To think £34 for a charity shop cardigan is excessive?

[malificent7]

Lovely cardigan...great condition and colour. Nice cut but unbranded and made of acrylic. £34!!! The shop keeper said she could go down to £30. I mean it was a bit unusual as in a bit bohemian but not strlikigly so. I would have paid £15 happily. £20 max.

Yes Sia is a brand - everywhere. They do lots of glasswear, candle holders etc. But mass produced - sorry it is. So what a crazy price.

@Firesideblanket sounds like a bargain, I just had a Google and there is a Sia Christmas table cloth for £120 on eBay 😱 can't find many other listings though. Surely no one would spend £120 to just have gravy spilt on it.

I totally agree. Niche focussed and run with the support of the local community. I live near towns (2-3) that have all the large chains and the local hospices etc. Mostly very high priced. Stuff languishes. I used to take my DC to a school that was a long commute away and passed through a large (fairly posh) village with a hospice charity shop and a local charity shop supporting the local hospital. The people who ran the local shop were amazing - totally passionate about what they did and it showed. The conversation I had 1 year about Xmas stuff - perhaps it was in March. I asked when it might be appropriate to drop off Xmas stuff (decorations, serving bits etc) thinking I would be told Sept. No - they would be very gratefully accepted and could I bring them in May. I queried may? Yes - the managers laid all the Xmas stuff out around their house over the summer and worked out what was for display, what was to be sold, and presumably what needed to be binned. They priced everything reasonably and their turnover was incredible. Whereas the hospice shop - didn't matter how many times you went in - it was the same stuff and total lack of interest from the staff. They closed - their turnover was tiny. The donations to the local shop were such good quality.

All depends on the item, we don't sell cheaper brands unless brand new with tags, then we typically charge 50% if that new price or less. For mid to designer brands it depends on the brand, the product, the condition (have to be in good condition to sell but some almost new) as to the price, we use eBay, Vinted and other sources as needed to price if non standard item. Cardigans tend to be £5.99 (M&S, next) to £20 (Reiss, &other stories and similar) full designer we research eg it was £100 for a Chanel cardigan!

Some shops have very variable prices, I suspect volunteers are pricing

YABU, some charity shops are "taking the biscuit" these days! I have seen items cheaper in regular shops sometimes!

Ps that chanel cardigan never even made it onto a manikin as someone bought it when it was on the "new stock" rail as I undressed the manikin!

That sounds a great process and very diligent. But needs to be Ebay SOLD, not Ebay active. There is much difference between what people think their items are worth and what actual offers, auction final prices are.

Was it made of gold?🫢

Is that the BC famous for a certain Mr Cummings going to get his eyes tested? 😁

I’m not skint, but do have to be pretty careful with the finances, and I always used to love a charro rummage for new (to me) bits and pieces, but these days it’s just depressing ☹️. I said to my partner just the other day, “it really comes to something when you can’t even afford the charity shop prices”. Almost all of them near to me are full to bursting with the same overpriced stuff month after month, with no-one even trying to reduce items to clear them out, and refusing new donations because nothing has been sold! 😖

Get thee on Vinted!

There are pure wool and cashmere cardis on there, good brands, for £3/4, up to about £20. I bought two Abercrombie and Fitch cashmere ones on there a few weeks ago for £3 each! Even with postage, that was £10 for both.

the whole point of charity shops is to re-use because it’s good for the economy, sell cheaply so people on a tight budget can have some nice things & of course raise money for the charity

Well, no, the ONLY point is to raise money for their charity. The rest is just a bonus.

But if they overprice products they won't sell.

Our village chazza has always had a "pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap" policy, and apparently it was one of the highest grossing shops for the large national charity it represented. LNC duly started sticking their oar in and telling them to charge more per item, so they have broken with them and are becoming an independent shop with all proceeds going to village causes. 🥳

I've seen a few articles recently on charity shops that can't take anything in because the rag trades that used to buy the unsold stock have gone out of business due to low prices offered for rag, but if that's the case why aren't they just dropping the sale prices - selling something for more than the £ per kg for rags has to be worthwhile?

I would want it brand new for that price.

Madness. I almost bought a White Stuff long sleeve top today until I saw the £8 tag. It was a nice top but had had plenty of wear. Meanwhile, in the men's section there was a nice Barbour jacket for £22.

Totally messed up pricings.

Our rural area charity shop charges £8 for well used mens typical t-shirt … M&S, Sainsbury TU. Those boring graphic t’s
Its laughable.

Shop people say the price represents donation to charity. Prices must be high to raise money. No one will buy.

The TU shirts are that price new / on sale.

I've stopped going into the ones in our local town. Years ago I had to buy my clothes in them but in recent years it's luckily only been for fun/environmental reasons. They are just massively overpriced now and one of the volunteers told me they sell the "good stuff" on Ebay.

I bought a lovely soft blue Jigsaw skirt the other day for £1 (London) - probably a very unfashionable style but that doesn't bother me. But I have seen prices that don't make sense too...

Our local charity shop has started stocking loads of Zara ‘seconds’ which are priced very high but often have a flaw of some sort. I’ve heard the shop volunteers explaining to customers that the items are priced higher because they are brand new Zara. But it’s annoying because firstly I don’t like Zara clothes, also you’ve got to check for the flaw, and it’s not cheap, which defeats the point of buying clothes in a charity shop. Although I do think it’s good that Zara are passing on their seconds to charity shops rather than going to landfill.

But whenever I’ve been in the shop I’ve heard them turning away people with donations, which would suggest they are charging too much ….

It’s sad really. The bulk of the takings goes nowhere near the causes the charity says it supports.

Redcrayons, need to pay the chief execs in their jobs for the boys!!!!

That's the one. 😃

Somehow I knew it would be. I love their fish and chips though. And they have a lovely second hand bookshop (reasonably priced) and nearby Bowes Museum. Not to mention a Yorkshire Trading Co. Anywhere with a YTC can't be too up its own arse!

Sounds a little odd for acrylic unless it was a really nice unusual design and absolutely pristine (but really I am only here to say that last week I got an Aran jumper 100% wool £12 in local Mind, still can’t believe it)