Donating to a Charity Shop...which one?

Lilacblue

I have had a big clear-out of things (clothes, toys etc), and want to take it all to a charity shop. Really, I should ebay it all, but i just don't have the time to do this (I know, not very 'money-saving', don't tell martin :money:). Lots of this stuff is brand-new, just stuff that was given to me as a gift, or doesn't fit, or has been grown out of. The clothes are mainly per una, next and wallis, so it isn't rubbish, and the toys are all clean and complete...

Anyway, last time, I took my stuff to a local charity shop, that benefits local people. I got chatting to the manager, and she told me that she needs to clear £2,000 of sales each week to hit her targets.I was surprised by that Anyway, i had a look round the shop but was pretty underwhelmed by what they had...old ornaments, clean but very dated clothes (for an older, very conservative clientele, let's say). The books were good but the kids clothes and toys were completely awful. Anyway, I went back in a few days later with some more things, and noticed that none of my donations were out in the shop. The manager said she couldn't say, obviously, what had happened to each thing (fair enough) but 'a lot of clothes donations end up going straight to recycling to be sold for the fibres'. Her 'ladies' decide what will sell, and that's the stuff that goes into the shop.

I was really narked! And very sorry that I'd made the effort to make them some money when I could have just dumped it all in the bin (not that I would have...some of that stuff was great and still had labels on. There's nothing wrong with it, I just don't need it any more).

Anyway, does anyone know what I should do with the latest lot of stuff ie a charity i can donate to where things will be appreciated? I took some household things and towels/bedding etc to the local refugee centre once and they were completely delighted, because they had an immediate use for it. I have tried freecycle in the past, but have been a bit disillusioned by it...the same people seem to ask for everything, and even though I've given stuff away to genuine people, some of them just seem to be on the make, and ask for anything and everything.

Two black binbags of clothes and toys are sitting in the boot of my car...does anyone know of a charity that ebays stuff off (which sounds like a brilliant idea for any charity), or actually makes an effort to distribute it?

I would love to hear your experiences.

Oldernotwiser

Choose a charity you want to support and take take things to the one that asks most money for items.

Mojisola

I doubt very much that your good stuff was sold for the fibres. Her 'ladies' will spot good stuff as it comes in and have first pick of it. It probably never got as far as the shop. As long as they are paying for them as a customer would, the charity is still getting the benefit from your donation.

There_Goes_Trouble

The manager said she couldn't say, obviously, what had happened to each thing (fair enough) but 'a lot of clothes donations end up going straight to recycling to be sold for the fibres'. Her 'ladies' decide what will sell, and that's the stuff that goes into the shop.

Gosh really? I'd be narked too!!

Why not do a bit of research? Have a wander round the shops local to you and then donate to the one which seems to be selling the type of things you're donating.

I buy most of my clothes from charity shops these days and there are some really good ones round here, but if it's down to the ladies in the shop what they sell, then even within the chains there will be some discrepancies, and one that I say is good in my area might not be good in your area.

Mrs_Imp

If there's a homeless charity near you, try them for clothes. This time of year they're usually crying out for things. We once sent a chap away with several pairs of ladies tights to wear at night to help keep him warm. (He was quite chuffed). I suspect that anything they don't use will be sold on and the money used to give hot food. Certainly that's what we do.

csh_2

My local charity shop doesn't sell donated stock in its own town. The stuff is spread out to other shops.

I really can't understand your problem actually. I'm so reminded of the thread that was giving toys away but only to the 'right' sort of deserving children.

Just drop the stuff off get your wee pat on the head and go about your life. Why does it matter where the stuff goes or if they sell it by weight. Its still benefitting the charity.

I don't see why you're surprised that the manager has targets either. If she was failing to stock the shops/ have decent displays to get the customers in then of course they should have another volunteer do it thats better at it.

faerie_girl

There are three charity shops in our small town. We did a big clear out of our babies toys and took them to one of the shops and they refused to take it as it would take too long to sort through the several bags. Went to the 2nd one on the list and they were very happy to accept the goods. We popped in a few days later and they were already in the shop. My husband almost ended buying a book back though to add to his 'collection' that we'd just donated...wally.

Lilacblue

csh wrote: »

My local charity shop doesn't sell donated stock in its own town. The stuff is spread out to other shops.

I really can't understand your problem actually. I'm so reminded of the thread that was giving toys away but only to the 'right' sort of deserving children.

Just drop the stuff off get your wee pat on the head and go about your life. Why does it matter where the stuff goes or if they sell it by weight. Its still benefitting the charity.

I don't see why you're surprised that the manager has targets either. If she was failing to stock the shops/ have decent displays to get the customers in then of course they should have another volunteer do it thats better at it.

How offensive...you know nothing about me, or my motives for giving to charity. I work for a charity myself, supporting some of the most underpriveleged people in society. We don't fundraise, but I do have a very strong ethos that what I don't need, and thus donate, should be used in a certain way. I make no apology for that. You would be amazed how charities use donations, or private enterprises market themselves using very tenuous links to well-known charities.

I mention the 'sales target' only because I was very surprised by it... the shop should get rates-relief, and as all but one of the staff are volunteers, have low overheads. £2,000 seemed a huge amount to hit each week.

Thanks for the other, very constructive, replies. My colleague just told me that the hospital have got an appeal on for toys for various waiting areas, so i might drop some of my stuff down there. Apparently there's a charity that gives workwear to people entering the workplace (suits, blouses etc) so they don't need to fork out for interview-suits etc. Seems like a good idea, I'm going to look into that.

Lilacblue

faerie_girl wrote: »

There are three charity shops in our small town. We did a big clear out of our babies toys and took them to one of the shops and they refused to take it as it would take too long to sort through the several bags. Went to the 2nd one on the list and they were very happy to accept the goods. We popped in a few days later and they were already in the shop. My husband almost ended buying a book back though to add to his 'collection' that we'd just donated...wally.

:rotfl:Ha! That's just the sort of thing I would do!

alec_eiffel

I agree with the pp, a manager has no way of knowing what happens to any individual donation. In the shops I have worked at (both as a manager and a vol) some donations can be in the shop for a couple of days before they are processed. Clothes have to be sorted, tagged, priced and steamed before they make it to the shop floor. And yes, they large majority of clothes are not sold via the shop - lots of things just aren't good enough quality to be resold. But they are sold to a rag recycling company, this brings in revenue for the charity, although obviously not as much as selling the items through the shop. Lots of donations are damaged, stained, poor quality or just unfashionable and it's a waste of time putting them into the shop as they will not sell.

Her "ladies" will be trained, and have a list have a list of brands and quality thresholds to help them decide what is good enough for sale and what is not. Many charities have price bands too so the vols know what to sell and what to rag. It't not just a matter of "one for the shop, one for the bin". As the pp says many shops will rotate their stock around the area to get the best prices. For example, we would occasionally get in a nice antique or some really high quality clothing, I worked in a deprived area and we simply would not be able to charge anywhere mear top whack for it. So we would send it to a shop where higher prices could be achieved. So we would never see it in my shop but would know it'd be sold and we'd get a cut to mark on my target sheet.

Also your donation might have gone into an out of season bag, if you donated some nice summer stuff, there would be no point in putting that out now, no demand for it. When this happens things are stored for next year. Same with toys and bric a brac, if there is really good stuff it'll be kept for a little closer to Christmas when these things sell. There are many reasons why you might not see your donation, it's not just a matter of something comes in and a day later it's there in the shop.

Errata

Many local branches of national charities put good stuff up for sale on ebay, as do a number of only local charities. I suppose the answer to where to donate is for people to decide if they want their donations to go to a good home, or if they just want the charity to benefit. Which it will do whether it sells them in the shop, puts them on ebay or sends them to the rag man.