charities that collect?

purplecatlover

I have 3 or 4 black bin bags of things that would be good for a charity shop, including a baby bumpa seat and a bn folding bed chair thingy.

If i had the energy or inclination I would ebay and post stuff, but i dont so i would like to give them to a charity shop to benefit instead.

i knwo last time i tried to donate non clothes items to a charity shop they did not want them so i wont attempt to take things to that shop again but i cannot get to any of the other charity shops.

so do any of the charities collect things? the bags that come through the door usually have a statement saying that x% of the money made goes to the company the charity pasy to arrange those doorstep collections, or have a registered company number, or state clothes only (and im rarely organised enough to put stuff out the day they ahve said will collect, but putting out early gets stolen or gone through).

if i cant find a charity to collect i will ahve to freecycle, but eg baby bumpas were selling for 15quid last time i looked on ebay, id much rather it went to charity than someone elses pocket.

Savvy_Sue

Your best bet might be to phone the charity shops you can't get to and ask a) whether they ever collect and b) what they will take.

We have a big 'chain' of hospice charity shops across Bristol, and they will collect pretty much anything as they have electricians who can check those and a 'home store' which sells some furniture. Their vans are out on a regular basis, and I know you can phone and ask for a pick up. However some of the smaller 'lone' shops wouldn't have the the capacity to deal with all that.

leylie

Perhaps the Salvation Army? Our local one collects.

I'm not at all religious, but I do believe the SA do a fantastic job. I feel that when I give my stuff to them they will do what's best with it either sell it or even give it to someone who needs it. I was put off some of the other charity shops when a friend of mine (who helps out in one) told me about how much stuff - crockery, glassware etc - they destroy because it doesn't get sold.

purplecatlover

it is really bad how much stuff some do just throw away, there is a lot they could do with stuff they dont want to/dont think is worth/cant sell other than throw it out.

bubblegumcola

Are there any charities in your area that collect items specifically for very low income families? You could maybe also try Women's Aid, they could maybe use baby items in some of their shelters? I'm sure they would glad of some help. I usually steer clear of these doorstep bag collections as there are so many companies doing this now and making money out of it. Its nice to give stuff to people in need. Ten years ago when we moved house we got the Salvation Army over to take some things but they were fussy. Some of the furniture we had was classed as 'old fashioned' and they said they couldn't take them as nobody would buy them in their shop. I thought if things were tough you bought what you could afford from the charity shop as long as it did the job...changed days. my mum bought what she needed and couldn't afford to be fussy about what it looked like!!

coxy07

My local Cancer Research shop collects 7 days a week!! Local British Heart Foundation shop also collects.

fantasia322

Would'nt give to a charity shop personally, I think they overcharge, found a Primark t-shirt in my local Barnardo's priced at twice the original primark retail price

rigsby1967

I work in British Heart Foundation and we collect.

We had a problem with drivers so there was a week or 2 that there was no-one to collect at that point but you could try you local BHF.

Rigs

purplecatlover

bubblegum cola, yeah there is a charity that collects but they dont have a shop to sell smaller items and they are incredibly picky over large items.....because people being given things for free are fussy. very changed times indeed.

fantasia yep i agree they do overcharge, but not to the extent people on say ebay do and i would rather that a charity shop got the profit than some car booter/ebayer on my local freecycle. if i cba id sell it all myself.

thanks, will try british heart and cancer research then, if they collect in other areas they probably also do here.

bubblegumcola

If you have designer stuff to get rid of that you don't want to sell and give away, some charity shops specialise in this high end market. Posher towns or areas will gladly take them and they know what is a good price to sell them at and they will have a customer base for them.

I agree about some stuff being overpriced, I've often seen clothes from Asda/Tesco/Primark and they are selling it for the same as you'd buy it in the shops, sometimes more. I usually go for Marks and Spencer or Monsoon if I can pick them up, but even M&S you can pick stuff up dirt cheap in their sales. At the moment I'm mainly buying toys for my youngest but I have to check they work. I don't see the point in selling broken toys but they do! I'm also snapping up quite a few good books for my daughter like Tracy Beaker and the Princess Diaries and they can go back to the charity shop when she is finished with them. Prices in charity shops in general seem to have shot up lately.

Hope you find someone who can take your items off your hands.