Charity Shop Shopping

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Hi Mariel,

Well done on your finds! The Charity shop thread is still there so I've added your post to it to keep the replies together.

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Lilycharlotte

I spent £14 at my charity shop and got....

A Monsoon dress
A Monsoon blouse
2 Primark tops
A Next jumper
A brown handbag
Coast (!) skirt
AND
4 items of clothing for my DD.

A good day

Oh and, yes, i think it is odd that I can buy a Coast skirt for the grand sum of £2.50 and a top from Primark is £2. That makes no sense to me. Maybe people just don't realise.

Our chairty shops are amazing. Some are 'expensive' IMO and some are much better. We live in a small town, not wealthy, but a lot of the surrounding areas are and I think those people donate their 'nice' clothing to our chairty shops. :T

LameWolf

Mooloo wrote: »

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 always wash clothes bought from charity shops - for the simple reason that I have allergies, and if the item was last washed in Biological powder, it will start my eczema off.

Mariel

I always wash second hand things, even if they are obviously freshly laundered. Once I've washed something it becomes 'mine'. Lilycharlotte that's an amazing haul! I'm really trying not to look at books at the moment, I'm using the library instead - much cheaper!
Tomorrow I'm going for a day out, not sure where yet, specifically to look at the charity shops and have a nice coffee somewhere different.

sb44

For those who turn their noses up at charity shop clothes.

Just remember that some of the new clothes that you buy have been tried on by who knows who before you.

I also saw on the tv that some people buy clothes, wear them for a night out after hiding the tags and then take them back saying they bought the wrong size!

So you never know.

About a quarter of the clothes in charity shops are brand new as people have either bought in the sales and can't take them back or have just had them in the wardrobe for ages and outgrow them (guilty here!).

Suzkin

I LOVE charity shops. :j I am very fortunate to have about 7 shops a few roads away from where I live, and so visiting them has become an enjoyable regular Saturday outing. I just like looking at the array of different items, and like a child, enjoy wondering whether I'll find something I really like. I have managed to buy so many inexpensive items, that they have made my lill one-bed house into a lovely home! :A

Everything has been in near perfect condition, although I've needed to polish up the brassware. Some of the items I have purchased recently are listed below. For me - and obviously due to where I'm located - the main shops I've visited, include: Help the Aged, Tenovus, British Heart Foundation. :beer:

Floor standing brass lamp stand with shade and long-life bulb (very Laura Ashley style) £6 THE LOT
2 x lampshades (one grecian, the other dusky pink satin from Laura Ashley) £2.25 EACH
2 x brass candlesticks £1.99 THE PAIR
Pretty Crabtree and Evelyn tin £0.99
Small circular mahogany and leather drinks table £5
Fairly large round wooden table with a lovely shapely 'stem' £17 (WAS £20, but I paid in cash..). I shall paint the top white - quite Laura Ashley style.
White bedside reading table £7
LOTS of clothes: A navy quilted long mac from Debenhams £6; a navy wool coat from the London Coat Company £10; a very smart 'straight' style dark brown long coat from Debenhams £6. Lots of lovely skirts and blouses.
A few lovely bags, in the range of £3-£4.
2 x wooden farmhouse style chairs £7 each

got-it-spend-it

Wow some of those bits sound lovely! I love charity shops and wandering round them is a favourite pastime whilst OH is at work. I mostly buy books- usually pay 99p and then pass them on to my Mum and my Nana then they get donated back! They do the same too so we always have something to read.

I got lovely oversized mug from a charity shop a while ago- brand new and it will be used as a Christmas pressie with some hot chocolate and goodies. Also got a set of four lovely Espresso cups and saucers for £3. They're Whittards ones and would have cost about £12 new I reckon. Again I will use those as a Christmas present.

I've also got some good clothes- highlight this year was some Fatface combats for £5- saw the exact pair for £40 new a week later!

Pink.

Hi Suzkin,

Well done on your finds! :T There's an earlier thread with lots of posts on what people have bought in charity shops so I've added your post to it to keep the replies together.

This older thread might interest you too:

Charity shops

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1sttimer_2

I've had many good bargains from Charity Shops. I think they are great. Most recent bargains were
Burton 2 piece suit for OH £5
Smart trousers for OH £2.50
Gap jeans £1 (on sale!)
BHS stretch jeans £2.50
2 wooly cardigans £1.50

I've also picked up things in the past like Next jeans for OH for about £4 in excellent condition and a leather jacket for about £8.

There's a nearby town to me which has loads of Charity shops including one which a 'brand' shop gives them some of their unsold old stock. Even though it is close to me, I've not actually been there, but my friend loves it and swears by them. (I work FT and she only PT)

Also, I don't know if this still is on, but if you give some of your M&S clothes to Oxfam, they will give you £5 to spend at M&S!

I love hunting out a good bargain!

Menolly_2

I love hunting in charity shops - it doesn't matter to me if a garment has been worn before - if it is still in nice condition it means that:

a) the person who donated it has taken care of it and
b) it is pretty good quality stuff in the first place!

I am wearing a TU Polo neck that I bought from Sainsburys for £8.00 two weeks ago. I have worn it a couple of times and on Thursday I washed it. Knowing that it was "cheap" and that other jumpers from TU have gone hard and nasty on being machine-washed, I hand washed it. I shouldn't have bothered - it now feels stiff, despite "reshaping while damp" it has lost its shape and it has also lost the lovely softness it had when I bought it. Contrast this with a Jaeger jumper that I bought from Imperial Cancer Research - it is also synthetic (can't wear wool) but it is as soft and lovely as the day it left Jaeger. I can't remember how much I paid for it but I've had it for three years (this will be my 4th winter with it), so I guess it doesn't owe me anything - the Tu Polo neck is now relegated to weekend gardening wear (I have to look smart for work and this thing now looks like I've had it since the Flood!).

I usually haunt the Charity Shops in my local "upmarket" areas too - and don't forget Consignment Shops (Dress Agencies) for more formal wear. I have seen some lovely evening wear in my local one and although the prices aren't charity shop levels, they are often cheaper than hiring and you can always try reselling on eBay.