What is your charity shop bargain of the week?

VfM4meplse

Pollycat wrote: »

Apparently in a lot of shops pricing comes down from head office.

I posted on here a while ago about our local Barnados refusing to take books as 'they get about 250 a week but only sell about 20'.
Well, when paperbacks are priced at £1.99 each & the 2 hospice shops 50 yards away and 250 yards away sell similar books for 50p to 75p and 25p or 5 for £1 it's hardly surprising, is it?

We all find areas like that. I distinctly remember overhearing a conversation at Oxfam in Old Leigh which illustrated the exact opposite. The SA (?manager) was refusing to compromise on the price of a ragged paperback saying that they shifted £X worth of books every week at that price so there was no need to reduce, the turnover would ensure that someone would buy it.

It made me think twice about the hardback I had in my hand, but am so glad that I did buy it. It's been a delightful read thus far, and at £2.50 much better value than a cup of coffee out. Plus the proceeds go to a v good cause.

Pollycat

VfM4meplse wrote: »

We all find areas like that. I distinctly remember overhearing a conversation at Oxfam in Old Leigh which illustrated the exact opposite. The SA (?manager) was refusing to compromise on the price of a ragged paperback saying that they shifted £X worth of books every week at that price so there was no need to reduce, the turnover would ensure that someone would buy it.

It made me think twice about the hardback I had in my hand, but am so glad that I did buy it. It's been a delightful read thus far, and at £2.50 much better value than a cup of coffee out. Plus the proceeds go to a v good cause.

I'd pay £2.50 for a good book in decent condition, maybe a cookery book (currently on the lookout for Hairy Biker's Curries) or one that I know my OH would appreciate.

But the £1.99 ones in Barnados are the paperback fiction such as Harlen Coben, Michael Connelly, John Grisham, Lee Child, Sophie Kinsella etc that you can pick up anywhere for less than that.

In fact, The Works do 3 for £5 on brand new books.
Short-sighted pricing policy, imho.

Georgiegirl256

The AgeUK where clothing is £1, sell books 4 for a pound (even the big ones), and yesterday they had a big bookshelf where all books were 10p! Picked a couple up for the MIL as she likes all that Maeve Binchey, Danielle Steele kind of stuff, but put them back as I haven't got a clue what she's already read and what she hasn't. Tbh, I think she's got most of them, so even though they were only 10p, I didn't want to dump them on her and then she'd have the hastle of having to take them to another charity shop.

GreenBitterfly

I went to Oxfam in Huddersfield yesterday, the general Oxfam shop not the bookshop. I bought two greetings cards from the brand new range they sell, and noticed that they'd set up a largish bookcase to the rear of the shop (they haven't sold books for a while, not since the bookshop opened I think) So I went over, and picked up what looked like a brand new unread paperback copy of The Dressmaker and a hardcover copy of Death comes to Pemberley which was a bit more used, but still in good condition. Both books were £1.99 each, which is slightly more than I'd normally pay but The Dressmaker was like new, and it's a case of either buying them there and then, or waiting to see whether those books would turn up at another charity shop which prices the books at a cheaper price.

DianneB

More 10p books from Ravenswood Dog Rescue, Wisbech (saw The Dressmaker there GreenBitterfly) a pretty scarf for 50p and a horse and foal lapel pin for daughter for 10p. They had some lovely double lined curtains for £4 the pair just wished I had somewhere to use them!!

VfM4meplse

GreenBitterfly wrote: »

picked up what looked like a brand new unread paperback copy of The Dressmaker and a hardcover copy of Death comes to Pemberley which was a bit more used, but still in good condition. Both books were £1.99 each, which is slightly more than I'd normally pay but The Dressmaker was like new

I liked this book but it is short and nowhere up their with Austen. My library copy served me well.

I agree with Pollycat, often the same (fairly recent) books end up in chazzers.

[Deleted User]

I took some bits to my local CS shop yesterday and spotted a pristine updated hardback copy of Delia's frugal food for £1.75.I bought it and read it through last night.It was originally published in the 1970s and this was republished in 2008. One of her comments in the baking section that she updated was about 'batch baking'
She said 'I don't think many people batch bake anymore' :):)

Wrong St Delia, come on this site and see how many of us still 'batch cook' :):):) Great book though and well worth the £1.75 I thought
I usually have a quick look through the book section more than anything in my local CS and have to limit myself at times because I have so many books already .Now and again I have a 'cull'

There is a secondhand book shop near to me that used to have a separate shelf where spare stuff was sold for 10p, when the original owner died the son who took over immediately put the prices up to £1.00.The same stuff sits there week after week now.I know he has overheads ,but often it was small childrens books that I used to get for my grandchildren.They are almost grown up and off hand now, but it does seem a shame that where I used to see young mums buying brightly coloured books that they could get for their children now don't bother because of the price.

We have a CS called Sunburst in my village that uses all it collects (books only) for helping the local church roof fund so often I will donate books there as I know its going to be for a local good cause.Some of the bigger CS seem to price themselves out of the market at times The bigger Sense shop (we have two almost opposite each other) have tee shirts at times from Primark's that are priced at more than the original price new !!! I do try to shop in the smaller CS rather than the bigger ones now

mavvymoo

Going back to over pricing in charity shops. When the stuff doesnt sell and gets sold on to the rag people they collect and they pay £2.80 per 8kgs of clothes which is roughly between 80 and 100 items depending on if there is jeans etc in the bag.

It used to be £6 for 8kgs but there is so many items being sold and shipped over seas the price has dropped so low now.

Unsold bric a brac all goes to landfill :eek: Which the charity shop has to pay for as it has to go via a waste carrier. So no dumping it off at a recycling centre.

Thats why I cant understand why they are overpricing I know the big chains move stock about to other shops. But if they cant sell it sadly all goes the same way.

So our shop would rather get 10p for something at the end of the 3 weeks as otherwise it costs them to get rid of it.

It does make me mad.Yesterday I saw a primark dress very used for sale for £8 who is going to pay that when its about £9 new
I reckon they will be lucky to get a £1 for it.This was next to a White stuff very nice dress for the same price who ever does the pricing needs to rethink (this was RSPCA)

Mav x

Georgiegirl256

I've seen a lot of shops do a tombola lately. I presume this is to help git rid of stuff that isn't selling perhaps? Although they do have some decent stuff on there too.

I can never resist a tombola, so had a go the other day, and won a silver Avon watch!

alexnder

I've been looking for work clothes and found a pink dress in good condition and a BNWT purple blazer which was originally £20 from New Look. Altogether both items were £11 which isn't bad since I see them being very wearable.

I found the dress online for those interested!