Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Charity shop haggle

37 replies

Tiddybiddy247 · 23/02/2024 15:30

So money is tight and I get my son toys in the charity shops. The last couple of years I've noticed a massive decline in the quality of toys you can get in the charity shop. Even our local shop has put a sign up requesting no more broken toys... anyway, today after weeks of looking we found a local shop with a few decent bits. A box of Duplo for a tenner and a fisher price garage with a bag attached contains mismatched cars for £6.

It was a bit of a big spend for me and I almost didn't buy the garage but we'd been looking for one for a long time so I went for it. I was about to pay when another volunteer came out and started to look at what I was buying. She broke the garage into two halves and said "this is two separate items... yeah this bit is going to cost another £6 quid." I said it's one toy and one half (the ramp) isn't much good without the other half and it wasn't priced up as two separate items. She said "yeah well someone might want to buy only one part of it and it was supposed to be marked as two items but we forgot!" I said I'll have to put it back. By this point my baby was crying and I was hot, people were looking. She was cross and snapped "fine, you can have it for £8 all in!" I said no I can't afford it.

I was about to leave the shop feeling a bit miffed but wanting to get my baby sorted. She goes"fine then you can have it all together! Go on! Go on! Take it all together!" I felt so embarrassed. I said are you sure and she goes"yeah yeah it's just easier that way.

I struggled out feeling really bloody awkward. Was I wrong?

OP posts:
PoppyFleur · 23/02/2024 15:34

The volunteer was being ridiculous and petty. Please don’t give it a second thought. You did nothing wrong.

TheFlis · 23/02/2024 15:34

She sounds rude and nasty! Sorry she upset you.

Elecrricmaracas · 23/02/2024 15:34

It wasn't really a haggle if they didn't price it up properly in the first place. Not your fault!

Allthecatseverywhereallatonce · 23/02/2024 15:35

Of course you were not wrong, sounds unpleasant. It really is their fault so should honour the price. Just because it is a charity shop doesn't mean they can behave differently. Hope your dc enjoy it.

Ali1262 · 23/02/2024 15:36

I'm sorry that was your experience. I worked in a charity shop and being the mother of a son I've had one of those garages and noone in their right mind would just need a half only. That worker sounds awful and if I was you I personally would complain to the manager about her god awful attitude

Travis1 · 23/02/2024 15:37

She sounds horrendous. I’d probably drop them an email as feedback

splatmouse · 23/02/2024 15:38

She was trying it on and she failed. Good. I'm sorry you were caught in the middle of it, that's not fair on you, but she was trying to coax more money out of you and it didn't work. Hopefully it'll give her pause before she tries it on someone else.

Tiddybiddy247 · 23/02/2024 15:41

I'm so pleased for your supportive comments because I felt daft for feeling a bit tearful when I struggled out onto the pavement with my pram. Just them watching me struggling with the door and my haggled old garage and crying baby. It was supposed to be a fun trip out to look for toys...

OP posts:
Rosestulips · 23/02/2024 15:44

Oh that’s awful. Sorry they wouldn’t help you out with your pram either, who do they think they are! Definitely send some feedback in but go higher up. No charity should be making people feel like that

Lurkingandlearning · 23/02/2024 15:44

I would definitely email the charity head office with a complaint.

Their shops are not exempt from retail trading law and they shouldn’t turn a blind eye to staff breaking the law or allow staff to rip off customers or coerce / bully them into spending more to fund raise.

PossumintheHouse · 23/02/2024 15:45

You weren’t haggling. She was doing the opposite of haggling.
She sounds like a right twat, and she was definitely trying it on. Whether that was due to their pricing mistake or her just being grabby, who knows.

Cazpar · 23/02/2024 15:46

Tiddybiddy247 · 23/02/2024 15:41

I'm so pleased for your supportive comments because I felt daft for feeling a bit tearful when I struggled out onto the pavement with my pram. Just them watching me struggling with the door and my haggled old garage and crying baby. It was supposed to be a fun trip out to look for toys...

I think you're over egging it a bit here OP. I'm sorry you had an encounter with someone who was abrupt and upset you, but you need to put it behind you and move forward.

ProcrastinationCentral · 23/02/2024 15:46

Bless you. I volunteer in a charity shop and they attract some lovely volunteers and some...very strange ones. Sometimes very power hungry, sometimes very snooty about their clientele. This was a them issue, you did nothing wrong.

Lurkingandlearning · 23/02/2024 15:47

I suspect anyone who thinks what that shop assistant did was ok has never needed to buy from a charity shop

IggOrEgg · 23/02/2024 15:47

I‘m not usually the type to jump straight to suggesting people complain but I rather think you should in this case! What a knobber that woman was!

Done2much · 23/02/2024 15:48

You're not in the wrong here, that volunteer was wrong to humiliate you and you did very well in the circumstances to stand your ground.

You're doing a good thing for your ds, be proud

Stay strong!

Tiddybiddy247 · 23/02/2024 15:51

Dunno why it got to me as much as it did. I think it was the combo of feeding bad about splurging and trying to be quick because baby was starting to get fed up. Then it's not easy for me to speak up. Because she was quite abrupt and normally I would just leave it. I felt like I was somehow ripping off a charity shop...I dunno...

OP posts:
Tiddybiddy247 · 23/02/2024 15:53

Anyway once I've cleaned off the dust and dirt me and son will love playing with it 😁

OP posts:
mondaytosunday · 23/02/2024 15:56

My DD (18) loves going around charity shops for 70s style clothes. But she says some of the people who work there can be pretty unpleasant. Seems odd - why volunteer in that tile if you aren't going to enjoy doing it?
And what human watches while another struggles with the door and pushchair?

uncomfortablydumb53 · 23/02/2024 15:58

I'm sorry she was so rude to you
You were right to speak up, and if people were looking, it was probably because they were shocked by her manner
It's obvious to any parent that the ramp comes as part of the garage
So much for being charitable!
I would email the manager
Hope you and DC enjoy playing with your new garage

HeartandSeoul · 23/02/2024 16:01

The lady was definitely rude to you.

On a side note, it’s worth looking on Facebook Maketplace or Vinted/ebay for any potential toy bargains.

EmilyTjP · 23/02/2024 16:07

What a horrible lady. I hope she feels embarrassed now that she tried to rip you off. You did nothing wrong.

Smartiepants79 · 23/02/2024 16:11

I would be complaining about this to whoever is organising the shops. This was rubbish behaviour. Any normal shop wouldn’t be telling you you can only have half of the advertise object.
She was definitely trying it on.

DahliaMacNamara · 23/02/2024 16:11

I like charity shops, and most staff are lovely, but you do get some odd encounters. One that comes to mind is a lady who broke the glass ornament I was attempting to buy, then hopefully offered me 25% off the marked price. Er, no thanks. She was a little put out.
A ramp without a garage, or vice versa in toy terms, is a huge pisstake. They're meant to be selling usable goods, not random bits of tat. I'm annoyed for you that this was so unpleasant when you were only looking for an affordable treat for your child.

mathanxiety · 23/02/2024 16:12

What a nasty cow.

(The worker, not you).