Charity Shop Ignorance

queenlizard45uk

OrkneyStar wrote: »

I would expect to pay £2 max for a dress in a charity shop- the fact that something is new with tags or hardly worn is not a selling point for me- as I wonder WHY it was hardly worn (un-comfy, bad fit/shape etc ?).
Our local cheaper shop is great, they sell much more, and the atmosphere is friendlier too. Red Cross is acting too posh these days. The other local shops are in-between depending on day/staff!

Charity shops would make no money if they sold good decent dresses at £2. This means other items such as basic tops would have to be priced at about 20p to justify the difference.
There is alot of people that will pay £6 for a good dress, because they know they are getting a bargain to normal retailers.

I-Owe-You

As the money is going to charity I dont begrudge paying £6 for a dress. (I guess it also depends on the make/style and how much I want it)

I do get a bit confused as to why I spot some Primark and Asda clothing marked up at normal retail prices though...but I guess that's just down to uninformed staff who don't know their George at Asda to their Georgio Armani's!...

How to people feel about Haggling in charity shops? I think it's awful!
I nearly died of embarrassment for a lady requesting a refund on a £2.00 top the other day as well....I wouldn't have the nerve!

Just re-donate it!?

OrkneyStar

I-Owe-You wrote: »

As the money is going to charity I dont begrudge paying £6 for a dress. (I guess it also depends on the make/style and how much I want it)

I do get a bit confused as to why I spot some Primark and Asda clothing marked up at normal retail prices though...but I guess that's just down to uninformed staff who don't know their George at Asda to their Georgio Armani's!...

How to people feel about Haggling in charity shops? I think it's awful!
I nearly died of embarrassment for a lady requesting a refund on a £2.00 top the other day as well....I wouldn't have the nerve!

Just re-donate it!?

I agree haggling is a cheek, but re the £2. perhaps the lady only had £2 available for clothes that month and really needed the top for something ? We don't know peoples circumstances....perhaps she was embarassed but had no choice ?

queenlizard45uk wrote: »

Charity shops would make no money if they sold good decent dresses at £2. This means other items such as basic tops would have to be priced at about 20p to justify the difference.
There is alot of people that will pay £6 for a good dress, because they know they are getting a bargain to normal retailers.

Why do they have to charge £6 for a dress and 20p for a top ? It costs the same to get both- nothing! The charity shop would make money, and any that don't clearly have too many other overheads/staff costs!
£6 for something donated FREE is not a bargain! NB I am talking a normal dress here, of course it might be more for a wedding or bridesmaid dress or perhaps a really fancy Monsoon one or something.

wontfallforit

I'd consider £10 for an unworn, tagged RRP £60 dress to be very reasonable, especially if the money is going to charity.

I've sold unworn, "good" (i.e. expensive, brand new) clothes on eBay, and received almost all of my original buying cost in many instances. I once sold a pair of unworn shoes that attracted twice the price I'd paid for them.

I think some people think that charity shops are a place to get stuff for Sweet F.A., and that's not always the right idea.

Common sense must prevail. Charity shops are a lifeline for some people, and I don't object to bog-standard clothing being sold for £1 or so (i.e. the type of stuff you could pick up in Asda, or Primark).

But people who have the level of disposable income that could buy them "good" (designer/expensive/quality) clothing border on being cheeky when they expect Armani togs for a fiver, thinking they're doing their bit, just because it's for charity!

There's a fine line between being a keen bargain hunter, and just taking the mickey.

I think charity shop pricing should conform to some kind of loose standard, i.e. a certain percentage of RRP, less wear and tear, if applicable.

queenlizard45uk

Basically, youre saying - because we get items donated and dont pay for them, it means we can either just give them away or sell them at stupidly cheap prices.

If I donated a really expensive dress, that cost me £60 brand new, and I donated it, and then saw it on sale for £2, I would never give them anything again.

The whole reason people donate is because they want to help the charity raise more money.

queenlizard45uk

wontfallforit wrote: »

I'd consider £10 for an unworn, tagged RRP £60 dress to be very reasonable, especially if the money is going to charity.

I've sold unworn, "good" (i.e. expensive, brand new) clothes on eBay, and received almost all of my original buying cost in many instances. I once sold a pair of unworn shoes that attracted twice the price I'd paid for them.

I think some people think that charity shops are a place to get stuff for Sweet F.A., and that's not always the right idea.

Common sense must prevail. Charity shops are a lifeline for some people, and I don't object to bog-standard clothing being sold for £1 or so (i.e. the type of stuff you could pick up in Asda, or Primark).

But people who have the level of disposable income that could buy them "good" (designer/expensive/quality) clothing border on being cheeky when they expect Armani togs for a fiver, thinking they're doing their bit, just because it's for charity!

There's a fine line between being a keen bargain hunter, and just taking the mickey.

I think charity shop pricing should conform to some kind of loose standard, i.e. a certain percentage of RRP, less wear and tear, if applicable.

I totally agree with you.

Alot of people think because we were given this item, they can just take it. Or pay as little as possible for it. This is just pure cheek.
Some people just make me so angry.

WhiteHorse

As usual, things vary between extremes.

Yes, it is true that charity shops get stuff for nothing. It is also true that some people expect to buy for next to nothing, which is ridiculous. On the other hand, some charity shops are getting greedy, and some of the staff seem to think they're working at Harrods.

Moderation in all things.

Ms-Pacman

I worked as a charity manager for 8 years, with 4 different charities.
I have to say they were my best working years and I only left due to a main street retail management offer that I now regret taking.

Anyway, in regards to running the shops, just because its a charity doesn't mean overheads are cheap. rent is never cheap for shops and especially when shops want to stay located at the same place so end up signing long length lease contracts. Despite being a charity, business rates still apply including collection of rubbish which when the amount is high, due to nature of business, it can be very costly.

I spent many years campaigning with other charities to try and get reduced rates due to recycling but we got nowhere, although whether or not this has changed I don't know.

Most of my volunteers were fab, some were people who were very shy and had poor communication skills and I often told a few to remember to say thank you. They weren't being rude just not great at it and being there was part of a very big learning experience. Of course that doesn't explain or excuse rudeness but it hopefully might give you an idea as to why some may be like that.

Van cost were always horrendous, and I always hated the price guides we had to follow. If an area manager was about some could be quite pushy if you weren't pricing stuff to his / her book despite what you could show people were prepared to pay. My regulars would often barter and I was happy with this as I knew I would get the best price with the actual money in the till so hopefully kept both sides happy but it really is a slog.

I miss the charity shop work and if I wasn't on such a decent salary now (charity pays peanuts for long hours and hard slog) I'd go back in an instant.

Just to make you smile (or grimace) the funniest time I worked was when I invited my now beloved bf to the shop when we had just started dated. He wanted to help for an afternoon and sorted a bag which had a plastic container of sloppy rotten food that looked like sick! Amazingly he's still with me....

OrkneyStar

I am not saying charities should give things away, but I still fail to see why two things, both given for FREE, need to be sold at such different prices (unless a special thing, eg a wedding dress). Our local charity shop rarely sells things for more than £2, stuff is good quality, loads of people donate there, and the charities/causes make loads (charities change every so often!). Local red cross sells for a lot more, stuff is either designer (which noone seems to buy as I see it in there week after week) or overpriced ex-Primark/George etc, not so many donate there now (been put off by its poncy attitude), not sure how much they make.
TBH I think it depends on what need we think charity shops are serving: 1. selling goods to those who genuinely cannot afford anything else (and who therefore will never buy the so called cheap designer stuff), 2. selling goods to those who can afford other shops but 'want a bargain' or are stingy ? 3. a mixture ?
Of course they have to make some profits and cover costs, but the idea that they should look/be like other shops is just silly imho. Anyway there are clearly a wealth of views on this, I have said what I believe. No hard feelings and happy bargain hunting everyone!

anamenottaken

OrkneyStar wrote: »

. . . - the fact that something is new with tags or hardly worn is not a selling point for me- as I wonder WHY it was hardly worn (un-comfy, bad fit/shape etc ?).

Probably someone like me who has learned that they will never get into those wonderful sale bargains of size 10 beautiful jewel-colour velvet Mary Quant trousers or the classic black trouser suit of similar size! They are still in my wardrobe (20 and 10 years after purchase): I must get them out and donate!