Chazzers - do you budget?

VfM4meplse

PasturesNew wrote: »

As for "obscure" I don't know one label from another.... I can't tell if a dress in my hand is £5 from Primark or £5k from harrods.

For me "obscure" refers to books out of print / weird and wonderful kitchen gizmos.

pigpen wrote: »

the stuff in the M&S/Next sales is the same price or cheaper than the CS

If that's the case, I agree.

DigForVictory

With a living historian as the SAHP, charity shops don't just provide schoolbags, coats, hiking boots, sleeping bags & tents, but all sorts of raw materials for projects.

Fancy dress? Once the idea is agreed on, it'll be made from the available fabric stash or the hunt for specific items that could be repurposed is on. We were given ostrich plumes when granny couldn't find shed peac*ck feathers (bless her) but the hat was originally Some Mother of the Bride's delight til the Historian got hold of it, steamed it, relined it & pinned one side up to conceal where the plumes were stitched into place. Son *so* enjoys doffing his hat & sweeping a *spectacular* bow, years later...

Mind you, keeping a couple of sheets & blankets handy means princesses can have capes & thick underskirts & not get pneumonia under the bright nylon shells held out for sale as 'costumes'. Every house with children should have a "dressing up box" with a few cheap hats & capes. They can also help Make their own crowns with cereal boxes, tinfoil, sweet wrappers & (my favourite) strategically cut & glued & varnished fruit gums. 'Rubies' come cheap!

Inheriting my grandmothers haberdashery stash means we're good for buttons, hooks & eyes, assorted lengths widths & vintages of lace, pyjama ties and other odd sundries that help convert sheets of cloth into working garments.

I'm a Denbyholic & with the reference pages of various books well thumbed, *all* my chaps can peer at colour & line, check the base stamp & look for chips & cracks. Many shops can check too & set prices to reflect the 'perceived' value, but the lads run the house price policy of not more than a pound a piece & we *still* come back clinking gently.

The phrase "book sale" sees my usual amble accelerate to view & the sign "jumble sale" will have me throwing the anchor out with a cheerful disregard for most other road users - as how will you know until you have a rummage?!

A lovely family friend swapped a cupboard of leather pieces (repairing sundry furnishings for their use of) for a cafetiere. We've made jerkins, satchels, custom covers, axe masks and so on, and there is still a lovely thick roll.

Absolutely right that you have to pounce. The well placed hand is vital in negotiating possession & 'first to pay walks away' with the desired item. Thinking "oh, I'll come back for it" just means someone else snaffles it & you realise How Much You Wanted it. (I use it at car boots to see if I really am Meant to go home with a thing. If someone else hasn't seized it, I can negotiate a lower price. I tend not to let the Fates toy with me that much though - if it's there & I want it, I pay for it. My sons roll their eyes as I borrow a fiver off them but they know where I live! Also that odds on, they will be carrying The Thing to the car...)

Which means, as the lads grow, that we take a lot of outgrown stuff still in good fettle back to the charity shops! Eight pairs of boots to the Scout Boot Bank as well.

A budget? Well, when buying the raw materials, we don't need the blanket to be spotless, unstained & king size. We'll happily pay for a blanket they'ld blink at putting out to sell, but they ask us for "a donation" not plural quid. The Denby we've set rules for. And then yes, we have the 'mad' tenner.

VfM4meplse

^^ You have to submit this somewhere for publication! :T

Miró

I don't budget as such but I do keep a chazza 'float' purse which I top up with change to the tune of about a fiver each week. The hospice and the community chazza shops never seem to have change for notes and most of their stuff sells for either 50p or £1. Also, (and sad to say this but...), it means I can keep my proper purse well tucked away out of sight and reach - pickpockets seem to target even charity shop shoppers round my way!

I agree with the 'pounce' theory too...I have found to my cost that it's fatal to hesitate. If I'm unsure about an item I carry it around the shop with me while I browse rather than leave it on the shelf or rack...then look at it in a mirror/try it on/look at it in daylight....by then I usually can make up my mind to either purchase or return to shelf or rack.

mrs_Badger

I keep a small cash stash for impulse buys and treats, about £10 a month or something. Books in my local are 50p and I don't mind paying that. I have given up looking at the clothes as I often see a worn Asda top to be £6 and so on. I can never resist a look at the bric a brac - I enjoy odd bits of crockery.

Twice now I have seen pictures that are £2 in B&Ms being sold for £4 in my local, and items I have donated myself I have seen priced up for more than I paid!

maman

I found the CSs invaluable when I was losing weight. It meant I could buy a few bits as I went down through the sizes and then donate them back when they got too big. I also experimented with colours too so no expensive mistakes.


I still browse the shops wehen I have time. Mainly I rifle through looking for 'labels' and discard the scruffy, worn stuff from Asda, Primark etc. that's probably more expensive than when it was new.


To answer OP, not I don't have a budget but I don't think I've ever spent more than £10 in one hit. I frequently take stuff too, always have a bag on the go at home getting slowly filled.

Towser

No definitely not. This is the one place where I splurge including Aldi. All the money spent in these two shops usually means I have saved somewhere.

I love this thread I hope someone keeps it going as the other chazzer thread is huge.

I only shop when the kids are in school and I have a gnawing feeling to go bargain hunting when I cannot get to the shops. Does anybody else?

I usually have something on my wishlist to look for or otherwise the usual clothing list that needs to be fulfilled within the family. None of it is needs, it's all wants and I have to be very strict with myself to buy only the "pearls".

Livelongandprosper

I treat charity shops like any other, except I don't mind an afternoon browsing them

If on the rare occasion something has my name on, I still weigh up how much I need it compared to how much I want it. The only things I buy without hesitation are books,but they are never more then £2

Tbh, the charity shops here are not very good. It's either very high end occasion wear, or cheap primark stuff that's long beyond its best. Good stuff is snapped up within minutes of being put out as I live in a very poor area. I'm looking forward to the weekend when I'm in Scotland to see if I have more success

YorksLass

I’ve used charity shops for different reasons at different stages in my life. When DD and DS were little, I was a stay-at-home mum (through choice) but it was hard managing on just DH’s wage - not a big one, by any stretch of the imagination. My priorities were to pay the bills and put food on the table, and any left-over-money CS buys were usually kids clothing (not shoes, they were always bought new), fabric and wool (I did a lot of sewing and knitting back then), household goods that I couldn’t afford new, books and toys. I’d also do jumble sales and school fetes.

After returning to work, life got a little easier moneywise, so at that stage it was more retail therapy than necessity but I’d still look out for bargains.

Now retired, I’m donating more than I’m buying – I’ve fallen out of love with dust collectors like ornaments etc and definitely don’t need any more clothes. That said, I still enjoy a rummage around them, usually when I’m taking in my offerings; my buys now tend to be books, wool (still knitting but not sewing so much!) and small gifts to go in my Xmas/birthday present box for family and friends.

Do I have a CS budget? Not especially but I do have two purses, one for grocery shopping and one for treats. And yes, whatever I buy has to be worth it to me. I have four CS shops near me, all with varying price ranges; one I hardly ever use (far too expensive) but the others are fairly reasonably priced. We also have a hospice within walking distance; their events such as their summer fete and Xmas market are a good source for bargains, as well as being an enjoyable half-day out.

Prinzessilein

I collect children's books...mainly school stories from the 'classic' age ...there was a time when a hunt through the shelves of a charity shop was almost guaranteed to bring up a treasure or two....these days you can't even get much in the way of paperback reprints in the charity shops - they are creamed off the donations and sold on to specialist book shops!....Family have a list of books I want - so they keep a look out for any that slip through the net and end up for sale.

On the other hand - I have picked up a few decent DVDs...one or two find a home on my shelves - the majority are bought for no more than a pound and re-donated when I've watched them.

I suppose the quality of goods on sale in charity shops differs according to the town in which they are situated....I have a relative in London who picks up designer clothing in her local shop.....I live in a one-horse-dorp (one horse...but a dozen or so charity shops ) ...no designer labels here!

I have bought presents from charity shops....and received some too (...most of my book want-list is only available 2nd hand)...last year I bought a lovely wooden owl to give to Mum at Christmas.

Do I have a budget....generally speaking yes....as I do in any shop!

Looking around my Living Room....desk...2 book shelves....chest of drawers....rocking chair...sewing tables (one large, one small)....magazine rack....all came 2nd hand.....we have a BHF charity shop that does furniture and electricals....I remember moving house some years ago I bought a number of items from them...strictly budgeted, but I got loads for my money! - the items were such good quality that when I moved to sheltered housing (so downsized) I contacted the shop and they sent a van and collected some of the items I had bought years ago and resold them.

I have lost a fair bit of weight over the last few years...and one local charity shop have come to know me quite well...they love it when I push my walker into the shop with a plastic bag stuffed with outsize clothes on top...they have had some seriously good stuff from me!