What’s your best charity shop bargain?

A brand new unopened M&S fondue set. I used to have a fondue set but it had gone astray over the years, then my son asked if he could borrow it for a fondue evening. I looked high and low, put out a request on Freecycle and got a reply from a kind soul who told me she’d seen one in a local charity shop. I rang and reserved it and collected it later for £3.
Son and girlfriend very happy and have used it a few times now.

A lovely cut-glass fruit bowl in perfect condition. Cost £5. I’ve seen them in John Lewis for three-figure sums.

Dd had looked everywhere for a new dress for her reg office wedding - she was even more ‘hourglass’ than usual having not long had a baby and was breastfeeding - nothing new fitted - she found an absolutely stunning dress in a charity shop for £16!

Tenko

MerylStreep

Tenko
We had a dirty nappy in a bag of donations today.

🤢. I once found a sanitary towel in a pair of knickers . And we don’t take underwear! People are so gross

Urgh! When I was volunteering we opened a bag of donations and pulled out a very pretty ladies dressing gown. My colleague went to steam it and I am not kidding, the whole inside of it was covered in blood. Looked like a murder had taken place but more likely it was a very heavy period or miscarriage. Luckily we always wore disposable gloves when sorting.

DH bought an Armani overcoat for £10. It cost us more to have it cleaned (£22). It looked as if it had never been worn and was still on the Armani website priced at £1200.

Our local Oxfam has a lovely manager who allows me to explain what each item is that I'm donating.
The downside is you have to book a slot to donate due to lack of space.

When I was looking for curtains she let me take several pairs "on approval" to test them in situ.
The prices generally are reasonable but affordable.
Recently they were charging £50 for brand new coats. They get donations from shops too including bras, socks and knickers all new
My DGS was wanting comic annuals so he asked if they had any. The assistant went away and came back with a mountain of comic annuals.
DDiL was not best pleased.

Elusivebutterfly

My recent charity shop bargain was two M&S cashmere cardigans, new with tags, for £12 each in the local Salvation Army shop. The shop knew they were new and it's easy to check M&S prices but decided that was an appropriate price.
They generally charge less than some other shops and are usually busy.

My manager would rather charge less and get rid of stuff as it’s a small shop and we don’t have much storage . We’re also pretty busy .

MerylStreep

Tenko
We had a dirty nappy in a bag of donations today.

🤢. I once found a sanitary towel in a pair of knickers . And we don’t take underwear! People are so gross

My recent charity shop bargain was two M&S cashmere cardigans, new with tags, for £12 each in the local Salvation Army shop. The shop knew they were new and it's easy to check M&S prices but decided that was an appropriate price.
They generally charge less than some other shops and are usually busy.

MerylStreep

Tenko
We had a dirty nappy in a bag of donations today.

Years ago, when we had a jumble sale to raise funds for the PTA, someone donated a pair of soiled long johns.
Why do people think this is acceptable?

Tenko
We had a dirty nappy in a bag of donations today.

A beautiful large hardback book of Cezanne’s paintings for £1. The charity shops in Skipton are good for travel and art books. The ones in this town not so much.

I really like the idea of gifting back to the charity shop Tilly.

I have a load of bags ready to be uplifted by the BHF, who are funding research into a heart condition I have, for which there are no specific drugs. I am part of the research group of patients and benefitted from this research, during a recent hospital stay.
When I was first diagnosed, I was told nothing could be done and many women (It's mainly women who have it) died, undiagnosed.

I also have Gift Aid with them, which means they will get even more for my goods.

My best find was a new handbag - tags still on - that was just what I was looking for to complete an outfit to wear to a wedding.
It was a fraction of the price (I paid £8) and I gifted it back to the charity shop after.

I volunteer in a charity shop and the volunteers don’t cream off the best stuff . We have to buy it. Unless the item is dirty and can’t go on the shop floor , then we can have it . You’d be amazed how many clothes come in dirty with makeup or fake fan on them.
If it’s not suitable I put something in the charity box as the charity is losing out on cash from the recycling company. When we buy something it’s recorded in a book and the manager or head office can keep track . Most managers have regular collectors who come in for certain items . But they pay the going rate .
Reading some of these posts , it sounds like the charity shop staff don’t know the value of certain brands.
As for people reselling charity shop finds on eBay for much more . That doesn’t sit well with me. Obviously it’s your property, so you can do what you want with it.

FannyCornforth

Re your Hermes scarf.
I despair of charity shops selling things for ridiculous prices.

Did you make a charity donation from your profits? (Not being judgey, just wondering)

They obviously didn’t look at it. It was folded up in a clear plastic bag along with loads of other scarves similarly packed so I guess that’s how the previous owner kept them.

On this occasion, no I didn’t make a donation to charity but my SIL passed away in 2021 and I got the job of selling some of her yarn stash which raised just under £100 which went to Breast Cancer UK.

J52

In the past my hobby has been collecting certain earas of jewellery, powder compacts and glass. Most of which I got rid of when we downsized. But I did amass some knowledge about antiques etc.
When I see items, not necessarily things I want to buy, that the charity shops are unaware of the true value I always tell them. That way the charity gets the maximum from the donation and often the item still remains a bargain.

That reminds me …. I volunteered one morning a week in a charity shop for 15 years when my kids were at school. One morning as we arrived a man was waiting on the doorstep. He said he was on holiday here and walked past the shop the previous night and saw a boxed cruet set in the window and would like to buy it. We had put £10 on it the week before and put it on display where it remained all week.

As he went to pay he insisted on giving us £20 for it as it was, he explained, very collectable Troika pottery in unused condition and in original box. He said it was worth a lot more than that.

J52, good for you! 👍

In the past my hobby has been collecting certain earas of jewellery, powder compacts and glass. Most of which I got rid of when we downsized. But I did amass some knowledge about antiques etc.
When I see items, not necessarily things I want to buy, that the charity shops are unaware of the true value I always tell them. That way the charity gets the maximum from the donation and often the item still remains a bargain.

My wedding dress, 16 years ago. Monsoon, dark blue, not new, £10, worn for the day, dry cleaned and donated back

Marydoll

*Doodledog*, my friend has made a business of it, makes a good income, but avoids paying tax on her profits.
Helping a charity does not factor into it, that is why it doesn't sit well with me.

I had a large number of bags for BHF, sitting waiting to be uplifted, she wanted to "take them off my hands", thus depriving the charity.

I would feel the same about your friend taking the bags as I do about staff doing likewise. It creams off the charity donation aspect, and it diminishes the chance of anyone else getting a bargain, but finding a bargain in the shop is different somehow.

Not declaring tax is a different objection. I agree that not paying tax is wrong, but it's not about the charity - they have still got their cut. I'm not being difficult - I just don't see what's wrong with making money from charity shop finds (although they should declare it for tax purposes if they do it as a business). Objecting feels as though people only want their donations to go to 'worthy causes' who can't afford to buy new things, and IMO that attitude can kill off charity shops, particularly in better off areas. There should be no stigma attached to shopping second hand, and if someone wants rid of something and can't be bothered to sell it on, they shouldn't object to someone else taking the trouble and making on the deal.

I can see that there's not a huge difference between an eBay seller and a shop volunteer, but the way I see it, the seller is relying on chance and the ability to spot a bargain, whereas the volunteer is setting the prices and seeing the goods first.

A Cos dress brand new with tags £8.00
I wore it twice and sold it on eBay for £85.

Doodledog, my friend has made a business of it, makes a good income, but avoids paying tax on her profits.
Helping a charity does not factor into it, that is why it doesn't sit well with me.

I had a large number of bags for BHF, sitting waiting to be uplifted, she wanted to "take them off my hands", thus depriving the charity.

One of the attractions of hunting around charity shops is the hope of finding something valuable, there have been many finds on antiques roadshow.

I must start looking in the scarf section, I have never found anything vastly underpriced.

What is the limit that is considered too much of a bargain when you should donate the price difference? A £10 dress that is worth £100, £5 found in a pocket?

I bought a really beautiful mirror for £2. I thought that was ridiculously cheap.

I live in London but if I travelled to a really wealthy area such as Knightsbridge I am certain that there would be clothes bargains to be found. The minor problem is I am not a size 6 or 8.

I buy a lot of "read once" books for a £1 or less and I return many after I have read them.