Charity shops getting expensive!

Pollycat

Mistral001 wrote: »

I do not know what charity shops you have visited or are connected with, but I have NEVER seen anybody haggle in a charity shop. I must have visited dozens.

If a charity shop is not making money, then they should look at the way the are organised instead of complaining about their customers. Though I must say I do not think your views represent the views of any charity shops. I know charity shops where the staff say they make a good return and have been in the same location for decades.

I've just dropped the last 4 of 16 jigsaws off at my local hospice shop.
The chap said that they had been selling well.

Re haggling:
I found a very nice Floozie summer bag for £4.00.
When I was paying, I remarked that the zip furthest from the opening was a bit 'iffy'. It took a bit of manipulating to get it open and closed over that bit.
He offered to knock £1.00 off but I said I was happy with the bag and was happy with the price and was just making conversation.
I'd just not open the zip that far. I'll probably put a few stiches in to stop it opening that far.

And no - it won't be going on eBay.

So Mr_Singleton, instead of focusing on the negative messages on this thread (that you seem to home in on) why not see the positive side of people donating and buying from charity shops.
Not everybody is out to take advantage of charities.

Just curious - do you have an affiliation with any charities?

Out,_Vile_Jelly

I'm a higher rate taxpayer and give an evening of my time every week to a local charity, so not sure if I'm classed as Mr Singleton's "right type of customer" or not.


I do not buy tired Primark tops priced more than they were new, or battered Wordsworth Classics priced by Oxfam at £2.99 when they were 99p new. I do however read a lot, and therefore buy many sensibly priced books from more alert charity shops, which then get returned when read for them to profit from again.

Owain_Moneysaver

bertiewhite wrote: »

they would have been someone's pride & joy once

That's true of a lot of stuff in charity shops.

And a lot of it won't sell again at 99p but they still put it out at £5.

On the other hand a lot more shops are clued up about checking ebay etc and it's getting rare to find anything drastically underpriced.

Mistral001

Pollycat wrote: »

Re haggling:
I found a very nice Floozie summer bag for £4.00.
When I was paying, I remarked that the zip furthest from the opening was a bit 'iffy'. It took a bit of manipulating to get it open and closed over that bit.

That's hardly haggling, but I must admit that I would not mention something like that to them.

Sometimes they knock a bit off the marked price without me asking. If they are insistent, I accept the lower price, but usually I just give them the full amount despite the offer of a discount..

Slinky

I don't mind paying £2.99 in Oxfam's book shop if I'm looking for a particular book and they have it, as they are well organised and things are easy to find. I'll read it and then donate the book to one of the other charity shops for them to resell again for less. If I'm just looking for some light reading to try out new authors, I'll look in the cheaper charity shops.

Pollycat

Mistral001 wrote: »

That's hardly haggling, but I must admit that I would not mention something like that to them.

For context:
I was passing the time of day.
As I said:

Pollycat wrote: »

was just making conversation

It's something that I do.

It's a shop that I'm in and out of probably 3 or 4 times a week.
I know most of the staff.
We'd chatted about the jigsaws.
I'd bought a Xmas candle holder and had a discussion about that.
He remarked on the bag being pretty and I told him that it was a brand that Debenhams sold.
I declined the receipt as I said I wouldn't be returning it.

In our neck of the woods, it's called "making conversation".

cbsexec

I think the point we are trying to get over is that it must be better for the charity shops to sell something and make some money rather than still have it there and have to get rid of it. After all the stuff is donated for free, most of the staff are volunteers etc. I donate as much as buy and am always happy to pay a reasonable amount as I would do in any shop.

kboss2010

Mr_Singleton wrote: »

Am sick of mean people who seem to feel that Charity Shops are there to personally provide them with dirt cheap clothing. Do they haggle in Tesco? Do they offer business advice to Richard Branson? The price is the price pay up or go whinge somewhere else!

Simple really!

I’d have a thing or two to say to Branson after he sued the NHS to line his pockets & how Virgin healthcare is treating patients!

I wouldn’t haggle in a c/s but I *do* think some of their pricing is insane. £4 for a vest from Primark that wouldn’t have cost that new? I don’t think so.

Cappella

I do not know what charity shops you have visited or are connected with, but I have NEVER seen anybody haggle in a charity shop. I must have visited dozens.

I've worked in a voluntary capacity in a local hospice shop for over 10 years now and I can assure you that customers can, and do, try to haggle. It happens at least 3 times a week in ours and often more than once a day. i also have to say that those customers who try this are usually regular customers, and are often either dealers looking to resell at a profit or 'higher end' customers who think our charity is there to serve them, rather than our local hospice.
I think that what people forget is that a charity shop is there to make money, and in so doing to maximise its profits for its given charity. It's purpose is not to provide charitable donations in the form if cheap clothing to its customers.
Running costs have risen very sharply over the past ten years, and prices have therefore followed. It's simple economics, and when shops no longer turn over a profit the charity has no option but to close them.

Pollycat

Cappella wrote: »

I've worked in a voluntary capacity in a local hospice shop for over 10 years now and I can assure you that customers can, and do, try to haggle. It happens at least 3 times a week in ours and often more than once a day. i also have to say that those customers who try this are usually regular customers, and are often either dealers looking to resell at a profit or 'higher end' customers who think our charity is there to serve them, rather than our local hospice.
I think that what people forget is that a charity shop is there to make money, and in so doing to maximise its profits for its given charity. It's purpose is not to provide charitable donations in the form if cheap clothing to its customers.
Running costs have risen very sharply over the past ten years, and prices have therefore followed. It's simple economics, and when shops no longer turn over a profit the charity has no option but to close them.

I can understand that Mr_Singleton (and you) dislike these types of customers.

But...
not every charity shop customer is like that and I think that needs to be acknowledged.

I'm not sure why your hospice shop continues to allow these customers to try to haggle - if they are, as you say, regular customers.
Maybe the message is not being given strongly enough.
Or maybe you need a large sign near the till that assistants can point to.

I don't think that people have forgotten that charity shops are there to make money.
The point of this thread is unrealistic pricing.
Here is the first post - from over 2 years ago:

dandy-candy wrote: »

I buy all my clothes (besides underwear and shoes) at charity shops and I've noticed the prices going up these last few weeks. Skirts are now priced around £6 when I used to pay £3-4. Even the Primark and George seem to be more secondhand than they were new!

And one from yesterday:

kboss2010 wrote: »

I wouldn’t haggle in a c/s but I *do* think some of their pricing is insane. £4 for a vest from Primark that wouldn’t have cost that new? I don’t think so.

Do you think it's sensible to price items like that?

Or do you think that we should just pay what's on the ticket because 'it's for charity'?