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

LameWolf

I'm afraid I'm in the ranks of those who wouldn't recognise a designer bag if it bit me on the bum.

bikerchick1066

I must confess to being a charity shop-aholic, but I do have standards. Most of the stuff I buy is from Next, M&S (usually Per Una) and Monsoon. Got a lovely Monsoon top this morning for £2.00

Have bought a Radley handbag in the past for £3.00 only used once, there were a pair of Ted Baker boots to match in red leather, they were my size but a bit too narrow so I left them, even though they were only £4.00 should have bought them and ebayed them.

My Mum volunteers in her local Sense shop and had a Prada handbag in the shop last December. They sold it fpr £20!!!!!! Hello, daughter, Christmas present! Couldn't believe it when she told me.

moneysavingmumofone

elisebutt65 wrote: »

Should I feel bad cos I've been there and done that - Only it was a £10 Prada leather backpack style bag:o Goodness knows how much it cost originally but it is so well loved now.

And should I have told them - well it was Oxfam - and they should have known better really - I mean Prada - who hasn't heard of them?????

Me too, 2 louis vuitton bags £3.99 each:o

saveralot

Reminds me of one day I walked into a charity shop, and (as I can't stand bags with too short handles), tried the bag on my arm for size. I then spotted a book I'd wanted for ages, and paid for the book. It was only when I got home that I took my bag off my arm - and realised that it wasn't my bag. I went back to the shop the next week and gave the £3 fee. If it wasn't a charity shop I have to admit it might have been different.

As for the Chloe bag - I'm not into designer, but if I did know, I'd tell them, as its a charity. If it was a market stall, I'd "bag it" and ebay it though.

Patricia_Eddie

Think I would just buy it - it would be up to them to check for the real value - not very often yo get a bargain so I would make the most of it!!

shaz_p

I absolutely adore hand bags especially some of the designer ones but have never earned enough money to buy a designer handbag at full price as I work part time and have a family. I have always bought designer bags from second hand shops, some really cheap and others for a bit more ie £20. I would never tell a charity shop that the product is too cheap, afterall it is not a brand new product that is being sold. Most shops know what the product is. When I worked in Oxfam the designer items would be sent to their West End branches and also the staff would have the option to purchase them before they even got to the shop floor.

My favourite purchase was my Gucci handbag that I bought for £5, it lounged on my handbag shelf for a few years, then I sold it for £55+postage on ebay to pay for a parking fine! Guilt? no!

Contains_Mild_Peril

GiveItBack wrote: »

Many charities won’t take on volunteers or staff that are involved in the second hand trade, or even go to boot sales, and quite frankly, I agree with you if you think they shouldn’t. It’s hard to police, but I’m absolutely against these ‘phoney’ volunteers and staff. I’d say if you know of any – tell the charity’s local office, or head office.

As for this example, well, I'd let the shop know, they need to make as much out of it as they can.

One the one hand you have people here saying 'it's awful, the staff are PAID and everything', and on the other, 'well they should be experts in the field of fashion, books, antiquities, art and anything else they might get'.

I think blanket bans on volunteers involved in the secondhand trade can be counterproductive: isn't a volunteer with a regular profitable car boot sale stall more likely to spot an item like a genuine designer hand bag than an average volunteer? (I presume when you mention people who go to boot sales, you mean those who sell there.) The shop where I volunteer insists that any connection with the secondhand trade must be declared, but it does not necessarily bar a person from working in the shop, which I think is reasonable. My job in the charity shop is actually selling things on eBay, and my previous experience in doing so for my own profit is an asset. Other volunteers will put aside items they think might sell well on eBay, and they've come up with some really good finds (e.g. our book lady showed me a set of old Noddy books which we recently sold for £102), but most of them have little idea of how to sell on eBay.

moneysavingmumofone wrote: »

Me too, 2 louis vuitton bags £3.99 each:o

Were they genuine though? LV bags are among the most prolifically faked items around, and the quality of fakes varies from obviously cheap tat to fairly convincing and originally expensive "replicas".

Sarahsaver

I got a genuine Moschino skirt for £1.50. The shop in question gets plenty of things from me, childrens' and adults clothing, and I often stick a bit of extra money in the pot. I have told them if they have v expensive stuff for instance, and they have either ignored me or repriced it depending on who is on the till. It really angers me that many times I have gone in there and people are trying to haggle down from say £2 to 50p for something really worth more, and they even have a problem with shoplifters.

Contains_Mild_Peril

People who steal from charity shops are among the lowest of the low. In the shop where I work CDs and DVDs are now kept in paper sleeves under the counter and only the empty cases displayed, because too many were going missing when they were on the shelves.

kittykat23uk

avisk wrote: »

Snap it up, sell it on, then split the profits with the charity.

Yep that's what I'd do too!