Charity shop tips

vegansaver

I've got to agree with Scholesy and say that I think one or two people are getting on rather a high horse about this.

Yes, we all know that there are many people in the world worse off than ourselves. But a lot of people don't have much spare money or time to donate to charity, and so shopping in charity shops is a good way of at least giving something to those in need.

The fact is the majority of these shops are run commercially - so they are not really in a position to be 'exploited'.

Nobody is talking about 'stripping' charity shops for profit. Moral issues aside, it just isn't financially viable. But if you buy something and later happen to sell it on ebay for a small profit (and it will be small - charity shops are not giveaways) I think this is fair reward for the effort and risk you put in, and as somebody pointed out, better the shop makes a pound than nothing at all.

For example, I sometimes buy 5 books for a pound from my local Hospice shop. I read them then advertise them on Amazon. If I'm lucky I'll make £2 profit, but most of them go BACK to the same shop, which presumably sells them AGAIN for a pound. What's the harm in that? To think twice about donating items because someone might dare to sell them on after legitimately purchasing them seems to me to be putting extreme moral scruples in the way of generosity.

How can it be stopped anyway - by making people sign a declaration that they won't sell the items? A fair exchange of cash and goods has been made and that, as far as I'm concerned, is the end of it.

And while it is definitely churlish to quibble over prices in charity shops, the fact remains that the shops might make MORE money if they priced things more cheaply. Many shops near me have frequent half price sales and even turn down donations because they can't shift stuff. This is not surprising if you price shabby shirts for £10 when they can be bought new for half that. I've not worked for charity shops but I have worked for church bazaars etc and the key thing is to make a quick profit over long term gain because storage is always a problem.

And the argument that one shouldn't buy from charity shops because it might 'deprive' someone less fortunate, is quite frankly rubbish. At what income level should one stop buying from charity shops? Who decides who is 'less fortunate' etc etc? As somebody pointed out, many people who buy from charity shops are those who want luxury items (such as dinner jackets or evening dresses) at lower cost.

Essential items are usually available cheaper at shops like Primark so its unlikely that poor people will be walking around shivering because a few frugal middle class people bought 'their' clothes!

But that is not your purpose for shopping in these shops as you have said so yourself.
You do not choose the shop based on giving to that charity but base it on those that have the lowest prices so that as you say can be sold on for a profit. If you really were looking to give rather than take your messages wouldn’t be talking about risk, effort and reward. I have no issue with you buying books and then re donating them to the charity shop, nor do I have any issue with people buying items that they use for their own personal use. The issue I raise is solely the act of picking out the best bargains from charity shops when you have no use for them other than to sell them for profit. It amounts to little less than stealing from the poor.

Whatever way you look at it, it has nothing to do with giving but is about taking advantage of others good nature. The people you are exploiting are those who give freely and I wonder how many would happily continue to donate knowing that others are selling their goods on.

For example, my brother has just donated a virtually brand new cot amongst other things now that his child/my nephew has no need for them. It would have actually been easier for him to stick an ad in the local paper and sell it on for profit, yet instead he has gone to the effort to pack it all up and drive into town in order to donate it for someone who is struggling financially but is in need of a cot etc. Unsurprisingly he is equally disgusted to think that these could now end up on ebay, a place where those most in need are unable to frequent, let alone afford.

Sadly such practices can’t be stopped because there will always be those who put their own selfish gains ahead of the needs of others.

The argument is not about people shouldn’t buy from charity shops because it might deprive someone less fortunate. The argument is the buying from charity shops in order to sell on for a profit as you recommended people do. The defence that you are helping the shop shift stock quite frankly doesn’t stand up as the items you target are obviously the most desirable and best priced and thus those that are most likely to shift quicker.

If you were really doing this to give you wouldn’t even have mentioned volunteering in order to get the bargains. Although perhaps volunteering would be beneficial to both you and the charity as you could help solve the problem of over priced goods and perhaps come in contact with some of those who have to rely on the likes of charity shops. Perhaps then you wouldn’t be so quick to seek the best bargains to line your pocket and would get more satisfaction knowing they are going to someone who will really appreciate it for what it is, not for what it’s worth.

scholesy_2

Just proved one of my previous points. The cot is essentially worthless to him as he has no further use for it. But for someone with a baby it is a desirable object who is willing to pay money for it. I don't want this to go off on a tangent but although everyone has the right to a child, it is part of the planning to make sure you can financially afford one. I would love a child with my girlfriend but I am still a student and therefore the main problem being money(and time). Anyway thats by the by..........

Lets forget the people who donate (me included) for a minute. What do the people who give up their time think? As i know many of the local shops near me hold back certain items such as records, fur coats etc for 'collectors' who pop in regularly and get first pick at these items and then make an offer for them. Surely this is unfair as they know exactly what they are looking for, whereas if they were put out and someone bought a record for 30p in good faith and it turned out to be worth £1000 it would be fairer...........

I also wonder just how many times some items get passed through charity shops..........

The_Cherries

:-[ :-[
The charity shop I work in has 20 volunteers and 1 manageress who is paid less than half the minimum wage to retain her.If she went to work in the private sector she would certainly earn a lot more money but sometimes in life it is good to think of others.

You can argue the merits of making money out of charity shops and the goodwill of others all day long and we would probably not come to an agreement.It used to annoy me when dealers came in and stripped the shelves bear but now I have come to accept that it is a fact of life.

Do you not think it would make you a happier person if you could offer your services to your local shop and sell items on behalf of them?It sounds very cliched but I promise you that it will put a smile on your face when you do help others out.

Lillibet_2

^{You do not choose the shop based on giving to that charity but base it on those that have the lowest prices so that as you say can be sold on for a profit.}
Going back to my earlier post I bought an evening dress at a chairty shop earlier this month, not based on which charity it was but based on which shop had a dress I liked & fitted. I visited 3 out of a possibel 5 local chairty shops & would have widened my search if I had not been immediately successful. For me it has nothing to do with which charity is involved. I buy from all charity shops, small ads in the local paper & ebay beacuse I often find they can ALL offer better deals than high-end retailers.
I personally do not sell chairty items on for a profit basically beacuse I cannot be bothered to post them on ebay.
I regularly clear out my wardrobe & send items to charity shops, many of which may have been bought there in the first place. I don't care which shop I donate to, it's usually a case of which one is open at the time. In many cases the charity makes twice on my goods, once when I purchase them & once when I donate them back. If the chairty doesn't have the wear-with-all to sell items for the maximum profit by whatever means available to them then that is their lookout. In fact I would go so far as to say that the chairity has a obligation to sell them at the maximum profit as, from the charities point of view, that is the purpose of my donation. If charity shops object to ebay profiteers making a better job of money making than they do perhaps instead of critercising them they should look to learn from them?

N9eav

If you are ever on holiday in the USA, go seek out their charity shops, they are the size of supermarkets and you could fill a suitcase easily with often new items for pennies. People have so much and give so much away. Goodwill industries is one of the most popular

ikkleosu

Am I alone in finding the whole idea of giving nice stuff to a charity shop so that poor folks can have a dress from Laura Ashley to wear instead fo one from Primark, incredibly patronising?

If you're concern for buying something form a charity shop is caused by the fear that you - who doens't need it - are taking it away from someone who REALLY needs to buy something at that price, where does it stop? Do you not buy the cheap brands in the supermarket in case they sell out and those who NEED to buy 6p tins of beans can't get any, or the last loaf of bread in case someone who really needs bread comes in?

If your concern is making sure the right people get the items (eg the cot) why not simply donate directly to a chairty which gives these tiems to those low income families? Rather than risk them being bought by someone who will sell them on, or someone with plenty money who just likes a bargain?

A lot of people who buy from charity shops and sell the items on, do it because they NEED the extra income (little as it is). Mothers who can't afford to work long hours because of childcare can go round the charity shops, and sell on ebay to make a little extra money to help make their lives a little better.

The charity makes the same money it would if the ebayer didn't buy the item, I don't think they care if you set fire to it, sell it or wear it for life, they've got the money. And often something will actually sell if bought by an ebayer, that may not have sold otherwise. A local charity shop onyl has a small customer base, if there's an item on there that you KNOW someone out there wants then buying it and making them available to it, when everyone else coming in seems uninterested in the item, is surely a good thing. (I did this once, saw a book which had been reduced numerous times in a charity shop cos no-one wanted, but I knew it was from a cult TV show and that there'd be people out there desperate to read it.)

I've hlped out at numerous jumble sales and one shop and everyone that ran those sales knew who the dealers were (REAL dealers not just ebay sellers) and were happy to sell to them.

Austin_Allegro_2

Ikkleosu I agree completely.

I suppose it boils down to this: are charity shops mainly intended as businesses which pass on profits to the needy, or is 'charity' ALSO supposed to mean charity to the 'needy' who purchase from them?

I have always assumed it to be the former - as somebody pointed out, if you want to donate items that you are sure are going to the needy, then you should donate directly - for example a lot of my grandmother's furniture went to the Kings Cross Furniture Project for rehoused homeless people.

Once a fair exchange of money and goods has been made, it should be of no concern to anyone what the purchaser does with the goods. When I first helped out at my local church's jumble sale, a dealer came in the moment the sale started and bought half the stock of books. I said to one of the church ladies 'isn't that a bit unfair' but she said 'we're glad to get rid of them!'

Lillibet makes a good point also. Perhaps charity shops could list certain items on ebay? If they don't sell for a higher price on ebay, they could always go back into the shop.

ikkleosu

Charities do put some stuff on ebay. I've seen a few items, which are beign sold on behalf of Oxfam, but were donated items. I assume they have people who sift through and sort out the stuff of REAL value.

vegansaver

Lillibet, I see nothing wrong with what you do. I wasn’t classing your shopping in the same manner as those who shop solely for profit. You go from shop to shop to purchase something for yourself that you need, not go from shop to shop looking for items that you know you can pick up for a great price and then sell on for profit. You also seek to give back to charity, there is no abuse here.

ikkleosu, you may find the whole thing patronising but sadly we live in a society where there are there is a rather large and growing gap between those who have and those who don’t. We live in a consumerist society where people are judged on what they have or have not. Without sidetracking too much, the more expensive clothing tends to finished to a higher standard, (not always the case) while the pressure kids are under to fit in will always play a role in what they wear.
Your supermarket analogy is rather odd as if a supermarket is selling more 6p beans then they just contact their supplier and order more. In contrast when a warm winter jacket is sold in a charity shop there is no guarantee when another will come in.

Some people really underestimating those who work long hours and give their time to work in a charity shop. I’m delighted to see the input of Cherries because she is representative of those I have known who work in them.

I know from working with the homeless that a lot of these volunteers go out there way to help and do care about their customers and what happens to the items they sell. They have had to get used to dealers but I expect there are still moments of sadness when a dealer has just gone off with an item only for someone who really needs it to come in later and leave empty handed.

But again cherries is right, in that no agreement will be come to on this subject. I have raised my objections to such a practice and I will now leave it there as otherwise we will go around in circles.

If it comes down to a moral issue, perhaps one should let people decide and be open and honest in telling ebayers etc where the items they are buying come from?

scholesy_2

I think we are coming to the end of our discussions. But the last point raised is iteresting. What information should people say on Ebay about the items. If people put items on explaining they are from a charity shop they are still only giving a little information. Surely the person buying from ebay doesn't care as they know everyone has to make a profit. As long as the seller can life with themselves knowing what they are doing this is good enough for me.

Should people who donate have to declare the origins or reason for donating.For instance the original owner could unfortunately have passed away. I'm sure the buyer would feel guilty knowing this information.

I don't think the origins of anything are any of the buyers concerns........