snobby charity shops

I always browse charity shops, as others say you can get some good bargains if you keep your eyes peeled.

When my kids were small there were more jumble sales and I used to get some great stuff, particularly kids clothes which rarely get worn out.

My DD also looks round charity shops as does my OH who has recently bought some very good shirts and a traditional style man's cap which surprisingly really suits him.

Sunseeker. There are some women who have to flee their homes with only the one pair of knickers they are wearing( and obviously other clothing) They are grateful for anything they are given.

I would have thought anyone managing a charity shop would have wanted a constant turn over of goods. There is little point having stock if it is overpriced and does not sell.
Unlike a conventional retail outlet, they do not buy the stock so everything is sold at profit.

I do appreciate that they have overheads, but once something is secondhand, unless an antique or fine jewellry, it is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it, as we all know when trying to sell a second hand car! x

I am going to buck the trend on this thread. I hate scruffy charity shops and hate searching through things. I like ones that have space and think that colour coordination and a well dressed window is a great idea. Maybe I am just lucky in that we have good ones, I have never come across unfriendly volunteers and they have always been very pleased with my bags and they haven't opened them. I don't want to buy scruffy books.
I will agree that they could sell a bit cheaper and go for the quick turnover, but having said that I have got some real bargains.

That makes 2of us then Leticia. I am surprised nobody has mentioned EBay in this context. I wonder if it has had an impact on the volume of "good" stuff taken to charity shops? I have more than once been advised to "put something on EBay" but a) CBA, b) really don't know how to go about it and c) would rather my charity of choice benefited from the proceeds.
Oh, and not necessarily in that order!

Three of us! I like the charity shops that are bright and clean, and don't have that awful musty old clothes smell. Charities need to make money, and that means marketing and attracting customers.

It's easy to get rid of old garments that are not suitable for resale, as others have said, via the assorted bins provided by councils.

Good point about EBay, Soutra! I really couldn't be bothered selling things for pennies.

Do jumble sales still exist? Haven't seen or heard of one for ages. There was that smell there too - the not quite clean smell..

Regarding e baŷ; I put on my once worn Mother of groom outfit, at a very small amount, a fraction of the cost.

I wanted it to be worn on another happy occasion and possibly make the day for someone who would not have afforded it otherwise.

It sold to a lady who was very pleased and looked forward to wearing it.
The outfit did not survive the postal service and never arrived! We exchanged several e mails, all friendly, but could not trace it. Both of us felt sad and cheated.

In the end I wish I had donated it to a charity shop. x

It's not compulsory for charity shops to be scruffy and smelly, just because they are not 'snobby'. There are lots of nice ones in the middle range.

In our area there are two Red Cross shops. One of them got smartened up into the near-snobby category, a few years ago. The staff at the other one said they would leave if theirs was similarly treated, as it wouldn't suit the locality. So theirs got a refurb and got the stuff better organised, and that's all.

And a 4th here- no need to go snobby- but charity shops should be clean and well-organised and the clothes and other stuff for sale in clean and in excellent condition. And yes, they are there to make money for the charities, not for us to get incredible bargains- totally agree there needs to be a balance too.

Now (and I know it annoys some, so apologies, lol)- here is the point of view of a furiner (who very much loves England). I'll always remember the first jumble sale I attended, with my landlady, at a school in Brentford. I just could not believe my eyes- there were 2 tables of worn underwear! (1970)

Later, when we moved to Staffs, I experienced my first 'Bring and buy' coffee morning. And again, I was hugely surprised, shocked even. My contribution was a jar of Nestlé Gold coffee- can't remember the exact figures, but let's say it was £2.75 and the host put if for sale at 1.50. She had become a good friend and neighbour so I asked why so cheap. Oh, she said, you've already paid for it, and it's for charity isn't it? And I replied 'yes, exactly'- next time I'll just give you the money, better for the charity. Her contribution was a magnificent and intricate baby matinée jacket- it had taken weeks to produce as it was such a complicated pattern, and the wool had cost her (again from top of head) say, £9.00. So she put it for sale for 3.50 and it was of course snapped up quickly. Again, I asked her why she hadn't at least asked for the cost of the wool- and again, she found my question strange! Why did you not save yourself hours and days of work and just put £9.00 in the kitty. Just not cricket, was the reply.

Very lucky in Market Harborough to have several good quality charity shops and one which we both find impossible to resist, a charity book shop.

DH loves second hand books sellers, mostly the specialist charity book shops. He collects old technical and building books. X

Many years ago, when I had lost a lot of weight and looked - though I say it myself - pretty good, I needed to replenish my wardrobe. I found a 'nearly new' shop where I got some excellent bargains, one of which I wore to a cousin's wedding and was complimented on its elegance. I haven't seen any shops of this kind recently which is a pity because I have several aunty of the bride/groom outfits which would, I think, sell well.

Wheniwasyourage

I hadn't heard about that organisation.

I do think it is a particular issue with charity shops and I was amazed how many staff simply say 'It's a head office thing'. [mad]

granjura I was involved in fundraising for a small local charity and it was an uphill task trying to get just that point home to people. Handmade items that had cost £10 to make were sold for a pound or two. When I queried this the answer was "It hasn't cost us anything so it is all profit. Yes, it cost US nothing but it cost the donor time and money. It is an insult to them not to value their work - and the whole point of fund-raising is to raise funds, not to give stuff away.

For one sale I kept back two ornaments (which would have gone for a couple of pounds each) and sold them on Ebay for about £120 total - even with a chip or two (the damage photographed and shown) That was £115 more for the funds than would have been raised otherwise.

Elegran, I sometimes watch Flog It and sure enough, surprisingly often, an item which was bought for pennies in a charity shop achieves a spectacular profit at auction.

When I used to help at the local Scout sales, jumble / auction, I used to sift through donations and put a realistic price on articles of some value. Many dealers attend these functions and expect to get resaleable items for pence.

It was interesting that despite the fixed price on certain items, they always sold.

I have also noticed when browsing charity shops the there are some shoppers who quickly scan the rails, jewellry stand and buy 'wholesale'. Presumably they have e baŷ businesses. However, the charity shop is getting the cost it's priced the items at. x

I don't recognise this description of charity shops but it may be because I live in a small town. We always donate to our two local hospices, one for children and the other for adults and they are not at all smart and neither are the people who work in them.

We have a look round and I don't think things are over priced. When we were having a big party here and needed a lot more champagne flutes I bought them from these shops and paid about 50p each. After the party we donated them back.

I have a friend who like earrings but only the clip on ones which she finds hard to get so I bought her some on Saturday, boxed with a necklace, for £1.50. That seems like a bargain to me.

We did once go into a charity shop in a tourist Cotswold town and that did seem to be expensive but I suppose they price according to their clientèle.

DH and I just popped down to our local hospice shop Lorus which is beautifully organised and kept with a variety of new and used clothes and fancy goods. We took them a mixture of furniture, clothes, sports equipment and bric a brac and they were pleased to have them. They got us to fill in a form which allowed them to claim back an additional 25 pence in the £ as well for any future things we take in.

We have a community shop about a mile from us and they take anything and everything. When I refurbished my house they got bedding, kitchen utensils, books, paintings and a car seat ( thought they would refuse that ) DH took the bedding in an old suitcase and was going to throw that in the skip but they said they would take that too.
Many years ago I had a clear out and put a shirt belonging to DH in the top of the bin, the next week one of the binmen was wearing it. The shirt had bright yellow paint splashes on the pocket where DH had been painting the toy box. I am pleased that he found it worthy of recycling.

As folk may have noticed, I read rather a lot, and once read, my books go into boxes in the garage. When I`ve filled a few, they go to charity shops, but as I can`t get them there under my own steam, I can only donate to the ones who`ll collect, and unfortunately there are only 2 in our town that do, British Heart Foundation and Butterfly Hospice, so that`s where all my donations go. They also sometimes include toys that my grandson has outgrown, and, when I can get to it at the back of the garage, there`ll be a hardly used baby`s high chair. The Butterfly Hospice shop is a particularly nice place to visit, clean, and set out really nicely, plus plenty of bargains to be had. I saw a book I fancied through the window of the Cancer research shop, went in to buy it, and found that books were 3 for a pound, so I bought half a dozen! I expressed surprise at the cheapness, next time I went in there wasn`t a book for less than £1.50!

Do you mean Loros Teetime. It is a wonderful hospice in Leicester, with excellent palliative care. Do they have a shop in Melton?

In Leicester they have a specialist book shop on Queen's Road, near the University. We gave about 50% of our (many many) books to them when we moved- but we are so lucky here to have a 'library' where we had a massive 5m x 3 bookshelf. As said, when we go to Market Harborough, the charity book shop is a real and irresistible attraction (dangerous even- especially if we are with the car).

Yes they do a double fronted shop in Market Square - the window display would not disgrace an up market interior design shop.

Could we however kick this word snobby into touch for once and for alla.
Does it mean clean, well laid out, quality, "upmarket", attractive and pleasant to browse in? If so, count me in, but let's not denigrate the nicer shops. Frankly I wouldn't waste 5 minutes of my life rummaging through a 50p bin.
When did anybody feel "looked down on" in a charity shop? Does this not say more about the attitude of the customers rather than the sales team? It is the charity who are the beneficiaries, not the customers who need charity.

Muslim iPad, how on earth did "all" become " Alla"?

I used to love drifting in and out of Charity Shops buying unconsidered trifles, especially books, simply because they were so cheap. It was fun, I probably spent several £s a week and the charity benefitted.

I haven't bought anything from a charity shop for several years now, and indeed rarely go in them now and that is because they no longer sell items slightly at fault for a low price. Everything is perfect and expensive.

I like the way the Americans call them ' Thrift' shops. X