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 🤣

You ranted inside the store where staff could hear? Talk about trashy.

The whole point is to raise money for charity. Finding a 'bargain' is great but the whole point is to raise as much money as possible.
They have staff to pay. Shop rents. Overheads.
They have to sort through mountains of shit people donate which costs them money to throw away.

Selling a coat for £25 when it cost over £100 new and is great quality is definitely a bargain.
People hear the word 'charity shop' and think everything should be £2 or less regardless of quality/brand etc.

I don't understand, why would you only use it for a few months?

It totally depends on the quality.

£20 for a high quality wool or down coat would be a bargain. For a fast fashion coat with a questionable blend it would be expensive.

I didn't say it wasn't, but if they're pricing stuff too high for people to buy then no-one is winning.

It seems to me like some charity shops now think that they should charge the same as people would pay on Vinted. So if a jumper would be £4 on Vinted, they think they can sell it for £8 because you have to pay postage on Vinted, so it costs the same.

But if I go on Vinted I can choose from hundreds of jumpers and get the exact one that I want, just by keying what I want into the search bar. A charity shop might have 4 or 5 jumpers and I might have to go to 10 shops before I find what I'm looking for. If I know when I get there it will cost £8, why would I waste the energy? Just so in the end a charity, not sure which one or whether it's a cause close to my heart, will benefit?

If you think people have so much time, money and energy that they'll do that for every charity with a shop on the high street, that's very naive.

Yeah I've sold second hand coats for £30/£50 because they cost £400 originally and have hardly been worn

If you also go on vinted, you run the risk of the item of clothing having stains on them (which the seller hasn't stated) the clothes not fitting, the material being shit... The clothes stinking of cigarettes...

OP is pregnant.

I don't think charity shops are generally the bargain people assume. Even 20 years ago, we were told to price all stock at 50% of the RRP, which was ridiculous, but that was the rule. I felt it meant the shops were no longer for people who actually had a limited income, but those who could afford to buy new but would rather get a 'bargain' from a charity shop.

Well, I've bought many things on Vinted and they've all been in good condition and as expected. If it's not as described you can raise a dispute, and you can read the reviews on the seller before buying. You can have similar issues with charity shop items. Not all of them have fitting rooms. Sometimes you don't notice a small tear or stain until you get home. I bought a sofa from a charity shop, I could tell in the large, well aerated warehouse that it had a faint cigarette smell but when we got it home into our small living room, it absolutely stunk and I could barely breathe. My Welsh aunties attacked it with vinegar and baking soda and then dragged it outside to be cleansed by the sun, and once they were done it was good as new.

Crikey. Going over old posts from the OP on such an inoffensive thread is quite bizarre

Charity shops aren't "for" people on limited incomes. They exist to raise funds.

I got a Gloverall duffel for £20. Retail between £400 - £600. My DH picked up 2 100% wool overcoats, both £20 each. Given the crap you can buy online with 5% wool and 95% polyester for £200 I say £18.50 is a bargain !!

Have it dry cleaned, make it yours.

People can sadly lie online about the quality of goods. If you're in a shop it's there in front of you.

A winter coat should surely be worn over a number of years though

I just paid £30 on vinted for a coat for my ds....its a Nike puffer coat....they are over £100 new so I thought it was a bargain.

I agree. OP stated it was just for wearing for the duration of her pregnancy though.

Presumably it would be too large again next year. Which is why buying used and then passing on again makes perfect sense.

Strangely enough I bought a coat in a charity shop yesterday and it cost exactly £18.50.Eugene Klein classic camel in great condition, wool and cashmere mix so I'm pleased with it but it's the upper
end of what I'd pay in a charity shop

Sounds like an absolute bargain to me, as a new coat would cost at least a couple of hundred.
Why do people expect something for nothing?

You’re completely in the wrong here. You ranted in the shop about the price, even though you have absolutely no idea of the brand or the original value!! It could have been the bargain of the day.
The charity shops near me regularly have coats for sale for five or six times that amount, because they retail for hundreds. If that is outside your budget, pick one of the other coats they have which are way cheaper. It’s your choice but to rant when you are completely unaware of the value is just bonkers.
If I had donated that coat to the charity shop and told them it had cost me £400, I would be miffed to see it being sold for £18.50, I want them to raise as much money for the charity as they can.
There is always something for every budget in our local charity shops, and they are hugely successful and do so much good.
They know their brands. They know their pricing structure and price things accordingly. The customer who rants, somehow thinking everything should be about a fiver, yeah, highly embarrassing!

Because of vinted I see things a bit differently now. So if I'm unsure of something due to price, I think what I could sell it on vinted for and that goes in its favour. So if you could put the coat on vinted in a few months and even get £8 for it , it makes the coat £10.50 so more appealing?

Makes sense! For me, I'd be buying something on Vinted that I could potentially resell, then the price is less important

Primark have a new coat for £26 if all you want is cheap and thin. Elsewhere you'll likely pay £70+., one at Boden £220. £20 for a nice coat in good condition is not unreasonable. If stuff is sold too cheaply people may stop donating and then there is nothing to buy.

Traditionally you borrowed clothes from your mother.

I've paid £30 before for a second hand coat, but it was 75% wool, 25% angora and would have been £300 new. That was enough money that I walked round town before coming back to buy it.

Synthetic would be a no at that price, unless it was a "technical" fabric if that makes sense.