Charity shop issues

jarvojj

Hi I went to a few charity shops today in a poverty stricken area and the prices that they are putting on items are ridiculous, I understand that they have to make money and I donate to many charities but I looked at a pair of jeans and the price tag was £300 in a charity shop, who goes into a charity shop in poverty stricken areas has the money to buy such an item are they monopolising on low income families as I thought these places were for people that can't afford to shop in retail shops.
I was disgusted when I asked then why they were so expensive they just said that I didn't have to buy them and I could go elsewhere.
What do you think about this. ?

cymruchris

jarvojj said:

Hi I went to a few charity shops today in a poverty stricken area and the prices that they are putting on items are ridiculous, I understand that they have to make money and I donate to many charities but I looked at a pair of jeans and the price tag was £300 in a charity shop, who goes into a charity shop in poverty stricken areas has the money to buy such an item are they monopolising on low income families as I thought these places were for people that can't afford to shop in retail shops.
I was disgusted when I asked then why they were so expensive they just said that I didn't have to buy them and I could go elsewhere.
What do you think about this. ?

If the jeans in question were actually worth £300 as they were branded or collectible for whatever reason, then that's the price I'd expect them to be sold for. I wouldn't expect a £300 pair of jeans to be sold for a fiver. Charities receive a wide range of donations where some items are sold on for a pound or two, but as you say, they are there to raise money. 

Gone are the days where they are endless aisles of tat, old ornaments and teapots. They've become a lot more business savvy. I'm sure you can still bag a bargain, but with heat, light and power costs as they are, along with the associated expenditure of running a physical shop, they have to 'make money' or close.

Even in a poverty stricken area there'll be people with money that can afford such items. (And it's likely that if they were priced up at £300, then when new would have been even more).

With the advent of ebay - there were people scouring the shops for the bargains - and then selling on for profit. The charity shops got wise to that.

No doubt there are still many affordable items available from charity shops - but there's also a demand for £300 jeans and other designer clothes. There's an outline of a few of those that do here:

https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/fashion/best-charity-shops-fashion-708714

jlfrs01

The perception many people have is they believe that the high street is the only outlet for the items people donate - many promote them online, so those £300 jeans may be out of reach to many people in your area but affordable for someone who is more affluent living elsewhere who's seen them advertised on the shop's eBay page. Charity shops aren't run for the benefit of the community, they're a business like any other and have a wide geographic reach. Just because well-wishers donate expensive items to them for free, doesn't mean they can't attach a price to them at the going rate.

D924

No charity for the working poor.

Pollycat

jarvojj said:

Hi I went to a few charity shops today in a poverty stricken area and the prices that they are putting on items are ridiculous, I understand that they have to make money and I donate to many charities but I looked at a pair of jeans and the price tag was £300 in a charity shop, who goes into a charity shop in poverty stricken areas has the money to buy such an item are they monopolising on low income families as I thought these places were for people that can't afford to shop in retail shops.
I was disgusted when I asked then why they were so expensive they just said that I didn't have to buy them and I could go elsewhere.
What do you think about this. ?

Re the bit in bold:
Why do you think this?

I've been shopping in charity shops for many years. Not because I can't afford to buy from Next/M&S etc but because I like a bargain and because the clothes are a one-off instead of being on a rail of identical clothes. I'm not interested in current fashions.

It might help people if you say what brand the jeans were. £300 for a pair of brand new jeans that retail at £500 sounds like a pretty good bargain.
But not for a worn pair of Primark jeans.
It needs context.

I do think prices in charity shops have risen and some are priced higher than others.
BHF price their items very high.

I guess the staff were right - if you don't like the prices you can shop elsewhere.

oldernonethewiser

jarvojj said:

Hi I went to a few charity shops today in a poverty stricken area and the prices that they are putting on items are ridiculous, I understand that they have to make money and I donate to many charities but I looked at a pair of jeans and the price tag was £300 in a charity shop, who goes into a charity shop in poverty stricken areas has the money to buy such an item are they monopolising on low income families as I thought these places were for people that can't afford to shop in retail shops.
I was disgusted when I asked then why they were so expensive they just said that I didn't have to buy them and I could go elsewhere.
What do you think about this. ?

Completely wrong in that assumption.

If that is why you use charity shops fair enough but you're probably not missing much by not being able to afford to shop in "retail shops"

Albermarle

Despite the various sensible comments, I personally still would be very surprised to see a pair of jeans marked up at £300 in a charity shop, whatever area it was in.

p00hsticks

Albermarle said:

Despite the various sensible comments, I personally still would be very surprised to see a pair of jeans marked up at £300 in a charity shop, whatever area it was in.

I know Oxfam have some specialist shops in various parts of the country - e.g bridal, music, vintage and designer clothing,  rare books etc, as well as selling stuff online. I think managers of local shops are told to send items they think might be quite rare or valuable to a central location for sorting. 

Looking at the other side of it from the OP, if I'd happened to donate a valuable pair of designer jeans to a charity shop, I think I'd be a bit miffed to find out they'd been put on sale priced at just a few quid. 

theoretica

If a charity shop prices things too low it rapidly gets weeded through by people who sell online for a profit.  

CKhalvashi

Albermarle said:

Despite the various sensible comments, I personally still would be very surprised to see a pair of jeans marked up at £300 in a charity shop, whatever area it was in.

I'd expect them to be online rather than in the shop itself. I don't see the price of a specific item as an issue in itself though although personally don't own and wouldn't buy such expensive items of clothing.

We've recently donated a series of items to charity shops in reasonable bulk (shared between 3 shops). Some of the clothing has been listed on a range of websites, especially the higher value items.

As donors, we wanted quality items to be put to good use without the hassle of sorting it ourselves so are happy they've gone for this.

HillStreetBlues

The charity shops I've donated too  haven't much security, so a £300  item just on the shop floor to me doesn't make sense.
What would is a £3.00 item, and the reaction is they thought the person was trying to bid them down from £3.