To think people are quite petty to object to charity shop staff getting "first dibs" when they are BUYING the items?

[SorcererGaheris]

For context, I am a volunteer in a charity shop myself, and if I see something that I want, I will purchase it. The shop doesn't give staff discounts, either; staff pay full price - the last item I bought, a book, cost me £40.

Anyway, I COMPLETELY understand people objecting if volunteers were to just take donated items for themselves, but I've seen some online discussions in which people complain about the staff getting first pick of donations when they are paying for them. I really don't see the problem in this case, and think people who object are rather out of line. Other retail workers surely sometime purchase items from the shops they work in, so I don't see why volunteers should be begrudged that. A volunteer is a customer as much as any other.

You are far too sensible, @GinToBegin . And I completely agree.

Who mentioned stealing from food banks?!

What is the issue with this?

In my shop, even with volunteer purchases, it doesn't happen that there's never any good stuff for other customers to buy. Maybe that can sometimes be the case with shops that don't consistently get a high number of good quality donations, but our shop is fortunate to have a lot of consistency.

Charity shops are supposed to be affordable second hand, and for part of earnings to go to a good cause. Not to be poached and sold on by managers.

You say donate to a shelter - the way people do that is to donate to a Refuge charity shop or similar! You can't just rock up to a shelter and give them a bag of clothes

In my shop, even with volunteer purchases, it doesn't happen that there's never any good stuff for other customers to buy.

Unless they've gone in especially to look for books on witchcraft and the occult.

If you read my posts, you will see that what you describe does NOT happen where I volunteer

Cool. That’s peachy. It does happen at a lot of places though and you asked a general question. Can only give an answer based on generalities. So, no, in your unicorn shop, there is nothing wrong with what you specifically did, however it’s not how staff in many charity shops operate.

When people donate things to a charity shop they expect the items to earn money for the charity. It doesn't matter who buys them.

Volunteers are giving their time for free to a cause they believe in, and being able to buy a few things they like is a small reward for their efforts. I strongly suspect that most charity shops would really struggle to find any volunteers at all otherwise.

I didn't need to purchase that particular book so urgently, but with no reason (or rule) to put it out on the shelf for a period of time first, I simply chose to buy it straight away because I felt like buying it then and there. I don't delay buying items that I want in other shops, so don't see any reason to in this case either.

Um, yes you can. I frequently do - women’s clothes, children’s coats, books etc. There’s a collection point and they list what they are after.

Same for the refugee charity (bedding, household stuff as well as clothes) and the homeless charity (outerwear mostly).

Charity shops are not “supposed to be affordable second hand”. That’s not their purpose; it’s a benefit of the necessary pricing to shift stock.

Their sole mission is to sell as much as possible for as high as possible to create income for the charity itself. That’s it. They are the income stream.

How do people not understand this?

The word “charity” in the term “charity shop” - they aren’t “charitable” in themselves. It’s all about funding the work of the charity named.

End of the day, a well managed charity shop is one that is maximising revenue. How they do that is their business. I don't actually care if staff buy all the good stuff, but I do think it must happen in some shops.

I live near four shelters including a women's shelter and have volunteered at a transitional living facility for years and you can't go in and donate so I don't know about that, but it's definitely not universal. Maybe realise you're not the ultimate authority on the topic...

Yes, no need to buy it straight away. I simply wanted to be able to own the book straight away. So I pad for it then and there.

So I think what we can take from this thread is:

If you have volunteered or do volunteer in a charity shop then you understand the sheer bulk of donations that arrive on a daily/hrly basis. Items are priced according to a list and by a paid manager. You can buy the items if you want, for full price, and occasionally you do this. It’s recorded in a book and approved by a manager. It is likely to be a quirky item that you, personally, think is a bit of treasure.

If you have never volunteered your time in a charity shop then you think it’s pretty awful that the volunteers pick through ‘the best’ donations, pop them in the boot of their car and then resell them on vinted. In fact, volunteers are magpies of the worst kind. There is never anything nice in a charity shop because the volunteers took it all.

Thereby potentially leading readers of occult books to think there's nothing to see in your shop, so they won't bother going back again.

Yup I think this could, in fact develop into a massive massive problem.

In this particular example, I was under the impression that you were agreeing with the premise that it's highly unlikely that other customers would have been interested in buying this particular book.

You said something akin to "If no one else is going to buy it, why do you need to purchase it straight away?" (Paraphrasing, obviously, I know that's not a word-for-word quote.) I replied that I didn't NEED to buy it straight away, but did so because I WANTED to legitimately own the book straight away.

So you are coming across as a little contradictory in this instance, seeing as you'd already seemingly accepted the proposition that virtually no one else would have wanted this book.

I’ve lost count of the number of scholars in Iceland occultism who’ve bemoaned the lack of rare tomes because of unscrupulous charity shop volunteers.

Dinner parties in York are rife with these conversations.

I was challenging the proposition - by saying that if no one else wanted the book, there was no need to keep it off the shelves. The fact you felt the need to buy it immediately suggests you were worried it would be snapped up if you gave others the chance.

I wasn't worried that someone else would buy it, I simply felt like purchasing it at that time. It wasn't a case of needing to keep it off the public shelves, it was simply my own desire to go home owning the book that same day.

I don't typically delay making purchases in other shops of which I'm a customer.

Irrespective of your motive, it still took the book off the shelves and out of view of your potential customer base. For niche interest books, I think it's all the more important that you have visible stock because people simply won't bother going back in if there's nothing there.

Well, I myself am a part of the shop's customer base. "Customer" is defined as a person (any person) who buys from a shop, so the fact that I also volunteer there should ideally be immaterial IMO - I am one additional member of the customer base.

So, the book was bought before other customers (the vast majority of whom would have had no interest in it) had a chance to see it. But I don't think that matters. I legitimately bought the book at the required price, thereby the shop gained a sale. And I gained a book that I wanted and will find useful.

@SorcererGaheris Your shop is niche though, I know Oxfam sell books via Amazon so do know a rare book when they see it. Clothing shops are far more widespread and often a savvy volunteer will know the Prada from the Primark. Obviously the volunteer nans the Prada. Or similar less obvious retro brand the other volunteers don’t know. I have family members who do this as a side hussle as charity employees!

Yep. All the hordes of fans of Icelandic occult practises who come into OP's shop will never visit again because that single book wasn't there.

If a different customer bought it, it STILL wouldn't be there for the next person with that niche interest.

You're like a dog with a bone, entirely illogically.

I think some people need to get a life!