Charity shops

Ravenlady_2

My local oxfam used to be brilliant, you would have to hunt through rails and piles but they had some great stuff, kids items were 50p each inc coats, books 20p and adult clothes £1.50 per item inc coats.

They had a refurb recently and have tripled the price of everything. They have lost half the rails too, dont sell childrens items or household goods, books are actually £3 now, t-shirts are £4.50 and coats are individually priced.

Cheaper to go to asda now.

We have about 8 charity shops and they all very expensive. Oxfam is still the cheapest.

Living_proof

I had a half-hearted look round our local CS's and managed to find a pristine shetland hand-knitted cardigan at £6. Of course I had to hrm and hah about it before parting with all that money but when I got home I looked the make up online and the very same cardigan (it's more a jacket really) is £139. Bargain! I also got a bar of organic mango butter soap for £1 which is £4 to buy in the local gift shop. You just never know what you'll find which is all part of the fun of looking (and half the time I'm never quite sure what some of the artifacts really are!).

jammy_dodger

i managed to get a head board for my double bed today ( Oops yesterday ) for £5 just going to sand and re wax it

also picked up a lovely warddroobe for my DD room for £20 it has lovley shelving inside and locks with a key right fine shall post a pic of it

thistledome

I can't remember the last charity shop bargain I found, it's so long ago. All the ones near me are so expensive now. They want about £4 for a bobbly old cheap cardi and £2.50 for a book. Used to have a nice PDSA shop but it's closed down.

And the staff in our Oxfam are quite obnoxious, which is very offputting.

thistledome

nattyt wrote: »

Loving this thread. I got a bargain from my local tip shop. Really thick framed photo frame. Check out my homepage for picture. xx

What a bargain!

I like your blog. Have you read Attic 24's? I think you'd enjoy her colours and home stuff.
http://attic24.typepad.com/

OrkneyStar

MarilynMonroe wrote: »

I wish the salvation Army would stop putting the kids clothes in colour order. I don't have the patience to stand looking through all the sizes on the actual clothing because they arent on the coathanger/tag - I would buy loads if they did them by size order... I really don't see the point of NOT doing size order.

Our Salvation Army shop don't do that, they just have the adults stuff size ordered, one section male, and another for female. The childrens stuff is in boxes/on shelves depending on age, box for shoes, hats etc as well.

Ballymackeonan

I did a trawl round some of my favourite CSs yesterday - several books, as usual, including Webster's Red Court Book from May 1910 for £1 - it was a guide to "the season" and the ads are fantastic (for frightening hats and even more frightening corsets...) I've checked and there are a couple of about the same vintage on Abebooks for £38 each.

Some very vintage Aran wool, still in its original hanks, for £4 - now it's been balled I've 23 balls of 50g, already earmarked for an equally vintage aran jumper pattern for me!

A gorgeous vintage fudge-coloured French leather coat in perfect condition for £10, which will go very wekk with the NWT silk scarf at £1.50 from another shop.

laloopi

Kieron_n_Stephy wrote: »

Went into Oxfam in Leicester yesterday for a browse and was amazed to see someone in front of the books scanning the barcodes on his phone and seeing how much it was selling for on amazon. He then turned to me and said its actually cheaper to buy on Amazon than it is in Oxfam. I found five books I liked the look of but after seeing the prices I simply put them back. One book I liked is currently selling on Amazon for 2.95 yet Oxfam priced it at 4.95.

I do find that local charity shops such as air ambulance and local hospices tend to be a lot cheaper and staff more friendly (especially to my 4 yr old laddie).

Such a shame as charities are missing out on their stupid pricing system which isn't fair.

Oxfam book shops are ridiculously expensive. I have tried to explain to them a few times that they would make a lot more money if people felt like they were getting a bargain!

I once found an obscure philosophy textbook in my local one for 15 pounds! I imagine I was the only person who had ever considered buying it as it was in a subject I was interested in, but not at that price :-).

I think they benchmark against the cover price, but don't take into account that it is pot luck what books they have in. So you're very unlikely to find a book that you have been looking far. Which means they rely on impulse buys and very few people are going to spend that sort of money on impulses.

Oh and telling me "don't forget it's all for charity" doesn't wash - I am convinced they would make more money if they charged competitive prices.

little_miss_sunshine_3

Finished off my mum's Christmas present yesterday, a lovely basket with all charity shop finds in including: a hot water bottle, candle and bath stuff, all for £8.70

But the best ever find in a Charity Shop has to be my wedding dress which came from the Oxfam in Leicester, they have so many in there, it cost £100 but was brand new from a good designer, much better than getting it from the shop across the road for more than 10 times the price!

:money:

meritaten

I love charity shops - but, some of their pricing is bizarre to say the least!
I picked up four lovely soups bowls and the ticket inside said £2.50 - a bargain I thought..........took them to the till and the nice lady said - you havent got all the set there!
there were another four side plates and four dinner plates with them!
Honestly! £2.50 for all that!!!!
I actually put £7.50 in the donation box - and I am still convinced they were a bargain.........did I forget to say they were Doulton China and obviously old? part of a set certainly, as they didnt come in fours in the olden days!