To ask for discounts at charity shops

[GroaningGyrtle]

We have loads of really nice charity shops round where I live, and I shop there regularly.

However, there are a couple of shops that (IMO) massively overprice garments.

I picked up an unbranded top yesterday with a couple of loose threads at the bottom - took it to the till, and it was £9.50.

I paid it this time, but sometimes I have asked for discounts on the grounds of damage or things just not being sensibly priced.

Genuinely curious: is it better to ask for a discount sometimes, or to not buy the garment at all? Thanks in advance for opinions!

YABU: If you don't want to pay the price on the tag, leave it
YANBU: No harm in asking for a discount

😂 I can guarantee you, I've not been unduly influenced by David Dickinson and Bargain Hunt.

No, it's like haggling on a charity donation. It's just bad form really.

Well because it is a well known fact that very little money that is charged actually goes to the charity. Wages for their CEO's first and then the manager's!

50/50 on this one and I agree with @Boohai and @ShanghaiDiva on the approach.

i manage a charity shop selling baby and toddler items and don’t mind being asked for a discount if it’s old stock, off season, got a mark or damage I didn’t notice (we don’t put out stained, bobbled etc clothes).

I heavily dislike folks asking in an aggressive or demanding tone. Or trying to barter with me on agreed prices.

I had one guy ask me to hold a baby walker (£4) whilst he and his partner went to the bank and got some money out (we do take card 🤷‍♀️). He came back later and tried telling a volunteer it was £3. Then when I piped up that it was £4 as I told him earlier - he started with the ‘I’ve only got £3 on me…’. Just told him it was ok if pop it back in the window and it would sell fast enough. Then he had £3.50… I gave him same response. Then he said he’d have to pay by card if it was £4 like it was a threat.. told him that was fine. He magically pulled out 4 x £1 coins and dropped them in the counter and walked out.

So ask for a discount yes- but please don’t do the bartering banter with some of us as our menopausal tempers aren’t up for it. Not that you’d do anything as uncouth as that @GroaningGyrtle!

I don't think there's any harm in asking. But the ones that overprice are usually run from above, so wouldn't expect them to give discounts. You'll probably find it on the enormous discount rail in 6 months time.

That is grim, I'm so sorry you get shitty customers like that.

The most I'll do is say I was wondering whether there's any wiggle room on the price because A, B or C, and then a smile and a thank you whatever the outcome is. No haggling, no arguing.

I'd rather buy than not (I try to buy everything secondhand), so if I think something's genuinely overpriced for whatever reason, I do like to ask rather than just walk away.

Yawn yawn, as I have said in another thread this morning you are free to look at accounts and salary statements for all major charities. Our shop - part of a national chain - has no paid staff at all.

Of course you can ask. But I'd be more inclined just not to buy the garment. The person behind the till probably wouldn't be able to just authorise a random different payment.

True, they do often have to get the manager to do it.

No one’s forcing you to buy. Charity shops support people in need.

YABU.

No one said they were. Have a lovely day 😉

Not this again. If I recall correctly over 70p of money raised at bhf goes to fund research.

Really? Have a look at this annual report. 77p in every £1 goes back into charitable work. I volunteer and contribute to BHF, and I’m well aware that without it being run as a business, nowhere like £150million would be available for research and innovation. People are paid for their skills, often less than they could earn in the private sector.

@ShanghaiDiva you’re absolutely right.

https://www.bhf.org.uk/-/media/files/what-we-do/annual-reports/annual-report-and-accounts-2024.pdf?rev=90651da88b714071b9da09c1b88a533e&hash=7EF9642D7A46DA603E9E019E786A9DC6

Thanks to everyone for the constructive replies, particularly those PPs working in the charity sector.

The fact is, I buy all my - and my DCs - clothes preloved. I do this for cost reasons and to be more sustainable. I'd rather buy from charities but it's getting harder to do so because I think a lot of charity shops are starting to really overprice stuff - fast fashion priced at the same or more than you'd pay for it new, little trinkets for several quid each, supermarket brand items between £5-10 each.

I will absolutely pay more for higher-end goods; what I won't do is pay over the odds for worn, damaged, old high street stuff. For that reason, I'm doing more and more of my shopping on Vinted. Which means less money for charity, and less support for my local area.

No big conspiracy to try and bring down the charity sector as a whole, and definitely no intention to implement a world ruled by the philosophies of David Dickinson.

So what makes charity shops different in your mind to ask for a discount then?

As opposed to somewhere else that also sells second hand items, like a bookshop or CEX or vintage place? Or shops like TK MAXX and Home Sense where sometimes things are marginally damaged?

I just ask because I know people who will ask in all situations (if something is slightly damaged but they still want it), and people who ask in none. But specifically only charity shops strikes me as weird.

I used to work in an Oxfam books and all prices were carefully looked up by the manager who was trained in researching the value of things properly, it wasn't just stickered at random. Some books were worth over £400. People would sometimes be aghast at the prices, but that was genuinely what they were worth.

I appreciate it's different for clothing items, but in a well-run charity shop there should always be consistency and standard tiers of pricing for "regular" items.

Charity shops have definitely changed and some of the pricing is pretty ambitious. It is annoying that then the rails are packed so shops refuse further donations when the aim should be to price reasonably and move stock quickly and make money. Especially when unsold stock is then 'ragged' or even thrown away. Most charities have eBay stores where higher priced or designer items can be sold.
I volunteered a long time ago and we steamed and tidied up donated items. Nowadays more often than not I buy stuff with a used tissue still in the pocket and see so many stained and damaged items still priced really high. They will have to change because Vinted is changing how people buy pre-loved.
I see no problem with politely asking if I think something is overpriced. The managers have daily targets and it sometimes depends if it has been a slow day.

The big difference is that for charity shops, the cost of goods to them is zero and many do not accept returns or exchanges.

A few things:

• Every garment/item is sold at 100% profit. If something is quite obviously overpriced and unlikely to sell, surely it'd better to ask rather than leave it (often) unsold for months

• Pricing is often set by volunteers, some of whom get it wrong

• I don't shop at places like TKMaxx but I know the pricing/cashing systems don't allow for the same flexibility as in charity shops, where prices are at manager's discretion

• If something is worth £400, of course I don't want it for a fiver. If something was worth £5 when new, of course I don't want to pay a tenner

• I want to support charity shops rather than Vinted, but can't continue to do so if priced out. Better to ask if there's wiggle room on a price than stop shopping there entirely?

Does that help?

The returns and exchanges part makes sense, but also they have no control over what people are bringing in and have to pay to dispose of a lot of it or have to "pay" to have it when they can't sell it.

It’s not 100% profit for a start. Lots of costs in waste disposal, heating, lighting, etc. any decent shop will have a system for tracking how long something has been on sale, 3-4 weeks is pretty standard. Not months.

I would (and have) asked for a small discount if I discover damage on an item. This is in ANY shop - not just a charity shop - and yes, even the big chains will do this, if the manager has discretion to offer a discount.

But always pleasantly and politely, and if it's a really cheap item I wouldn't bother.

It's not 100% profit with all the tasks involved to getting it to the shop floor. Shop overheads are also massive, if you sell everything too cheap it means more volunteers are needed for processing and you need to be confident you're getting enough stock in on an ongoing basis as it often massively fluctuates between far too much and far too little.

The wrong pricing thing is either personal opinion or a badly run charity shop. And many get it wrong the other way and undersell, but presumably you don't ask if you can pay more?

"the pricing/cashing systems don't allow for the same flexibility as in charity shops, where prices are at manager's discretion" - they do, you can ask for a discount on things in Home Sense and TK MAXX and get them honoured, I've done it myself. Probably other do it shops too, I haven't asked.

I assume by worth you mean RRP, but you're complaining about fast fashion and then saying that you'd be happy to buy it for the same price or less, so you may as well buy it new because it's clearly not about morals.

If you want to support charity shops maybe consider volunteering or donating if you don't want to buy the items, or buying the gift products they sell instead of also putting other people off buying.

If I feel a charity shop is taking the piss price wise I email their head office about it.

One very well known charity was selling the Primark vest tops that cost £2.50 new, secondhand and all worn and bobbly, for £6. Primark used bobbly coats for £50. Dresses with a massive stain on for £15. Etc etc

I emailed their head office and the area manager for my area called me, thanked me for my email and said prices were being looked into.

And she was true to her word! Prices there have quartered since I spoke to her.

I think it must have been a volunteer thinking they were being clever marking things up at ludicrous amounts.

When I worked, donations were sorted and unsaleable stock bagged up and sold to the ragman who paid a cost per kilo. I think it's a good system as it stops crap stock taking up rack space.
I'm not slating charity shops - I love them! This thread has made me want to volunteer again.

I'm not interested in defending my position to you - especially given the assumptions and snark.

I'll buy some high street stuff preloved because it's already made and bought, and I'm not benefitting the manufacturers. Someone buys it or it goes to landfill.

You're entitled to your opinions, but maybe wind your neck in talking about my morals, thanks.