be made from polycotton or polyester.

@GraceFairbrother have you tried looking for bedding and other textiles to repurpose?

Not bedding, no. Men's shirts, ladies' dresses and skirts. Sometimes children's clothes. The girl's prairie style dresses are good for patchwork.

Dies it occur to anyone the volunteers may not know ans they're just making up numbers?

A charity shop locally to me sells items at ridiculous prices every time I go in there (to donate) a customer is complaining loudly about it (last 3 times). I guess they know their market and the pricing strategy which works for them. However, they often refuse donations due to being full, why not reduce the prices and have a higher stock turnover if there are no shortage of donated goods.

I bought a Lands End teeshirt this week for £3 from the BHF shop. I thought that was pretty good VFM. One day a week the local hospice outlet branch has everything for £1. Some stuff is overpriced, some are surprisingly cheap. Not every member of staff knows every brand, every maker, every hallmark.

People can buy from charities for different reasons. Some want bargains, some want specific items they’re happy to pay for, some want to feel they’re helping the charity. Don’t like whats on offer? Don’t buy!

another - volunteers are all dim comment. Have not had one of those in a while…

another dim pointless comment from a self-proclaimed ‘Diva’ 🤣

I think some charity shops are very aware that their pricing is quite high and offer refunds. But it rather depends on the staff member. At a shop near me, I paid £45 for a suede skirt and was told that I could return it, if it didn't fit but they were a charity shop so didn't like returns. Well it didn't fit so I returned it the next day apologising, a different person working there said not to worry, that's why they have a return policy and it was after all £45.00.
I tend to buy from Vinted or eBay now as they are basically cheaper, but it's much harder and a hassle to return.

Sometimes more donations don’t lead to higher stock turnover, just overflowing bins. Be under no illusion about the quality of donations. For every item that is saleable, we get multiples that aren’t.

Most shops have guidelines, and volunteers who have knowledge of a particular area. I find most of the people who complain about prices are those who are resellers.