Charity shop tips

needmoney

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.

Just before this ends vegansaver what do you think of this practise then. Surely asking far more than something is worth is wrong and depriving the needy or duping some poor soul who doesn't know the value of things and assumes because it's a charity shop it must be cheap.

crana9

:-[ :-[
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.

Huh?
1) How is it legal to be paying her below minimum wage?
2) Isn't the amount she has to live on way below the minimum it's said (by the government etc) to be possible to live on? Is she just so frugal she could put us all to shame, or does she also get benefits/have a working husband etc?

The_Cherries

The manageress is paid a covenant to retain her which means that she not subject to the minimum wage regulations.I believe this is common to many such voluntary organisations.

As for her personal circumstances,I have never asked,perhaps like one of the other contributors suggested,she merely works at the shop to get bargains to sell on Ebay for a tidy little profit.

Jeryth

Austin_Allegro: I used to work for a charity, and sometimes the boss would excuse the reason for not giving something away by saying "we ARE a charity", which sort of confused me, coz usually the saying is "we're NOT a charity", implying to me that charities should be giving to their targetted group. I never understood that.

Anyway, I love finding charity shop bargains, as I am usually on a tight budget. Had been worried about job interviews, but I already have a smart pair of trousers (pants in Lancashire), and found a smart fitted shirt in YMCA for £1.50! Then, I went into the British Heart Foundation and found a tunic which will be my party outfit this season (with said black pants) for £4! BTW, the chap at the BHF shop said that they sell nothing less that Asda George quality clothes and everything else is sold to the ragman. I consider that a tip for people like me looking for nice clothes cheap.

culpepper

We live on my husbands wage (2 adults 2 kids) and rely on charity shops . Up until about 5 years ago virtually everything we owned came from them.
If I dont like a price,I dont buy the item.

My tips are..................
Always open boxes when buying toys etc to make sure they are what is written on the box! Some shops dont like this but you dont want to get home to find either a box of broken pencils or empty containers which you can do nothing with.
Never expect jigsaw puzzles to be complete even if it says so on the outside.
Read the washing labels in clothes in case they are specialised wash only (expensive).
Always try clothing on as sometimes it has shrunk or lost its shape.

Good finds have been;..camping equipment usually well used,
microwave containers in abundance,
Wool,
Christmas decorations,
Books and of course clothes.

catznine

I often find bargains in charity shops, my favorites are books that are now out of print (mainly cookery books cos that's what I collect).

I used to work for a Cancer Research Charity shop as a volunteer after a suspect lump was found to be benign (my way of saying thank you) and only the manageress received a wage and it was very low but she was there herself because her husband had survived cancer. Many of the volunteers had similar reasons to be there.

At that shop any really good stuff was put away and a visiting expert used to come in and value the items (free of charge) for auction, so they knew what they were doing. If other stuff wasn't sold it was taken off the shelves and either put away for another time if there was room or collected for other shops in the area or (if clothing) sent on for collection for third world countries.
Ornaments and books etc were passed on to other charities that were in need.

I always take items from my families clearing out to the charity shops (trouble is I often come home with more than I take) ::)

Plumpud_3

:-[ :-[
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.

The manageress is paid a covenant to retain her which means that she not subject to the minimum wage regulations.I believe this is common to many such voluntary organisations.

As for her personal circumstances,I have never asked,perhaps like one of the other contributors suggested,she merely works at the shop to get bargains to sell on Ebay for a tidy little profit.

This is illegal. Any payment of this kind would be classed as payment for employment by the Inland Revenue whatever the employer chooses to call it.

Not complying with the National Minimum Wage regulations can result in fines of up to £5000 for the employer - charities are not excempt from this.

The National Minimum Wage helpline is 0845 600 0678.

Presumably as your friend is receiving the money as a 'covenant' it hasn't been subject to tax or national insurance. This may be below her personal allowance, but if she has any other income, she may well be liable to tax. She needs to contact her tax office straight away, as she will be liable for any tax underpaid - not the charity.

I know a number of the managers and assistant managers of the local charity shops, and they are all paid a wage. The typical Managers wage being at least £12000+, with 2 assistant managers at £9000+ (the jobs are regularly advertised in our local paper).

If you check the charities accounts this can be confirmed.

With regard to the National Minimum Wage, I know this as I recently worked for the Inland Revenue, I currently run a business with employees, and I am also trying to set up a mother and toddler group as a charity with paid playgroup leaders.

Incidentally, did you know that Private Schools are currently able to set themselves up as charities - which they do. This is currently under review by the Government.

culpepper

perhaps the covenant is classed under expenses..e.g her fares to and from the place of work.As I understand it,if the company were to pay her fares that would not be taxable income ...I could be wrong here but I do know that some branches of the special constabulary pay their specials expenses which are non taxable but would be below minimum wage (they get fares to and from,boot allowance and food money )

Austin_Allegro_2

I had the day off work yesterday and went 'chazzing' in Golders Green. Got a pullover, scarf and tie for eight quid.

Another tip: don't worry if you think your clothes might not be good enough to donate to shops, because as others have said a lot is sold for rags.

The one exception is motheaten clothes - I would bin these to avoid spreading the eggs.

scholesy_2

Having gone to a private school myself I can confirm that the school was a registered charity. I thought this was cheeky considereingmost parents were paying about £1800 a term, luckily i was on a scholarship ;D. The school also owned various properties around the town. These were rented to private tenants and shops in the high street area.

How can they be registered as a charity, just seems so unfair.