Charity shop tips

vegansaver

I must agree with Kitty and Worotan and any other who has expressed disapproval at the stripping of charity shops for profit.

However it is dressed up, this practice is the most appalling money making tip I've ever heard. It’s nothing short of greed.

The excuse that it is giving charity shops income and thus helping them out may ease ones conscience but the truth of the matter is the items one targets to sell on are the better articles within shops. This sad practice just goes to steal items away from those who shop in charity shops out of necessity; it is denying them the opportunity of owning something nice for a price they can afford.

I am absolutely disgusted to think that my donations are being abused by some in such a fashion. I give items that I could quite easily sell for profit in order to both support the charity and also help out those less fortunate or in times of trouble.

This practice goes against the whole ethos of charity shops and is a real kick in the teeth for anyone who gives their time and energy in order to make a difference. Such practices are more likely to be the death of the charity shop, as I for one have very serious misgivings about donating in the knowledge that others are just going to abuse such charity for their own selfish gains.

I won’t though because if everyone did this the ones to suffer would be those most in need, whereas those who abuse the system would simply move on to other money making schemes.

scholesy_2

As in one of my previous posts I stated I used to buy some things to sell on. The main reason I could do this was it was the summer holidays so I had plenty of time to fill. As many people have stated it takes a lot of rime and energy to travel around (sometimes for nothing) and even when you sell something on ebay (or similar) you have cost incurred. As any kind of proper income it is very poor you might be lucky to get £1-2 and hour and will maybe only make £10 a week (as an example). The fact was it effectively 'paid' for the items that you wanted.

I am sure that no charity/charity shop would have any objections if instead of donating the bag of items you spent time on ebay/carboots and then giving the 'extra' money that you have made to the charity. But as i'm sure you will agree this would take a lot of time any energy for a few extra quid.

It does come down to one persons rubbish is another persons desire. After working in a secondhand shop for several years I have seen this so many times. We would sell something very cheap as it would have a niche market and would be junk to many people. But when that one person walks in and buys something worth £100 for £5 they are happy, we could have taken it from the shop to sell on ebay to a mass market and sell it for £20 but for the extra time and effort you have to do for a couple of extra pounds. A particular example was buying a horse box (old style gym boxes) for £1 from auction, many people walked in and laughed and couldn't see who would want it for £70. Until a week later the circus passed through and snapped it up as it was very cheap for them ;D

I don't want this to get personal or abusive...just pointing a few things out.

needmoney

Just a gentle post from me to say I still think some charity shops are getting too greedy.

I love them and don't always buy but like to look

I mentioned in an earlier post but can't find it some managers are competing against each other to get the highest price for something that they know very well is not worth that higher price. I witnessed this practice when I worked as a volunteer. They said to each other I'm going to charge x amount for this and the other one said you'll never get that for it to which the answer was I bet I will.

I do not buy to sell on ebay I buy to stretch my low income.I don't use ebay at all for buying or selling but I do think that some charity shops  are doing themselves a diservice when they price things too high.

On the one hand the people who really use these shops because they can't afford others wont be able to pay their price. On the other hand the people who can afford and just want a bargain or something unusual won't but either because they realise that for what it is it's too dear.

I also see peole shop there who own second hand shops and resell what they buy there.

Please don't shoot me I am not alone in this opinion and I also have donated nice and good things to them that I no longer want and don't want the hassle of selling on it can be too costly as has been said.:)

scholesy_2

Just thought of a few more comments!

Although secondhand shops have been known to buy items from the shop to sell on they also do charity shops a big favour. Generally charity shops cannot sell electrical items (mainly because its too expensive for them to get them tested), however they can sell these items to traders for a few quid pounds. These items would otherwise be scrapped.

I would like to point out that I do buy many items for myself from charity shops as i'm s a student and have little money. If I see something that I could sell on for afew extra pounds then so be it. People on ebay could quite easily go round charity jobs and search every week for the one item they want for 20p instead of £5 on ebay. But they are willing to pay the extra as it is so much easier.

On a different note I read in our University magazine this week that a women bought a coat from a charity and found £600 in the pocket. She returned all of this money! I wonder what other people would have done?? Keep it? Keep some/return some? treat the family? buy xmas presents for less fortunate kids?? mmmm.............

Ausweb

Not wishing to oppose or defend any of the other comments on here, but I feel that many posters have missed the point that in the majority of cases the charity shop is a business:

Managers & assistant managers are salaried (approx 25k per year combined, here in yorkshire),

This means that the first £80 of sales each day goes directly to pay their wage

Rent/Rates/electricity etc probably take the same amount each day

Each store is supported by a network of regional/area/district managers, - Head Office personnel etc who also are paid out of the money taken.

At the end of the day, only a very small amount of the sales actually gets to the actual charity we wish to support.

Prices are generally kept low by the fact that stock is donated and staff 'volunteer', but as I stated earlier - it's a business with the main aim of paying its employees, covering costs and then giving any left over profit (if any) to its designated charity.

Apologies for cynical reply but this is from first hand experience.

scholesy_2

Thank you, someone with common sense . I believe if people actually want to give to charity they should give directly. Charity shops also get very discounted rates then a 'normal' shop would have to pay, hence why they can afford top high street positions when smaller indepent businesses are forced to the edges.

They also get 'let off' with mistakes they make. for example as mentioned in an earlier post a bout pushchairs. They have to meet the 1988 (soon to be 1994) fire and safety regulations(a sewn in label), without this the shop keeper can be imprisioned for 6 months ie secondhand dealers but many a time we have turned down items and they have appeared in the charity shop down the road. So it is ok for them to sell a potentially dangerous pushchair?!!? Enough of that ........

I will stop posting now....I promise!!

vegansaver

I'd say the point for many who donate good stuff that they could easily sell on for profit is the fact they are giving those less fortunate the opportunity to own nice things.
At the same time they are also supporting a charity of their choice.

There are alot of people who rely on charity shops for both themselves and their children. It is for such reasons I choose to pass on nice items rather than sell and donate the money.

In my eyes those who clearly shop for profit are in fact stealing the items I have donated for those in need.

If nobody donated items, charity shops would close which would prove a further disaster for many of the lonely elderly whose visits to such shops provide a social highlight.

I wonder how many of those who happily sell on for profit on ebay highlight the fact the items they are selling have indeed come from charity shops?

vegansaver

Thank you, someone with common sense . I believe if people actually want to give to charity they should give directly. Charity shops also get very discounted rates then a 'normal' shop would have to pay, hence why they can afford top high street positions when smaller indepent businesses are forced to the edges.

They also get 'let off' with mistakes they make. for example as mentioned in an earlier post a bout pushchairs. They have to meet the 1988 (soon to be 1994) fire and safety regulations(a sewn in label), without this the shop keeper can be imprisioned for 6 months ie secondhand dealers but many a time we have turned down items and they have appeared in the charity shop down the road. So it is ok for them to sell a potentially dangerous pushchair?!!? Enough of that ........

I will stop posting now....I promise!!

So you would like to see charity shops close and deprive those who are already disadvantaged the opportunity to purchase the things that most of us take for granted.

Of course independent shops should be helped, but this situation has nothing to do with charity shops.

scholesy_2

Of course I would not like to see charity shops close. Just making the point the the actual money that goes to the charity from items being donated where very slim compared to selling the items yourself and donating hard cash to the charity. Myself, friends and family shop in charity shops for themselves and think it is great that they do. I would like to point out the fact 'standard clothing' from markets, Bewise, peacocks are very similar in price to charity shop prices. some people have even said they have been to sell dearer than the same new item round the corner. It does mean that people can buy 'designer clothing' at a fraction of the price which is usually what I tend to look for. My point is that if they did close then people on low incomes/benfits would not be walking around naked. I'm sure with our benefits system they would be given a high clothing allowance and would e walking around in better stuff than working folk...but that is a different argument.

It also comes back to my previous point that just about everytime I go into a charity shop they have fake designer goods, shirts many. Again any 'normal' business selling fakes would get closed down, but not charity shops. Just showing that they get away with a lot more than people think..............

terrierlady

i work in an animal charity shop and no one in the shop is paid, as i said we wait till the end of our shift before buying and it works well. local people who really need to shop with us get good bargains and the ebay crowd also. we also get lots of items returned after dinner dances or special events for resale so every one wins.
we also take animal feed stuff so one can also donate this way if they think all the cash is not going direct.