For not paying nearly £20 for a second hand coat?

[Sbrown32]

So, today I went charity shopping for the first time in a while as I needed a winter coat for the last few months of my pregnancy. I found a really lovely one that I wanted, it was a nice colour and the quality wasn't to bad, a few imperfections but overall I was happy, until I went to go look at the price 🙃 £18.50!! I don't know if I am just being cheap but that seemed expensive for anything second hand!

Most of my clothes are second hand and I rarely buy brand new, I am used to paying a few £ for any item of clothing and have gotten many coats in the past for £5 - £10 depending on type of coat. I just can't get over it and may have embarrassed the OH with my rant inside the store 🤣

But why would this cause you to have a rant?

They don't price their items according to how long their customers intend to wear them 😳

I spent 15 on a second hand coat yesterday when I saw the padding was goose feather. That's a crazy good bargain. Depends on the material and quality.

I gave a 2 year old coat to a charity shop a couple of years ago as I'd only worn it a couple of times and it was taking up space. Cost £250, was 2 years old. £20 would have been a reasonable price for it.

I was quite happy to fill up the car today and buy shopping but baulked at paying £20 for really nice wide jeans. I’m too used to Vinted prices. Do find charity shop prices a bit crazy sometimes, particularly for non-branded stuff.

@Sbrown32 I'd pay £20 if it was a decent coat.

My big pet hate of charity shops is trying to charge £5 for a tshirt that was probably £3 from Primark! Some of them are so out of touch with their pricing and it is surely costing them sales and profit.

I auctioned a Seasalt coat on ebay a couple of years ago and got half its original cost. If this coat was good quality, I would say it was a bargain.

Once I have the baby, I hopefully won't be the same size! I maybe wrong but I have done up 2/3 sizes so it will be to big for me.

Although, somebody has suggested to use it to wrap baby in too so it maybe for a bit longer than expected

Sadly then if they priced everything below a certain amount people would buy it and sell it on for 3x the price.
Charity shops are used for helping out charities.

Can you afford to raise a child if you are scrimping over the boat of a coat?

Well yes, this.

Just because it's a charity shop, doesn't mean they're selling things dirt cheap. The purpose of the shop is to raise money for the charity.
I bought myself some moshulu boots from my local one last year. If they had been new, they'd have been over £100. I got them for £30.

Similarly, someone picked up a designer bag for £50. If that had been new, it would have been 4 times the price.

Yes, I think I am being unreasonable with all the posts with regards to the coat.

But I totally agree, some of the prices are just insane and out of touch 😳

Depends entirely on the label/quality. I’ve regularly sold secondhand coats/dresses/tops etc on eBay for more than £20. I think it’s weird to expect that everything should be sold for peanuts regardless of the original price.

Did you actually search for the OP and go looking at their other threads/posts?

It does seem a lot for a charity shop, OP, so I can understand your hesitation. I guess if you didn’t recognise the brand it’s hard to know if it was a bargain or not. You could maybe google it should it happen again.

I paid 60£ for a faux fur coat (leopard print) 9 years ago now in a charity shop

I’ve just spent 45 on it to have it relined and a pocket that was torn fixed and maybe il get another 9 years out of it 😬 it’s beautiful

Why should charity shops sell things cheaply? £18.50 for a decent winter coat is a bargain.

I mean I don't really have a choice, baby is coming so we will manage as lots of other do. Besides, I am not making the point that I can't afford the coat its the point that in a charity shop I wouldn't pay £20 for a second hand coat.

I’d be content with paying £20 for a coat even if was for a few months. Say 20 weeks for the duration, that just a pound a week. Bargain.

I bought my North Face jacket for £20 in an Oxfam shop in Oxford - absolutely thrilled with it. Had it been a cheaper brand it would have been not so much a bargain. It really depends on make etc.

Fractionally over 15p per day if you only wore it for 120 days...

No, I don't think that's expensive at all.

It would have to be very good quality and in good condition for me to pay that much.

Charity shops used to be so cheap so it stings to pay so much for stuff now.

I often just don't buy, especially because I feel like the item is usually a bit worn, not in the latest style, not my first choice where buying new gives you more choice. I already feel like I'm making compromises by getting second hand, so I don't want to pay a lot for something that isn't perfect basically. If rather just pay more and get the coat I completely love, than one that's nice.

If it was cheaper I'd think, it isn't perfect but it's nice and it's cheap and would probably buy it.

I was in charity shop about a year ago looking at a top just a plain white vest that said gorge on the tag (tesco) the price was £6.
I put it back went to tesco and 3 for fiver.
A few weeks back went looking around for some fluffy pjs, found a few in defferent charity shops.
The prices went from £8 for just fluffy bottoms to 7 for a fluffy top, did find a set for £15 but it was just so tatty and worn out not worth 15 tbh.
And another set for £13 but it had a stained crouch.
I went on temu and got 4 new sets for £30.

I recently bought a coat in a charity shop for £28. It felt a bit pricey, but I really liked it ( and it was in Brighton, so not a cheap part of the UK ). I think if you like it and will get a lot of wear out of it, then it's a bargain, especially considering how much a decent coat costs new.

They sell gorge clothes in Tesco?

Charity shops have never been about cheap items for people who can't afford much. The original British ones were about raising money to alleviate the WW2 Greek famine. When I donate quality items to a shop, I want them to get as much as they can for them. The manager has to judge that obligation against an item not selling or staying unsold too long. Sometimes an inexperienced volunteer will under or over price an item. I once got to work and found a high fill down coat on the floor for £6.99. I whipped it into the back, put £50 on it and it sold an hour later to an archaeologist heading out to The Orkneys who was very happy with her bargain.

You're wrong. Charity shops are there to raise money for the work of their particular charity. That's it. If someone doesn't want to pay £20 for a coat, someone else will, and the charity will use the money to do its charitable work.