To think this charity shop was ridiculous?

[EmptyTheFrickingBins]

Have a fridge, freezer and new double mattress to donate to charity. The mattress is genuinely brand new and has never been slept on because I bought it and then was given a new orthopedic one which was more suitable for my poor bad back! I think I laid on it for less than an hour total.

They've just been and I've never had such an awful experience - they refused the fridge and freezer because "the door seals have gone" (they haven't - I've been using both up until last weekend and never had an issue. The freezer is also missing a couple of drawers (movers dropped and broke them but it's never been an issue)

He then called me a liar over saying the mattress is brand new - because unfortunately I snagged it on the door strip getting it out of the bedroom and it has a few small clicks on the cover.

It has really put me off ever trying to donate anything ever again. I don't have much money and could have sold them in Facebook. The fridge and freezer are a few years old so don't look brand new but do work perfectly well. The way he spoke to me made me feel really small and stupid and I hate being called a liar (I'm ND and not being believed is a massive thing for me.)

If anyone wants to know the charity name I'll share it via PM but it is a big name in the town where I live.

I get that charity shops need to respond to their market and can't take things they can't sell, but they do seem to be very picky these days. This leads to "convenience doners" (I include myself in that description) who are primarily donating to offload their stuff, not bothering and just using Freecycle. I do wonder what their supply chain will look like in a few years.

The thing is @penjil the people you are spiting from not donating to charity any more are not the rude volunteers, you are spiting the people receiving palliative care and bereavement support from Sue Ryder who rely on donation 🙄

This charity took our three piece suite that had been rejected by a local one. They were lovely people.

https://emmaus.org.uk/what-we-do/communities/

Charity shops can be fussy, try a homeless shelter

I hope your FB buyers turn up. I've met more time wasters through that than anything else.
We have a brilliant Shelter shop on our road. They accept anything and everything. Bedding, baby equipment, electrical stuff (they send away.) And they arrange for collection!
I took them a giant bag of carrier bags, unsure but thinking they might be able to use them. She was lovely and explained that anything they can't sell or use themselves, they leave outside the shop for people to help themselves. And they do.
That's the way to do it!

It's a shame they didn't take your fridge OP, someone else could have started a thread about how their local charity shop was selling a Beko fridge for £50 when they only cost £120 new.

The freezer is way too battered to be sold in a charity shop.

Charities are starting to cut the number of shops they have, and are getting fussier about what they take as a result- anyone can sell on Marketplace or Vinted with none of the overheads, so the shops can only make margin from products that can command a premium.

I did donate to my local Sally Ann recently and they took everything I had including some saucepans and kitchen implements I thought they might turn away.
They have multiple channels to use things in though- if something won't sell in the shop they can use it in one of their shelters, or give to someone setting up in a new home, or send overseas.

I wouldn't be surprised! This was the British Heart Foundation.

It's all gone.

Freezer went within half an hour, fridge yesterday morning and the mattress went last night.

I recall one November deciding to buy a new Christmas tree. My existing one was a lovely tree so I took it and the box of matching decorations to the charity shop I always supported.
The woman looked at me like I’d got two heads and asked what on earth I’d bought that in for as they’d never sell it.
I took it down to the BHF and the lady there was thrilled. It went straight into their window display.

About a week later original charity were making sad posts on the local Facebook group about how in Christmassy their window was and they were desperate for decorations.

Have to say, the attitude of her resulted in me never donating a thing there again.

Yes! Same! They obviously have form for this. It's put me off buying large items from them.

We had another item they wouldn't take as they didn't think it was stable enough. It had been stood for five years without issue.

The funny thing is, whenever I've gone into their furniture store, it's either overpriced or dated!

Yanbu because if he didn't think they were suitable he should have been more polite. He could have said "unfortunately I don't think these meet our requirements but we appreciate you thinking of our charity". I would message his head office informing them of his behaviour as it sounds inappropriate and borderline aggressive.

There are other charities out there (ie not ones that sell the stuff on) that take them to give to people who are fleeing domestic violence etc and are starting from scratch. They are always desperate for nearly new/working items.

OP the charity isn’t there as your personal removal men.

They are there to sell items for a profit so that (at least some of) the money can help people / animals who really need it.

The reason you donate to charity is to help those people / animals. Not because you want the stuff gone, not because you think the stuff is fine, not because you don’t want to take it to the tip or sell it.

The charity will know what items they can sell. If they can’t make use of your items, it’s not reasonable or particularly rational to get so defensive / upset.

The guy probably meant that the mattress wasn’t brand new in that it wasn’t still wrapped up in plastic. Any unsealed bedding they’re not going to want, I’m sure, no matter how perfect it is. I don’t think he was calling you a liar, he was just saying it’s not brand new as in factory sealed in box.

How kind of you to explain that to me.

Funny how the person on the phone had no problem with the items (and yes, I described them accurately, including that the mattress was unwrapped.)

But you obviously know better than I do.

did you actually tell the person on the phone that the drawers in the freezer were broken thus missing,
did you actually inform the person on the phone that the mattress had ' clicks ' etc
and a snag on it which happened as you were getting it out of the bedroom ?

The person on the phone was probably some admin volunteer rando who doesn’t really know (no shade, just they probably don’t really know, and are probably there to just book the collection guys to go out and inspect stuff).

The guys who come to inspect the stuff are the paid ones, as you say, who actually know what will sell.

It’s not personal OP. The charity couldn’t make use of your stuff. That’s all.

hobbitonthehill · 21/03/2024 16:46

My husband tried to donate a few items from his late mother's flat , the 2 men from the charity who turned up were lucky they weren't thrown out the door ! They left with nothing were incredibly rude ! Perfectly good wardrobes and beds ended up in the dump.

I had this experience too. Perfectly good condition wardrobe dressing table unit in very good condition no scratches but was turned down as being too old fashioned.