Charity shops

Turkishdreamer

Mids_Costcutter wrote: »

I agree, it's not fair to blame the charity shops. They are performing a useful function, often recycling items that people might otherwise dump in the bin. To try and take a positive view, if people are visiting a charity shop on their local high street then they might be more likely to visit other shops too?

I manage a charity shop, but having said that I can relate to both sides of this debate.

However, one thing that is certain is that there are still loads of people who can only afford to shop in Charity shops and there are loads of people able to donate 'good quality items'. So we are provided a much needed service.

We rely heavily on volunteers, many of who use us as a way of socialising and also doing their bit for the community and the charity.

We are able to recycle some items that are unsaleable, however, many people do seem to use us as a dumping ground. We do have to pay to dispose of our rubbish and there certainly is too much of it.

Many of the charity shops put money back into the community and provide much needed lifelines for so many people.

gravitytolls

Turkishdreamer wrote: »

I manage a charity shop, but having said that I can relate to both sides of this debate.

However, one thing that is certain is that there are still loads of people who can only afford to shop in Charity shops and there are loads of people able to donate 'good quality items'. So we are provided a much needed service.

We rely heavily on volunteers, many of who use us as a way of socialising and also doing their bit for the community and the charity.

We are able to recycle some items that are unsaleable, however, many people do seem to use us as a dumping ground. We do have to pay to dispose of our rubbish and there certainly is too much of it.

Many of the charity shops put money back into the community and provide much needed lifelines for so many people.

You must be joking, charity shops have outpriced the poor, they shop at George and Primark these days, cos it's cheaper!

Not to mention books.... all the supermarkets are selling paperbacks at around £3.50 each, charity shops are charging almost that for a well thumbed, elerly book.

I hate to break it to you, but these days charity shops seem to be only about raising cash for the named charity, rather than being charitable within the community also. Now they're 'managed', redecorated and fitted regularly, they're run as any business, profit is King. And as they're manned by volunteers, the stock is donated (largely), they get the tax breaks, profit must be up, up, up.

Turkishdreamer

gravitytolls wrote: »

You must be joking, charity shops have outpriced the poor, they shop at George and Primark these days, cos it's cheaper!

Not to mention books.... all the supermarkets are selling paperbacks at around £3.50 each, charity shops are charging almost that for a well thumbed, elerly book.

I hate to break it to you, but these days charity shops seem to be only about raising cash for the named charity, rather than being charitable within the community also. Now they're 'managed', redecorated and fitted regularly, they're run as any business, profit is King. And as they're manned by volunteers, the stock is donated (largely), they get the tax breaks, profit must be up, up, up.

I agree that Primark and George offer good value clothing, but clothing is not all that we sell!!!


Don't know which charity shops are in your area, but we are the only Charity Shop (although we have 2 shops - one of which is a book shop) in our village.

I manage the Book Shop on a part time basis and Assist in the main shop. I am very particular about the quality of my books, they are priced very reasonably from 49p to £1.49 for a paperback. Many of which are still in the bestsellers list. No elderly well thumbed books here, we have such a good reputation for quantity, quality and price that people come from far and wide.

We have been waiting almost 3 years for a new till and our fascia and door is archaic, but we do our best with the shop and the space we have.

Times are hard for everybody and Charities are suffering as much as any other retailers.

We have a local Day Centre and local community facilities which are primarily funded by our donations.

I agree that many of the 'larger' charities are run purely for profit, but not all.

Profit is certainly not up, up, up. But we are providing a need and will continue to do so.

birkee

lincroft1710 wrote: »

There are plenty of empty shops in most town centres, and have been for a year or two. However I don't see landlords rushing to reduce their asking rents.

Opening a shop is an extremely expensive and risky venture. Most potential businesses are deterred by the existing competition, especially from major players who can source more cheaply and consequently sell more cheaply.

Without charity shops, town centres, secondary and tertiary shopping areas as well as many neighbourhood shopping areas would be even more desolate. As another poster has said, charity shops recycle and can be a boon to a local community.

Finally don't forget the good old internet is changing the way we shop also.

Make my point for me! Why would a landlord keep a shop empty, unless it was speculative property investment?
Don't try and compete with supermarkets in the same product lines!

And with reference to other posts, saying what a good job the shops do supporting charity....sometimes?

I usually (used to) take my stuff to the Cancer Research shop, as that is one of my chosen charities, and it IS there, despite my problems with ruined high streets.
Last time I decided on a large clear out of 'coffee table' books I had accumulated. About 30 - 40 all in A1 mint condition.
Took them to the shop, and the staff were practically pushing each other out of the way, to get their hands on them first, for themselves.
Not sure I'll bother again.

Mids_Costcutter

Turkishdreamer wrote: »

I manage a charity shop, but having said that I can relate to both sides of this debate.

However, one thing that is certain is that there are still loads of people who can only afford to shop in Charity shops and there are loads of people able to donate 'good quality items'. So we are provided a much needed service.

We rely heavily on volunteers, many of who use us as a way of socialising and also doing their bit for the community and the charity.

We are able to recycle some items that are unsaleable, however, many people do seem to use us as a dumping ground. We do have to pay to dispose of our rubbish and there certainly is too much of it.

Many of the charity shops put money back into the community and provide much needed lifelines for so many people.

I meant that items which charity shops sell are also being recycled, although reuse is perhaps a better term.

Do you have to accept everything that people bring in or will you refuse sometimes when clearly unsaleable? I guess it may be difficult when someone brings in a large carrier bag with items to donate and there isn't time to check through?

Turkishdreamer

Mids_Costcutter wrote: »

I meant that items which charity shops sell are also being recycled, although reuse is perhaps a better term.

Do you have to accept everything that people bring in or will you refuse sometimes when clearly unsaleable? I guess it may be difficult when someone brings in a large carrier bag with items to donate and there isn't time to check through?

There are certain items that we are unable to accept, mainly due to 'health and safety regulations' we are unable to sell them.

The other items we are unable to accept if offered for donation are items that we are uanble to recycle. To dispose of those we have to pay.

We do, unfortunately, get large numbers of items left outside our shops when the shops are closed. The ones which are not stolen, as many obviously are, often contain unsaleable or unrecyclable items.

All of our donated items are checked, we are very lucky to have lots of willing volunteers, so we are very fortunate.

Mp32

They're doing their best and in most peoples case a lot more than average person to help others. We need to give them a break

lightisfading

gravitytolls wrote: »

You must be joking, charity shops have outpriced the poor, they shop at George and Primark these days, cos it's cheaper!

True in some cases, but I'd rather give my cash to charity than sweatshops.

rarrarrar

gravitytolls wrote: »

I hate to break it to you, but these days charity shops seem to be only about raising cash for the named charity, rather than being charitable within the community also. Now they're 'managed', redecorated and fitted regularly, they're run as any business, profit is King. And as they're manned by volunteers, the stock is donated (largely), they get the tax breaks, profit must be up, up, up.

Charity shops are all about raising money to support the aims of the individual charity. They are not there to provide goods at below market price to whoever is passing be they rich or poor !

So profit should be everything and that means a balancing act in pricing as high as possible while actually achieving sales - just like any commercial shop.

Obviously second-hand goods are cheaper than new ones so charity shops can be a good place to shop if you are trying to save money, but many of the items on sale will be collectibles and they should be priced at the going rate i.e base on auction or Ebay prices.

Saturnalia

birkee wrote: »

Last time I decided on a large clear out of 'coffee table' books I had accumulated. About 30 - 40 all in A1 mint condition.
Took them to the shop, and the staff were practically pushing each other out of the way, to get their hands on them first, for themselves.
Not sure I'll bother again.

Birkee, I volunteer at a charity and buy lots of the donated stuff for myself, and we pay for it at the price it would be to any customer, so the charity is still being helped.

Not sure I can name them on here, but it isn't one of the cancer charities.