BHF refuse my donation of an antique Edwardian Windsor chair

They won’t accept books here, no matter how good they are. On the other hand, they have beautiful books for sale and it is always worth looking if you like them!

The BHF Furniture and electrics shop in our town centre is enormous and has a vast array of furniture, from sofas, pouffes, lamps, mirrors to dining tables and beds, as well “white goods” and small electricals.
There seems to be a lot of late 70s/early 80s living room stuff in recent years , really massive sofas etc (I suspect some has come from big hotels) or rather well to do homes.

It is worth bearing in mind that BHF, in particular is a
foundation first and foremost and a very prestigious and wealthy one at that. Oxfam ditto.

Some of their stuff in the clothing shops is imo overpriced but there are premises to be paid for even if the staff are volunteers.

Smaller charities and local ones can have a bit more say in what they put on sale because they are not dictated to as much and things like “beautiful blue heavy weight velvet curtains” for example, would be snapped up by someone and certainly not torn up for rags. Not everyone wants to be surrounded by the IKEA look and fabric can be turned into other items.

Charity shops are certainly much nicer these days than the old “seedy” ones but many are too “like proper shops” and so have lost much of that Aladdin’s Cave appeal.

why not put it on freecycle.
round here people just leave things on the pavement; they're usually gone pretty quick.
OP's attitude is unconducive to good community spirit.
how could they prove a piece was pre 1953, if an inspector came into the shop, it would cause them endless headaches and stress.
that's if it was even worth taking, since there is no market for it.
they are trying to raise money for a charity, they can't waste resources of space and personnel time.
try to look at it from their point of view.
no good being high-handed.

I think common sense and a little research would have told you that fire safety labels are standard requirements. I wonder if she was rude after your remark about fire labels in Edwardian furniture . Volunteers do have to put up with a lot.

lemsip

They simply are not allowed to take furniture, beds ect ect antique or not!

they do not accept 'everything.

Not sure where your information came from because the BHF charity shop in my town was full of every type of furniture and beds with mattresses.

They simply are not allowed to take furniture, beds ect ect antique or not!

they do not accept 'everything.

BHF do take furniture. They have large furniture shops where they sell just furniture and household stuff. There are two within 10 miles of me and I visit them about once a month. The best stuff they take in they put on eBay where they probably get more money.

And the kitchen ware with food dried on, pet bowls with the same. I must take some pics one day 😂

Ancient hand creams which have separated

Ugh!

petra

The only thing I get really annoyed with ( other than dirty/ mouldy clothes and shoes and bags) is when it’s obvious that a relative is clearing a house and empties those kitchen drawers 😉 that nobody can be bothered to sort out or put it in their own rubbish 😡
So it goes in our skip *which we have to pay for*

Not just the kitchen drawer, but bedside tables and bathroom cupboards. Just tipped into a box or bag . Ancient handcreams which have separated 🤬

I volunteer in a charity shop and they tend not to take stuff they don’t think will sell . They don’t have the storage for furniture. We can’t fit furniture in the shop , we put it on the pavement in dry weather , but have to keep bringing it inside if it rains .
And they’re right about the one chair , it doesn’t sell . Unless it’s a bedroom chair .
As for a managers salary , it’s none of your business and I don’t know what your point was. my manager works a 6 day week from 9-5 and is on her feet most of the time and has to deal with rude customers and shoplifting.

The only thing I get really annoyed with ( other than dirty/ mouldy clothes and shoes and bags) is when it’s obvious that a relative is clearing a house and empties those kitchen drawers 😉 that nobody can be bothered to sort out or put it in their own rubbish 😡
So it goes in our skip which we have to pay for

They simply are not allowed to take furniture, beds ect ect antique or not!

they do not accept 'everything.

I think fire certificates are for materials, not for wood. I've never seen a Windsor chair with material. You should have taken it to an auction house - lots of people still pay good money for Windsor chairs, even if they're not worth what they once were.

You lost me with your sarcasm and calling the woman a fool. Its not woke just rude and bad mannered.
I have just been to a charity shop as I get my lovely candles there for a fraction of the price. They are really overwhelmed with donations, and do not have the room to take items that will not sell, or in some cases rubbish people do want to get rid off. They put posters on the windows in our one saying no donations today, as they told me taking anymore would be a fire risk. People get annoyed about this, take it in and expect their stuff to be taken as the have had to bring it from the car, unbelievable. This is why I will not volunteer in them as I would not have the patience with the rudeness. I admire most of the volunteers.

I have now given it away on the Nextdoor site. Yes they are as common as muck but they could still raise £50 for a charity. I know there are people who will dump anything and everything on charities to save themselves a few bob, (three years ago I bought a new sofa and paid an extra £50 to have the old on taken away), as I have done a bit of volunteering myself in younger fitter days but the BHF rules say that anything before 1953 does not need a fire certificate.

Thats weird because you could have an old chair or sofa from 1952 that is so old and brittle it is combustible, but legal!

I will not change my will as I was only venting. Thank you for letting me do that. Feel better now. Time for chocolate!

Unfortunately most Edwardian and Victorian chairs are not rare, and there is not a huge demand for them as they do not readily fit modern home decor.
Even in an antique sale I doubt they would be worth a lot unless they are very special.
You can’t blame charities for not taking hard to sell items.

Maybe an auction house and they will collect.

I’ve been sorting in a charity shop for 9 years. Nothing surprises me anymore.
I could cry at the beautiful curtains I have to rag.

No charity will take furniture without safety labels on as far as I know, we don’t at our charity shop There are other things we have to refuse things like safety helmets ( they could have been in a minor crash and not show any marks) other safety items like kids water safety items unless brand new Peopevthing we should take everything

You asked her if she knew what an antique is ! that’s rude so
I m afraid you started the conversation with a really bad attitude
Calling a woman a fool for not taking your ‘antiques’ was very nasty on your part
Take them to an antique dealer !
We can’t take everything ….we get between one and two hundred black bags full EVERY day so yes if something that we know would not sell and we are full to the brim we do have to refuse We don’t have big storage areas

Charity shop workers are usually volunteers except for the managers

Interesting. I also filled in a form to say I had a desk I wanted to donate. It was a white writing desk with three generous drawers. We bought it for our daughter when she started secondary school.

Two BHF men turn up. Took one quick look at the desk and said they were not allowed to collect it because the white paint might contain lead. So off they went.

If they know from experience they won’t sell one odd chair, however old, they can’t give it shop space - they aren’t antique shops. If you think it is valuable you’d be better off selling via eBay . However, old brown furniture isn’t fashionable and you may not get a lot for it. No excuse for rudeness tho.

Try the Salvation Army.

I gave a rare book to the Amnesty Bookshop and they sold it privately.. I assume most charities have similar outlets

I have had similar reactions from various charities. When I told the local hospice I had various framed pictures for collection they came down looked through (obv looking for a Rembrant !) then said they didn't want them. Emmaus used to take anything but now want a photo before agreeing to collect. BHF have taken a few things in the past however the last time they refused a large mirror because there was no hanging bracket on back, also refused two beech fiddle back dining chairs said they needed four, and definitely wouldn't take curtains. I think they are all the same these days.

I had the same reaction. When we move into our house the previous owner had left all the curtains in the living room. 4 pairs of made to measure, lined ,blue velvet curtains. I couldn’t give them away and they were much too heavy to sell on eBay. Every charity I rang refused them. In the end I put them in one of those clothes collection banks.