Charity Shop Shopping

stefejb

... are there other shops for clothes then - i hardly ever buy from anywhere else except when my dds are trying to do a trinny and susanna on me. I find that the best ones are not the big chains but the little local charities. I once went to a shop in chiswick which had a prada jacket for 150 quid in the window - I mean honestly if you wanted to spend a fortune on prada you wouldn't want last years model.

Olliebeak

stefejb wrote: »

... I find that the best ones are not the big chains but the little local charities.

Our local shopping centre has the usual ones, pdsa, british heart foundation, help the aged plus one that is a joint venture between all the local churches. Naturally, you can guarantee which is the cheapest - the church one.

It is run by a Trust Committee and the money goes to charities recommended by the customers - local and abroad. Letters of thanks are displayed in the windows for the customers to see and are usually accompanied by photographs of the cheques being presented to the charities. It makes a difference to actually see where the money goes to.

Savvy_sewing

I work for The British Heart Foundation, have been a shop manager for over a year. We use a steamer to iron the clothes, it is not a cleaner as far as I am aware.!
We have had our prices set by headoffice. Unfortunately we cannot be as cheap as some, but its due to the costs involved with our rents etc as well.
There is a pricing structure that depends on the make of the clothes, the quality, and the desirability.
Most of the staff are volunteers so work hard, and give up their time which further reduces the overheads.
We try to keep our consumable costs down so that we give a fair bargain, but we are ultimately there to raise funds for the charity.
We would never deliberately put out anything that is obviously unclean, and those items that are not suitable to go on the shop floor are sold on to "the rag man", so we still raise funds.
We would always recommend that unless a garment is new, that you would wash it/clean it, before you use it. We do not have the facilities to clean an item. (Although myself and other volunteers have taken things home to wash if we think that they are of enough value to raise more funds).
I have to confess to having been a charity shop buyer for about 25 years, before I landed the job managing one.
The work is hard but worth while, and we do aim to give the shopper value for their money as well as funds for our research etc.
Its recycling with a cause too.:heartsmil

Kaz2904

The shops near me seem to be unable to sort themselves out for prices. I bought a dress suit with jacket for £10 yet they want £5-6 for cheapy jumpers.
Jeans are £5 upwards and ball dresses are £7-10.
It doesn't make sense. The glam stuff is all obviously expensive yet the jeans are more expensive there than buying new.
I think charity shops would sell more if they had lower prices- espescially as they run from good will. Mainly that of their volunteers.

Savvy_sewing

I agree that the prices can vary, the thing is Jeans are more saleable than the ballgowns, except at christmas and new year. The charities tend to have a minimum price and then they have incrruments of 50p and £1 which is up to the shop manager or assistant manager to judge if they could get the money for the garment. If they just put the basic suit price, or the basic dress price, then you can manage to get your bargain. Knowing what is a designer label and what is not, is also a reason why there is no universal form in some shops or areas. Hope that helps to get you to understand what and why the prices are so varied.
Jeans that are often £50 plus, Levis, at £5 are still brilliant value, unless you want a pair of Tesco basics at £3 or £4.
As managers we all wish that we could put prices down low, and "whack" the stuff out. But guidelines from the "office" doesnot allow it. We have to work to ASPS, targets, and try to present our shops as we are in competition with Primark New look etc.

Pollycat

I've been a charity shop fan for years and have several wardrobes full of clothes from various charity shops and our local flea market.

I've had some great bargains, Per Una stuff still with the label on etc and a fabulous Karen Millen skirt.

When I'm buying tops, I always check the armpits inside and out as that usually shows if things have been heavily worn.
Also, I always look at the hems of trousers and skirts in case they've been taken up at home.
Don't just look at the label and think 'Great - size 10 long' - someone may have chopped 6 inches off!

I'm very selective about what brands I buy and whilst I'm happy to pay £3.50 or so for a Per Una top that's only been worn once or twice, I won't pay £1.50 for a Primark top that was only £2.00 brand new.

I also have a mooch round the bric-a-brac and have got some great bargains in Denby pottery.

All our holiday books (read and pass on to someone else) come from charity shops.

Polly

Buffy_the_Vampire_Bat

I very rarely find any clothes in our local charity shops that both fit me (long legs and not too small bum ) AND are suitable (IMHO!) for my age (28). BUT, I do donate a lot of clothing - and do buy the odd second hand item on eBay. I bought my as new F&F black and white wool coat on eBay earlier this year for £5.99 plus £5 p&p - it's heavy as it's a) wool and b) comes past my knees, so I thought I got a bargain including the p&p costs...especially as I know the coat cost £75 new as I bought an identical one in pink when it was in the shops a couple of years ago

Sorry, digressed there - anyway, for those of you with concerns about clothes from charity shops being clean, you can wash most things Obviously not EVERYTHING can be washed so remember to check the labels if there are any

Uniscots97

I bought a lovely plain black Gucci handbag in Oxfam (yes its genuine not a fake) for £3. The branch of Oxfam I visited seem to stock only designer and top end high street brands (Next, River Island). Haven't seen any other branches like this has anyone else?

LizD_2

dolly_day_dream wrote: »

I shop in charity shops as a political act. I would love to be able to source all of my good via fair trade, unfortunately I simply cannot afford to. By buying from a charity shop - and I am very lucky having so many where I live - I am helping the environment and I am not giving my money to some large global company. I am not getting my cheap clothing at the expense of someone working ridiculous hours for very low wages. Yes some do charge silly prices and I don't buy from them.

I totally agree with the spending part though. I have to decide before I go out just what I 'need' and stick to looking for that. When I started buying from them I had a very limited wardrobe and I was just pleased to build up a collection of clothes. Now I have set limits on the numbers of each type of clothing and I have to absolutely love an item before I buy it because when I take it home it will be on the basis of 'one in - one out' I have been very lucky and have not bought anything new in the past four years. Everything apart from underwear is from the charity shop. I

Technically speaking you are if you're buying ex-high street stuff.

That said, secondhand is still more ethical than new.

Mariel

I did search for the old thread but it seems to have disappeared. I've just come back from town and got some really good bargains - school trousers, a silver knit babydoll dress and trendy long denim shorts for my youngest daughter, black Animal cords for my middle daughter (kind of blew the budget at £4.25 but they are lovely!) and some Next jeans and a red babydoll jumper for myself all for £11.22.

Anybody else had any 'finds' lately?