Why do charity shops do this?

[LuLuLemonadeDrinker]

A couple of local charity shops near me both constantly have signs up outside on an A-Board, saying that they are not taking donations. However, both of these have very little stock inside, and are both very overpriced. For example, a worn, very bobbly Primark jumper for £7, and a Boohoo polyester dress for £12.

One in particular is just depressing to go into; I went in the other day for the first time in two months and some of the overpriced clothes that were there then were still hanging there, still for sale. The rails were also pretty empty. The board was outside as usual requesting no donations. There were 5 members of staff in the shop.

I really don't get it; surely it would be far better, and raise far more money, if they had more stock out, and priced it at lower prices for a quicker turnover. I really can't see the shop I went in yesterday raising much money at all, as there's never anything in there really to buy.

I'm sure some posters will reply saying it's a 'charity shop bashing thread', and yes, it is! I want to support charities and want to buy pre owned items but shops like this aren't exactly going to raise any money!

It’s hilarious that there are so many people running charity shops down.
Overpriced things and not taking donations might just be a management oversight and it probably is worth letting the Charity Retail Association know, as that particular shop might need some support with training and advice. They are almost exclusively run by volunteers, and even the paid staff aren’t exactly earning a high wage.
Charity shops need support and it’s fine to make suggestions, but just running all Charity shops down if silly. The ones in my area are amazing and run so well.
The Charity Retail Association will be able to offer advice and training to their individual members.

Thistimearound

They’ve notes on the free book libraries now (there’s only three in our locality) saying they’d rather no new books at the moment:( I’ve added to a few in the past and there’s a book fair once a year in the town I add to though so that’s something- it’s in March though!

Charity shops act on a hierarchy system. When the volunteers sort through anything decent gets sent to the shops in good areas where people will pay for it. If stock doesn’t sell then it gets moved to the next good shop in the area and then the next. There’s one or two bottom of the pile shops where you can get all the items for a pound or 2, but they are items that have been given lots of opportunities for people to buy and no one wants.

I was using that as an example of cheap. Plenty of posters are saying they get items for those prices.
£2 for a second hand Primark t-shirt isn’t that cheap. Charging £10 for a cheap second hand bog standard dress is excessive, hence why it went straight back on the rail. I wouldn’t pay £5/£6 for a second hand Primark t-shirt when you can buy it new for less. That is the point.

I think this thread shows that there's a huge amount of variation in charity shops. Factors include

• Area. Are they getting the good donations (or being sent them by a centralised system).
• Policy and directives from above. Many have pricing guides they need to stick to.
• Quality of local and area management
• Availability and ability of volunteers.
• Storage space.
• Are they aiming to be a 'boutique' charity shop (who remembers Mary Portas?) or chuck it all about and have a rummage style.

That’s not the case where I volunteer. Stock stays where it’s donated. After two weeks we start the markdown process and then if it doesn’t sell it gets ragged.

‘Some’ charity shops. Not all run their retail businesses the same. I have volunteered for years in one of the largest chains, where paid staff pretty much always sort out donations. Our manager and assistant manager are knowledgeable, very hard working, but they have to follow the guidance from above. Occasionally we send stock to another shop, but only if they request it.

Some volunteers have specialist roles after a while. It’s years since I worked on a till. I sort out, price and display jewellery and used to do most of the bricabrac/household items. We have a volunteer who does a similar role with vinyl and CDs, another with books. That usually means anything valuable gets sent to Ebay. Our shop isn't in a wealthy area, and we are more likely to get a decent price online. It’s sad how much absolute rubbish is in some donations. Unsaleable clothing will raise a little as rag, we sell tatty books by weight, (decent ones are presented well, and do sell) but so much has to be disposed of, at a cost to the charity.

As for getting first pickings, you’d have to be there every day. Volunteers get 25% discount which is nice, but so far this year I’ve bought a linen top, M&S, which I spotted on the rails in the shop. It was priced at £5.50. Probably around £20 new. I thought that was a fair price. Charity shops also give people with little or no work experience opportunities to pick up some basic skills. I’ve been surprised how many young people have left school, or even further education, including uni, having never had a Saturday job, or worked in the holidays.

The two chains I volunteered for - Oxfam and Save the Children - didn't do the hierarchy thing either.

Yes we often swapped stock between branches because we were overflowing and another branch had space. One branch of Oxfam which was in the middle of a pedestrian precinct really struggled getting donations as there was no parking, they would regularly hire a transit, drive to us, and we'd load them up with excess bags. We also used to select stock which was very teenage/clubby to send to the branch which was in the heart of the student area of the city as they would have more chance of selling it than us. But we would not have had space for storing multiple bags of stuff for various different shops.

Tell me you know literally nothing about the mission statement of the major medical charities without telling me you know literally nothing.

Absolutely clueless about the costs associated with these shops, the model is disappearing, out of town superstores and the odd boutique will remain.

Anyone for bargain bucket medical research into life threatening diseases? Cheapo hospice care?

The post saying about not offering decent quality stuff for a pound, a pound wont even buy you a stamp let alone a new jumper.
The first dibs thing is BS, people give up their time to contribute , often those who have been touched by the particular cause in some way, and they may or may not buy something occasionally, so what, and it may not be the thing you would have bought.

Yes, I volunteered years back now and we used to get first refusal

I volunteer in a charity shop and items have to be for sale on the shop floor for 48 hours before we can buy it.

I have volunteered for years in one of the largest chains, where paid staff pretty much always sort out donations

Same. I've worked there years too and it's always been the case that the manager does the sorting. Volunteers come and go and one of them even had his fingers in the till, so to speak. Having worked there a long time, I'm occasionally asked to help them catch up on donations but it's not a job I relish and they only ask if they're literally overflowing in the back. That would also explain why the shop floor is a bit sparse.

That’s a bit harsh imo. I suppose it’s a difficult balance - they obviously want to attract other customers - but volunteers give so much already.

Well if the shops are empty, and they’re not taking donations, as per my post, then how can they raise this much needed money?

I was in my local one a couple of hours ago. Well stocked, well organised, and really well priced. I think they've won a watch in there because the Manager seems extremely competent.

No hierarchy when I volunteered either - however stores in richer areas tended to get better stuff donated and as the manager got to pick what was for the “cascade” box to go to stores in areas with lower donations, she tended to pick the better stuff.

Also all stores selected designer things or good vintage for the website shop.

but the majority of shops ime are not empty. Where I volunteer the shop is dead between 9.30 and 10 (town centre location) but seldom at any other time. January can be pretty bleak but no doubt the same for most retailers.
We refuse certain types of donations, but generally it’s only in January when we have a space issue and have to (unfortunately) turn away donations.

They are not. It will close. My point wasn't directed at you by the way, I understand what you are saying.