Does anyone buy things from charity shops cheaply and sell them on eBay?

motorguy

lincroft1710 wrote: »

Why not spend a few days checking out what's in the charity shops in your area, you'll get an idea of what they stock and prices, then do your research and see if it makes economic sense.

+1

I did this local to where i work - theres about three. All full of overpriced rubbish!!

motorguy

Nebulous2 wrote: »

An acquaintance of mine claims to have made a fair bit of money by doing this while he was a student. Specifically selling golfing clothing / jumpers, especially pringle ones.

thats probably the angle to go for - specialise in a particular area.

DigForVictory

If you have a patch you're knowledgeable in, and you can add a little value (cleaning, minor repairs, resetting to factory defaults, derusting whatever) then you can probably make something but you need to know your niche. And be able to pack cannily.

Wizzbang

Yes, I do this- but you don't earn much anymore on eBay because their fees keep going up and up. I have certain areas that I know what I'm looking for and know what I can get for it. You have to be prepared to make some mistakes along the way. As above, you have to know which charity shops are good. I've almost stopped doing this since I moved areas because the prices where I now live are extortionate! I could buy brand new in the sales for less than they want for 2nd hand stuff! I still find a fair amount of high end brands slip through the net, if they're new or not so well known. And that's all the tips I'm giving!

raspberryrippl3

pretty immoral. even the better charity shops who are better at pricing things deliberately don't price them "at market value" in order to ensure they sell quickly, and bring money for the charity.

soolin

raspberryrippl3 wrote: »

pretty immoral. even the better charity shops who are better at pricing things deliberately don't price them "at market value" in order to ensure they sell quickly, and bring money for the charity.

So the charity want to sell something, so they price it for a quick sale- then the person who obliges them by buying it is 'immoral'.

So, should we all boycott charity shops then rather than heaven forbid, give them the money they deservedly need?

R_P_W

raspberryrippl3 wrote: »

pretty immoral. even the better charity shops who are better at pricing things deliberately don't price them "at market value" in order to ensure they sell quickly, and bring money for the charity.

What exactly is immoral about it?

motorguy

soolin wrote: »

So the charity want to sell something, so they price it for a quick sale- then the person who obliges them by buying it is 'immoral'.

So, should we all boycott charity shops then rather than heaven forbid, give them the money they deservedly need?

+1

I'm been motor trading for a long time and when i'm buying a car off say, a private seller or even a trade man, i always agree a price they are happy with. ie, i dont attempt to screw them into the ground. I'd rather give a fair price, take a bit of profit and sell on to a customer whos happy to pay my price. That way the sellers happy, i'm happy and my customer is happy. No one feels fleeced.

So if you're paying the asking price in a charity shop, and the shop are happy to sell it for that, i dont see the problem.

lessonlearned

I was in a charity shop yesterday. There was a man buying a load of toy cars, obviously for resale and he clearly knew what he was looking for etc.

The people behind the counter were also clearly aware that he was trading but were unconcerned - they were making sales and raising money for their charity, Lighthouse, so they were happy.

The man spent about £15 in all, the guy behind the counter rounded the money down and threw in a couple of cars that were a bit tatty for free.

As Motorguy says - it's all about win-win. The charity shop were happy, the trader was happy and no doubt his customers will be too.

I used to help out in a charity shop and we had regulars who we knew were traders - no problem. They were good customers.

Yes we had a copy of Miller's guide and also a magnifying glass to look out for makers marks, to check if an item was gold or silver and to try and see how good gemstones were.

The good stuff went to auction - the auction house didn't charge fees because we were a charity. If the auction house didn't think it was worth their effort then they would give us a guide price for us to sell.

If people can buy and then sell on at a profit then I can see no problem.

However, I have a caveat. Those people who stumble on something really valuable and then sell it on, make a small fortune and keep the lot. Say a piece of jewellery which turns out to have diamonds rather than paste or cubic zirconia - that kind of thing.

In cases like that I would like to think that the trader would make a small donation from their profits - donations are a bona fide tax deductible business expense after all.

Some do, some don't.

soolin

It also works both ways, I buy loads from auctions, house clearance stuff and large lots. A great deal of the stuff I buy I cannot reasonably sell and that all goes to the charity shop. Things like the huge cut glass vases are no use to me but can be sold for a fair bit by a CS. i Get half yearly gift aid statements from the shops I donate to, and am always amazes at the huge amounts my larger unwanted items have been sold for.