Charity Shopping - New to You in '22!

florianatwobob

Ours have been pretty busy but I think the turnover of goods is pretty high. I have managed a few bargains - a glass bottle with infuser for cold brew tea (£1.50) and a sistema snack pot for £1. Found a book currently on my tbr list for 50p. 

Cherryfudge

Skibunny40 said:

I went for a trip round various charity shops a few days ago and was surprised that two of them were shut, due to lack of staff/volunteers. Of the ones that were open, the chain ones like Barnardos and Red Cross were much emptier than usual. Wonder if this is a sign of the times that people aren't donating so much or if stock is getting bought more from charity shops as people can't afford to buy new?

I really don't know for sure, but we've seen that more charity shops are changing to 'boutique' style and it's harder to find the 'rummage' style ones any more! I can understand that for clothes or house wares, but I love discovering things in baskets of junk! Is that just me?! I think some have stopped offering things that they don't think will sell well (videos, yarn, buttons).

florianatwobob

Our local hospice shops are interesting as is the Sue Ryder. The hospice shops are now targeting specific markets. We have 2 branches in a couple of towns. In my home town we have one specialising in vintage with a by appointment bridal and prom dress showroom upstairs. The other one in town is general stuff and tends to be more ‘pile it high and sell it cheap’ to keep stick moving. In the next town over we have one specialising in clothes and another branch focusing on bric a brac. It’s the sort of shop where you can pick up odd butter knives, stray shot glasses and good quality furniture as well as DVDs and books. 

Floss

My local hospice does this too, they have a large furniture & interiors shop, a bridal shop & a book/music shop and then their regular shops in different areas of the town. When we cleared our family home after mum's death in 2005 everything donatable went to their hub for sorting & distribution to the locality shops based on what sold best where.

florianatwobob

Floss said:

My local hospice does this too, they have a large furniture & interiors shop, a bridal shop & a book/music shop and then their regular shops in different areas of the town. When we cleared our family home after mum's death in 2005 everything donatable went to their hub for sorting & distribution to the locality shops based on what sold best where.

It’s a good model, our vintage shop is next to 2 antiques and collectibles shops and the Friday flea market so it benefits from fitting in with the local feel

Floss

Chazzer-fans, I'm staying in Shrewsbury for a few days early next month and wondered if anyone can advise on charity / vintage shops or markets in that area?

Rosa_Damascena

Wednesday2000 said:

I went to Shared Space in Westcliff still looking for a big tea cup. I found one called a "souper mug" and it is huge. My husband said that looks big enough to put a pint of tea in it!

Nothing much in the Shared Space on Southchurch Rd. I saw a large "Cafe au lait" cup and saucer for a ridiculous £4 in the Havens along the same stretch. Give it a go, you can find some real gems in The Project Too in particular. There was a Betty Jackson Black light mac in perfect condition there yesterday, sadly a size 10 but someone else will benefit.

MrsCatz

Hello, I have been lurking. I live in a seaside town and have noticed that in the summer months we have a lot of bay of e hunters because we have an older population and vintage sells. This means our local shops  will sell vintage online rather than put them out to be found in a rummage but it also means out books are 50p and buy one get one  free or 3 for £1. Likewise DVDs (10p) and lots of scarfs.

Wednesday2000

Rosa_Damascena said:

Wednesday2000 said:

I went to Shared Space in Westcliff still looking for a big tea cup. I found one called a "souper mug" and it is huge. My husband said that looks big enough to put a pint of tea in it!

Nothing much in the Shared Space on Southchurch Rd. I saw a large "Cafe au lait" cup and saucer for a ridiculous £4 in the Havens along the same stretch. Give it a go, you can find some real gems in The Project Too in particular. There was a Betty Jackson Black light mac in perfect condition there yesterday, sadly a size 10 but someone else will benefit.

I will have to try those stores too.:)

Wednesday2000

The shops around here really vary, some do seem like they are trying to be like boutiques and then some have real bargains.

There were some quite expensive items in the MIND shop yesterday. They had quite a few items of clothing by Sea Salt that looked brand new. They seemed quite dear to me (I think it was around £30 for a coat) but then I looked online at how much it would be sold as new and they can be about £160. There weren't my size anyway and I don't need any more coats at the moment.