I buy loads of books from charity shops and for 50p to £1 each I consider them real bargains. I read them, then take them to charity bookstalls at 2 local supermarkets for Teenage Cancer and a local special needs school so they benefit too.
My best ever bargain was a vintage Hermes headscarf which cost £1 and I sold it for £150 on Ebay! This weekend I bought some Vanessa Wu trainers for myself. £7 and like new and so comfy. They are animal print with bright red laces and my husband was with me and said “they are just you.” They are £70 online.
I found a Tommy Hilfiger navy down jacket absolutely mint condition for my husband a few months ago. £30 and they are £150 new. He was thrilled!
I know a lot of bigger charities now have Ebay listers working for them but you can still get a bargain if you look around.
A beautiful beaded vintage evening bag. I think I gave £3.00 for it and used it a lot back in the day.
I also walked into a shop as they were putting a fantastic wooden play cube out to sell. That was £5.00 and retails for around £70. It was much loved and is being passed on to an extended family member this very weekend!
A large wooden weeping Buddha paid £25 & it’s now worth nearer £300 although would never sell it
A dog on wheels in pristine condition for £5 - for my great granddaughter, now 10 months and almost ready to walk. Also a pretty scarf (evidently unworn) for £2.95 last week.
nandad
Last week I bought a Hobbs dress for £7.00, still being sold by them for £110.
One of our hospice shops sells all the higher end donations. I’ve frequently found clothes in there being sold for more than the original price!
I used to get really irritated by one local charity shop that often sold M&S clothes (with the labels cut out) for more than the original price.
Some shops have people who look at jewellery, silver or household goods to see if any of them are worth much, and quite a few have locked cases containing more valuable items.
Not a charity shop but some years ago my husband was a contractor working for Burbury just at the exact moment they had a sale of goods in the offices.
He bought me 2 lovely bags and a few scarves for next to nothing which I still use/wear
I bought a virtually wedgewood teapot to complete a teaset i had for £16 the cost in the shops is £240
I bought a virtually new large wedgewood teapot to complete a teaset i had for £16 the cost in the shops is £240
Best thing I ever bought in a charity shop? Many items but this little incident is precious! I was clearing out some old Christmas decorations to donate (I have far too many!) and somehow prompted myself to give three old fashioned wooden Santa plaques that I bought when the children were small and hadn’t used in years. Weeks later nearer Christmas I happened upon them displayed for sale in the shop. It seemed so WRONG to see them there-all the memories of my childrens’ childhood and the happy times we had decorating the house ready for the big day came flooding back. I couldn’t bear it so bought them back. I’ll never try and do THAT again with things that are special to me! And they are my best ‘bargain’!
So I always return books ect to charity shops
The shops near me price quite highly I paid forty pounds for a vintage crane set with driver I was told could go for 75 on e bay I said hey I am a nurse buying for a little grandson who loves cranes I was expecting to pay a fiver ! I think when people have taken advantage it hardens the shops and makes bargains less likely
Orla Kiely new bedding, a quilted coat and other bits and pieces. I always give away nice items to charity shops too. You never know why people have donated things so I always appreciate anything that I donate or buy.
I had been searching online for ages for an Enchantica dragon that I had not been able to afford when it was released. It was then unavailable. Walked by a Charity shop & there it was sitting in a glass cabinet priced at £20. Much less than I expected to pay for it online. Could not get in the shop, buy it & out again fast enough! Now resides with 100’s of other Enchantica pieces in my glass cabinet. My best buy for sure!
A king red wool coat for £4 reduced from £6. Love it and it’s been well admired
I have rarely bought clothes from a charity shop, unfortunately a lot of what is available depends on where you live. Our local town's charity shops often have quite unappealing clothes with sweat stains and buttons missing. But 'jumble' sales in the surrounding villages where more affluent people live do have some real bargains.
I bought a pair of brand new Gloria Vanderbilt pink jeans in a charity shop in the US for $2. I’d never have paid full price for them but I love them. When I was in the UK I bought an as-new bookcase for £30 that I later saw new in another shop for £99.
I love charity shops and have had some wonderful bargains but the best ever was a viola l bought around ten years ago for £50. This may sound a lot but the strings alone on it were worth at least that. I could also see it it was hand made by a luthier. It is worth around £2000 but unfortunately is a bit too big for me.
A large set of Denby pottery (£20 in Oxfam) that was the same pattern as a few pieces I already had ). I use it every day so it was a good buy.
Children's puppet theatre for a fiver (retailing at over £70) which they kindly helped me to the car with and said 'oh take these gove puppets too!' I do but quite a bit in there but this was a real bargain as has been used by 3 grandchildren (and still is!), pair of fuschia pink suade knee high boots by bally for £10 worth £250 and I often wear them and always get compliments, 4 seasalt dresses/tops as new £5 and £6 each, in Cornwall a seasalt dress for £12 (with tags) which, when I went to the shop across the road was in the sale reduced from £85 to £65, I could go on! I always pop in if I'm passing on the off chance and people are always commenting favourable on my clothes, I often say it came from my favourite charity shop but some people must think I spend a fortune on clothes!
Was talking to a Chinese mother at my GS’s school a few years ago and she told me her friends love to go to charity shops when they visit her from China to buy “English antiques “. Win win really!
A few charity shops around here sell on ebay if the items are considered to be too pricey to sell in the shop. I gave them some inherited china that we would never use , which they sold for about £200. I have to say some of the shops are asking really silly prices for items that probably never sell. One shop had a small slatted garden table, quite lightweight and 'bistro' size with two flimsy chairs, and they wanted £99 for them. They were cheaper in Argos.
My local charity shop had a jewellery sale a few years ago. I bought a few things and as I was paying, I noticed a pinboard of ‘badges’ for 30p each behind the till. One of them stood out due to its beautiful blue and yellow colours. I asked to look at it and it was a fabulous brooch. On the back, it clearly said Norway Sterling. Of course I bought it and looked up the hallmarks etc when I got home - it was a mid-century scandi silver and enamelled brooch in a sought after design. Someone was selling one on an auction site for £350! I love it and wish I had more opportunities to wear it (it doesn’t look right with my usual wardrobe of jeans and jumpers!).
You must all live in lovely areas as my local charity shops seem to have “ tatty “ clothing to resell 😪
The thing I like about getting stuff from charity shops is that if you do decide the blouse or whatever is not for you after all, you can donate it back and you have made a donation to the charity.
Our local Oxfam is careful about dealing with valuable things. I gave a Hermes scarf and they said it would go on their website to get a sensible price.
Most of my clothes are charity shop buys, so I consider them all a bargain as so much cheaper to have a good choice of clothes
One particular buy stands out however - a Honiton lace pillow, complete with approx 100 bobbins and a half-finished piece of lace on it. I enjoyed the hours it took to complete the piece (I felt I owed it to the previous owner who for whatever reason hadn't been able to complete it). I have since used it for other lace projects and don't think I under- or over-paid, the price felt just right for it, and the shop were pleased it was going to another lacemaker.
A phase Eight full length red evening dress in Mint condition for £10
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