Charity shops - expensive?

vfairbrass

I find that the mainstream charity shops like Oxfam now charge more than I am able to afford for almost everything - but our town has one which is the only shop for a small, specialised, local charity and their prices are affordable. It is always packed with people and is how charity shops used to be, a bit down at heel but like a treasure trove rather than a high street boutique. I really enjoy going in there once a week and feel a considerable connection with the charity itself as a result. I have to say that I have also reverted to going to jumble sales once again.

Hapless_2

dolly_day_dream wrote: »

. They still have to pay council tax, rent, electricity etc for their shops.

Registered charities are exempt from the business rates. If they are paying them then someone has not done the paperwork correctly.

Busybody

I have always popped into the charity shops for a look and bought loads of things over the years but lately the prices are far too high, I have seen things that I know are from Primark and the charity shop are selling them dearer than Primark!!:eek:

COOLTRIKERCHICK

charity shops now are trying to compete with the high street fashion stores.... especially the ones in towns and cities....

and yes their prices are getting higher....and i confronted one manager in a charity shop and questioned the hike in prices....( as i bought a similar item only a few month prior which was a thrid of the price ) and they just said ..well we are a charity and we must get the most we can as people donating the goods expect that ...

so now i dont buy half as much as i used to.... plus i have noticed that there are 2 people pricing in this shop... and there is def.. a diff in pricing.......

also talking about oxfam.... in our area.. they are closing all their shops.... as they were not making money.... i also heard that it might be a national thing...... maybe they just outpriced themselves out of the market.....

floyd

This is so true, our local Oxfam does furniture and white goods so when we first moved house as first time buyers we thought we might pick up a few bargains and do our bit for charity. Not a chance, a 1960's sideboard was priced at £350, there were 15 identical ones locally on EBay at the time for between £40 and £60!

Our local Roy Castle shop and Age Concern shops do still have some bargains though so I tend to stick with them

KarrieB

i do think the smaller local charity shops are still very cheap but i agree about the books. they are often 2.99 in our local oxfam books whereas at local book stalls in the market they are 50p, and the amount of books i get through i'm afraid 50p is the more realistic option

larmy16

My local hospice shop has just hiked up the price of paperbacks - even horrible ancient yellowed manky ones are £1 which is far too much.

However I virtually clothe myself from their £1 rail - I have got some really nice serviceable clothes from there. Mind you I can look a bit eclectic sometimes, but I have never followed fashion (dont have the figure for it), but I get a thrill out of getting a brand new DAMART raincoat with burberry style lining for a £1!

I used to work in a charity shop as an assistant manager. It was horrendus with all the women !!!!!ing and disagreeing about pricing etc. One day I was totally on my own in the shop, when a drunk came in, and took off his shoes and put on a newer pair and then walked out of the shop.

No way was I going to challenge him for £4. Also we had a spate of the gypsies coming in en masse, confusing everyone asking questions and darting about and invariably some old dear would come to pay for something only to find her purse and benefit book stolen (this was in the days when they gave books).

It was never a dull moment. What used to get me was the area managers swanning in with their company cars and mobiles (which were expensive then) and telling us all how the shop was set out wrong, and then the following week someone would turn up saying the exact opposite.

kittykat500

Oxfam shops have certainly become too dear. Whereas I used to buy quite a bit of stuff - mainly clothes - from there I now tend to stick to boot sales which are far more reasonable - and you can haggle if you want!

louidog

chrisewey76 wrote: »

we were always told in my old shop that the chances are that if someone stole from the shop that they were desperate. i dont think this is always the case and stealing is stealing!

I agree and the theives I have seen (trust me, there have been more than enough!) most certainly were not desperate! The worse kind were the gangs of 20 somethings and teenagers who would come in to steal whatever they could....shocking!

~*Plushroom*~

I used to buy a lot from the charity shops here, but recently I've been noticing prices going up. I've seen the same stock in there for weeks and weeks on end now.

The childrens toys and books are still great value, but adults clothes and books seem to be going up far too much. I've actually bought things in the charity shop before, that had ridiculous price tags on and the lovely lady at the counter shook her head and said that's a ridiculous price and marks it down on the spot.

I guess it really depends who's pricing the products each day, but when she does it everything is reasonable and fair, others just seem to like to write big numbers. They had a VCR in there the other day for £40 :eek: amazing when they sell video's at 2 for £1.

I rarely get clothes in them now, one does a £1 rail about once a month it seems to clear stock which is great as I tend to custom make my clothing from old clothes anyway. But on the whole it makes you feel bad when you have to go to another retail store and buy because it's actually cheaper.

I've had many really cheap buys though, and if I feel it was far too cheap I put some money into the donation box too.