Anyone stopped bothering with charity shops?

[Deleted User]

Sorry i don't recognise much of this over pricing story at all,recent buys inc a new mens next jumper next price £29 i paid £3.99,an m&s mens jumper for £2.99,pair of next trousers good as new £4.99,an unworn matalan mens coat for £5.99,and this week 20 xmas cards 1/2 price at £2.99,have also got some real bargains for baby g/son all less than £2 and last year i bagged a mens crombie overcoat £150 in debenhams i paid £20
we have a number of national charity shops in our town and we always have a look round
the local travel agent was collecting toys for kids hospital so i went in the heart shop found a brand new toy with no price on it when i explained who it was for she said just give me a £1 for it !

hollydays

I've picked up Ralph lauren gilet 6.50, 1930s ornament 2.99 worth £ 40, white company bedding £10, fortnum and mason hamper basket £4, balmain perfume £6, Agnes b bag £4 , rohan fleece £4.. Various cashmere items under a tenner.. vintage Burberry shirt £5 , miu miu sunglasses..

Spidernick

wheelz wrote: »

Charity shops are also great for buying charity christmas cards. Bought 40 cards for next year yesterday, half price, £7.50 :-) :j

40 cards are normally £15?!!! I know it's for charity, but I wouldn't be jumping up and down at £7.50 either!

My favourite example of charity shops overpricing things was in the days of the Wordsworth/Penguin Classics of Dickens, Austen and the like that sold new for £1. It always made me giggle when I saw second-hand versions of these (on a regular) basis in the Oxfam book shop for £1.50+.

pickledonionspaceraider

I agree OP, I used to shop in charity shops weekly - but the odd time now I pop in, am always shocked by the prices and rarely buy nowadays

Doc_N

Aren't some people here missing the point entirely?

Charity shops don't exist to provide low-priced deals for bargain hunters - they exist for the very laudable purpose of raising money for charities.

Any charity shops consistently underpricing the goods they sell are depriving their charities of much-needed funds. Why on earth would they do that, and why on earth would anyone expect them to?

Clowance

I agree they exist to raise money for charity. However they do this by sales, if they put their customers off by pricing things higher than they were when new (eg primark stuff) then fewer sales and therefore less profit will be made. Most people who have a higher disposable income do not shop in charity shops.

Haffiana

Doc_N wrote: »

Aren't some people here missing the point entirely?

Charity shops don't exist to provide low-priced deals for bargain hunters - they exist for the very laudable purpose of raising money for charities.

Any charity shops consistently underpricing the goods they sell are depriving their charities of much-needed funds. Why on earth would they do that, and why on earth would anyone expect them to?

In my area (suburban London) the prices in the local charity shops are frequently higher than the price of the item when new. The stock does not move.

Charity shops exist to try to make some money from stuff that people would otherwise throw away. This benefits those who are perhaps on a low income, or just those who are willing to buy second-hand for the sake of a bargain. Charity shops seem to forget that these people go into them to buy second-hand clothing at second-hand prices. After all, if charities simply wish to raise money, then they can send those same volunteers who work in the shops out into the street with a bucket to collect cash. Far less overheads, surely? So, if a charity chooses to make money from donated clothes, then it has to sell them to someone who wishes to buy clothes rather than drop money into a bucket, or whatever.

If people want to make a donation to the charity then they will. I personally have no interest in making my donation by buying old, used clothes at extortionate prices. Why would I do that? I would rather buy new clothes at a fair price and make a separate donation.

prowla

I think that the charity shops have got a bit too clever for their own good; if someone donates something, then the money they make on that is profit.

What's happened though is that they mark up the prices to retail levels, and so you might as well go to a normal shop and get the thing.

I'm also dubious as to how much money goes to the cause, versus simply running the business.

dandelionclock30

I can only go in to drop things off as I cant stomach the smell in these places. They just smell really strongly of foist.

asajj

I also volunteer at a charity shop like one of the above posters and I must say it is in a well known middle class area and I never seen such prices some people mention above.

Sure there will be one or more stuff that is overpriced - perhaps shop is trying to reach their daily target or simply don't know much about the market.

Charity stuff pays for goods too albeit on a reduced price (25% generally).

I am going to same shop over the last 5 years to help out and I can also say the number of good quality donations have fallen drastically.

Many goods on charity shops will have a date next to price which means that they will have to be sold by this date or taken down of the shelves.

If you see the same stuff on the shelves after a month, it might mean there is simply nothing to replace it.
I think there is a balance between providing good prices and good items and it is up to buyer to decide if something worth to buy anyway.

Just don't forget their sales targets are no less and their managers are mostly are on minimum pay.

You can easily find out how much money is spent on the cause (all available on the web) but shops also act as a place of information where you can pick up leaflets or see posters about the cause etc. In addition they give opportunity to people through apprenticeship schemes.

Again not all charity shops are smelly and untidy however you can pass your comments on different communication channels to the charity.