Charity Shop Experiences.

43722

Hello. This question is directed primarily at those who work in Charity Shops, But clearly, all views are welcome, especially fellow shoppers.

I am wondering if in your shops the CDs and DVDs are organised in any particular way. It seems to me that they are not organised at all. I have seen CDs in long rows, and in racks, where it is difficult to trawl through them. Sometimes they are low down, where it is difficult to reach, at other times they are in boxes, but with the titles not lined up. 

I realise that this is not the fault of hard working staff and volunteers, who can only work with the resources available to them. Perhaps also, very few people get their music from CDs these days. I just wonder if categorising and organising the discs would bring more sales, and worth the effort.

elsien

I have a similar view about books in charity shops. The number of charity shops that don’t put them in alphabetical order always baffles me. in looking for specific authors and if you’re not in alphabetical order I can’t be bothered and I walk out again. They must be losing sales.

Emmia

What's the point of the question?

Charity shops arrange everything they have on the basis of space and stock - there's no centrally provided merchandising guidance.

43722

For the sake of clarity. It can be a difficult, daunting, experience to twist your body into unnatural shapes to get a clear look at what are often titles written in small font on the spine of CD cases. If work was done on classifying, categorising, and presenting CDs and DVDs (and, yes, books), the charity may benefit from more sales. The question is whether this is a change worth making, in the opinion of those who operate and shop in CharityShops.

sarah1972

My friend works in a busy charity shop and it’s a case of get it on the shelves and sell it. 

I doubt your suggestion of classifying, categorising and presenting will ever happen in a charity shop and shouldn’t be expected either personally, if I wanted that then I would be going into a music shop and book store. 

The one my friend works in are reducing cds as they don’t sell and people pick up books and cd’s and put them back somewhere else so it would be someone’s responsibility to constantly keep an eye and keep putting back in the correct place which they don’t have the time to do. 

Savvy_Sue

elsien said:

I have a similar view about books in charity shops. The number of charity shops that don’t put them in alphabetical order always baffles me. in looking for specific authors and if you’re not in alphabetical order I can’t be bothered and I walk out again. They must be losing sales.

I agree, there are usually a few specific authors I'm after. It tends to be worse in the shops with fewer books, to be fair, but I feel that once the initial sorting has been done then it shouldn't be too hard to keep it in order. 

I keep wondering about offering to volunteer, but not yet ready to commit to anything regular ... 

43722

Yes, I recognise that Charity Shops can be busy places, and that staff and volunteers are working hard. I also recognise that Charity Shops have to work with limited resources. I imagine that shelving and storage units are often second -hand, and not of optimal quality.  However, I have been in charity shops where stock has been classified and presented well. I encountered two more examples this weekend where people were clearly struggling to access materials because, in this case, they were so close to the floor. These people left without buying anything, which is not what the shop staff want.I

And yes, of course i could visit a music shop or bookstore. The other reason for using Charity Shops is to save Money though.

Jenna_Appleseed

When I was volunteering (up to and partly during covid - between lockdowns & their shop being closed for longer due to extra vulnerable volunteers ) BHF used to organise cds alphabetically by artist (with occasional confusion between organising by first word/name or last word/name of band name/artist) complete with A - Z dividers in the racks, - customers flicking through & nearly buying, then changing their mind, would just put them back in the totally wrong places anyway. 

43722

Yes, I accept that, and that would indeed be frustrating.

43722

Sorry Jenna, i should have asked, do you think that the attempt to organise the CD's made any difference at all to the sales, or was it not really worth the effort?

Savvy_Sue

43722 said:

Sorry Jenna, i should have asked, do you think that the attempt to organise the CD's made any difference at all to the sales, or was it not really worth the effort?

It certainly makes a difference to my book browsing (and therefore purchasing) experience. I can cope with a few random titles in the wrong place, but I often give up if it's all just a mess.