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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:
iLovee · 23/02/2024 16:13

Not in the wrong at all! Put it out if your mind lovey and I hope your son enjoys his new toys!

She sounds like a horrible lady and not worth a second thought ❤️

CranfordScones · 23/02/2024 16:14

It would get to me in the same way. Don't feel bad about it. You sound perfectly reasonable.

Chocolatelabradorsarethebest · 23/02/2024 16:18

Something very similar happened to me last week, I tried a charity shop which has recently opened and took three books to the till I'd picked up from under a big 'Books £1' sign. Whilst queuing the lady in front was tried to be charged £5 for something she thought was £2 - it had a sticker on for £2, but apparently it was priced incorrectly. She left it and the volunteer was really rude. When it was my tern, the volunteer told me the books I'd picked up were £2.50 each, so I questioned it and she told me they'd been mispriced and should have been put on the 'special' shelf individually. I politely said I'd leave them as they weren't worth £2.50 each to me. She then tried to say 'you can have them for £2 each' again I said no and she got a bit funny, telling me they were good books and all the money was for charity. By then I was annoyed and it was the principle and just purchased the one book for £1. I've emailed the head office with my feedback and they've blamed 'teething' problems with volunteers so it seems I'm not the only one that has complained!

Some of the volunteers are really rude and seem to think it's fine to overcharge just because it's for charity. If you picked up an item in the supermarket and they tried to overcharge you you'd question it so I don't know why you shouldn't just because it's a charity shop - I know some people might find it awkward but I never do!

I won't be going back and instead will be sticking to my lovely usual one a few doors down who have really lovely friendly volunteers.

Don't worry about it OP, let you DS enjoy the garage and don't let it be tainted. Oh and when he's grown out of it make sure you give it to a nice charity shop to resell!

Ap24 · 23/02/2024 17:40

I was ready to tell you that you were in the wrong but I think your title is misleading. Charity shops shouldn't be able to change the price once you get to the till. If they've "mislabeled" an item then they should honour that price.

ForegoneConfusion · 23/02/2024 17:56

Of course you weren't wrong - it's like taking a lid off a teapot and saying it's a separate item! I would have been upset too and I think you did really well to stand your ground. I hope your son (and you!) enjoy playing with his new garage.

WhereYouLeftIt · 23/02/2024 18:52

Ah, that must have been a horrible experience @Tiddybiddy247, but you absolutely were not in the wrong here, she was.

Is there a local Freegle or Freecycle round your way? People offer stuff for free on these platforms, because then the stuff will be picked up from their home - not everyone is able to get to a charity shop to donate it to them. I offered quite a few of DS's outgrown toys on there.

cauliflowerqueen · 23/02/2024 19:23

She was definitely in the wrong. Trying to sell the parts separately would be an odd thing to do, but even if that's what they wanted to do that, that's not what they did. They were wrong to try to change the pricing after someone had picked it up and taken it to the till.

Some people are just antagonistic by nature, creating unnecessary drama. It's a shame when they choose to seek employment or volunteer in a capacity that requires frequent interaction with others.

LakeTiticaca · 23/02/2024 19:28

We have the same garage and it does come complete with the ramp. I would be emailing their head office to complain about this woman and her snarky attitude

Treehuggingmutherfunkin · 23/02/2024 20:18

What a nasty woman shouldn't be working there

Fionaville · 23/02/2024 20:24

She sounds like a nightmare! She shouldnt have done that to you. Not very charitable.
There has been lots of chatter on various groups lately about charity shops not being the bargain places they once were. It seems lots of them sell the 'good stuff' online.
It's not fair on people who use them. At one time they were beneficial to the charity and the buyer.
If they keep declining this way, they'll be no shops left on most high streets!

Puzzledandpissedoff · 23/02/2024 20:25

I felt like I was somehow ripping off a charity shop

I'm really sorry this happened to you, OP, but am not sure how you were "ripping them off" when they were already getting £16 from you which they wouldn't otherwise have had

Happily most volunteers are lovely, but you get an odd one in all sorts of places and I'd try not to let it worry you Flowers

WiddlinDiddlin · 23/02/2024 20:27

What?

The ramp comes off so it can be boxed up in the original packaging, it's not TWO toys its one toy, that comes in two parts. The ramp without the garage is fucking useless!

If she'd tried to say the bag of mixed up cars was a seperate thing to the garage I'd understand, but its still shitty behaviour to challenge you when they've priced them up as one item!

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