Secrets of the charity shop sorting room: what do you really want to find?

[Corygal]

I work (free) for two local charities and am chief sorter of clothes at the shops together with my mate who is a clothes designer for the-pricy-end-of-the-high-street stores. Together we barrel through sorting about 300 kilos of clothes a week. Shops are in a naice bit of London but there is, of course, a lot of local poverty.

Can you help us? What we really want to know is what you want most from a decent charity shop. Be as ambitious as you want - yes, we do get unworn Prada occasionally. Or as basic - I am currently sporting some second hand yoga pants because I'm too mean to buy them new. What do you think about pricing these days - ludicrous or worth it for good stuff?

In return, I promise to spill about the inner workings of your favourite haunt. For a start:

1. No, of course the volunteers don't get all the best stuff free - we get it at a howlingly generous 25 per cent discount. Which doesn't even cover the lunches and fares we don't get. Volunteering really is a labour of love.

1. Yes, some of the best stuff is horrifically overpriced. I get the remainders of stock from the capital's best areas to assess and without fail it's always the truly delicious pickings that are left: because some greedy brute has priced them each at 50 quid. Which the sort of locals who use the shops can't pay. (I reprice at a tenner and it sells the same day, btw)

1. No, you don't need to be a retail expert to be in charge (although we sort of are) but you do need the biceps of Geoff Capes. 300 kg of textiles is a lot. We carry them all up and downstairs, to cellars, onto lorries, you name it.

1. Yes, 80 per cent of the stuff we get is rubbish. And that's on a good day - I don't think the collective nerves of the MN ladeez are tough enough to withstand details of some of the stuff I've dealt with. FYI, the rankest section of the population is the teen girl - they put the used-incontinence-pad donations of their elders to shame.

1. Finally, it's always worth asking for a discount if there is a flaw in a garment. We can all make a mistake in the sorting room, and the worst you get told is no.

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I have shopped in charity shops since forever, and I love the thrill of finding the perfect item.

I dislike the current trend for making them boutiquey - if it feels too posh I feel too awkward to go in.

BHF shops tend to feel very cramped and difficult to get around. I also dislike the amount of new stuff they stock.

Speaking for myself, I mostly use charity shops for two reasons - supporting charity and the spread of items available. I don't mind too much if something is a little over priced, but I am put off if everything is high.

I like to have rummage bins - especially for children's clothes. Many people (i think) will go to charity shops for clothes for camping or fancy dress or school trips - times when cheap is more important than condition, so to have a collection which you know might be a bit tired looking or tatty but cheap can be really helpful.

Sorry - not sure if that was what you were looking for (obviously, unworn Prada in my size held back for me personally and priced at at a fiver is also great! )

Would love to hear tales from the stock room...

I want my charity shop to carry a range of items, at varying prices, and I don't want to pay more than what I'd be able to buy the items for, on eBay. I love looking in my favourite local charity shops (Notting Hill / Kensington), but most of them have recently increased their prices. By a lot. One had an average looking wool coat, by a high end high street brand, that was priced at £60. Really? £60 for an obviously worn coat? No.

Where I am pricing is ok, but doesn't always reflect the brands. For example, today I saw Primark things priced the same as Zara and M&S.

I like regular stock rotation, things arranged by size, not too much out.

I generally shop with a buggy, if I can't get in or round the shop with the buggy, I just don't bother. Some shops have so much stuff out its just impossible.

Belinda, mad pricing enrages me. It's such a waste - the item doesn't sell, so there's zero benefit to the charity, there's no recycling or saving resources as it's never used again, and it ends up being ragged for about a penny.

I too loathe the business of making a thrift store look like a naice suburban boutique - charity shops are way more exciting than that. And they should be the truly democratic destination on the high street ie everyone should want to go inside.

A bit of whitewash and a quilted heart will not fool the public into forking out for bad stock, either.

"Whitewash and quilted heart" - I loathe the shabby chic crap that lots of charity shops sell, too.

I'm willing to forgive an element of over crowding on stock if the pricing is right, but only because I have plenty of time to be able to sort through stuff myself. That said, too much overcrowding is absolutely off putting. But it's poor pricing that is killing charity and second hand shops around here. I've seen Primark t-shirts priced at £4 & £5 when they cost £2 to buy new, Tesco camisole vest tops similarly, yet one can also come across White Stuff skirts for well under a tenner, dresses for @£12, and I've seen Monsoon and East stuff for £5-£20 too. But then there's the middle high street stuff like BHS and Matalan priced at the same level when it should be well under the five pound mark. In fact I think £5 and £10 are important mental marker points for a lot of people - I'm going to seriously think twice at paying more than £10 for secondhand clothes, so it had better be absolutely worth it, or I'm just not going to bother. I think a previous poster is right, areas of quality but keenly priced stuff, and a section for bargain basement stuff separately.

On styling and display, I do like themed window displays, so having hats, bags, shoes, belts & jewellery out to create a complete outfit rather than just say a single skirt on an otherwise naked mannequin. Because I'm highly likely to buy an extra necklace at say £1.50 to go with the nice top at £4, or a belt at £2 to go with a new skirt or dress at £8, if I've seen something similarly styled elsewhere in the store. I'm persuadable because it's for charity, and you get an extra sale. A good window display will get me inside in the first place, our BHF place is v good at this now, Salvation Army OTOH is appalling.

Seasonal stock and display is important too, our best shops don't leave everything out all year, the worst really do seem to. I'm seeing lots of spring and summer dresses coming out now, and lots of hair accessories too.

I adore good charity shops and really want to support then, but I won't be ripped off.

My favourite charity shops have nicely arranged stock (by colour), frequent new stock and have clothes that I can't easily find in the high street. I'm looking for good quality, so decent brands. I like a bargain but am happy to pay a fair price. To give a few examples, this year I have bought 7 for all Mankind flares (tenner), two new with tags Laundry party dresses (28 and 60 quid - I think the second was overpriced but loved it) and a pair of unworn American knee high riding style boots that I saw online for 300 dollars (28).

In the last year I've seen a number of shops change quite radically locally. A few have stayed old style, others have become much more like high street shops with carefully selected stock and a better layout.

And for me, this is the beauty of a charity shop: " There is no way I can be arsed spending an hour and a half trying to trawl through over-crammed racks of clothing when I know that the chances are I'll find nothing more exciting than some M&S cardigans and a bizarrely-shaped Jigsaw dress in the wrong size." :D I mostly go in when I want a browse to see if I can find any treasures!
The current trend for giving over half the shop to new stuff bugs me as well. One or two shelves by the till is fine, cards at Christmas time is fine, more than one rack of new stuff throughout the year and it's not really a charity shop anymore- it's just a not-for-profit shop.

The charity shop that I bother with most near me has clothes set out by colour and then within each colour by size. It is so easy to see if there is anything I want. The other one, which has just as good stock is much more jumbled up and tbh I don't go there nearly as often

I love a good chazza and since having my son a year ago I've bought nothing new for him or I.
I'm confused by the shops which arrange clothes by colour - I've never been into a shop and thought hmm I want something red but I don't care if it's a top, skirt or wooly hat!
I love a bargain bin (especially for baby clothes) but get cross when I see primark tops at £3 (often the same as rrp).
The things I love and buy most are good quality staples like black jeans, work trousers etc for under £5.

I'm interested to hear from you what sells best. I sometimes feel like the staff in charity shops look more irritated to receive donations than pleased, and I wonder if it is because it's stuff they know won't sell. I used to give everything i didn't want anymore to charity shops, but sometimes now try and sell them myself or give to the school pta as they sell bags to those companies that pay for second hand clothing. If I know things are likely to sell, I would be more likely to donate to the shops still.

As for what I buy -I most use them for books -adult and child, and children's toys like jigsaws. I am put off if price is too high -oxfam seem to sell books no cheaper than you could get them on amazon for these days! Also put off if you can't get at stuff without leaning over lots of other stuff or if you can't browse the bookshelves without being in someone's way all the time.

Cory, can I ask what charity shops wish list is in terms of donations please? I remember Mary Queen of Shops having the rage because costs are incurred to recycle/dispose of the donations that can't be used and I suppose used incontinence pads would be up there but what's good give?

Incontinence pads - bleurgh. I love the variety and the thought of a bargain and then money going to charity.

My favourite is curtains and am always on the hunt. I got some amazing ones for £40 for a pair last year (made to measure and 10ft long too). I also have got some great children's books and a new pair of Hobbs shoes. But I do find I get irritated if it is all Primark and H&M. I often find the accessories section has a lot of tat - do you ever get good accessories?

We've got three on our high street and I browse all 3 regularly. One is overcrowded and hung in logical rails by size and type. Worthy charity run by nice people but nothing ever catches my eyes. It's the one that sorts by colour and has an appealing layout that I buy from, just because it gives me an open mind and a positive bias towards the stock on display. I think it also attracts a better quality of donations which means that I'm inclined to browse more systematically because I know there is probably some nice Whistles or Jigsaw stuff in amongst the H&M and New Look - and even if there isn't I might decide that that H&M top is actually pretty nice for four quid and take it anyway.

I am put off by pricing that takes it out of my impulse buy range. In the cheaper charity shops I'll always pop in and browse because there might be something attractive for a fiver or a tenner. But we've got one shop that's gone the full Boutique and I don't bother to browse in there because I know anything I want is likely to be twenty five quid. It's a good cause, and good luck to them if they can sell stuff for that much, but it's not for me.

I have also found ridiculously high pricing in my local shops, e.g. £2 for a well-worn toddler's t-shirt from asda. One shop did a trial where everything in the shop was £1, or x items for £1. E.g. 3 books for £1, adult clothes £1, children's clothes 3 items for £1... The pricing seemed ludicrous but the stock shifted rapidly, there was always a queue and it was worth popping in daily to see what was new. Now it's back to normal prices and I'm often the only customer when I pop in.

Interesting to hear that it's ok to point out flaws. I wouldn't do this as "it's for charity" but have discarded items that my preschooler would probably like after noticing flaws that render the item overpriced.

Every one of you talks brilliant sense, thanks for your most charitable donations of valuable insight. I will be turning all your help into profit, believe me.

First things first - what sells? Well, ladies' skirts don't at the mo, believe it or not. No one really likes secondhand trousers unless they're a good make.

Mostly the sales ripple up and down seasonally - coats and jackets always whizz off the shelves until about now, then it's dresses and shoes. Men's clothing sells less than women's (like all retail) but men are happy to pay more per garment.

As to what we want most - good quality mid-high street and above clothes and more than that, bric a brac. That's our dream. Bric a brac goes a bomb - even in areas like Mayfair customers fight over second hand mixing bowls.

The main thing to remember is that we want anything - because we sell it all, somehow. We rag unsaleable clothes and shoes and bags, we rag books and we recycle dodgy electrics if we can't get them tested and mended. Ragging is jolly hard work, but we persevere, even though the prices are bad.

Well, everything except one thing - actual rubbish. It costs the charity over a pound per bin bag to get the council to take the real dreck we get dumped with. Some people deliberately 'make a donation' to avoid paying removal costs of their waste.

Trousers have to fit RIGHT to be any good, so I can see why trousers would not sell well.

So if I have an old t-shirt that's a bit frayed, that nobody would ever want to buy - you DO want it because you'd rag it?

Or would you rather I didn't put that in the donation bag?

Ours have very worn primark or Tesco jumpers for 4.99. Really.

I asked my local Oxfam that very question, and was told rags are welcome - even better if they're in a bag marked "rags" in the first place.

Corygal may have a different answer, of course.

Its the smell that bothers me, tbh! I have seen several nice dry clean only items in my local charity shops which don't smell great, and the cost of the item plus having it cleaned makes it not worth my while (although I accept someone in a higher income bracket might not find this a problem)

Why do charity shops have this smell? It is a particular smell, and the shops near me all smell the same. We recently went looking for a skirt to make a costume for a school project for DD, and the DCs commented on the smell without me making any reference to it whatsoever, so it is very noticeable . I don't feel it makes a very pleasant shopping environment.

I have a separate bag that I put knackered clothes and linens in (DH wears his work shirts until they have holes in, DS chews his cuffs, old socks etc). When I do a charity shop run I hand over two bags, one marked Saleable and one marked Rag Quality. My DM has worked in a charity shop for years so I like to make the volunteers' lives easier.