Charity shop tips

TaBunny

Does anyone know of the official policy on volunteers in charity shops, ie are they allowed to have 'first do's' on things in most shops?

If so, it might be worth volunteering for a few hours a week just to get the bargains!

Of course you'd be doing good work for the charity as well!  ;D

Hi A_A I volunteered in the local cottage hospice shop up until June this year, I'd been there a while and yes we would have a good nose through all the new bags of stuff being donated, however some days we got so much in I'd never of looked through it all. In the end it ended up costing me a fortune as I spent so much lol but its a great feeling helping out and was a brilliant atmosphere and loads of regular customers it truly is a worthwhile thing to do and yes you can pick up some lovely bargains. I can't wait til I can get back helping maybe sometime in the new year, until then its no secret on here I'm an avid charity shop buyer none of my clothes come 'new' so good luck bargain hunters. ;D

hoskins

Charity shops are great but they could be even better if they brought the prices down - most now are getting rather greedy, I saw a little blouse for £6.oo, I got a similar brand new one for £5.00 in BHS
>:( ???

Foxy

the smaller ones end up the cheapest outside of town centre i volunteer for a local homeless shelter and our shop is one of the cheapest where i am. got a big size expensive name fleece for the boyfriend that wud have cost defo over £50 new like new for a fiver if i never told him where i got it he never wud have known

TaBunny

Charity shops are great but they could be even better if they brought the prices down - most now are getting rather greedy, I saw a little blouse for £6.oo, I got a similar brand new one for £5.00 in BHS
>:( ???

this is so true, my experiences from working in Cottage hospice shop was we sold everything very cheap and kept prices the same whether it was 'designer' or not ie; all trousers at £2.50 and tops at £2 etc this made for a very fast turnover and profits. Other shops are too stuck on trying to make a lot on one item and it ends up sitting in the shop for ages gathering dust. Salvation army is usually pretty good around my way their prices are very reasonable too.

keithscott1

I'm very much in support of the smaller charities' shops, rather than the large organisations which tend to be over-priced with the goods that they sell.

I was told ages ago that some of the larger charity organisations got a rap on the knuckles from the tax man as there was an increasing amount of floor space being given to new goods (ie candles, teddies, etc) in their shops sacrificing the space that was for second-hand goods. The tax man wasn't happy as the charities were exempt from a lot of levies because of their position but the shops were over the limit with new goods.

Scary_Fish

i one of the charity shops in Alderley Edge i saw a pair of Peacocks jeans for £15...they only cost £10?????

the shops there are pretty good bar that one...

kitty_3-2

4. Keep an eye open for rare books, records or good quality bric a brac that can be sold on for a profit on Amazon, Ebay or the car boot.

That's not money saving. It's profiteering from the charity of others.

toozie_2

I live within 10 miles of an RAF base. They have a Thrift Shop, which is only open 2 days a week to the public.
I beleive they only accept items to sell from RAF Personnel, but remember the quality of clothing purchased by officers wifes........ ;D
After items have been in the shop for a month or so, they are reduced to a pittance. Great place to buy an evening dress etc. Some items have hardly ever been worn. It also stocks, other items such as games, household goods, etc.

Are these sort of Thrift Shops on all RAF Bases? Are they on Army Bases as well?

Austin_Allegro_2

That's not money saving. It's profiteering from the charity of others.

Kitty I must take issue with you over this. Why is this profiteering?

The charity shop sets a price for an item that they can reasonably expect people to pay. If an LP is selling in the shop for a pound, I buy it and put it on ebay and it sells for £10, I don't see what is wrong with that- I have made the effort and taken the risk.

It could just as easily sell for 50p, so should I then ask the charity shop for 50p back out of the pound I paid for it?

Of course the situation MIGHT arise where the shop have not realised the true value of an item and massively underpriced it, but this rarely happens nowadays. If this did happen, I would offer the shop a fair price with a decent profit margin for myself, again because I've made the effort to sell it on and taken a risk that it might not sell.

scholesy_2

I agree with Kitty, I used to do alot of this with a friend over the summer after A levels. It meant we could have a ride out to a nearby town, go shopping and have something to eat (we used to call it a business lunch ;D). We used to buy mainly Annuals and videos to sell on Ebay, Dangermouse, Turtles Etc. The money we made covered the cost of our trip and food. Bearing in mind we had to sped time on listing them (which costs), collecting payment packing and sending! But we had the time and of course we would usully pick up some bargains for ourselves!

Keep hunting