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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think charity shops ....

143 replies

Hando · 03/12/2009 13:20

Should actually sell what is donated to them, if it is is good condition?

I did some volunteering work in a charity shop. It's a great cause and I had a couple of weeks spare time, so worked my arse off and enjoyed it.

However, I had to leave. I was disgusted by the way they treated the items kindly donated to the shop. Firstly, this charity shop have FAR more donations than they could ever sell. They go through and pick out nicest bits. If it has a tiny mark, missing button etc, then it gets binned.

One day we were told to sort through all that days donations and only keep kids stuff or designer labels- as the shop was getting full. We were throwing away bags and bags of lovely mens and ladies clothes lots of whoch were hardly worn and some really stunning bits. There ar elots of smaller, less well known charity shops in the same street so I offered to take some of the surplus black bags (perhaps over 20 in one day) to them for them to sell. I was met with astonished gasps. We couldn't do that. The "rag man" collects them and they get about £2 for a huge black bag full of clothes ~(sometimes lovely ones) which could have been sold for much much more.

The shop manageress doesn't like certain styles or materials so anything like that has to be binned. Hmmmm.... so she decides the taste of the whole town?

AIBU to be totally dissapointed at the way they treat donations from very kind people?

OP posts:
EmsieRo · 03/12/2009 16:52

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Squishabelle · 03/12/2009 17:00

RJRabbit - i was under the impression that most charity shops sell on ebay now. Im sure i have seen jobs advertising for people to do this for them.

QueenOfFlamingEverything · 03/12/2009 17:26

The books go in the skip. Some branches rip the covers off first as well.

SolosScrapingUpForXmas · 03/12/2009 17:32

Sacrilege!

VicarInaTinselTuTu · 03/12/2009 17:45

wow. thats shocked me. i often fill those bags you get posted through the door. ill be more picky in future!

ChilloHippi · 03/12/2009 18:00

Why do they rip the covers off?

QueenOfFlamingEverything · 03/12/2009 18:04

Not sure. Presumably to stop people getting them out of the skip and enjoying them

ChilloHippi · 03/12/2009 18:07

Shocking

Greensleeves · 03/12/2009 18:13

I'd always thought of charity shops as fulfilling a dual role - raising money for the charity in question, AND selling things at low prices so that people who couldn't afford to buy them aywhere else could get what they needed.

I LOVE charity shops and most of what I own comes from them - but I do walk out in disgust sometimes at the insultingly high prices and rude, dismissive attitude of the staff in some of them

dittany · 03/12/2009 18:14

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ChilloHippi · 03/12/2009 18:28

I do know of a charity shop near me that sells on Ebay. They do a lot of house clearances after a death and so get some old and valuable stuff. It's nice that they get a good price for stuff like that.

MintyCandyCane · 03/12/2009 18:30

I love charity shops and it makes me sad they do this. Greeny I have also always thought of them as having a duel role.

I once asked a woman in one why i never see lovely 50s and 60s clothing in them like i used to and she told me they binned it becasue it was too old. I think that is such a shame.

It is also a shame that some of them won't sell kids clothing/books any more because "they don't make enough out of it"

FrostyBaubles · 03/12/2009 18:36

My Mum volunteers in the local hospice shop & everything gets sorted out the back,notjing gets thrown away,if they think they cant sell it in their shop they send it to the other charity shops in the town.

Any old blankets & towels go the the local animal sanctuary & if the staff see anything they like the look of they are allowed to buy it at half the price of what it would go in the shop for.

NickNemo · 03/12/2009 18:39

We are moving home and have just passed on a whole load of stuff to Help the Aged and Age Concern. I don't think BHF would have appreciated my tat lovely stuff as much as AC and HTA.

Shame reall!

bumpsoon · 03/12/2009 18:41

I practically live in charity shops and i have to admit sometimes im suprised by their pricing , i went into one the other day and there was a really lovely jaegar coat ,unfortunately it had a cigarette burn on the front ,they had priced it at £20 ,i mentioned it to one of the staff incase they simply hadnt noticed ,but the lady said 'yes but its jaeger '

purplepeony · 03/12/2009 18:46

I stopped giving a long while back if clothes were in good condition- i try to sell on Ebay first then anything that doesn't sell goes to charity.
I heard- anecdotally- that some people who work in these shops take first pick of what comes in, give a small donation and keep the item for themselves.
Not sure if that is correct but wouldn't surprise me- it's not wrong, but I wonder if they pay a fair price.

RollCorpseIntoHedge · 03/12/2009 18:50

If you are concerned about charity shops binning books then be outraged that libraries bin books that don't sell in their book sales.

QueenOfFlamingEverything · 03/12/2009 18:51

I am outraged by that too

[spontaneously combusts]

VengefulKitty · 03/12/2009 19:08

Gosh

I never go into BHF, as everyone points out it is far too expensive. I mainly look for books and kids toys. Books in my local Scope, RSPCA, Elleanor Hospice and Marie Curie are between 25p and £1.50. In BHF a raggedy old book is £3.50!!! I can get 3 brand new up to date titles for a fiver in the market.

I used to give most of my stuff to the RSPCA shop and when I said there may be some stuff that might not sell they said not to worry, they get money for recycling it. Now I wonder if it is the 'rag-man' also....?

octopusinabox · 03/12/2009 19:09

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

figrollinthehay · 03/12/2009 19:12

I'm glad you posted this. I really struggled with parting with some of my nice baby stuff and steeled myself to give it to charity. Wish I hadn't bothered now and shalln't again.

nymphadora · 03/12/2009 19:17

My bugbear with charity shops is the over pricing.Surely its better to have constant flow of stock (local homeless shop- most things under £1) rather than stagnent stock which stops people coming in(Oxfam)

Jujubean77 · 03/12/2009 19:25

Give to the Sally Army, everything is used. They were the only charity who accepted a huge tin of brand new formula powder and brand new bottles/teats and various other baby stuff. You should have seen the rudeness and hostility when I tried the other more well know charity shops I was [shocked] and

nymphadora · 03/12/2009 19:41

library books 10p for paperbacks and 20p for hardbacks

We had a big clear out and took a dolls pram into the homeless shop 2 weeks ago. There was a young couple in there literally coppering up looking at toys for their dds birthday. The Mum nearly lept on us for the pram and the woman behind the counter just asked how much they had and charged them that. I came away in tears because it was such a nice gesture.

VengefulKitty · 03/12/2009 19:56

Oh nymphadora, that made me well up! Makes you realise how lucky we are eh?

I wonder where my local homeless shop is.... I shall have to find out. I will also start giving my bit to the Sally Army in that case.

Just because I don't want/can't use it, doesn't mean someone else can't. I hate the thought of good items being binned. That's the reason I give to charity in the first place!