Lightbulb moment re charity shop prices!

thriftwizard

Oh my goodness, I've just found out why charity shop prices seem to have skyrocketed through the roof recently. I know all about the High Street Standards thing, which basically meant they had to smarten up or face eviction from the high streets, but this is a new one to me...

I was in a charity shop in another city this afternoon where they had a fine example of something that I happen to know a bit about. I didn't need it, but casually asked how much it was. They hadn't priced it yet, so the manageress went onto Ebay to see how much similar items were listed for. Needless to say, there were some wildly unrealistic prices out there! There followed a conversation between her & a helper, where it emerged that they'd failed to sell the last 3 they'd had in inside the two weeks they keep things for, even though they knew it was "collectable"... So I explained that they'd be better off searching on completed auctions & seeing what they actually fetch, when they do sell, rather than on what some hopeful but not knowledgeable soul has listed it for. End result: she asked me to suggest a realistic price, which I did, and she offered it to me for half of that! How could I refuse? But I think they were glad to shift it quickly - they're not small items.

I wonder how many others are pricing their stock this way? And how much good stuff is going to landfill/scrap (which is what our local shops HAVE to do with their unsold bric-a-brac) because of it? :eek:

meritaten

I have wondered sometimes whether they just pick a price out of thin air! I have seen some overpriced tat and some way underpriced 'good stuff'. I do feel guilty sometimes if I buy something which I know is worth ten times what they were asking - but, if they cannot be bothered to consult a Millers guide or the internet ........well, its my lucky day isn't it?

adonis

Unfortunately people don't always realise the shops are there to make money for the charity, not for the customer to buy it for a pittance because the charity got it for nothing.

You cannot blame the shops for trying to get the best prices they can when with a few clicks of the mouse they can get an idea of what things sell for although I agree sometimes they can get it wrong.

It doesn't help when people gloat about buying something cheap and then sell it on ebay for a lot more without going back to the shop to give them a cut.

REMEMBER YOU MAY NEED THAT CHARITIES HELP ONE DAY.

GreyQueen

I spend a lot of time in charity shops and have done for about 30 years, so have seen some changes in that time.

Far too many charity shops have a poor grasp on prices and thus have stock hanging around. Only a small fraction of their stock is going to be a collectible/ antique-in-mufti. Most of it is pretty standard everyday stuff.

Will I pay £1.50 for a part-used tube of handcream when I can buy a whole one, of the same brand, next door in the pound store? No, I won't, no matter how good the cause. Ditto with Primarche or supermarket brand clothing. I'm not paying more for a used example of this than I would for a new one.

Charity shops are there to make money for charities but they do have to understand that they are also selling things in the real world, where many of their customers will have very low incomes. If you price at/ above new prices, your stock will sit on the shelves. Surely a smaller take and a regular turnover is better than having stuff unsold and eventually junked?

I've seen plenty of books sit on charity shop bookshelves for months at a time at £2.99 only to sell like hot cakes for £1 when they have a periodic sale. That same book is almost certainly available for free in the library, and I'd get it from there rather than pay £2.99 but for £1 I'd buy it, read it, and re-donate it, often to the same or adjacent store within weeks.

Several charity shops around here are now pricing stock far more realistically, such as a block price for a hardback or a paperback, and they're doing the business. Some others, I have given up on entirely because they never have anything worth buying at a reasonable price. I watched a national cancer charity shop nearby go out of business because it figured every donated mass-market hardback novel was "worth" £4.50. Even the commercial secondhand booksellers in town, who buy their stock, don't charge so much.

tori.k

I would say charity shops need a wake up call, we had a lovely dusty independent cat charity shop filled to the rafter's with everything and anything you could think off, the hoarder lady that ran it out of love anything that wasn't good enough for re-sale buttons came off and fabric was cut down for the local quilters for a donation, she had a fab buy and return offer on the books where you got the next book for half price it wasn't only a charity shop but the smallest unofficial meeting room/tea shop/classroom you could find there was a real love about the place, with the arrival of the mainstream charity shops with their thousands of pounds earning managers and shop refit every couple of year's the owners of the charity decided to move with the times and retired off the old volunteer manager for a new sleeker cleaner look the shop ran for 6 more months before it closed they didn't get it it wasn't just the bargains but the whole ambiance of the place.

kezlou

I tend to buy most of my clothes from charity shops. But recently even they have even become far to expensive for tea.

For instance I went into a shop yesterday saw a nice dress thought oh thats nice. Saw, the, price £9.50:eek: the week before saw same style dress for £6 out of primark. I couldn't believe it. I told the women behind the counter as, they were, saying how people are not buying as much, from the, charity shop.on

So I politely pointed pout the, dress and told about, how it was cheaper to buy new. The two women then had the, cheek to say well were after a better class of clientele than you. So I replied by saying well from now up be, boycotting the your charity and kindly placed the £20 worth of goods on the counter. Took back the boiler service vouchers I had in my hand and, walked off.
The woman then said oh we have a lovely woman donating boiler vouchers today, so I promptly replied no you.did have but apparently the donator wasnt the right clientele. The two women were shocked beyond belief.

adonis

Some valid points there GreyQueen,
I am surprised they had opened handcream for sale as it could have anything in it and books as you say sell them cheap and they would hopefully be donated back.

Prices on the internet can be deceiving as it covers a bigger area and what may sell well in one town you couldn't give it away in another and if the charity gets a good turnover of stock it will encourage regular customers.

Just to touch on what tori k says, the shop managers don't usually earn a fortune but it does depend on the charity and good volunteers and the work they do are essential to keep overheads down and should be valued.

GreyQueen

:mad: Bliddy hell, kezlou; how dare they insult a customer by saying she's not of the right class.

I would have probably been absolutely speechless with fury, but would never darken the door of such a place again, as a donor or a customer.

Do these ill-mannered besoms think that people of quality buy Primarche-type clothes second-hand for £££ over new price? One thing mixing with all sorts has taught me, is that affluent people often adore an bargain and are unblushing in the pursuit of one, but they're nobody's fools and wouldn't fall for that one in a million years.

adonis; I see part-used toiletries on sale all the time here, and you are right about the hygiene risks. Suppose it's a case of caveat emptor?

thriftwizard

You cannot blame the shops for trying to get the best prices they can when with a few clicks of the mouse they can get an idea of what things sell for although I agree sometimes they can get it wrong.

Adonis, I am not for one moment wanting to deprive charities of their hard-earned cash or do them out of a few bob. I was a volunteer in one of our local shops for many years & only stopped because the shop had to close down; after refitting, poshing up & raising the prices, the shop was no longer making enough. The point I was trying to make is that by only looking at what people are asking, without also looking at what the items are actually selling for, they're not getting a realistic view of what they're likely to get for it. Hence the last 3 of them having gone off to the scrapyard- and these are still-useful tools - having been priced at nearly £100 when they're likely to fetch around £30 in the real world.

kezlou

Its true my OH did a job for charity shop and they placed all the "quality items" on ebay to sell. They then placed the shoddy items up for sale in the shop.

GQ i was fuming, just glad i heard them say about the boiler vouchers.
The look on they face was so funny, thought they were going to have a fit. Lets just say i have never darkened they doors again.

Recently had a few phone calls about the lack of donations and i said sorry i cannot donate to your cause as it goes against my morals. Oh they said why, i said sorry but i can't donate to judgemental bigots who make remarks based on where a person shops.

Haven't had a phone call since off them, instead now i donate to other charities who assist those in need.

Austin_Allegro

I avoid most of the 'chain' charity shops these days. I find the local ones, run by elderly ladies, have better bargains and more interesting stuff. There is one in north London, called Norwood Ravenswood I think, run by a care home for the mentally disabled which has amazing bargains, as they have a deal with a Jermyn St clothier to sell seconds.