Anyone stopped bothering with charity shops?

hollydays

prowla wrote: »

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.

I buy high quality brands- at well below the retail price.

Wizzbang

I love charity shops, but year on year- I am going off them more and more! I agree with all the previous posts about over-pricing.

I recently had the misfortune of having to live in a country town for just over a year. The kind of place where the well-to-do Londoners all move down and send their children to one of the numerous private schools. Consequently there were some lovely items to be had from time to time, but I nearly died at the prices. I mean White Stuff, for example, is a good label- but I could have bought it new in the sales for less money, same with the Phase Eight items. There was one at the top of town, where the staff must have been insane- nasty old tat at sky-high prices. In fact, in that town I found the worst for over-pricing were the local causes and the best prices were had in the chain charity shop which seemed to do really good trade.

I eventually got to the bottom of this craziness. The women who volunteered in the hospice shops etc were the la-de-dah, oh I'll just pop up to town (i.e. London) types. They were the ones who were pricing the items and they of course thought that £30 for a dress was an absolute bargain darling! To them it was, when they spent hundreds on their clothes. They were completely out of touch with the fact that it was those of us living on the council estates who needed to frequent the charity shops and couldn't afford to buy anything in them!

That said, I still buy myself bargains in charity shops- if I strike lucky. And, if I see something good- I will buy it to sell on, on eBay (so-called flipping), but my ability to make a profit is getting less and less. I suppose good on the charity shops, as eBay has allowed them to realise the 'market-value' of the items. However, they use eBay to value them, but they haven't caught on to the fact that it is a global market-place and they may not get that buyer walking into their little, local shop. More of them ought to start listing things on-line.

an9i77

I work for a national charity shop chain, and goods are not allowed to be purchased by staff unless they have been on the shop floor for at least 24 hours. They are really strict about this too, people have been disciplined for breaking this rule.

Beenie

I must live in a favoured area because I regularly see plenty bargains. I will continue to pop in as long as I can find decent stuff at pocket money prices.

One thing I do think has made a difference to pricing is the Ebay brigade - not buying for themselves but to 'sell on' at a profit. If charity shop staff are checking Ebay for pricing guidelines, then no wonder prices have rocketed. You've only yourselves to blame.

As an aside, our local shops don't smell. And they may have loads of Primark or BHS tat, but you can ignore all that as you home in on the bargain Ralph Lauren cashmere jumper or Rohan travel jacket (both of which I have bought for under £5 in the last year). That's what keeps me going back to charity shops time after time.

Jane2112

I used to work in a charity shop ( BIG name) and we did very well, as it was run as a price point shop i.e. all ladies tops £1.99, so yes, you could get tat for £1.99 but also designer names for the same price - bargain.Baby items were 5 for £1. We shifted a lot of stock.
Shop workers could have first dibs on all donations but had to pay.
Nowadays, the prices have got a bit stupid, esp in 'well heeled' areas. I occasionally visit the Ribble Valley and the ever so frightful ladies who work in the shops there are unbelievable. The price of vinyl records, which my OH collects are astronomical. I actually over heard one old dear telling a customer to go to a 'cheaper charity shop, like the Samaritans' when the customer mentioned that £5 for a plain white M&S t shirt was a bit steep!!
Just shop around. If its tat, leave it behind, if its a bargain - and you need and can afford it - grab it

Pleut

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

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.

What is foist? I've googled it but come up blank. (I like learning new words.)

elona

It is a kind of damp mildewy smell - not mothballs - but of that ilk.

Beenie

If you've ever forgotten and left damp clothes in the washing machine or dryer - the smell you get is 'foisty'

Doc_N

New one on me, too - foisty. But it's a good old word, traceable right back to the middle ages according to the OED:

Fusty, musty, mouldy

Maybe regional in the UK now?

No-name_2

No one has mentioned yet the real reason charity shops are setting high prices, it is because they claim gift aid back from the government on donated items (this is a percentage of the price they set).


Selling the item is then just a bonus on top.


It's basically a legal scam.