Why can't charity shops accept donations left outside?

[Paintpalette]

I'm forever seeing SM posts and increasingly bigger signs in the windows of charity shops near me who absolutely CANNOT be expected to accept donated bags which have been left on the porch.

Can anyone tell me why they are so furious about this?

When I've taken bags in to drop off directly with staff, they haven't made me wait while they check through every item to see if it meets a standard and I'm sure there have always been the odd unsuitable things that must be disposed of.

For what it's worth, I haven't left anything there or had it rejected, but if it was more convenient to drop off, I would donate more. Ironically enough, it means I fill the plastic bags put through my letter box which are collected from outside on the doorstep, which is apparently safe enough for them!

One of the charity shops I donate to has a rag bin which charity still gets something from it. I specifically put stuff in a separate bag marked for rags. Things I have put in there include fitted sheet that lost elastic and clothes gone into holes

Ok great, thats good to know.
It does mean that your experience here isn't that relevant to the specific discussion about whether you should do it if a charity shop has specifically asked donors not to.

I live in an area where we have to put our rubbish in special seagull proof bags, anything left outside a charity shop in an ordinary bag would likely be destroyed by seagulls if nothing else and scattered all over the street.

A bin or similar could be good in theory but in an old town with very narrow pavements it's not really workable.

I do get it makes it difficult to donate if you work long hours or full time though so I'm not sure what the answer is.

One of our local charity shops is constantly posting on the FB group to please stop this, this week alone they've had bags of household waste which were torn open, bags of garden waste and random piles of ripped/dirty clothes. Happily they posted the address from a letter found in one of the bags, hopefully they got a visit for fly tipping.

I have seen some good quality stuff outside a charity shop. Usually v early morning because all the good stuff gets robbed quite quickly - meaning no money for the charity at all - and all the shit that no one will rob gets left or thrown about - and some poor charity shop worker has to pick it up.

Goodness you’ve never seen a streaming service have you? Plenty of obscure things on all of them.

Out of interest which movies do you enjoy that have been removed from streaming services because someone has been, as you put it, cancelled? You can just quickly list ten if you want to keep it brief.

Also charity shops don’t want anything with disgraced celebrities (JS, Rolf, G Glitter etc) on them. Someone down my street is a volunteer at a CS where we live. She told me the charity shop had to bin a JS fancy dress - remember they were popular before he died and his past came out.

Then there was a TOTP card game with various presenters on the front - including him, that got binned.

Also a disco compilation album with GG on it

Is there a reason people can't just wait til the shop opens at 9:30?

I don't under why people are like this, genuinely. I'm guessing it's the same people who are unable to figure out that if there's no bin, you hold onto your litter... and who can't grasp that you still need to pick up your dog's poo if nobody is watching.

Too busy and important plus ashamed to dump their poo stained rags in person.

Parking.

The charity shops near me don't have free parking nearby when the shop is open so unless I am donating a couple of items I can carry, I have to drive to a branch that has parking nearby.

However recently I gave clothes to a charity shop that has a collection service. As they collect rags I just divided stuff into "Primark" and others. "Primark" bag had not just Primark stuff but faded clothes, DD's vests and pjs she has grown out off.

People rip them open to take the best stuff.
They get rained on.
Dogs will foul them.
Nasty little shitheads with nothing better to do will either rip them open and scatter the contents or set them on fire - for fun!!
Some people will leave shite, basically - no better than fly tipping.
If I was a volunteer in a charity shop, I wouldn’t want to handle stuff subjected to any of that. Would you ?

Plenty of obscure things on all of them, yes, but not on one of them - so to watch everything you wanted to watch you would end up with multiple subscriptions.

Kevin Spacey's content was removed from streaming services while his legal proceedings were pending - hopefully now reinstated following his acquittal - DH and I are big fans and have most of his films on DVD.

Sorry, I agree. There are plenty of films that I watch that aren’t even obscure and aren’t on streaming services. Westworld the original film for instance, may be on something now but certainly wasnt when we found it in the local CEX.

Unless you want to pay for BFI or other subscriptions which don’t always have them or take them off or decide they don’t fit today’s standards. (The Devils for instance) We won’t part with our DVDs for this reason. The 1997 BBC adaptation of Tess of the Dubervilles (not the one with Gemma Arterton). Pendas Fen. There are SO many that aren’t on streaming services, your comment is quite naive really.

The one I really want to see is the Disney film, Something wicked this way comes.

It’s Disney right? Mainstream? So totally accessible in theory huh? But not on Disney plus though. Which already costs me £££ a year.

The other one they won’t stream with Paris Hilton’s aunt in it, The Watcher in the Woods, I do have. ON DVD 🩷 so no, sadly streaming services don’t cover everyone’s needs.

Youve reminded me of Little Britain and Come Fly With Me. I was lucky enough to have binge watched them just before Netflix erased them

They might be steaming elsewhere, and I guess you could pay another streaming service just pay yet another platform...

so, there are things you can't access! My dad has a box set of every season of Laurel and Hardy, and I think it's quite nice actually to have that for less popular/current media, so you always have it.

Do you not have the massive clothing banks or book banks dotted about in your neighbourhood? Essentially they are big skips with a letterbox type access point where you can deposit books & clothing that can be recycled or resold.

In my area they are outside fire stations & some churches. Easy to use at any time.

I have seen one outside one charity shop. I wonder why a lot more so not have them.

Because it’s untidy looking, anyone/anything can access them, the weather, doesn’t allow them to have anyway of vetting what gets left and leaving responsibility with the person donating to take away anything unsuitable.

@NotTooOldPaul a lot of the large clothing banks etc have had to be removed because despite the giant words "Clean Clothes Only" (or whatever) printed on the front people will try to stuff an old stained mattress, a broken microwave, half a kebab and a broken table through the slot.
They won't fit of course so they get left propped up next to it with some random bags of grubby old toys, a dead fridge and if you are really lucky a fox wee soaked old sofa.
People are just filthy pigs sometimes.

DVDs are still big in Canada where people use them at their "cottages" where they don't have internet. My friend made a mint selling off all his action movies at $5 each at a yard sale!

They are notorious for creating fly tipping as charities don’t empty them regularly. So people dump crap by them and on top (if bin has a flat top). Seen these bins with stuff charities won’t take - old duvets, broken micro scooters etc. Then a target for bored teens to set fire to the contents in and around bin.

I wish charities get rid of these. I seriously doubt if any of these items placed in the bins ever be seen in a CS as guessing the stuff has been ruined by bored teens throwing stuff on it making everything un sellable

BBC iPlayer only has the last few series of Who Do You Think You Are. DM wanted to see one from a very early series and it wasn’t there.

Not checked YT yet

Exactly and when it’s left outside it’s classed as fly tipping . Plus people often rip bags open if left there and go through the stuff. I’ve known people wee on bags outside our shop so if left goes straight in the bin sadly