Charity shops.

We have 3 charity shops in our small town, and I have noticed that the goods in one seem to be far higher in price.

OK, they are perhaps better presented, but I have seen Primark items in there for around the same price that they were new! This shop is part of a national charity, and I think that the majority of their staff are paid, the other 2 are local charities and most of the staff are volunteers, although I believe that the managers position is a paid role.

It's a business. I only give stuff to one now and thats the Samaritans. i find them and Sue Ryder to be the most realistic. Don't get me on the Heart Foundation. Whoever does their pricing is on another planet.

Got it in one Petra ! The BHF was the shop that I was referring to up there ^

Our Oxfam shop has a very hard-hearted manageress!

You just have to remember the cause I guess. They seem to sell the stuff.

The "age" shops are always cheaper.

In addition to the BHF one, we have a Hospice South West Shop (well, 2 really as one does furniture and the other does the clothes, books etc etc) and another one devoted to the rescue of GSD's. (Although I think they may make some allowance for dogs of mixed race, providing that one of the parents has at least a passing resemblance to an Alsatian)

Having taken designer clothes (Jean Muir and Ralph Lauren, for example) to a charity shop, I think I would regard it as wasteful to sell the items for £1–2. There is a second-hand/vintage clothes shop in town where the same clothes would probably be sold for anything between £50 and £80. The charity element is for the unfortunate people, not for the shoppers.

I am a charity shop Queen. I do know what you mean about some having too high prices, fine if they are top quality brands but they are not as a rule.

What makes me so mad about them though, I have written to charity HQ's, is the fact they have the heating on full blast over the door but leave the doors open. [grrrrr]

I have had replies from shop managers and they say 'It's Head Office Policy'. Ask yourselves the next time you go into one and the door is propped open with the heater blasting away. It must make the volunteers who work in them very cross too.

I give my cast offs to the Sally Ann, they sell the really good stuff and cloth their clientele with the rest. Apparently they keep some good stuff to lend for interviews etc:
Mind you I find my cleaner and neighbour go through the pile first and retrieve things they fancy.

Goodness Phoenix we can't have racial discrimination amongst bloomin dogs?

I couldnt agree more dottilind, what is the point of looking at a tired old unironed shirt for £3 which is typical in my neck of the woods. I enquired after a dolls house yesterday it had been well used and was much faded but I thought my dgc would enjoy it I thought they may well ask £20 for it but alas they wanted £50 so no sale. I dont get it surely its better to have money coming in than stock sat on the shelves for weeks

Our local Arthritic Research shop is divided into two shops - a general shop for ordinary things and posh one for quality stuff at higher prices so people with good stuff take their cast offs there to the detriment of the other charities.

I did go into a BHF shop once - just the once.

Jumble sales used to be where the real bargains could be found. I used to love jumble sales. I have a lovely evening dress upstairs which was probably my all time best jumble sale buy. 1950s i think.
I only take stuff to oxfam because they have their gift aid sorted out - so if they sell my pile of books for a tenner they can claim back extra at whatever the rate is £2.50 £3.00 or thereabouts? from the tax man. The woman in the oxfam bookshop today told me that they got and additional £8,000 per year from this in their little shop.
Of course they should sell their donations for what they can get.
But one of our local ones sells books really cheaply so good for sourcing reading material for the MIL (25p a book!)

I find our Oxfam shop in town to be very reasonably priced, as is the BHF one, to which I`ve given quite a lot of stuff, including many books, because they have a little man with a trailer who`ll collect from your house if things are too heavy or bulky to get to the shop on your own. The most expensive, and snobby, is the Barnardo`s shop.

Errrm absent what size are you? Just idle curiosity really (goes off muttering about Jean Muir........)

Jess, Cancer Research has 'Gift Aid' too, certainly in Cheshire.

We must be lucky here in Australia - while some charity shops are unrealistic, most are great. I bought a lovely necklace for A$4 (about 2 pound 80p), and another for A$2. I got a very posh skirt for A$10 (about 7 pounds), and lots of stuff is 50c to A$3.

You can get a brand new mattress for A$190 (133 pounds)

If I were in retail I wouldn't be happy at all. The charity shops in our town ( there are several) are selling new and used books, greetings cards, perfumes and cosmetics, decorative accessories, clothes, furniture,CDs, DVDs, in fact almost everything.

It is extremely unfair on many if the small struggling businesses trying to scrape a living when the charity shops pay zero rates and only a token rent .

Absent I so agree with you. I think the charity shops should price expensive items realistically. It's a tricky problem though.Some people with plenty of money pride themselves on buying clothes at bargain prices in charity shops,while there are those who can only afford clothes from charity shops. As someone said ,the shops are there to make money for the charity . I would rather give away decent clothes to friends if I thought the charity shops was going to almost do the same to strangers.

Meant to add that I also feel sorry for small bookshops that must be losing out, and wouldn't want to see our local one go under.

yes it is small bookshops that are hit the worst.
I dont object to them selling new goods. Many high streets would be 50% boarded up if it were not for charity shops.
Yes they are a bit different in Australia/NZ. Salvo - Salvation Army and St Vincent seem to dominate - but in cheap rent areas they often have huge furniture and household goods stores. My son bought a brilliant vintage lazeeboy chair from one.

gillybob One of the charity shop's near my home also sell new products which affect the shop's in our area,the goods are donated by the on line shopping channel's when they have stock left from a promotion but the pricing is out of reach of most people who shop in the charity shop.I volunterred for Banardo's at one time and found their pricing far too high they have a corporate pricing list and do not take into account regional differences in prices,I have now been at SVP for a long while every Saturday and we have a quick turn around of stock because the pricing is realistic.

Well done ladies I thought I was the only one who thought about pricing in charity shops.

dottilind

I am never out of them. I bought a brand new girls school coat for my GD today from a school charity shop. 50p Happy Days.

I love 'em. Having done all my Christmas shopping in them last year (family decision to spice up the Christmas buying, save money and help charities at the same time) I am a convert. So many bargains and why buy new at ridiculous prices when you can buy almost new or even new at these shops for a song. Last purchase was a brand new snow suit for DGS for £1.95. Simples