Best Car Boot, Charity Shop and Jumble Sale Bargains - New Thread 4/10/09

Ballymackeonan

This weekend was a washout again, so no cbs, but did a trawl in the cs and got 2 scarves - one "Vera" (US, about 1968 from the psychedelic pattern) and a hand-embroidered Chinese jade silk one, £1 each! Plus a 1950s man's hat, VERY Frank Sinatra and looks unworn, £2

JesaRose

No bootsales here either this weekend so I did a quick rummage around the local charity shops and got myself a lovely River Island dress for £4

Crestfallen

I got a huge.. handbag I guess, for my niece, for the princely sum of £2 at the weekend, BNWT. It's a shiny purple thing with a chain handle. She's happy so I am too.

I'm increasingly finding weekend CBs to be a waste of time, too many traders snapping up bargains (I'm a trader myself so I'm not ragging on the traders for making a living, it's just dispiriting to sift through dregs).

Weekday sales and charity shops which don't mark everything up to ridiculous prices just to pay for a manager are yielding a lot of good stuff recently, but I can't say what since it's going to be sold. The hard part is trying to find strings of proper charity shops in one area.

JesaRose

No point bemoaning charity shops for pricing things high when they are doing exactly what you plan to by selling them on. Both them and you are a business (assuming you are trading as a business if you are buying to sell on?). The only difference is they are trying to make money for a good cause whereas you are making money for you

Crestfallen

Except that it doesn't all go to a good cause, does it? A lot of it gets funelled into the pockets of those working in the 'charity sector', including the chuggers who get in your face as you try to walk down the highstreet. Landlords also get a chunk, which would be fair enough if the shops were situated in low-rent areas, but they are now spreading over prime shopping areas where they can't possibly get enough donations to fill the shops because they're too far away from anwhere that donators can park in order to struggle in with bags of donations.

The majority of charity shops I go into sanitize their stock, they dispose of anything they deem not valuable/saleable enough without even trying to sell it, they dispose of stock in bulk to traders for a pittance rather than lower the prices of items which do not sell. Perhaps to maintain their 'brand'? I then buy the same items from the traders for a fraction of the price the charity shop was charging, meaning the charity has received even less for it in order to make it profitable stock for the trader.

I don't donate stock I can't do anything with, or household items, to our local charity shop anymore. I have to go a few villages away to one which doesn't sanitize. Last time I donated to the local I found a load of books I'd given to them in a box marked 'bin' under their shelving, along with several other books which I then bought. This was three days after I donated them. Signs in the window pleaded "STOCK URGENTLY NEEDED". Guess their bins must need something in them to stop them blowing away.

I don't begrudge paying reasonable prices for items, least of all from charity shops which I have enriched from donations and purchases all my life, and will continue to do so. I do begrudge wastefulness and silly prices which will put many off buying anything.

One of these days the road so many charities have taken with regards to their charity shops is going to come under a spotlight, and their problems in receiving enough stock to mess around with are going to get a lot bigger, unless they refocus on distributing the stock they're given locally at affordable prices and keeping their costs down.

JesaRose

Ever heard of "it takes money to make money"? Charities have to reinvest some of their takings into making more for their causes. Its the way of any business.

If the charity shops were not taking up empty units on our high streets these units would be empty which drives people out of town centres and eventually pushes local house prices down. Just because they are on pedestrianised streets without parking outside doesn't necessarily mean they are always short of donations. Some have systems to bring them stock from other shops, some open out of hours to get donations, some are quite self sufficient anyway.

Lots of people don't like smelly, musky old charity shops so you can't complain that shops are picky about what they put out. Reputation in any business is important. The price for rag is good so the charity does still get good money for garments they cannot sell.

You would be happy with your local charity shop putting out soiled sheets, clothes with stains on and books with pages missing would you? No, so they need to sort the poorer quality stuff out.

Yes some do have silly prices but one big sweeping generalisation of charity shops is ridiculous.

Its no secret that charity shops don't put out everything they are donated so there is nothing to "come under the spotlight".

Typical comments from someone who knows little about the industry apart from what they choose to see. Please tell me you are right when you make £1.2 million a year to help sick children. Thats what my team and I contributed to our childrens hospice last year running our shops

Crestfallen

Actually, never mind.

clearingout

got a Fisher Price Kid Tough digital camera today for the princely sum of £1! Took a risk that it would work (lady said it had no batteries in it) and it does! Perfect for holidays. The Kiddizoom I bought at Xmas cost me £40 so this is a bargain for the little one!

WartimeScrapingofMarmite

clearingout wrote: »

got a Fisher Price Kid Tough digital camera today for the princely sum of £1! Took a risk that it would work (lady said it had no batteries in it) and it does! Perfect for holidays. The Kiddizoom I bought at Xmas cost me £40 so this is a bargain for the little one!

:T That's fantastic, well done!

bex2002

yesterday got a kenwood breadmaker for £4 looks almost new so going to try to make our own bread and cakes and also got a planet earth jigsaw - 10 different puzzles in 1 box for £1. off to another boot sale now to try and spot some more bargains.