Donating electrical items

decogecko

Hi all.

Firstly, I hope this is in the right place.

I have 10 year old TV that since I moved, I don't have the space for. I have rung my local British Heart Foundation Shop, but they cannot take TVs over 26".

Does anyone know of a charity that collects and sells 2nd hand electrical items in West Sussex? Unfortunately due to the weight of the TV I am unable to take it to the charity myself (I also have a freezer and bookcase to be collected at the same time, to make it more worthwhile to the charity).

Many thanks

Savvy_Sue

You need the Furniture Re-use Network (FRN).

decogecko

Many thanks Savvy_Sue - I have emailed the 2 nearest charities. Hopefully the items will be of use to them.

Thanks again

tiff

Emmaus is worth trying, they take electrical items.

decogecko

Tiff - I rang them but they don't collect that far from Portslade, so said it wasn't economical for them to collect from me. I'm 20 miles (ish) from there.

No-one seems to want to take the TV, which is the main thing I want to get rid of. But I can't just take it to the dump (it was my late partner's, so I feel I just can't get rid of it, I want it to be of benefit to someone).

Savvy_Sue

Freecycle?

decogecko

That is my next option, although I was hoping to raise money for a worth cause, but it seems freecycle is the way to go

lincroft1710

A 10 year old TV is virtually worthless, it could fail at any moment. Probably won't as TVs of that era seem to last longer than those made more recently.

thenudeone

Have a look in the back of local and / or free papers. There are usually adverts for furniture collection services (some of them may take TVs).
Alternatively as long as it's in working order you shouldn't find it hard to find a taker on one of the Freecyle groups (several different versions) or Freegle.
Alternatively just list in on ebay with a starting price of 1p. The pennies that you will pay in listing costs will be less than the cost of the petrol you would use to deliver it to a tip.

Bulgariangirl

Hi decpgecko what a lovely idea well done! However, charity shops do not appear to take electrical items any more. I believe this is due to health and safety regulations however, I too was going to suggest Freecycle along with Netmums (who have a for sale board) and Gumtree you could advertise them and ask for donations. Whatever you are given you can donate to what ever charity you support.

Good luck :T

Savvy_Sue

Bulgariangirl wrote: »

Hi decpgecko what a lovely idea well done! However, charity shops do not appear to take electrical items any more. I believe this is due to health and safety regulations

I think you will find it varies from one 'chain' or possibly even branch to another. It is because all electricals must be PA (Portable Appliance) tested before being sold, and anything which fails and cannot be repaired will have to be disposed of at the charity shop's expense.

So it's probably very difficult for a small shop operating on its own to accept electricals because

a) there are storage issues, both before items are tested and while selling them - TVs for example probably don't go for a large sum, yet take up a LOT of space into which you could fit several smaller items which would make more money

b) they need someone reliable to do the testing on a regular basis, otherwise untested equipment will build up in the stock room which is probably already crowded

c) if something doesn't sell, it's unlikely they can be paid to have it taken away - different to unsold textiles which can be sold on as rags.

However, members of the FRN as linked to in post 2 may be able to take such items, although for similar reasons to the charity shops they may be quite picky!