Best charity shops for more expensive items...

Tunstallstoven

Hi all

Many charity shops are high stock turnover and sell things cheaply to keep things moving. I give to those quite frequently.

However, after a recent sort out I have some more pricey items, anything from £30 to £150, even £200. I'd rather not give them to shops that will sell them well under value.

Any suggestions please of shops / charities that sell things at what they're worth?

Many thanks

elsien

Some of them do take the more expensive stuff out and sell it elsewhere such as on eBay. I doubt there is a specific chain that is better than the others though it probably depends on each individual manager.

Otherwise sell it yourself and give them the money?

Misslayed

Our local hospice have ‘superstores’ on industrial estates on the edge of three nearby towns. They accept lower value items as well as bigger/more valuable items. They will collect bulky furniture. Someone from an auction house visits regularly to do valuations and suitable items are sold on eBay or through other specialist sites, run by a paid member of staff. I knew it was there, but I googled ‘charity superstore’ to find the address recently. You might have the same local to you.
I believe the British Heart Foundation have a similar set up.
It’s Weldmar in Dorset btw, and I know Mountbatten on the Isle of Wight do the same.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6657688/best-charity-shops-for-more-expensive-items

Most the big charities have centralised teams to identify and handles items of more value but it really depends what sort of goods you are talking about. Inevitably some still slip through the net if someone sees a pair of shoes being handed in and someone immediately wants to buy them and the cashier just hasn't heard of Edward Green shoes so doesnt realise they are worth a couple hundred even if fairly beaten up.

Ms_Chocaholic

Can you sell it yourself and then give the proceeds to the charity

DigForVictory

However, after a recent sort out I have some more pricey items, anything from £30 to £150, even £200. I'd rather not give them to shops that will sell them well under value.

I do get this, having to downsize, but the only way to dictate the price is to sell it yourself, or pay for an ebay helper to do it for you. I'm eyeing assorted family & pondering saying "sell this lot for £X, anything over you keep".

Tunstallstoven

Thanks for the replies and thoughts.

I'm trying to avoid selling it myself due to time constraints. Aside from doing my bit, one of the major benefits for me of giving it to charity was not having to go through the whole process of selling, packaging, sending, dealing with buyers etc. I've done a lot of that in my time and not too ken to do any more :)

Savvy_Sue

You're not going to get a UK wide answer to this: I know our local hospice has an eBay shop. I also know that their shops show a wide variation across the city: if I want designer items I go to one area and expect to pay more for everything.

So sadly I think you'll have to put a little time into phoning a few shops or chains and asking what they do about more valuable items.

Grumpy_chap

This question really, and I suspect universally, depends on the local volunteers in the local branches of the various charity shops.

In our High Street, some of the charity shops seem to be little more than glorified jumble sales with everything simply piled and displayed as it arrives and nothing ever looks good. There could be a table full of worn once Versace and Gucci clothing but you'd never be able to tell it apart from a table full of any absolute budget brand. Go in January and you'll see all the Christmas trees & lights people donated after use.

One of the local charity shops always displays stuff with some thought. They store donations that are out of season and bring to the shop floor at the appropriate time. They collate items together so that things just look better - for example the main "dining table" display this week has all green coloured crockery whereas a couple of weeks back it was all red. We have also donated there in the past and been thanked for donating (which makes a big difference) and, on occasion, advised that the items we donated will not be displayed in store as they can yield a greater return selling online or via auction.

I am always happy to donate to charity shop 2 from the above as I feel they will do the best to make the most of our donation.

Some others may donate on the basis of the "worth" (as they see it) of the cause for which funds are raised.

Tunstallstoven

Many thanks for the replies and thoughts.

Regarding the last point, the cause is important to be which them already narrows down the field.

I've not had a chance to pick this up again yet, but when I do I'll be sure to have another read through for advice.

Thanks again