Is it acceptable to haggle in a charity shop?

JimmyTheWig

houseimprover wrote: »

So you're allowed to sell at market value but don't want haggling even though you wouldn't have paid the market cost for the item so your margin is 100% whatever you sell it for?

The point is that the shop has its own costs to cover (rent, rates, energy, etc). The stock was donated, but that doesn't mean they get everything for free.
And the reason the shop is there is to make as much money as they can for their charity.

I've got no problem with haggling, but because I think haggling is in a mutual interest.

JimmyTheWig

Petal7bzxq wrote: »

We get people who want to buy something but haven't got enough cash on them and they expect us to waive the odd few pence. Would a supermarket do that? I don't think so!

I'm not sure a supermarket would (though it's worth asking) as generally the people on the tills wouldn't have the authority to do it. They might be happy to put in a few pence of their own money to help you, though, or the person behind you in the queue might do that for you.
But in a small place where the staff do have discretion they may well let you off a few pence. I remember in a chinese chip shop near where I used to live I was 5p short for what I wanted one day. I asked if it was ok to owe them the 5p and the woman said yes. Better for her to say yes than to risk me going to a cash point then going elsewhere for food. She was very surprised a few weeks later when I next went in and I paid 5p over what the food came to because I owed it to them!

We think we price things very fairly to start with but we do adjust prices if something has been hanging around a while.
...
I don't think it is acceptable to haggle in a charity shop because you are taking income from organisations which are trying to help others.

So lets say you have a hardback book come in. You price it at £2 as that's a fair price.
No-one buys it. It's been sat on the shelf at that price for a while. You've got other books out the back that could be on the shelf if this one wasn't.
You decide that it's unlikely to sell in a reasonable timeframe at that price. You'll reduce the price to £1.50 tomorrow.
Then someone comes in and wants the book. They've only got £1.80 on them. They cuold go to the cash point and get more money, but we all know that once cash comes out of the wall and a note gets broken up it gets frittered away. So the customer isn't going to do that. They will either pay £1.80 for the book or walk away with nothing from your shop.

Are you really saying that it would be wrong of them to offer you £1.80 for the book? They would end up with the book they wanted and you will end up with at least 30p more than you would if you reduce the price tomorrow.
Surely it's better for them to ask than to walk away with nothing?

[Obviously if they ask and the book has only just gone on the shelf at that price then you can say no.]

Petal7bzxq

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

I'm not sure a supermarket would (though it's worth asking) as generally the people on the tills wouldn't have the authority to do it. They might be happy to put in a few pence of their own money to help you, though, or the person behind you in the queue might do that for you.
But in a small place where the staff do have discretion they may well let you off a few pence. I remember in a chinese chip shop near where I used to live I was 5p short for what I wanted one day. I asked if it was ok to owe them the 5p and the woman said yes. Better for her to say yes than to risk me going to a cash point then going elsewhere for food. She was very surprised a few weeks later when I next went in and I paid 5p over what the food came to because I owed it to them!

So lets say you have a hardback book come in. You price it at £2 as that's a fair price.
No-one buys it. It's been sat on the shelf at that price for a while. You've got other books out the back that could be on the shelf if this one wasn't.
You decide that it's unlikely to sell in a reasonable timeframe at that price. You'll reduce the price to £1.50 tomorrow.
Then someone comes in and wants the book. They've only got £1.80 on them. They cuold go to the cash point and get more money, but we all know that once cash comes out of the wall and a note gets broken up it gets frittered away. So the customer isn't going to do that. They will either pay £1.80 for the book or walk away with nothing from your shop.

Are you really saying that it would be wrong of them to offer you £1.80 for the book? They would end up with the book they wanted and you will end up with at least 30p more than you would if you reduce the price tomorrow.
Surely it's better for them to ask than to walk away with nothing?

[Obviously if they ask and the book has only just gone on the shelf at that price then you can say no.]

Hi, You make some reasonable points and I don't really disagree with anything you have said. Well done for going back to pay the 5p you owed - but I fear you are an exception. I do feel that it's not really down to others to make up someone else's shortfall. I think people should have some awareness of what cash they have on them before they take goods to the till and decide what they can actually afford. It avoids embarrassment on either side of the till.

Don't get me wrong - I'm prepared to use my discretion if someone is a bit short because we do get a good level of repeat customers and customer loyalty is vital. However, with people who are not known to me it is difficult to judge if they are genuine (it's a sad fact that people do steal from/try to short-change charity shops). As an example, I have experienced a customer asking for a discount for goods priced at £12, claiming he only had a tenner on him. I said "no", he continued to shop and the final bill came to £15 (still with no discount). He magically produced £15 to pay for the goods. So he had lied to try to get a reduced price. I'm glad I held my nerve.
Again, from my experience, customers have claimed that some items are overpriced so they want a discount: "I could buy it new for £20" is a phrase I've heard (funny, it's always £20). When I've checked on prices, it looks like the customer is living in Cloud Cuckooland! The customer is not always right; the phrase "trying it on" springs to mind.
[These are rare occurrences but these incidents do lead you to question people's motives. Maybe I'm just of a suspicious nature, and maybe I need to be a bit more relaxed about things!]

Re the example you give about the book, if I knew I was about to reduce a price and someone was a bit short, yes, I'd take the reduced cash on offer. As I said earlier, I use my discretion. And as you said, if the item has only just gone on sale, I can say "no" (which has happened).

In my original post, I said that in the shop where I work we price things fairly to start with (because we want things to shift). The fact that we enjoy a high level of repeat custom strongly suggests that we are getting it right. We have plenty of customers who appreciate that they are getting bargains (I know that because they tell us) - and consequently they don't feel the need to haggle - so I feel that it's not fair on them to routinely give discounts to anyone who asks. I use my judgement and I have quite often said "no".

In the poll, 30% responded that they think it's OK to haggle in charity shops which, I admit, is a pretty sizeable minority. It's not just a reflection of the times because there have always been people who like to get a deal. I just think that there's a time and a place for haggling and IMO a charity shop is not the place - we are not trying to make a fat profit to give shareholders a good dividend. Charities face sharply rising costs and, as stated in my original post, income from other sources has been going down.

As a paid employee of a charity, I have to adhere to the charity's policies and do my level best to increase revenue. I'm also expected to maintain good customer relations and generally keep everyone happy. Something of a delicate balancing act - yes, it is hard work! There have been a lot of different opinions in this forum offered on the subject of haggling in charity shops - people are either very pro or very anti, and I doubt anyone's going to change their minds. It's not really a subject with grey areas, is it!

JimmyTheWig

Petal7bzxq wrote: »

Re the example you give about the book, if I knew I was about to reduce a price and someone was a bit short, yes, I'd take the reduced cash on offer. As I said earlier, I use my discretion. And as you said, if the item has only just gone on sale, I can say "no" (which has happened).

In which case, as far as I am concerned, the customer would be right to ask rather than leave the shop with nothing.
Note that the customer doesn't know whether a price is due for reduction or not.

I think haggling in a charity shop for the sake of haggling (e.g. you would pay full price if they say "no" but want to save money) is wrong, but haggling to reach a mutually acceptable deal is the right thing to do.

Petal7bzxq

I take your point - and I have sometimes accepted an offer for the sake of shifting an item. When you run a charity shop you want people to pay up! Not just for the sake of bringing funds in but also as a morale booster for all the volunteers so they know that their behind-the-scenes efforts are making a difference.

jamie11

SailorSam wrote: »

I wouldn't dream of haggling, you're giving to charity. It's like if you were to throw £1 into one of their collecting tins and ask for 50p change.

So what if you can only afford to donate 50p and you have no smaller change? Are you saying it would be better to not donate at all?

hollydays

I've never queried a price yet, but I do tend to shop for bargains.
I wouldn't rule it out, if for example I saw a piece of furniture that I was sure was very overpriced , I would tell them I believed it may be priced higher than average , and could they do anything with the price. If they said no I'd fully accept it( I wouldn't buy it).

Sometimes pricing is guesswork and the individual may not have sufficient knowledge to estimate it correctly. Alternatively if they've decided that's the price they probably will still get someone buying it and I respect that.

What I don't like is when I hear people making rude comments like" why is this so expensive" or " you won't get that price here". Charities do get dealers who try to wear them down on price, and the shops are getting wiser to this now.

I don't buy clothes from expensive shops like oxfam but I just think they are charging the going rate.

Bogof_Babe

I think that it's not a good policy to price things (especially clothes) solely according to brand name. I'd rather pay £1 for a Primark teeshirt in perfect condition than 75p for a M&S one that is out of shape or stained. This is where the staff could be given a bit more discretion both in originally pricing the item and in negotiating if the fault is pointed out to them.

Quite often I find items that don't have a price tag, and I will take them to the counter and point it out so they can be priced. Sometimes the assistant assumes I want to buy it, and says (e.g.) "£1?" with an "I'm open to negotiation" expression. This makes me think that they do have some leeway, and although I've never asked for a discount myself (too timid ) if I thought I had a genuine case I perhaps would.

brightonman123

some stuff I've seen is near to the full retail price, even though 2nd hand!


if you feel price asked for is OTT, make a reasonable offer- I guess most / all items they got came in for free, so it's all profit!

trollopscarletwoman

brightonman123 wrote: »

some stuff I've seen is near to the full retail price, even though 2nd hand!


if you feel price asked for is OTT, make a reasonable offer- I guess most / all items they got came in for free, so it's all profit!

It might seem like its all profit but not quite.

Rent, elec, and so on and wages of Manager and deputy manager.

A lot of the really good stuff is held back until the local experts in that particular field have had a look and valued up. They all have them.

The shop where my mrs volunteers (Tenovus) doesn't generally reduce because they believe the price is right anyway.

You even get shoplifters there on a £1 tee shirt!