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 🤣

I've had money & I've been broke. I hate the thought of Vinted - who's been in those clothes before?
The top end clothes from charity shops are recognisable if they are a few seasons old. Some do over estimate the prices they charge.
OP, take no notice of other posters, buy what you want to buy at a price you want to pay!
My favourite coat? One from Debenhams (when they were Debenhams) 30 years ago. I still get so many compliments on it, & take care of it by hanging it correctly between wearings!

Given that the person giving this coat, if they've only used it for one pregnancy, has probably only used it for bits of some days for maybe 4-5 months or less, I think £18.50 is reasonable. I would normally have the same coat for YEARS!

Depends on brand and condition. There were some beautiful designer/brand name coats in charity shops near my DD’s uni, donated I assume by international students who had headed home. They wanted £20 which seemed fair as the coats looked brand new.

What about next autumn and winter?

I volunteer in a charity shop - prices are set by head office and are based on brand and type of item working on a percentage of the average cost new. If a brand isn’t listed we research on eBay and vinted to find a fair/reasonable price.

The costs of rent, electric and paid staff have gone through the roof lately so prices have naturally increased. I hope that you (and everyone else) keep shopping in your local charity shops - it’s touch and go at the moment for the one I work in 🙁

Where can you buy a coat for £20 in a shop these days? Even a return at sports direct cost £5 these days. YABU.

I am glad you finally got a coat @Sbrown32. This thread has reminded me of well over 45 years ago I bought a full length dark brown 1940’s fur coat from Oxfam. It was £5. A fair amount at the time. I was a student with let’s just say an ‘individual’ style. I wore that coat for years all winter every winter. I absolutely loved it. I donated it back to Oxfam. They sold it again for £35 I saw it in the window. I was so sad I nearly bought it back again 😂.

I've just bought a brand new coat in the sale at Sainsbury's. It was £12.

it depends on the brand, the fabric and the condition

Please share pics/ make / style , am intrigued by the fabric?

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.

You seemed to like it though but obviously not enough to pay £20. Doesn’t make it wrong for it to be priced at that point. Yes of course charity shops make the occasional errors of pricing eg fast fashion tat for too much but they are run by mainly a gang of volunteers who likely have their own pricing methods and I guess not all shops have a vigilant manager to always notice this. But in the main they do price appropriately as there will be LT staff that knows what sells at what price point.

As far as the coat goes, I’d spend up to whatever my budget was for a good coat. If I saw one in a charity shop and it was perfect for me I’d spend no different to anywhere else as in if I think the cut, fit, quality, label etc. justified the price then I’d pay otherwise I’d just leave it 🙃.

If it was anything half decent, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. I have coats that age myself. But this guy is oblivious, and his stuff is crap. That’s what I object to.

Yes you are being cheap. It’s 18, did you want it for a pound? It will serve the purpose for a while so surely it makes sense to get the coat you want to do its job.

I live right by a charity shop so often donate things.
It makes me sad when I go in and see my items sitting the for weeks because of the high prices. I sell whatever I think is worth it on Vinted and give away everything else.
its horrible to see a coat I donated for sale at £20-25 and dresses £10 +
we don’t live in a rich area at all, very working class and deprived

I understand the overheads but way too many big charities spend too much on merchandising and branding and it’s a shame for the end users, many of whom go to charity shops because they can’t afford retail shops , even primark when benefits payments are so tight now

I’ve noticed charity shops are getting wayyy more expensive…. I got a lovely coat for £2.10 from Vinted (plus postage) so about £5.50

I'm not sure we have enough info to accurately decide. Context is everything here.

F&F brand that was £25 originally they were unreasonable

Canada Goose that retails an inexpensive of £300 then £20 is actually cheap.

I buy most of mine and dd's clothes second hand. Primarily from vinted as I have recourse if they are damaged etc. But dd is now at senior school, having the wrong brand is social suicide. Everyone has brands like Superdry. I can't afford upwards of £100 so £20-30 from Vinted is my saviour.

I agree, 20 is a lot, doesn’t matter what brand, it’s second hand at the end of the day. You could nearly get a new coat for that price in primark.

It all depends on the quality as other posters have pointed out. It’s also for a good cause. Don’t forget the fees and postage charges on Vinted (an order of mine has gone astray as we speak!🙄).

Too lazy to take pictures, sorry! I was wrong: the fabrics are different.
The £90 coat's Gap: black, long, double-faced, oversized, shapelessly swishy, 50% wool, 40% poly, 10% other.
The £25 one's bright red, thigh length, A-line (swing shape), 70% wool, 20% poly, 10% cashmere, lined with nylon 'silk'. Both are really pleasant to wear. No brand on that one.

I looked on Vinted for a big, swishy coat but everything under £100 in my size looked shabby and I can't be arsed to keep going back for repeat searches. That was when I saw the red one, though, and had to have it!

I'm impressed by other people's designer bargains from Ebay & Vinted. I suspect they hunt like professionals, and I simply don't care enough to put in that much effort. Plus I'm a size 16 and there are a lot more people selling designer stuff in 8-12.

I bought a very specific thing to wear for an event and the seller didn't send it so vinted refunded...luckily I had a back up ordered from elsewhere but yes, there is a downside to vinted!

I put in way too much effort into my hunts but I’m ND so it kinda goes with the territory!
the coats sound fab, I love a swishy one, I’m middle heavy so a belt doesn’t suit and neither does a straight up straight down

It really does depend on the make but I have to agree some charity shops are trying it on. There's one local to me who charges more for Primark and Matalan clothes than they cost new.

Fingers crossed for you! You wouldn’t believe how much weight I put on AFTER I had mine 😂

Yes immensely true 💚

This happened to me once and I very reluctantly parted with £20 for a nice wool coat in a charity shop only to discover it would have cost £350 new! The problem was, moths got to it after a couple of years and I can’t afford to replace it!