Charity Shops Making Donations Uncomfortable

I used to donate tons to BHF, I went to their loading bay with several bags and the guy started sorting the contents into piles, I asked what the piles were, "Those to keep and sell" "Those to bin". Took my bags back. Go to Cancer UK now they actually say thank you. PS the gear I donate is all sellable, freshly washed no holes or buttons missing etc, I've worked in charity shop and know what they can sell

What I have noticed in the last year or two is that the stock in charity shops locally is poor quality, very little I would want to buy.
Are people keeping good clothes longer? (I am).
Or are they selling them on Vinted? (Should I be doing?.
Either way, charity shops aren't what they were, I find.

That is very thoughtful of you and thank you on the behalf of everybody ! 👍😀

*would

@cc, I think it is quite common for this to happen. Most of us like to think that our donations really good and that the shops will be grateful for them. However, the reality is that the shops are inundated with donations and cannot possibly sell everything that comes in. I make sure my clothing donations are washed and ironed if necessary and put other items into a bag especially for rags. However, I am aware that there is a possibility that not all my items will be considered right for this particular shop and that they might add them to rags or move them to another branch of their shops. This second option might be what has happened to some of your donations. As it is, any charity shop volunteer will tell you of the mountains of unsaleable, dirty rubbish that gets donated - some people have no shame. Also, unless there are designer items in a bag, if the items are from a smoker’s house and smell of smoke, they will pass them on to rags. Some years ago, a friend, who is a lovely kind person but who is a hoarder and lives in a very dirty house, gave me a bag of clothes to donate to my local charity shop. The clothes were crumpled and creased in a carrier bag and almost certainly dirty. A volunteer would have given no more than a passing glance before putting them in the rag bag. However, this particular lady was a high earning professional and the clothes were very good quality and wound fetch quite high prices so I washed and ironed them, much to the amazement of my then teenage daughter. I believe the shop was very pleased with that particular donation.

In a nearby town, there is an independent charity shop which sells books in aid of deaf and blind people. Most books are £2 for paperbacks and £3 for hardbacks, unless individually priced. The staff are very welcoming and always welcome donations, even bagfuls. I save my books l wish to donate until we make a visit to this town, as does my mother.

I work in a charity shop and we always thank people for donations. We always say hello to everyone that comes into the shop and look forward to chatting with them. We get regulars that often come in to chat. I work on a Monday and we often get a lot of donations after the weekend and occasionally we have to stop accepting donations as the room to sort gets too full although we can send extra to the warehouse. I've worked here for 15 years and it's always been a welcoming, friendly place.

I went into my local charity shop this morning as I have a range of things ready to go but I asked for advice on what they were particularly looking for and what would be surplus ATM. The assistant was polite, gave me her thoughts but said although they didn't need clothing ATM if I bought it in they could send it to the warehouse or perhaps I could leave it for a week or so. She thanked me for asking and suggested when it might be a good time to drop things in. The shop was hot, they are volunteers and tbh generally I find people polite and helpful.

I find they rarely thank me and have been known to refuse outright.
I only leave donations on Tuesdays because I know the volunteers that day.

For ages I had to phone in advance or make an appointment beforehand. They have a lack of space apparently.
I complained and it improved slightly but it can be an emotional business parting with things. After DH died I sent my DSis home to England with my donations of his clothes.

As for books! I dared to ask at the Oxfam bookshop if they could collect! Definitely not but if I brought in a max of 20 a day to the shop they may take them.

I have sold books to a second hand bookshop and received a few hundred pounds so I think the volunteers' attitudes are counter productive.

I always get a ‘thank you for donating’ email from the local hospice shop and Sue Ryder regularly tell me how much they have made from my donations- both of which I appreciate! I have noticed that a number of charity shops never reopened their changing rooms after Covid ,so they really have no reason to complain about returned goods with receipts.

I used to take my older but still wearable clothes to a local charity shop until I realised that they were actually selling much of what they received as rags - I never saw anything I took in on display and a friend who worked in there confirmed this. If they don't want contributions they should say so.
There are quite a few of those big clothes "bins" around here now, the Salvation Army ones have all gone but there is a new collector. It's so much easier to put clothes in them rather than take a 20 minute bus to unwelcoming charity shops.

Sago

When clearing out last year prior to our move, I went into a cancer charity shop, I explained I had a lot of bags and boxes, (a full Royal Doulton dinner service in one).

I asked if they could wedge the door open for me whilst I lugged it all in.
They said no as it would be draughty, 1 young man and two women watched as I carried the first lot in and didn’t even hold the door open.

I was livid so I took it all back and watched them open mouthed as I left.

I drove to Sue Ryder who directed me round the back to their loading area and got two volunteers to help me.

That’s really bad, I’m glad you took your stuff back and donated it else where

I only ever donate goods to the a branch in a different town as over the last few years donations have always been my late husbands belongings and would hate to think I might come across someone in my local area wearing them .They are always very polite and friendly at this branch.

The OP’s experience is sad. Surely charity shops realise if they do not welcome people bringing donations, those people will donate elsewhere?
We donate, with signed Gift Aid forms in place, to two charity shops a bus ride away. We took our donations to them on Monday morning. Both shops were most grateful and kept thanking us.

I think charity shops used to be homely little places where you could browse and sometime be lucky with "a find"
Now they are anonymous places, very much businesses.

We have a large charity shop which is definitely staffed by the unfriendly type. I'm afraid I hover until I see them go into the back room then scuttle in leave my bag by the counter and saunter nonchalantly out. Sorry.

Glenfinnan

I experienced the same attitude .. I had a clear out of clothes … mostly M&S and Next. The assistant said she would have to inspect them individually! So I looked around the shop … there was a woman about my size there … I asked her to step outside and gave her my items.., she was delighted!!

Yay! That's the way to do it.👏👏👏

I am astonished at the prices charged for what is clearly a well worn second hand piece of clothing £10 plus for tops.

I thought it was just me!
I too found the ones I have donated to can be rude, or I was just a bother being there.
On one occasion on sorting out my late father's clothes, I phoned a local Salvation Army shop, explaining it was good quality Men's clothes, to be told yes lovely bring them to the back of the shop.
I did as instructed only to be told, by a chap who answered the door, that I can't just turn up, let alone coming around the back.
I suggested to him, that he needs to start communicate with the other workers within the shop, before being so rude.

I don't donate anymore I just give to the people who drop off bags to fill.

After receiving a similar negative response to donations, I now put all clothing in the clothing bank at the back of my local Tesco store. The Salvation Army can then decide what they want to do with it. It certainly saves having to experience the superior attitude of some charity shop volunteers. Books are taken to National Trust for their second hand book sales too - after 3 charities told me that no one wants cookery books any more - when I was trying to donate my late Mum's collection of pristine books. I wonder what the next iteration of jumble sales to charity shops will be ...

My experience is that they are not nice to customers

not quite finished there, fingers too quick for brain

I checked the first CR bag online and confirmed the Charity Number was authentic.

The collections are usually every 6 weeks, enough time to collect together any worthy of donation items.

I took some good, valuable stuff in cardboard boxes to a local charity warehouse shop which has a donations counter.
The lady who was accepting donations insisted on opening every box, discarding any items which she didn’t want. Her attitude was offensive, treaty every item as though it was dirty although I had made sure everything was clean.
When she had finished I had a pile of stuff that she didn’t want and she declined to give me back one cardboard box to carry it away in.
There was no expression of thanks for the donations, in fact I was made to feel a nuisance for bringing the stuff in. I will NOT be donating to that charity again - there are plenty of others.

Cancer Research offer collections

Breast Cancer and Leukaemia Research are two parts of CR who offer this service

We receive an plastic bag with details on the front of the specifics they will accept and some they can't

With a collection Date - usually with 4/5 days notice for collection.
Instructions to leave collections bags outside your house from 8am on the collection day with their collection bag which has the CR logo etc visible for drivers to collect.
We find the collection is usually completed early on the day

I experienced the same attitude .. I had a clear out of clothes … mostly M&S and Next. The assistant said she would have to inspect them individually! So I looked around the shop … there was a woman about my size there … I asked her to step outside and gave her my items.., she was delighted!!

I find Oxfam always say thank you when I donate items.