Charity shop workers - please share your tips

Ginmonster

I volunteer in a charity bookshop and would echo the advice to chat to staff and ask for help if you're looking for something in particular. We'll always go and check the stockroom or save books for people if we can. Volunteers enjoy helping people find the right thing for them! 

I'd also put in a request that if you've read a current bestseller and aren't going to read it again then please donate it straight away as we've got more chance of someone wanting it while it's current than in 5 years time when everyone has already read it! Celebrity autobiographies are the worst for aging badly - we get given so many copies of Sharon Osbourne/Chris Evans/Robbie Williams etc. and no-one wants them now. 

annieb64

I was wondering when the first copy of "Spare" will appear in the charity shops. 

heelerlover

I volunteer in our village charity shop where all the money raised stays in the village, in the 7 years it has been open it has donated £130.000 into village clubs, school, swimming pool etc. It is also the cheapest charity shop I have ever been in, not very big but so not a lot of storage space so we sell cheaply to keep the stock moving.  My big tip is to ask if they take rags as a lot of charity shops sell old or worn clothing, bedding etc by the bag full. It all raises more money for the charity and stops things going to landfill.  I sort the books and can sell old books even torn ones on the same basis, we don't get paid a lot for these but every little helps. Also become friendly with the staff and find out what days the clothes are changed or the book person is in and then let them know what you are looking for.  I keep certain books back for people if they ask and can come in when I am there. Please don't be offended if we can't take something, we can't take electrical but can tell you who does nor can we take large things like furniture because of space but again can recommend who does.  We do not haggle but as books are 20p and children's clothes are 25p you really shouldn't have to ask but people still do!

Pollycat

I think it's rude to try to haggle in charity shops - unless the item has a flaw/fault that the shop hasn't seen. e.g. a tear in the side seam or a mark that might or might not come out.

I posted this on a thread a few years ago:

Pollycat said:

MSE Jenny
Thanks for the article, I've been a charity shopper for more years than I can remember.

A few comments:
Re Ted Baker, Age UK also had some Ted Baker surplus stock (but only in very small sizes).


I did look at the Oxfam online shop but the website is 'clunky' and you can't search for specific things like you can on ebay.

• You CAN haggle – but whether you SHOULD is an open question. Many do report haggling in charity shops. This is more a moral decision than a financial one.
  
  Martin's view is: "This is about charity, so it's the one time paying full price (if it's reasonable) is a good thing to do. Yet if you're on the breadline and this is your only route available, then offering to pay what you can afford isn't wrong."

I'm not sure I agree with this ^^^^.

There's been a few comments on the charity shop bargains thread and so far, the majority think haggling is inappropriate in charity shops.

Here's what I posted:

Pollycat wrote: »

I read Martin's final quote to be a comment on # 13 of the MSE charity shop bargain hunting tips:
My opinion is that it is unfair to put what is likely to be volunteer staff in the position of having to say 'no' to a lower offer on an item.
We've already had the discussion about prices often being set by regional managers.

Unless of course, there is some flaw/fault with the item but you still want it.

How are staff to know that a customer is 'on the breadline'?

To me, haggling in a charity shop is a big 'no-no'.

Just my opinion based on years of using charity shops. 

kimwp

I'm not a haggler, but there might be people that are really struggling that need to haggle, even on things that are 20p.

Brie

I'm certainly a big fan of asking the staff if they have something you want.  I few years back I wanted an old carving/bread knife to use in the garden for helping deal with getting ivy off a wall.  I didn't have anything at home suitable and the gardening shops didn't either.  So I went into a local chazzer and asked.  The woman looked horrified and said they never sold knives as they didn't want to risk having sharp implements on display in the shop.  Then one of her colleagues piped up and declared I didn't look much like a serial killer and that some had been dropped off that they could give me for a small donation (so they didn't officially get sold).  I offered £1 and was handed 2 very long fairly flexible knives with serrated edges that were perfect for the job.  

As for haggling - I did the opposite once.  Decades back I had done some research on ghost stories and had always wanted a copy of Lady Asquith's 3rd book of ghost stories as it had so many good tales in it.  Just one of those things you keep an eye out for whenever you're in a second hand shop as it had been out of print for about 30 years at that point.  I came across it in a "last chance" bin where it was marked as 29p.  Again I offered £1 and the woman working said given the incredibly bad shape of the book (paperback in about 10 section held together with a bit of string) she didn't think I needed to pay anything to take it away.  I insisted and said given that I had been looking for it for about 10 years it was well worth £1.

And fyi - if paying cash I never ask for change and if offered it I put it in the penny box at the till.

Pollycat

kimwp said:

I'm not a haggler, but there might be people that are really struggling that need to haggle, even on things that are 20p.

But is it fair to put volunteers - possibly people who may not be happy with what they feel is pressure - in that position?
And how do staff determine between who is really struggling and who is trying it on and will put that 15p bartered down from 20p item on his/her car boot sale for £5.00 at the weekend?

shandyclover

I was once in an Oxfam shop and saw a string of beads handing up with all the costume jewellery, and thought it might be amber beads, a bit old but definitely worth more than priced 99p. I took it to the lady on the till and explained I thought it might be more than costume jewellery, and maybe they'd want to check. Lady was sceptical but while I was looking round the shop the lady took it next doors to the jewellers and discovered it was rare antique Baltic amber and worth quite a bit. 

kimwp

Pollycat said:

kimwp said:

I'm not a haggler, but there might be people that are really struggling that need to haggle, even on things that are 20p.

But is it fair to put volunteers - possibly people who may not be happy with what they feel is pressure - in that position?
And how do staff determine between who is really struggling and who is trying it on and will put that 15p bartered down from 20p item on his/her car boot sale for £5.00 at the weekend?

And is it fair that some people can't afford a 20p item? 

In the case of differentiating between someone struggling and someone making money - the struggling person survives, the car boot person gains 5p and the charity gains 15p for an item that was free in the first place and is now gone to leave a space for the next item. Yes, it would be nice if the car boot person didn't try to barter, but honestly, I spend money on nice things for myself knowing that there are people struggling. Unless I gave everything away except for the bare bare essentials, I don't think I'm in a position to judge the hagglers. 

mandy47

A few years back I spotted a set of books from the folio society. Obviously never read, perfect condition for £5 I knew they were worth considerably more. I googled and showed the lady at the till. She was amazed. Called the manager who said I could have them at the marked price due to my honesty. I didn't actually want them, I just knew they were expensive.  2 weeks later when I visited they were in the glass cabinet by the till marked up for £50. 
I hope they sold.