Charity shop workers - please share your tips

shandyclover

turnitround said:

I think that is very true. we have a lot of elderly people who come in and love a chat. I always say its a pity we dont have room for tables and chairs then we could make them all a cuppa.

One thing I do notice though is the number of elderly ladies who buy toys and clothes for grandchildren and great grandchildren. One lady comes in our shop and picks lots of baby clothes out of the tub, we sell at 4 for £1 but when we are overrun they are 10 for £1 and she fills her trolley. Her daughter then brings them back and donates them as they are not appreciated but I cant bring myself to tell the lady that she is wasting her money. 

What I don't understand though is the number of people who don't take advantage of the offers. We have a rail of childrens coats, boys and girls, ideal for school and they are £1 but they just don't seem to sell very well. Today I served a lady who bought 10 children's books, she apparently helps out with the reading at a local school and she was telling me about a child who read very well but had no books at home so she had asked what her favourite book were and was buying her some.  She told me that the little girl in question comes to school with no coat even in this weather. She did say that social services were involved but when we have rails of coats at £1 why would any child be without.

I used to live next to a church that ran it's own charity shop informally in one of its outbuildings 4 days a week. They also used to serve tea and coffee and offer cake and biscuits. One day I was in there scouring for costumes for a dance school performance an elderly lady came in and had a cup of tea and started talking to the shop volunteer and myself. She kept us completely spellbound with stories of things she got up to during the war as a land girl and then ambulance driver. I wish more charity shops had space and facilities to offer refreshments and a warm space and listening ear to those who need it. 

turnitround

shandyclover said:

turnitround said:

I think that is very true. we have a lot of elderly people who come in and love a chat. I always say its a pity we dont have room for tables and chairs then we could make them all a cuppa.

One thing I do notice though is the number of elderly ladies who buy toys and clothes for grandchildren and great grandchildren. One lady comes in our shop and picks lots of baby clothes out of the tub, we sell at 4 for £1 but when we are overrun they are 10 for £1 and she fills her trolley. Her daughter then brings them back and donates them as they are not appreciated but I cant bring myself to tell the lady that she is wasting her money. 

What I don't understand though is the number of people who don't take advantage of the offers. We have a rail of childrens coats, boys and girls, ideal for school and they are £1 but they just don't seem to sell very well. Today I served a lady who bought 10 children's books, she apparently helps out with the reading at a local school and she was telling me about a child who read very well but had no books at home so she had asked what her favourite book were and was buying her some.  She told me that the little girl in question comes to school with no coat even in this weather. She did say that social services were involved but when we have rails of coats at £1 why would any child be without.

I used to live next to a church that ran it's own charity shop informally in one of its outbuildings 4 days a week. They also used to serve tea and coffee and offer cake and biscuits. One day I was in there scouring for costumes for a dance school performance an elderly lady came in and had a cup of tea and started talking to the shop volunteer and myself. She kept us completely spellbound with stories of things she got up to during the war as a land girl and then ambulance driver. I wish more charity shops had space and facilities to offer refreshments and a warm space and listening ear to those who need it. 

Now you see, I think that would be a lovely idea. We have a man who often tells us tales about when he used to be in the RAF. He is so lovely and I think he loves coming in just to have a chat. We always make a fuss of him and tell him off if he arrives later than usual, he loves it. However thats the thing about volunteers, they are not all the same and we have one member of staff who does not like people standing about chatting. To quote her 'We are here to make money, we dont want people standing chatting, its not a meeting place, they should go to the cafe if they just want to chat, it just makes the shop look full'.

weenancyinAmerica

We like it at the book sales we do when people stop and chat as it makes us look busier - and actually brings in more customers - as they "don't want to miss out". When a shop is empty, people sometimes wonder why and stay away. .

pigpen

turnitround said:

 However, my best one yet was the bag which had 2 cushions on top and at the bottom was some dirty babies nappies and they had also scraped the dinner plates into the bag alongside potato peeling and some mouldy bread and pizza. You do need a strong stomach. At the end of the day we are volunteers trying to raise money for the hospice yet some people think its acceptable to do that. 

My daughter once bagged up 6 binbags of outgrown clothing.. anything stained etc went in the bin.. she asked her partner to drop it at the CS as he was going out with his brother.. they loaded it all up in the car.. including the binbag of rubbish from the kitchen.. the CS stuff was in the hallway so impossible to make the mistake you'd think.. a whole room in between.. 6 years on she is still mortified!

My son worked in one for a while.. he got scabies... some are really not very nice.. others are a treasure trove.

jackieblack

turnitround said:

What I don't understand though is the number of people who don't take advantage of the offers. We have a rail of childrens coats, boys and girls, ideal for school and they are £1 but they just don't seem to sell very well. Today I served a lady who bought 10 children's books, she apparently helps out with the reading at a local school and she was telling me about a child who read very well but had no books at home so she had asked what her favourite book were and was buying her some.  She told me that the little girl in question comes to school with no coat even in this weather. She did say that social services were involved but when we have rails of coats at £1 why would any child be without.

Why not contact your local Primary Schools and let them know, they could pass the information on to parents/put it in their newsletter,  Or, if the coats aren’t selling, perhaps you could even donate some to the school to give out to children who need them.

turnitround

jackieblack said:

turnitround said:

What I don't understand though is the number of people who don't take advantage of the offers. We have a rail of childrens coats, boys and girls, ideal for school and they are £1 but they just don't seem to sell very well. Today I served a lady who bought 10 children's books, she apparently helps out with the reading at a local school and she was telling me about a child who read very well but had no books at home so she had asked what her favourite book were and was buying her some.  She told me that the little girl in question comes to school with no coat even in this weather. She did say that social services were involved but when we have rails of coats at £1 why would any child be without.

Why not contact your local Primary Schools and let them know, they could pass the information on to parents/put it in their newsletter,  Or, if the coats aren’t selling, perhaps you could even donate some to the school to give out to children who need them.

All the local schools are aware we have the coats and uniforms. The feedback was that they have their own supplies of used uniform to give out so don't want more. As far as the uniforms go there is so much waste. 
Last year we had loads of uniform items donated, much more than usual and in excellent condition. We put it all out ready for the start of term then one of the parents told us that it would not sell as the school had changed its logo so the items were no longer any use.
All expense for the parents and such a waste of good uniform.

lindos90

This is a really interesting thread, I've read through it all! I don't work in a charity shop, but I do visit quite a few in my town. My tips would be..
1) Find out if you have any 'clearance' charity shops near you. Very often the smaller branches will be over optimistic with their pricing, especially with branded clothing, or new clothing with tags. If they stock rotate by date, then overpriced items end up at the clearance shops. So worth flicking through all the rails to find a bit if treasure! 
Our local air ambulance shop in town was a clearance shop and everything was £1 and I bought things from there every week, if something's only £1 it's worth taking the chance (since then they have doubled the price, but it's not worked well as I only go in occasionally now and spend less overall.
2) Go to the small 'one off ' local charity shops, there's usually more bargains as they might not have a strict pricing policy for items, and I do like to support local charities, you can see the money goes straight there. 
3) The scruffiest CS often have the best bargains, like someone said earlier, if the place has been 'Mary Portis'ed' there will be fewer bargains. (Clothes sorted into colours, sizes, seasonal, and posters with 'vintage' usually tell me there will be a premium). Might be lovely for the shopping experience, but clutter is my friend when I'm bargain hunting!

Rosa_Damascena

Mangocat11 said:

Also remember that the Jewish community clean the house and get rid of stuff they no longer want just before Passover. If you visit the charity shops in an area with a large Jewish population like Golders Green, just after Passover, like my mum did (just by chance) there are often very good bargains to be had.

Whilst some people are wealthy, there is a Hasidic community locally (Stamford Hill decant I think) and they really don't have much at all. Yet I have never encountered any in charity shops. In fact most people I see in chazzers tend to be like me, those in want rather than need.

YoungBlueEyes

Is there a way to find charity shops that are clearance ones? Other than to go in them I mean. 

mrsjaw

YoungBlueEyes said:

Is there a way to find charity shops that are clearance ones? Other than to go in them I mean. 

I wouldn't have a clue where to start but is there a charity shop lover on here that could make a 'directory' of charity shops - I'm thinking listed by town or county?