Do any Charity shops take Electrical Items?

babyangel10

Hi, hope I'm posting in right place - please move if ness

Been having a clear out and have got all sorts of electrical items that I don't want - from bedside lamps, to p.c stuff, to mini Hi-Fi systems, and don't wanna just throw it away.

I've rang a few of the shops in Derby (PDSA, MIND, Cancer Research) but none of them take elec goods anymore.

Does anyone know of any that do?

I was going to car boot them but need the space more than I need the money!

TIA for any help. x

Jazzy_B

None of my local ones do, apart from the Salvation Army, who have a volunteer electrician and then they give the items to needy families. My local council also takes them for passing on , after they've been checked.
Have you thought of Freecycle. If you've never heard of it, do a search on here, and there's masses of info. Electrical items seem to disappear quickly on there.

LizD_2

Try ones that sell furniture, they often do electricals as well. Alternatively, what about trying a local reclaim charity. They're designed for kitting out disadvantaged families who need household items. This is my local one, to give you an idea:

http://www.dorsetreclaim.org.uk/

Tallulah22

We have a British Heart Foundation that is soley for Electrical and furniture, so i would ring then ask ask if they have one that is near, they also pick up from your house too.

babyangel10

Thanks guys, I just rang a B.H.F shop, and they said they'd collect my stuff even though it is 12 miles away! Collecting tmw so I haven't got to look at 4 boxes of electrical stuff for much longer! Yippee!

Thanks again for your help! :beer:

mightymole

under health and saftey laws before a shop can sell a electrical item it has tp be pat tested by a qualified electrition

gem4

We sell small electricals in our charity shops but only have shops in the West Midlands area.
We have to have them PAT tested by law before we can sell them which costs us £1.50 per item. We cant sell anything to do with hygiene, i.e. food/drink, hair, feet, hands, etc. unless its brand new in the box with instructions.
Also we cant try stereo's etc ourselves until we have paid to have them tested first. We often find that after we've paid to have them tested something doesnt work, tape or cd or whatever, so we cant sell them anyway, so we lose money that way.

Very few charities are prepared to pay the cost of testing electricals on the off-chance that they work properly. We have a refund policy so anything which doesnt work will be refunded. Many times people donate goods thinking....'oh well, that doesnt work on it but someone will find a use for it'....... This is just not true. Unless it is in perfect working order we will just be making a loss by having it tested and then not being able to sell it, or selling it only to have it returned a few days later because it doesnt work properly.
Sometimes its just more trouble than its worth.

flowerofscotland

Very few if any will do this because of all the H&S legislation surrounding electrical items.

You could try posting on https://www.freecycle.org - these groups are set up to prevent unwanted items going to landfill. No money can change hands - your items may not go directly to charity but will help someone (as well as the planet).