Is it right to Moan about Charity shop prices.

SevenOfNine

Can't say I shop in charity shops, but have any of you realised how badly some charities have been hit by the recession. Not only are monetary donations down, but grants have been hit HARD.

I'm well aware that where I live Age UK (previously Age Concern) and a local youth counselling service had the grant rug yanked out from under them HARD & FAST by our local council. Age UK definitely felt the pinch and the counselling service all but collapsed.

They do have to make enough to cover premises and staff costs (they're not all volunteers!), though it does seem from some of the examples that there is ridiculous overpricing in some stores. Can only assume stuff is selling at that price.

System

Pollycat wrote: »

In your opinion, that is.

Most people who've posted do buy from charity shops (unlike the poster you've quoted) and the majority do think some (not all) charity shops do sometimes (not always) over-price goods.

I decided to see what I was missing out on today so I went to the Oxfam book store in Manchester city center today and bought a second hand book in excellent condition for £2. I realise that you believe that is an overpriced amount but I actually see that as a very good deal (considering it was £6:99 in Waterstones).

George_Michael

£2 for a second hand book may not be a lot of money for someone such as yourself, but for some others it may be a fair bit of their disposable income.

In the past, charity shops were usually frequented by people who couldn't afford to spend too much money, and the prices were set to reflect this, but this is no longer the case in many of these shops.

A couple of months ago, I decided to wall mount my TV and because of this I no longer needed the glass TV/DVD player stand that I had so I dropped this off at one of my local charity shops.
This stand was put in the window and priced at £58.
A new one of these stands is still available at Argos for just under £50.

Moglex

Pollycat wrote: »

But as you've pointed out, you don't go into charity shops so are you really qualified to judge what's cheap and what's not?

Since when does lack of knowledge of a subject stop dear old goater pontificating on it? Anyway, his analysis is both simplistic and naive. A price does not qualify as ridiculous because one poster does not think it worth it. It does qualify as ridiculous if it is close to or higher than the new price or otherwise priced so high that no one buys it and it takes up valuable space that could be being used to sell something else until eventually they realise it won't sell at the high price and either reduce it or remove it.

Moglex

goater78 wrote: »

I decided to see what I was missing out on today so I went to the Oxfam book store in Manchester city center today and bought a second hand book in excellent condition for £2. I realise that you believe that is an overpriced amount but I actually see that as a very good deal (considering it was £6:99 in Waterstones).

So what's your point? I don't think anyone said that there were no good prices in charity shops. Just that some items in some shops were priced unrealistically.

System

Moglex wrote: »

So what's your point? I don't think anyone said that there were no good prices in charity shops. Just that some items in some shops were priced unrealistically.

Just to point out I have now shopped in a charity shop. I was told I couldn't really comment on the subject as I was not a charity shop customer. Also if you had read the thread you would see that £2 for a second hand book was viewed as on the expensive side.

On a side note its good to see you back Moggy. I assumed you had been PPR'd because of your abusive comments in the past. I am glad to see that any suspension you served was only temporary.

System

Moglex wrote: »

Since when does lack of knowledge of a subject stop dear old goater pontificating on it? Anyway, his analysis is both simplistic and naive. A price does not qualify as ridiculous because one poster does not think it worth it. It does qualify as ridiculous if it is close to or higher than the new price or otherwise priced so high that no one buys it and it takes up valuable space that could be being used to sell something else until eventually they realise it won't sell at the high price and either reduce it or remove it.

I think when you have to start resorting to insults you've already lost the argument. We've all had a nice polite argument and you have to some steam rolling in and trying to make it personal. I don't think this forum is really around for people with that sort of attitude.

You should really be ashamed of yourself

Pollycat

goater78 wrote: »

I decided to see what I was missing out on today so I went to the Oxfam book store in Manchester city center today and bought a second hand book in excellent condition for £2. I realise that you believe that is an overpriced amount but I actually see that as a very good deal (considering it was £6:99 in Waterstones).

My point was that some charity shops may sell that same book in the same condition at 50p or £1. You may feel you've got a bargain based on the RRP because you've not looked at books in other charity shops.

Most people who've posted do buy from charity shops and the majority who've posted on this thread do think some (not all) charity shops do sometimes (not always) over-price goods.

I personally rarely look at books in Oxfam because in my local shop I (that is me, personally) feel they are over-priced.

My choice. My opinion.

PILES

Pollycat wrote: »

In your opinion, that is.

Most people who've posted do buy from charity shops (unlike the poster you've quoted) and the majority do think some (not all) charity shops do sometimes (not always) over-price goods.

Hmmm. You have sort of missed the point. It is an unfortunate fact that charity shops are more like real businesses than they used to be. Previously they could sell stuff really cheaply as any donation was a good donation. That is no longer true and economic reality has taken hold as evidenced by Goater78. Expecting charity shops to continue to operate on some sort of altruistic model is quite frankly naive. If the goods are "over priced" then they wont sell and the price will eventually come down, or the shops will go out of business. People complaining that paperbacks are cheaper elsewhere have the choice to shop elsewhere. When I browse charity shops I tell the staff if I think their stuff is expensive so they have the option to change. However if the idea of shopping in a charity shop is to help the charity then why are you bothered about what you are paying?

Moglex

goater78 wrote: »

I think when you have to start resorting to insults you've already lost the argument. We've all had a nice polite argument and you have to some steam rolling in and trying to make it personal. I don't think this forum is really around for people with that sort of attitude.

You should really be ashamed of yourself

LOL! Standard goater tactic. When caught out having made a daft statement, instead of defending his point or admitting he was wrong, he flies into rotweiller mode and starts to attack the man rather than the argument.

It's also hard to see how you can say that pointing out you have done something that you actually admitted to in one of your posts can be regarded as an insult. But I suppose you need some excuse to go on the attack and deflect attention from your poorly thought out post.