What is your charity-shop weakness?

Mortmain_Dreamer

My weakness is books. I read a lot, and I know I should use the library more but it barely stocks any books! I have to order in any books I want to read, which costs 50p to order and 20p for the library to ring and tell me that my book has arrived :mad: I have read most of the books they have in stock, so charity shops and boot sales keep me reading. The only problem is clutter, I just donated 5 big boxes of books to the local charity shop!

Other than that, clothes for me and the kids. I rarely find anything for DH, so his clothes are normally new. I always look for cutlery, and am managing to build up a decent collection of Viners which will probably last forever.

forgottendreams

we have a great wee shop in my home town thats independant.
They sell books 5 for £1, and all their fabric and curtains are £1 or £2. I bought a bag full of thread last time for £0.50

When you head into town tho - and shop on the highstreet the CS change is noticable, im only interested in the bargains tho so tend to avoid the overpriced items.

[Deleted User]

Books, books and more books - did I mention books?

snowleopard61

Mortmain_Dreamer wrote: »

My weakness is books. I read a lot, and I know I should use the library more but it barely stocks any books! I have to order in any books I want to read, which costs 50p to order and 20p for the library to ring and tell me that my book has arrived :mad:

That's rough. They used to have that system in my area too, but a while ago made it free, which has been absolutely brilliant for me. I order books via the online catalogue all the time and it's like having all the libraries in the area at your fingertips. It means no turning up over and over again hoping that the new books by your favourite authors may some miracle be on the shelf in your little local library, and that obscure books have a much better chance of being located somewhere in the area. (Sorry, this is probably far from cheering for you to hear, given that you have to pay for it!)

They introduced automated self-checkouts a while ago in all our local libraries, which means the assistants wander around like lost souls - this does make me very sorry for them and nervous for the future of the service - and I suppose this means they have more time to find books for borrowers. With the council cutbacks I'll be amazed if they don't reintroduce a charge soon though.

BitterAndTwisted

I haven't set foot in my local library for over a decade, maybe two. It's shameful really but I found it was only good for non-fiction, the selection of fiction was dire. Which possibly says more the local demographic than it does about the library's own decisions and tastes. I must get on the bus and pop in. I'm lucky, my sister is a voracious reader and spends a small fortune on Amazon, so many find their way to my house in the end. It's lucky that we share some of the same tastes. She loves crime and I enjoy some of it, too but not to the same degree. I need a proper novel now and then as well.

I had to walk past my local charity-shop yesterday, honest, and felt it drawing me in. I eyed up that dear little brown tea-pot I admired before but resisted its charms. I made a promise to myself that if it's still there the next time I'm it will be mine. Instead I snatched a small spring-thingy cake-tin for a pound.

I noticed that they had a huge selection of baby's and toddler's clothing in there, all mostly priced at between one pound and two. It appears that even in the extremely not-smart place I live, working-class women still choose to dress their children in very good-quality clothing.

snowleopard61

I'm looking for something specific at the moment (I bet I won't find it now because someone will have read this and snaffled it!:rotfl:). It was an idea in Prima - a cake stand made from three plates of graded sizes with glasses or sundae dishes separating the layers. I've got two sundae dishes that would be suitable (I had four but I'm a clumsy clot!) and I now want three pretty vintage-y china plates. You can either glue the whole thing together or just balance it (which sounds a bit precarious) so I think I'd compromise with some little sticky pads or even blu-tak if it wasn't visible.

PS Sorry, should have explained: the glasses would need to be something like wine glasses, with a base, or if you used sundae dishes they would need to be the vertical type, obviously, not banana split dishes or something!

EndlessStruggle

I buy clothes, handbags etc for me and clothes and toys for nephew. I also can't help but buy childrens videos, books and toys from my childhood of the 80s of all the classics I used to watch when I was a child. Sometimes I buy things on impulse and on decluttering missions they go back to CS, to friends or eBay.

I've also volunteered in a high street charity shop, we had a fantastic manager who hated the Head Office set Price Guide, she used to put stuff out for 50p in a box and hide them in a cupboard when the regional manager came in as we weren't allowed them. Anything that was destined for the bin was offered around first for a donation, usually 20p or something. I rescued so much from the bin, we all did!

Mayflower10cat

Books for me, too. I tend to head for the non-fiction hardbacks - cookery or gardening books. It's incredible how current much of the stock is, must be post-Christmas unwanted gifts. And oddments of china. I've had some very lovely art pottery vases (which probably aren't worth anything!) but look very chic when displayed properly. I must admit I buy a lot of jewellery from charity shops - mainly so I can take old necklaces apart or prise out old diamante from brooches to use in my repair business.

angelavdavis

snowleopard61 wrote: »

I'm looking for something specific at the moment (I bet I won't find it now because someone will have read this and snaffled it!:rotfl:). It was an idea in Prima - a cake stand made from three plates of graded sizes with glasses or sundae dishes separating the layers. I've got two sundae dishes that would be suitable (I had four but I'm a clumsy clot!) and I now want three pretty vintage-y china plates. You can either glue the whole thing together or just balance it (which sounds a bit precarious) so I think I'd compromise with some little sticky pads or even blu-tak if it wasn't visible.

PS Sorry, should have explained: the glasses would need to be something like wine glasses, with a base, or if you used sundae dishes they would need to be the vertical type, obviously, not banana split dishes or something!

Hiya, its a great idea - I saw one done with two candle-holders too.

[Deleted User]

Books books and more books and I own a Kindle as well I am a total book nut (especially if its anything historical as I adore history as well.I have found so many great books in CS at a fraction of the cost I also belong to the local book club at the library and still borrow library books if I know my favourite authour has a new book due ot.I ordered in November and got from my library the latest Stuart Macbride book in January.My house is stuffed with the things