Charity Shops Getting Expensive!

eca_

Has anyone else noticed this?

I used to shop in charity shops all the time but over the past year or so the prices have just rocketed.

Jackets on oxfam.com/shop used to be £5-15 a year ago, now they're often £50-200. I know its for charity, but I often find myself not being able to afford things in a charity shop.

EycplUK

They are also getting too picky about what they will accept :mad:
We took 6 bags of clothing to a charity shop , good gear as well , no rubbish , M&S, ETAM BHS etc ......
Woman in shop said , "can you wait 15 minutes while we sort through it for what we will take ? "
Out of door and into the next charity shop 2 doors along , just the same kind of attitude there as well !
Ended up at one of the smallest charity shops in town where it was all welcomed with open arms

BitterAndTwisted

The prices in charity shops near where I live are still very reasonable. The Oxfam shop in Walthamstow sells all clothing at a flat-price regardless of style, condition or make. Like £2.99 for ladies trousers and £7.99 for the lovely Edina Ronay coat I snapped up a short while ago.

thor

I used to think that charity shops get away with high prices because they are doing it for a good cause and it may be true but I have found that 2nd hand shops in general are very highly priced and there are vast amounts of people in there thinking that they are getting a bargain.
I decided long ago to buy new as it appears unlike cars, electrical, furniture and sporting items do not appear to depreciate all that much according to 2nd hand prices and with new you know you are getting a 1 year guarantee and 1 year less wear and tear.
Buying from my local charity shops is just not worth it and I am sure that in the present troubled economic climate people who would have looked for better value in second hand goods years previously are just simply making do without.

CKhalvashi

I bought about 20 shirts a few weeks back in Scope for £77 - £3.85 each.

Can’t really moan at that.

CK

Lavendyr

Saver0811 wrote: »

Oxfam is a commercial business, they have always been the most expensive in my area.

Lots of own brand products.

Having "own brand" products doesn't make it a commercial business. It's still not for profit...

That said I agree that Oxfam are on the pricey side. I always go to Cancer Research if I can (unfortunately they've closed their store in my tow now ).

wary

EycplUK wrote: »

They are also getting too picky about what they will accept We took 6 bags of clothing to a charity shop , good gear as well , no rubbish , M&S, ETAM BHS etc ......
Woman in shop said , "can you wait 15 minutes while we sort through it for what we will take ? "
Out of door and into the next charity shop 2 doors along , just the same kind of attitude there as well !

In fairness, it does cost them many thousands each year to dispose of the unsellable junk that people leave them. I saw a TV programme about it which proved a bit of an eye-opener, and since then, I only take a higher quality of item, shall we say.

Techhead_2

EycplUK wrote: »

They are also getting too picky about what they will accept :mad:
We took 6 bags of clothing to a charity shop , good gear as well , no rubbish , M&S, ETAM BHS etc ......
Woman in shop said , "can you wait 15 minutes while we sort through it for what we will take ? "
Out of door and into the next charity shop 2 doors along , just the same kind of attitude there as well !
Ended up at one of the smallest charity shops in town where it was all welcomed with open arms

But how do they know it's good stuff and what condition its in until they check it. If it isn't then they have to pay to dispose of it.
I've volunteered and you wouldn't believe the amount of rubbish people bring in. A few nice things on top and then the rest is worn out rubbish, often unwashed that was cheap to start with.
Sadly too many people use it as a means of getting rid of old worn out clothes; rather than donating. Charity shops don't have much choice than to check what is being donated. It just costs too much did disposal/ recycling.
I'm sure your stuff was ok, but they aren't going to know until they look through it.

blossomhill_2

Thay are charging a price that they know they can get - why should they charge less? The point of them is to generate as much revenue for the charity as they can

ThumbRemote

Lavendyr wrote: »

Having "own brand" products doesn't make it a commercial business. It's still not for profit...

Charity shops ARE commercial businesses. They exist to make a profit for the parent charity.

Azari

Techhead wrote: »

But how do they know it's good stuff and what condition its in until they check it. If it isn't then they have to pay to dispose of it.
I've volunteered and you wouldn't believe the amount of rubbish people bring in. A few nice things on top and then the rest is worn out rubbish, often unwashed that was cheap to start with.
Sadly too many people use it as a means of getting rid of old worn out clothes; rather than donating. Charity shops don't have much choice than to check what is being donated. It just costs too much did disposal/ recycling.
I'm sure your stuff was ok, but they aren't going to know until they look through it.

Sorry, this is nonsense.

In the first place, there's a big difference between having a quick look to make sure that you haven't brought dirty, smelly, rubbish (I saw that M.P. programme, too), and asking you to wait 15 mins while they pick it over.

In the second place, even non resalable clothing is still worth good money. Why else would we be getting bags from 'charity' collectors every week?