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.

I used to love our Cancer research shop. It had all the right things in the right measure -from baby clothes to tables lamps.There was always some little bin or corner to explore.
Then the designers got hold of it and dictated that for example ,baby clothes are not to be in bins -they must be on hangers , thus limiting the available range. So I dont buy baby clothes there any more. They also limited the space available for each category of used goods while increasing the amount for new goods. It does have a nice new floor and new rails - but the designer decided that the opaquely etched scratched glass display cabinet should stay . So its really hard to tell what is in there.
I still visit the shop but rarely buy anything now as there seems to be nothing I want.Before the make over I aways bought something .

I never go into Lighthouse shops any more. In my experience they are the worst sort of charity shop. Dirty ,torn, overpriced clothes with huge amounts of single glasses or plates for sale. Overpriced furniture is crammed into any available space so its hard to manouvre round the shop.There are grubby toys and books with no attempt at categorising them on the shelves and the staff - and Ive been in several different shops before realising this - are usually only interested in talking among themselves. The last one I went into had a fullscale argument among the staff going on with no-one attempting to stop it. Grim.

Ensure there is air conditioning/an open window/door and sales staff who are not snooty. Some have been worse than the kind found in designer boutiques. Puts me right off.

I stopped going in charity shops about ten years ago. Couldn't afford them! So many things are more expensive than buying new in Primark or Asda.

I only give things to charity shops. I probably could afford them now but I think that's rotten, honestly. It makes me cross to think about it.

Though I used to buy a lot of books at the community furniture shop where I used to live. We all did! 5p to 20p a book! At that price you could read them and donate them back, which was great-- like a library you didn't have to remember about.

Many of the charity shops are projects for the charities. They are upping their game not to earn more money but to offer work experience on par with high street shops. This then allows people to transition into work more easily and also means employers don't look down at the experience gained by volunteers. They also widen the group of people who come into the shops - which means more foot traffic. More sales.

I would buy China and for many years bought vintage tea sets until they became fashionable. I don’t buy clothes. I’m another one who dislikes the smell in charity shops.

I'd agree with the pricing - you'll often see a well worn Asda t shirt for £4 when it'll only have cost £5 brand new 5 years ago! Sometimes I think it's down to volunteers or staff not knowing what things cost new, what's currently in fashion and different store's brand names. For example I was looking at a top and the old dear pointed at the Papaya label and said "ooh...it's a very good make". It's Matalan

I want everything to be clean, in good condition and not have that funny smell. I won't go near anything from Primark or supermarkets. No bobbly t-shirts and jumpers, nothing faded or stained.
I'm looking for top end high street and designer and am happy to pay a reasonable amount for the quality not necessarily the brand. Also I think it's nice to get an amazing bargain, it keeps me going in regularly e.g. I bought a designer dress for my friends 50th meal for £1.
This year I also bought a gorgeous Hobbs Mac in immaculate condition for £25. Totally worth it.
I have a good budget for lovely things. I don't go in to just 'clothe' myself.

In the 1970s and 80s, I bought a large percentage of my clothes (and furniture) in charity shops Hoboken's Salvation Army was my favourite department store but now I donate instead. You have to be very lucky indeed to find any clothing worth having nowadays. I like Oxfam for books though. It's a better and more varied selection that the real book shop or WH Smith.

...than ....

I’ve started thinking about what I donate, and don’t give anything that’s well worn, just my buying “mistakes”, because I’m not interested in buying something that’s been worn and washed repeatedly. Our local charity shops aren’t cheap!
The rag quality bag idea is a good one.

I love a charity shop, but am increasingly amazed by the prices in some, especially for things like Primark t-shirts which are often priced higher than if bought new.

When I'm sorting out stuff for the charity shop I always go by something that Mary Portas said "If it's tatty and you wouldn't wear it, why would you expect someone else to?". So clothes have to be of good quality, not bobbly or stained, pages not falling out of books etc., or I won't donate.

My dream is finding an original Chanel bag for a silly amount. I'll keep dreaming shall I.....?

All of my local charity shops are rubbish to be honest. I only go in for books. At the weekend I saw a Primark dress on the rail priced £15. Now it did look new in fairness, but this morning I saw the exact same dress in PRIMARK for a tenner! It's current season, but a fiver more expensive in the charity shop!

You sound really switched on, so I'm sure you know already a lot of what I'm about to suggest, but here goes...

I use charity shops a lot, but I rarely go in looking for a specific thing - I'm more likely to want to browse through the rails looking for quality items. My all-time bargain hunting triumph was a MaxMara wool blazer that cost me £25 - expensive for a charity shop but peanuts for what it was, and it will never go out of style. I've also had a Burberry sweater, Joseph trousers, and a Nicole Farhi dress, all priced at less than £12 each (not all at the same time!) My point is that I don't mind paying a bit more for something that would have cost a lot more originally, and is good quality, but you can only really do that with designer labels, not high street. I wouldn't pay £10 for a pair of M&S trousers that have obviously been well-worn when I could get them new for about a fiver more.

Now, obviously you can't control what gets donated, but I do think that putting out a lot of well-worn Primark and Asda stuff is a bit of a waste of time. I pass straight over it because it's not especially well-made and if it's already been worn out by someone else I won't get much use out of it. I think it should only be sold if it's nearly new and if it's priced very cheaply.

I would never buy shoes second-hand. The idea of putting my feet where someone else's have already been makes me feel ill. That's just me and my weirdness though - I have no such issues with second-hand trousers, which should probably be just as bad if you think about it.

Great thread! I know several other people have said they love clothes sorted by colour, but I prefer them sorted by type (coats, tops etc) then by size within that.
Shoes - ugh, would never buy used shoes.
I buy books, read them and bring them back!
Also have a weakness for coloured glass and vintage crockery. Would love a vintage teaset but can’t get one anywhere- they used to be 10 a penny.
Not keen on shops that pretend to be chichi boutiques- the prices will be too high.

I like that Mary Portas quote! In my mind, a garment is designed to have a “life”, long or short. I won’t donate something that’s already had it’s life, like DH’s repeatedly washed and ironed shirts . Some things, like evening dresses, that have only been worn once, fair enough, there’s plenty of life left in them.

I'm curious about the smell too. I love charity shops and have never been put off buying in them, but I've noticed that nearly all clothes bought in them smell of "someone else's washing powder" and it smells like it's always the same sort. Is there a washing powder manufacturer who donates to all the charity shops or something?

Most of my clothes are from charity shops. I also get shoes. I'm prepared to rummage and handwash/disinfect, repair etc. I find brilliant things (designer and high end high street) and some mistakes. I look out for friends and relatives too.
Price them cheap and arrange by size.

Mistakes can be returned or re-donated.
I take unwanted clothes to the charity shops and bag rags separately.
Items that are 'rags' can have buttons removed and put on a piece of thread so that they can be resold.

I have occasionally walked into Charity shops to have a look but have always walked out empty handed. Around me they seem to be run by 70 year olds plus who don’t know their Prada from their Primark! So it’s all clothes for the less fashionable in society. Most of the ornaments are horrible and I cannot find a good thing to say about them. I have donated high end high street to one of my local ones (the better one) but never saw a single thing I donated on the rails. I did get a message that they raised £195 from my donations so I guess they sold on eBay. Or in another shop.

OP: I volunteer in another sector. I don’t get travel money or lunches! I would think you need to wake up to reality if you think a charity should pay for perks. Volunteering means you give to them, not the other way round.

The other problem that doesn’t help the charity sector is poor retail management and expertise. I hear about this first hand from a friend. The management is woeful. Mary Portas found this too. They have pet projects (boutique shops, new items, etc) but are not accountable for their decisions which seem to backfire and don’t make money. Staff are poorly trained. I know a charity where 6 shops are meant to identify high end and retro items for their specialist shop. Some volunteers wouldn’t know “high end” if it slapped them in the face or retro. If they do, they keep them in their own shops to meet their own targets. They don’t yet run an eBay shop so potential buyers are reduced.

Several successful non charity boutiques near me do stack their rails with outfits. They are colour themed and I quite like that approach. But, they have lots of sizes in the items and you can actually buy an outfit. One offs in charity shops cannot be sold like that.

I cannot stand seeing tat in these shops. Anything worn and grubby should go for rags. Matalan, Primark and similar “wear once” cheap buys should be in a £1 section (or less). Decent stuff (if volunteers are capable of identifying it) should be in a separate curated quality section.

Untidy stock and untidy shops are a turn off. Manky toys (especially knitted ones!) and all tat should be banned! Well run charity shops have their place but not stocking worn out cheap rubbish.

I go to charity shops to search for unusual, vintage or high end clothes that aren't to be found on the High Street, so nowadays with lots of chain store or Primarni stuff, I look more than I buy.
Likewise shoes, bags, scarves, etc.
I love having an actual bookshop (Oxfam) in our small market town, and for that, I am prepared to forgive the high prices.
I buy a lot of books from all charity shops, and would expect to pay £1 for a recent paperback in goodish condition. However, I wouldn't turn my nose up at a tatty copy of a book I really want, older paperbacks, science fiction, some older penguins, etc. These don't seem to make it onto the shelves any more, which removes swathes of good titles.
Some charity shops have a good crack at categorising their books.... but they (like new bookshops) nearly always put horror and fantasy in with science fiction. :( Also, those revolving stands that are sometimes used for paperbacks mean that you can't read all the spines. Bad move.

Don't display them in colours. Store by garment type and size.

I actually prefer things organised by colour. I might be a 12 or a 14 depending on the shop, maybe even the occasional 10 or 16, but I would never wear red or purple so I prefer to go for “my” colours and avoid the ones I don’t like than have to look through all the sizes that might fit and have to wade through all the colours.

I also prefer by colour. I only wear shades of black gray navy and white so it means I can skip those red and purple sections.

My favourite charity shop was in my home town. It was run by little old ladies for the Red Cross in two packed rooms of an old church annex. As a teenager I loved to rummage in it. Everything was piled high, smelt of moth balls and was cheap. I wore fabulous 50s dresses, men's coats and jackets and found great woollen cardigans. Nothing will ever compare.