prices in charity shops

moonrakerz

.............I forgot the "pound" shops too !

Azari

moonrakerz wrote: »

.............I forgot the "pound" shops too !

There are two areas where I live (alternately).

In one (that I mentioned above) there are no pound shops.

In the other there are about a dozen but they have all become "99p+ or less" shops.

Or, in other words, shops.

Milkybarsareonme

Completely agree. The BHF shop near me is quite reasonable but all of the Marie Curie shops are very expensive indeed. So much so, that I don't bother going in now. The jackets, coats and dresses are all priced at £15 or more. None were of a particular designer make either. The tops were £5.50 and above and the skirts/trousers/jeans were all £8 and above. Some of the costume jewellery like the necklaces and earrings were £8 upwards. I just don't see the point in it and can clearly see, every time i walk past, that the shop is empty.

I mean come-on, It's a charity shop, not a boutique!

Again, I echo the fact that the charity in question has to make money but surely driving people to other charities isn't doing the trick.

Enterprise_1701C

I have to say I totally agree. I really bristled at something the other day. The BHF is opening a new store near us, very big and will be full of furniture etc, and they are looking for "quality" second-hand electricals and furniture. They did not want my old CRT TV. They are advertising heavily for goods to sell, and are saying that they also do house clearances which goods they, presumably, will sell. They actually charge for this!

I'm sorry, I know they are charity shops, but they no longer get my custom, and I willl never again take anything into a charity shop. I also find it offensive that when you buy something for £5 (a collectable quite a few months ago) and pay with a £20 note, they actually try to avoid giving you the change.

I think someone should mention to them that they would actually make more money if they were more customer friendly.

Outpost

Jane_Blackford wrote: »

They did not want my old CRT TV. They are advertising heavily for goods to sell, and are saying that they also do house clearances which goods they, presumably, will sell. They actually charge for this!

Being a charity does not somehow bring with it the obligation to take whatever a person brings to them. They chose not to take your TV for whatever reason, I see no problem with this to be honest.

Jane_Blackford wrote: »

I'm sorry, I know they are charity shops, but they no longer get my custom, and I willl never again take anything into a charity shop.

Your choice of course. You may dispose of unwanted items as you wish.

Jane_Blackford wrote: »

I also find it offensive that when you buy something for £5 (a collectable quite a few months ago) and pay with a £20 note, they actually try to avoid giving you the change.

If you say so. I'd love to know how exactly they try to 'avoid' giving you £15 change exactly.

Jane_Blackford wrote: »

I think someone should mention to them that they would actually make more money if they were more customer friendly.

Ridiculous. Tarring goodness knows how many thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of shops across the country with the same brush. A sweeping generalisation if ever ever I heard one.

pulliptears

I went up to 'Town A' the other week and the goods there were incredibly expensive. £5.99 for a second hand DVD I could have bought from play for £2.99. Clothing is also very pricey.

'Town B' on the other hand is much more reasonably priced with DVD's at a £1 and clothing very reasonable.

Funnily enough, Town A's shops are always deserted. Town B's are always full.

geordieracer

Our local BHF is only for furniture and white goods and i reckon the prices are just that little bit higher then you would find in the classifieds of the local paper. Saying that at least you know the money is going to a good cause.

marywooyeah

I live in Nottingham which is full of charity shops, and there is one in particular which is so overpriced its unreal! I once saw a used and quite frankly battered Upsy Daisy bike for £19.99! Me and my OH took a lot of stuff in a taxi to a charity shop in town, and as we were leaving my eldery neighbour stuck her head out and asked if we could take some stuff for her too. we lugged about 12 bags (no exaggeration!) of books/clothes/toys out of the boot and took them and our toddler to the charity shop we wanted to donate to -and it was shut! so I ran across to the expensive one and asked if a staff member would help us get it all across. someone did, and as we were filling out the gift aid form my son picked up a little car which was a bit cheapy looking with a £2.99 sticker on it, which I said he could have for being good during all the hoo-haa. but the shop didnt take card payments under a fiver, so we had to hunt for something else to buy to make up the difference. adter we left I thought all the stuff we donated would have been at least £30 + for them, surely they could have just given him the little car as a thankyou?


*waits for people to jump at me!*

karenb33

Of course they should have let your son have the car! I just think a bit of reality needs to come into play. You have helped them by getting a huge load of stuff into the shop; they let your son have a car which was probably worth 50p!

MamaMoo_2

I used to be an assistant manager in a charity shop. Myself & the manager made more than minimum wage (nice for me, but IMO, they could have got someone equally as skilled to do the job for min wage)
We used to have pricing guidelines, but we also used common sense. I don't think we ever priced anything ridiculously, and if someone offered us say £1 for a shirt priced at £1.50, we would accept it.
We were always thankful for donations (despite some of the nastiness we used to find in there. Ugh)
We were also happy to give the odd free outfit to the local homeless who we'd cone to know.
Our store was always successful, we had loads of repeat custom, and all our targets were met. I think that our understanding that we were a charity shop was why we were so much more popular than others.

Last week, I went into Acorns by my house, and my son wanted this toy that taught him his ABC's, I couldn't believe it was £5.50! And was scratched. They also had old DVD's at £3/4 each. I think that charity shops need to research the Market more in order to make their prices more appropriate