Page 9 | For not paying nearly £20 for a second hand coat?

Postcardsender · 26/10/2025 22:28

I feel like we get this question every few months and I can never understand it.

Charity shops exist to make money for their charities (cancer, hospices, hearts, animals).

They do not exist to provide cheapskates with clothes at ridiculously low prices (that they can later turn over for a profit on Vinted).

If you want to pay £5 for a winter coat, haggle at a car boot sale as the stalls are packing up. Don’t go to a high street charity shop that has to pay rent, utilities, insurance, staff costs, and maintenance before they can earn a cent for their charity.

slashlover · 26/10/2025 22:59

Can I please ask that those of you who know better than those of us who have volunteered/worked in a charity shop for years please apply to volunteer? You clearly can do the job better.

I've had people moan about prices before. It's a Barbour wax jacket without a mark on it for £40 when it's 6 times that price new. Or a £10 computer game when CEX is selling it for £25 preowned and will give you £9 voucher for trade in. It's a BNWT dress priced at £70, I promise you that £10 isn't expensive, if you don't want to pay that then we have a wide selection for less than £5 and there are even lots on our £1 rail.

Laurmolonlabe · 26/10/2025 23:27

unfortunately I think you are being unreasonable- secondhand prices have moved on.
Expecting to only pay 10% of the original value was never really reasonable £20 for a coat originally costing £200, only really possible if it is in poor condition.
A winter coat is an investment, so spending decent percentage of your annual clothing budget is reasonable expectation, so do you only spend £150 a year on clothes- then £20 on a winter coat would be reasonable.

EH1768 · 26/10/2025 23:48

AleaEim · 26/10/2025 19:36

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.

Show quote history

Yes, in Primark, if you want to shop in Primark. All retailers price their items as they see fit, and customers buy or don’t buy. Same goes for OP and the charity shop. This is not a new conversation.

Sarahthehelper · 27/10/2025 00:09

You are definitely being cheap , I don’t send my unwanted clothes to charity shops now because people expect to buy them for pennies , I’d rather sell them on vinted and give the cash to the charity

theunbreakablecleopatrajones · 27/10/2025 00:13

It depends on the quality of the coat

But you are being unreasonable to think that is generally a lot of money for a second hand coat of half decent quality, it isn't at all

Contrarymary30 · 27/10/2025 00:15

I work in a charity shop pricing for the last 10 years . It would have to be something very special to warrant that price. The big charities ie Cancer research , Banados , mind etc are very overpriced IMO . Try the local indepdant charities who don't pay massive wages to their senior managers and price reasonably.

theunbreakablecleopatrajones · 27/10/2025 00:19

MrFluffyDogIsMyBestFriend · 25/10/2025 18:41

These replies are ridiculous (well it is MN so what do I expect?).

Of course you don't want to pay that much...you go into a charity shop to get a bargain that you don't have to think about too much. Charity shops have so much stuff donated that I often feel cheeky for donating and they'd make more money if they charged less and had a faster turnover. The charity should extend to the customers.

The last coat I got was a vintage John Lewis wool coat in excellent condition. It was £3.99. In my town, most of the charity shops still have reasonable prices.

Either the staff are idiots or they know that's the max they can get in your town,

They will price to what they can get in the OP's town, and reduce if it doesn't sell.

Postcardsender · 27/10/2025 08:44

Contrarymary30 · 27/10/2025 00:15

I work in a charity shop pricing for the last 10 years . It would have to be something very special to warrant that price. The big charities ie Cancer research , Banados , mind etc are very overpriced IMO . Try the local indepdant charities who don't pay massive wages to their senior managers and price reasonably.

You must live in an economically challenged area then.
I have paid £80 for an old coat from a charity shop before and I thought it was worth every penny. That shop does very well and makes a great contribution to breast cancer research, which is its primary goal.

VeneziaJ · 27/10/2025 10:24

I have never got “gotten” second hand clothes for less than £10 to be honest especially decent ones. £18.50 sounds absolutely fine for a second hand good quality coat! A bargain if a good make

Daisymay1000 · 27/10/2025 11:10

Sbrown32 · 25/10/2025 16:09

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 mean the logical sane answer would be to just not buy it surely?

pollymere · 27/10/2025 11:22

My DH just bought a suit in a charity shop for £65. It's actually a bargain because it looks like new and apparently you can still buy it for £269.

I think prices have just gone up and charity shops have done likewise on the nicer items.

Sartre · 27/10/2025 11:51

Depends on its value when new. I snagged an oversized weekday coat for £20 on Vinted, it’s £180 new so I mean… No damage at all, the seller clearly had more money than sense.

GasPanic · 27/10/2025 11:59

Oscar Wilde had a great quote about this.

Knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing.

There are some coats out there that are great value for £20 and others that aren't.

YourWinter · 27/10/2025 12:25

Some of the national chain charity shops are extortionate prices now, Age Concern and Oxfam are particularly expensive. Shops supporting local hospices and animal rescue are best.

Thistlewoman · 27/10/2025 13:29

Sbrown32 · 25/10/2025 16:39

I think, because I know its only going to be used for a few months it just seemed expensive.

Show quote history

The price of a garment isn't based upon how many times YOU will wear it!!
Personally I think £18.50 is pretty reasonable for a coat that you have yourself described as really nice.

berightorbehappy · 27/10/2025 14:06

I paid £40 for a wool coat with lovely lining in a charity shop and it lasted years . As everyone says, depends on the quality and how much you like it . AND it’s for charity too ..

Iwantamarshmallowman · 27/10/2025 14:13

I paid £35 for a brand new zara duvet coat in the charity shop last year. I'd been looking for one eveywhere. It would have been £120 new.l and wear it all the time. Today I saw a new zara mini dress originally £65 for £35 in the charity shop which wasn't anywhere near as good value as the coat and I'd probably only wear it once if that.

Nanof8 · 27/10/2025 19:45

Wear it for the few months you will need and then sell it for £15.

Mademetoxic · 28/10/2025 08:51

The OP hasn't come back to this thread has she 😅😂

Fairydustand · 28/10/2025 09:00

I think it is really about what you can afford.I don't have a lot of spare cash and always buy in sales and charity shops.Have done for years and years.I think £8 max is acceptable for a 2nd hand coat. Sally army shops, in my area still sell at lower prices.

Thistlewoman · 28/10/2025 12:13

Starlight7080 · 25/10/2025 16:54

But it isnt cheap . A charity shop used to be for people who could not afford much at all. So best part of 20 to most may be nothing . But to someone who may only have 40 for food for the week then 20 is a hell of a lot.
Not to mention charity shops get all of the stock for free. And having spoken to people who volunteer they often have full stock rooms with bags and bags of clothing . And turn lots away.
Maybe they would shift more stock and not be closing so many if they reduced the prices and sold more . Like they used to.

That used to be the case-Charity shoos were a good source of clothing for those who couldn't afford shop prices (or who preferred to wear vintage).
Then people started buying clothes in Charity shops and re-selling them on eBay, Vinted etc. Some even boasted about the profits the made on the back of a Charity🤮. Those are the people who have caused Charity shops to raise prices; people looking for something for nothing, so they can turn a profit. It applies to antique dealers too-they regularly trawl Charity shops to see if they can cream off the best stuff and sell for their own profit. I wouldn't object if the resellers then donated some of their profits to the original Charity, but greedy people are gonna be greedy I guess, so most don't.

Postcardsender · 28/10/2025 12:34

Thistlewoman · 28/10/2025 12:13

That used to be the case-Charity shoos were a good source of clothing for those who couldn't afford shop prices (or who preferred to wear vintage).
Then people started buying clothes in Charity shops and re-selling them on eBay, Vinted etc. Some even boasted about the profits the made on the back of a Charity🤮. Those are the people who have caused Charity shops to raise prices; people looking for something for nothing, so they can turn a profit. It applies to antique dealers too-they regularly trawl Charity shops to see if they can cream off the best stuff and sell for their own profit. I wouldn't object if the resellers then donated some of their profits to the original Charity, but greedy people are gonna be greedy I guess, so most don't.

Edited

Show quote history

This.👇
People who argue everything in charity shops should be 50p are in cloud cuckoo land.

They have costs that Vinted sellers do not, and much smaller customer bases. They are doing their best to play to their strengths, specifically showing clothes off to their best effect, allowing people to try before they buy, pricing fairly, and curating so customers don’t have to sift through junk (damaged, tatty stuff).

MeekAndModest · 28/10/2025 12:41

@NecklessMumster ,That was a bargain.

@Thistlewoman , the charity shops are there to raise money for the charity.
So what if someone re-sells it. They aren't there to dress the poor or sell vintage clothes. if they do, great.

Thistlewoman · 28/10/2025 12:59

MeekAndModest · 28/10/2025 12:41

@NecklessMumster ,That was a bargain.

@Thistlewoman , the charity shops are there to raise money for the charity.
So what if someone re-sells it. They aren't there to dress the poor or sell vintage clothes. if they do, great.

Exactly.. so they are under no obligation to sell their stuff for peanuts.. They are there to make money for the Charity, not to provide cheap stock for Vinted sellers. Charity shops have overheads (rent/electricity etc) to cover too-long gone are the days when Charity shops sat on the High Street for free.