MMD: Would you tell a charity shop that a Chloe bag was under-priced?

moggylover

If I knew what the item was I would probably tell them they were underselling it! However, I wouldn't recognise a Chloe bag from Adam - so if I liked it I would just buy it!

GiveItBack

jojo2004 wrote: »

Are these the same charities that offer EIGHT POUNDS AN HOUR to chuggers (charity muggers) who clog up every high street, most of the day long, and employ some pretty annoying tactics to get you to donate "just five pounds a month" for whatever? What rate of return do those "trained staff" (ha!) give to the company?
Are these the same charities that can pay for advertisements on national television asking for "just three pounds a month" for whatever??? All this comes out of 30% of their takings, does it? That must be some turnover they have.

Have you ever looked at a set of charity accounts?

Look at it this way, a person signs up for £10 a month, and continues donating for 2 years. That's an income to the charity of about £310. f2f'ers expect to sign up three people a day, so tht's £930, and at £8 an hour that's £64 in wages. Even then, Most f2f staff are paid the money by their company, who are contracted at a set rate by the charity. The company reckon they can get enough sign ups in a short enough time to more than cover the costs of employing the staff, so the charity has likely paid even less. The key is that the charity is hoping the people will continue to donate long term.

I'm not a fan of face to face fundraising. When it's done right, it can lift a charities profile, let people see what they actually do instead of just being a name, and bring in the money the charity needs, but it can be done wrong too - and that's what you talk about.


As for TV advertising, have you noticed that most of the are for emergency appeals, or visually appealing things? Little doggies, that kind of thing - stuff that people will respond to visually.

I know a charity with an annual turnover of £80million that won't even consider TV advertising because it won't give the return it needs - the cause isn't something that would be seen on TV and supported.

And again, charities are looking for someone to support them long term, so that £3 a month might be £5 a month next year, and stay there for a long time.

And it comes back to 'admin costs'. One person giving every month 'costs' less to recruit than 12 people giving once.

Charities have costs. They have to pay for power, they have to pay for equipment, materials and they have to pay staff. Staff costs can be the biggest - because most people won't volunteer full time - like most of us, I bet you need to work and earn money, so charities need staff, and staff cost money. SO charities need money. But here's the best part. Charities use that money to change lives, to save lives and to improve life.

sidsmum

I've never heard of Chloe, but I wouldn't tell them, They should know.

As for buying stuff in charity shops to sell on Ebay, I've known people who did that and I think it is far more immoral than not telling the original shop. Of course the charity should get the money, if you feel like buying the bag yourself, buy it and slip them an estra fiver in the donations box.

As for f2fers, I avoid those like the plague, I already support what I can and I refuse to give my bank details to a stranger in the street.

GiveItBack

EG. NSPCC - they advertise on TV.

Last year.

Annual income - what the charity received in the year £152,481,000
Annual expenditure - what the charity spent in the year £146,038,000
Admin costs - what the charity spent to run itself £319,000
Fundraising costs - spent to increase income £29,260,000

TV ads would come under Fundraising costs, I'd think. Feel free to do your own maths.

nettoner

No way I would buy it and sell it on Ebay and use the profit to pay off some of my debt!!

Lets be honest I think we would all probably do that (wouldn't we?)

kazwookie

I wouldn't even konw what a Chloe bag looked like!

A friend of mine educated me recently as to what a radley bags was,!!

Skyhigh

All charities are not equal and are run differently, so let's not tar them all with the 'so good' or 'so bad' point when it comes to admin costs, etc.
The point is, at the end of the day.....charities don't exist for private profit, but for charitable causes.
[Even if, in some cases not as much money gets through to the cause, at least some does...in some instances I know of, small charities raising £20m to £30m per year pay 8 'staff' over £100k each year just for being on the staff list! Thankfully this is not 'usual' with charities.]

I believe the obscured point many people are trying to make is that the 'lure' of charity shops has always been the chance to find a bargain of some form, even if its not "but at £5, sell at £300", but even "buy course book for £5, when costs £20 new". This lure nearly all charity shops play on, either actively or passively through general perception.
This is also true of recent trends in 'shabby chic'. All in all, this is fair, since they are still 'shops' which want to 'profit' - just at the aid of a charitable cause.
But with this, the pendulum can simply swing the other way also.

Some people justify the bargain grabbing as a positive swing on the pendulum - and simply that, others may by their additional donations to the purchase or by their current (standing order) donations, others by what they may donate in unwanted clothes/gifts/wares.

Thankfully (like Wikipedia, to some degree) charities tend to receive more goodwill than bad, so when it comes to charities and they mostly manage to make a profit to help their cause.

I'd say, grab the bargain but shout about it and get more people to donate, help out and buy from chairty shops.

shining4

I would buy it because I was told recently a well known charity shop at the end of the week if some things havent sold throw them out and dont even give staff the opportunity to take them home or send them onto those in need, its company policy apparently, the lady who said this was going to work for this company as a manager and left a week later because of the poor ethics. Plus charity shops these days take the biscuit with ridiculous prices. Someone told me they found an IKEA table at way more money that it cost at Ikea, the same with second hand books, dont get me started on the Oxfam prices. I shop in charity shops because its supposed to be cheaper and im on a budget.

So yes I would buy the bargain and enjoy it!

:j

mrsk

I would buy it, stick it on ebay and donate half the profit to the charity shop. I've done this several times - with items that were worth more in the US than here and with a Hermes square. The charity shop managers who have been on the receiving end of this more than pay me back with offers of nice items...

Lilyfae

I have to say I despair of the people who say they would sell it on ebay ~ why do you think that charity shops put their prices up in the first place ~ because they see people selling the same thing as them on those websites for a lot more!!

Now I have in the past purchased books and clothing that were underpriced (though not by £595 as the suggestion is here and please remember that designer bags often increase in value as the seasons progress)
My bargains were from charity shops that my husband and I frequent at least twice a month when we visit the in-laws. I have been a student for the last year and have had no income whatsoever so the bargains I have had have been well loved and worn/used as I do with everything I buy.
Now I am qualified I am considering setting up a standing order with this charity because not only are they a cause I care about they don't take liberties with their pricing, as a result they are always full of customers who buy a lot of stuff regularly.

However, other charity shops in that town take awful liberties with pricing, such as £15 for a well-worn top that I paid £5 for new in Matalan and books that are out of date (I don't mean collectable books, but your bog-standard guide tos) but still cost more than the new edition including hilariously one tatty children's history book that was excited about a possible mission to the moon and a wine lover's guide (not a famous writer or brand/series) from the 70s that cost more than buying a brand new book from Whsmith across the road.

The point I'm trying to make is that some charity shops are good, others very bad. I try to support the ones I like and encourage their customers by not ripping them off just because celebrities are into 'Vintage'.
Personally if I liked the Chloe bag I would buy it with a bigger note, donate the change, and enjoy it (particularly in front of my designer obsessed Mother in law), but if it were hideous I would not buy it not just for the sake of having a Chloe bag.