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Charity shop book

(71 Posts)
WelshPoppy Mon 16-Jun-25 14:32:06

I popped into a well known charity shop today and picked up a well thumbed paperback which had a sticker on the back stating £1. I took it to the till where the assistant asked for £3.50. I pointed out the £1 sticker and she told me that their shop puts the stickers inside the front cover and it was £3.50. I probably seemed miserly but was so surprised at the mark up in a well used donated book that I left it.

hugshelp Tue 17-Jun-25 15:46:20

Claremont

Depends on the book surely.

But honestly, £3.50! What is the price of one coffee, or one medium size drink in a pub?

Why is there so little respect for books these days?

£1.19 for a hot chocolate or £1.10 for a cold drink where we go.

TillyWhiz Tue 17-Jun-25 15:28:00

Our lovely local Services veterans run a marketplace bookstall with an enormous amount of books at 50p each, raising funds for various services and hospice charities.

Fae1 Tue 17-Jun-25 14:57:40

Agree with Welsh Poppy. Pop into your local Tesco pick up a free book A d take your old ones there. I never pay more than £1 for a charity shop book. Second hand books also available from many companies for around £3 or less (eh Awesome books, books to door etc)

Greciangirl Tue 17-Jun-25 14:53:58

Some charity shops are a rip of.

I expect they call it inflation.

Chubs Tue 17-Jun-25 14:51:04

Absolutely shocking, chocolatelovinggran, I have always donated kids clothes because they hardly get any wear before they're grown out of.
And WelshPoppy, I took wouldn't pay £3.50 for a DONATED paperback 😱

Venus Tue 17-Jun-25 14:50:53

I used to exchange books in the tube station but they've taken away the stand. Called it a fire hazard but the still have the free Metro in there and that's a fire hazard as well.

Such a shame as I have to beg people to take the books I've read as I hate to waste them.

TheWeirdoAgain1 Tue 17-Jun-25 14:25:45

I'm an ex-charity shop manager and, as a customer, would have left that book if it had 2 different prices on it.

The manager isn't doing his/her job properly, it should have been checked and marked at the lower price of £1.00. You shouldn't have been asked to pay £3.50.

Chocolatelovinggran Tue 17-Jun-25 14:19:15

Barbadosbelle, I have done this in hotels on my holidays. I love to think of my books travelling around the world..

Barbadosbelle Tue 17-Jun-25 14:16:21

.

What a good idea
Some hotels and cruise lines have a similar system, where you leave a book and take a book.
.

Nannan2 Tue 17-Jun-25 14:12:33

I dont go in oxfam bookshops any more.There are cheaper 2nd hand books even on amazon, usually a few pence plus cost of postage most of them.

undines Tue 17-Jun-25 14:10:13

Where we live there are disused bus shelters and phone boxes acting as free libraries with loads of lovely books. £3.50 is too much, charity shops are pricing themselves out.

Nannan2 Tue 17-Jun-25 14:10:02

I'd have left it too..I picked up four for around 4.50) in a hospital clinic waiting room last week, and 2 of those were hardbacks- most in good nick- only 1 very well used.And it goes to charity just the same.Lady at reception said theyre 50p or £1 for big better condition books.I think a few hospitals have these book tables now.

Jcar Tue 17-Jun-25 14:05:31

I volunteer at my local library where you can donate books. These are sold on at a monthly sale for £1 on average and all proceeds are ploughed back into our community library.

WelshPoppy Tue 17-Jun-25 14:04:44

Yes Witzend it was Oxfam.

Witzend Tue 17-Jun-25 13:59:58

Was that an Oxfam bookshop? I’ve always found their books rather more expensive than anyone else’s.

Talking of which, I have a lot of paperbacks to get rid of (the ones I’ll never read again or else have Kindle versions) and recently realised that National Trust sites often have a 2nd hand bookshop - our local one was happy to take my first batch a few weeks ago. Time for a 2nd batch…

creakingandchronic Tue 17-Jun-25 13:59:47

That is ridiculous. I must admit I get a lot of my books now from those phone box libraries—take some and leave some, a great arrangement.
A lot of churches have the same arrangement. I went to look around a country church a few weeks ago and found a big bookshelf of really good books. All books, regardless of size, are 50p.

mabon1 Tue 17-Jun-25 13:54:17

£1.00 is the maximum any charity should charge for a book. The charity to which I donate has 25p for every £1.00 from my tax.

vegansrock Tue 17-Jun-25 13:54:08

At a hospice charity shop near me in a posh area I noticed a nice jacket - price - £100!!!

Grandmotherto8 Tue 17-Jun-25 13:46:54

I have read lots of articles about charity shops pricing themselves out of the market. £3.50 for a well used paperback is extortion, as even on Amazon you can get a 'like new' hardback for that amount, with free p&p. I am severely pruning my book collection and my son takes them into the office and leaves them for his colleagues to take, if any are left they go to a charity shop as a last resort!

Sueki44 Tue 17-Jun-25 13:40:08

Oxfam books are always expensive! Apparently they sell online as well and check prices too.

Chocolatelovinggran Tue 17-Jun-25 13:36:10

I, too, use the bookswap box in the park, plus charity shops and the donate - to - charity bookshelf in a nearby supermarket.
I do go to bookshops, too!
However, I think that some shops do price rather high , resulting in books being pulped, and clothes sold for rags.
A friend who volunteers at one such was astonished to find that donated children's clothes went straight into the rag bag because " we dont have the space"
Now, she intercepts them and brings them to foodbank, where they are gratefully received.

NotSpaghetti Tue 17-Jun-25 12:03:19

Obviously a "rare" specimen then welshpoppy grin

Caleo Tue 17-Jun-25 11:27:48

What was the book's title?

Caleo Tue 17-Jun-25 11:26:45

It does seem a lot for a well -used book in a charity shop. Perhaps it was a rare book .

I'd have bought it if I really wanted it. What you could do is compare the charity shop's price with the same book on Amazon among the second hand sellers. You might possibly have a bargain at the charity shop!

Mt61 Tue 17-Jun-25 08:33:41

I would have left it.
I donated my books to the little hut in the local park, it was a god send during Covid, until it was damaged & set on fire by teenagers 😩