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 duck the issue all the time.

Is your thread solely about your specific second hand book shop?

Or is it about charity or second hand shops in general?

Getting people who want to spend their money into the shop for a second, third, fourth, etc. visit is the key to selling second hand goods. Word spreads about spectacular finds, but disappointment is also shared.

Is your thread solely about your specific second hand book shop?

Charity shops generally, but I base the knowledge and experience I have of my particular shop about charity shops elsewhere.

Given that staff sometimes purchasing some items from our Oxfam bookshop does not have any negligible impact on the shop's performance, then I tend to think that this would also be the case for a lot of charity shops out there. Not all, perhaps. Perhaps there are a number of shops that rarely have items of good quality. But I think it is a little narrow-minded to determine that this means that staff sometimes buying items that they specifically want is a problematic practice across the board.

Getting people who want to spend their money into the shop for a second, third, fourth, etc. visit is the key to selling second hand goods.

And this is exactly what happens at the bookshop that I work at. We have quite a few repeat customers that I recognise. The majority of books on the shelves are in very good condition, which is partly why the shop charges higher prices for them than others might. It's not unusual for the person who prices the history books to put £7.99 or £8.99 (sometimes even higher) on some hardback history tomes.

This is silly.

If the few items the staff are buying are so special that their removal compromises the whole operation, then presumably the first customers through the door would also have made a beeline for them and snapped them up given the chance. And the shop would still be without them for most customers.

Alternatively (in the real world), the few items purchased by staff are just part of the normal business of the shop.

Out of interest, why are you so set on explaining to an actual charity shop worker how charity shops should work?

@BernardBlacksBreakfastWine precisely!
many posters love to tell us how to do our jobs because we’re all a bit dim and can’t get a proper job…

There are definitely some odd attitudes to charity shops on here. There's been threads with people seeing their arses when a charity shop didn't accept particular donations, people who think the job of a charity shop is to provide cheap stuff rather than to make money for the cause, people who think having been in one means they know all about how to run them. It's quite strange.

I sold a decorative item this afternoon - £25 and I know it went in the window today. Following the logic on this thread I should not have sold it as other customers have not had a chance to see that we have good quality items - perhaps asked them to come back in a week…

Ah, but then the next people who come into the shop and wish to buy the item are then preventing other potential people from the opportunity to see items on display and purchase them. So it goes on and on...!

Better just have a rule that no items can be bought by anyone until they've been on the shop floor for a whole week...

@SorcererGaheris what was I thinking…you are of course correct! All items could have a different colour label to show the week they went out and this week we sell only green and next week it’s purple! Just hope it’s not too confusing for the dim volunteers. 😉

And what if you have a member of staff who is colour-blind!?

In our charity shop, we get shed loads of good donations. I'd say 50% donations end up going to recycling as we haven't got enough room for all the donated stock.
Thank god the volunteers also buy stuff as it helps to free up space and increases turnover.
Before I was a volunteer myself , I imagined the charity shop would be delighted with my donations. Now I realise they were probably inwardly groaning, thinking not more stuff we've got nowhere to put.
The only donations as a volunteer I am excited to receive are plastic bags. We are always running out of those. A bag for life sends us into a grateful frenzy!

How can they know what they're missing if you've bought it before it hits the shop floor.
I'd say maybe you'd have an advantage in that if it was a big item you might have more leeway with storing it there before you found a suitable way of transporting it home.
But it's a perk of the job. Same with supermarkets and clothing retailers. I accept if they see something they like they can have it before it gets to general sale. As long as they weren't just buying up all of one particular range leaving shop floors empty.
But that doesn't apply in charity shop anyway. You're a volunteer which is admirable so you deserve first dibs.

Before I was a volunteer myself , I imagined the charity shop would be delighted with my donations. Now I realise they were probably inwardly groaning, thinking not more stuff we've got nowhere to put.

@DogCoat - The shop I'm in has had to temporarily stop accepting donations because there has been such a backlog of stuff piling up in the basement. This was an official directive from the Area Manager after she visited the shop.

So we've not been accepting donations as a general rule for about two weeks. (Exceptions have been made if someone has just come in with the odd book or two.) But anything more and we've had to say no.

Stuff has been getting worked through downstairs and there is some more space now, so hopefully the 'no more donations' rule will come to an end soon.

My motivation for volunteering is to get away from my grumpy husband.
Is that worthy enough for some posters?

Trouble is, not much point in going in if volunteers have cherry-picked the donations ~ and I knew a volunteer some years ago who was selling the stuff on eBay.

But why would you assume that's the case generally?

In many shops there are lots of interesting, good-quality things out for sale that the staff have not bought and have no intention of buying.

🙄Round and round we go!

Often items are sold within an hour or so of being put on sale, sometimes by regular customers who have a resale business. Should we stop these regular customers from buying the items so the shop looks more attractive?

Yes, nobody should be able to buy the 'good' stuff so it stays in the shop to entice other customers in (to also not buy it).

If they can be resold at enough profit to make it worthwhile, does that not suggest the item is underpriced?

It could be said that in that situation the items are underpriced - but there may be nothing the staff can do to change that. If @ShanghaiDiva's shop is anything like mine, then there may be a pricing structure set from above that staff are expected to follow.

Yabu

It's a complete abuse and diminishes the stock. I'd be okay that shop stafff could purchase at full price after being on display for 28 days. No purchases from people and family who know people who are staff.

Basically if you would buy it before it hits the floor, the price needs to increase until you wouldn't.

Because she appears not to understand many of the basic principles of running a charity shop. For starters, she calls herself a customer-volunteer.

Or… she does and you don’t? Are you a man by any chance? The arrogance!

Is there any kind of feedback process for the price-setters?

@FancyAReallyLongUsernameJustForAChange no the items are not underpriced, in fact people complain we charge too much. Some of the resellers will just buy an item because of the label irrespective of what it is.