Charity shops

vik6525

In the charity shop downstairs I recently got... A real burberry trenchcoat (thankfully the check is only on the in side!) for a quid... A real wool fantastic 'cruella de ville' type coat for £2, and a bright red 'topshop' coat for a pound... not to mention the toys my little one has got for a pound a carrier bag! God I love charity shops! I think Ive found my dream home!

Lurleene

I'm so jealous - I can't believe anyone is lucky enough to live above a charity shop I usually have an afternoon every week where I take my son on a big shopping spree round all the charity shops in a particular area and we come home laden down, but not too guilty cos we only spent a tenner. I'm too spoilt for choice really though - there's 1 five minutes walk away right opposite the supermarket, there are about 8 ten minutes walk away, six ten minutes drive away, and posh ones about twenty minutes drive away.

I'm always in and out of the local one - got him a massive Postman Pat book today for 29p ( he is mad about Pat this week) and loads of Megabloks bits and bobs for a pound the other day that I reckon would have cost about 20 quid new. I would never feel embarrassed about buying second hand and usually feel much 'prouder' about finding a bargain in this way than I would if I had paid full price for it!

At the weekends the whole family often go charity shopping together - I look for books for me and books and toys and clothes for the kids, my husband looks for CDs and often gets quite rare ones and my daughter looks for Beanies.

I must admit though, I don't generally find them as cheap as car boot sales, and I sometimes feel quite robbed during car boot season:embarasse

katieowl_2

I try to keep out of even the charity shops at the moment as money spent is money spent at the end of the day. I do not need more clothes....I do not need more books...(Unread pile by side of bed stood at 56 last count - all either from charity shop or my mum!) I do not need more "stuff"...... If that sounds like a brain washing mantra - that's because it is LOL!

I have three charity shops close by - Scope, Cancer Research (both hideously overpriced IMHO) and the local charity St Christophers Hospice - the prices in there are wildly varied, but if they think they have a designer item they stick silly money on it. The books are good and cheap - nearly always BOGOF 50p for paperbacks, £1 for hardbacks. I've had some great bits from them over the years, but I'm trying to quit the charity shop habit.

I must admit that with the odd clothes exception, nearly all that I get rid of these days goes on Freecycle, I'd rather give it to somebody who needs it, than see it with a silly price on.

Regards

Kate

Alisonpennypincher

I volunteer in a charity shop a couple of hours a week. Some of the things that get donated are unbelievable. I have had so many things from there brand new with tags/boxed, collectors things etc.

My mum had a dreadful year last year and after a house flood and subsequent finding of asbestos, lost all her worldy possessions, most of which have been replaced from the Charity shop:D .

Anyway my point is, make friends with the staff, as a lot of the time the good stuff is out the back, and if you need/want something specific ASK, as normally they will always keep things by for you.

moggins

All of my jumpers come from charity shops as they seem to be the most expensive thing I ever need to buy. I got a beautiful white one on Wednesday for a couple of pounds and then paid £9 for a David Barry waterproof jacket which my neighbour thought was brand new when she saw it.

CLARABEL

i have a favourite on my high street which i always check, and the others i pop into occasionaly.

prices reallt do vary, but i'm not fussed too much as the money is going somewhere useful and it's all very eco friendly!


clara:beer:

natzini

We have loads of charity shops in the area but nothing worth buying in them. It seems as though the people of Lewes keep hold of their decent clothes that they don't want to donate them!! And the objects they donate... perhaps those who run the antiques shop are always nipping in and restocking from our charity shop finds! I find them incredibly expensive in our area and they don't have much nice stuff in them, even though we live in a rather middle class area

kittiwoz

I love charity shops though it is true they are starting to get quite expensive (esspecially Oxfam) and sometimes cost more than Primark. For example I was looking for a polo neck jumper recently and saw knitted polo necks for sale at £5 in Primark and also a similar navy one in Oxfam also for £5. I bought the secondhand one fron Oxfam because it was in good condition and 100% lambswool whereas the ones in Primark were acrylic. Also the ones in Primark were either 8-10 or 12-14 whereas I am borderline 10-12 on top so the one I found in Oxfam which was a size 12 fitted better.

I don't tend to shop in charity shops for things like t-shirts which normally wear badly and are cheaply made anyway but I like to have good quality clothes and I think charity shops beat cheap high street stores and supermarkets in that respect. I'm trying to stay out of charity shops at the moment though because I'm trying not to spend any money at all and I don't want to be tempted, particularly in the ones with good record sections.

HariboJunkie

I look in charity shops for vintage kitchen items and i've had a few good finds. Oxfam imo is very expensive.

Plum_Pie

My recent great charity shop finds:
Blue Jaeger blouse: £2.75
Green tea dress with tie-neck and 3/4 length sleeves, (goes well with HM cakes): £5.00
Knee-length skirt (for office): 50p (Hoorah!)
Cotton Blouse (white with black flower print): £2.00

I think it helps that I live in deprived area of London and therefore 1)most of the clothes in charities were originally poor quality and the good stuff is easy to spot 2) The prices are low! (I particularly find this with 'independent' charity shops.)

I work near Marylebone High Street which is supposed to have the best charity shops in London - I think they're full of worn-out c**p which was overpriced to start with and if I want something pricey would rather go to a warehouse sale.