charity shop buys

My best buy sweaters even padded jackets have been from mens' wear in large retailers at sale time.
Mens' small which fit myself as a Wms 12/14 are in abundance. Looking around I believe the manufacturers need to reconsider what exactly is a 'small size' man these days.

Got brand new Hotter shoes in my size 4.5 for £6. Also was given an “ extra” free piece of jewellery at a Christmas Fair. When I unwrapped it was better than one purchased. It was a lovely necklace in suffragette colours. Well pleased. Books are always a good buy too.

I buy a lot of books, and always return them for re-sale. I haven’t had much luck with clothes though If I can find one I like, I also buy jigsaws.

I bought a pair of dining chairs for £10 a few years ago. Ideal for extra seating if we have the whole family over. This Christmas I bought a lovely sheer black shirt with silver embroidery for £4. It was ideal as a jacket for Christmas day with black trousers.

Just one word of caution regarding textiles bought from charity shops. Before bringing them into your house seal them in a polythene bag and put in the freezer for a few days. I once bought a tweed jacket which turned out to be a breeding ground for moths. Took a full two years of dry cleaning everything, spraying wardrobes with noxious fumes, hanging stuff out in bright sun to finally get rid of them and every spring I become paranoid that they'll reappear.

I buy erything secondhand...have since I was a student nurse in the seventies! All my clothes, husbands clothes, lots of household bits like lights, vases, books, discs, table clothes, pictures....had amazing bargains! Bought two matching women’s cashmere jumpers in lodden green and spice orange....a fiver each. A photo taken by Linda McCartney and auctioned by Cherie Blair (letter at the back of the picture inside the frame) for ten pounds! It’s become my hobby...I even buy all my furnishings on EBay! I also re-donate when I change things up.....kinder way of living for the planet.

My sister works in a Cancer Research shop, and she tells me that there are no bargains there anymore as they have a jeweller and trained profit maximisers sort all donations before they go on the “floor” unless someone makes a mistake all good stuff will go on their Ebay shop or be sold separately to a jeweller or whatever. She often has the job of listing items online for separate selling.

I saw a lovely posh dress in my local charity shop. It was my size and when I tried it on it was so flattering I just had to have it. Only £7.50! I had no idea when I would wear it but when I got home I discovered my niece had got engaged so I am saving it for her wedding next year.
In another charity shop I bought a lacy dress with a bit of sparkle for a tenner to wear to a New Year's Eve party and got lots of compliments.

A man on yesterdays Antiques Roadshow brought along an ornament he had bought cheaply in a charity shop. It turned out to be a carved chunk of opal, worth £1,200!

Whoops. The apostrophe Mafia will be after me!

Remember C&A and how some people always managed to find wonderful stuff in there when you never could?

Charity shops are like that for me. I know others who find very good clothes there, as you have all posted. I buy books and have never seen anything remotely wearable. Oh to live in Kensington!

Jessity I have a friend who often drives 50 miles to Lytham St. Annes. There are lots of charity shops and well-off residents there. I joined her on one trip, and came back with.............a load of books! Like you, I can never find the wonderful clothes that others seem to drop on.

It was a nice day out, though.

I've had a couple of great finds-- I liked the look of a little burgundy leather handbag, bought for 3 euros, got it home, and the name Radley was embossed , and inside was the little Radley doggie --- I used it. couple of times, then sold on Ebay for 85 pounds!!! I also bought a zip up Mac - 5 euros-for going back to Glasgow in the winter, (we live in Spain and don't possess many rainy day clothes) got it home, and checked pockets etc, and discovered the Burberry tag!! Delighted, I've used it often now.

I have lived in London for many years and I was always told to go to a well-heeled area for charity shops. The problem there is I am not a size 4!

Howcome I was told the same thing and the same happens with books.

I used to pick up good clothes bargains in charity shops but looking back I see my last finds were 2 years ago. New Per Una denims £3.50 and M&S unworn LBD £9.

I was told by a lovely Chinese mum while doing school pickup that her friends visiting from China love going around our local charity shops for “English antiques”. Seems reasonable ?

Purpledaffodil and I like old Chinese antiques hahahaha.

so many wonderful books. Over the years ever such a lot, a couple of beautifully fitting suits for my oddly sized then husband, a gorgeous tweed coat for my daughter when she was about 3 that lasted her for years, a couple of pairs of ugg boots less than £5 each pair which have seen me through several winters, lots of clothes for me, pictures just right for me, nothing valuable though, just great for me, Portmerion china, I love the botanical garden, such a variety of patterns, and matching table mats, my current favourite buy is an almost new purple jacqes vert coat, which fits perfectly [am not a common size so to find something both lovely and in my size is quite rare]. Have also got bits in there that I'd thought about buying new but not sure I could justify it, well most of the time I was right about that, but at least I didn't spend the full price and the charity benefitted both from the initial purchase and subsequent donation. A real bargain was some gardening equipment priced at 50p each tool, so jolly useful, the wolf handle would have cost 30 times that new and I have used it
And a little soft leather Radley bag :-)

Until I got my Kindle I always stocked up with cheap paperbacks to take on holiday; then I could leave them behind with no worry.

My Per Una coat from a local charity shop has been admired by almost everyone. Sadly, it's getting a bit worn now. Some days almost every item I'm wearing is from a charity shop. (I do also have a lot of non-charity buys too). I've also bought skirts in quality fabric that are too big for me and have re-made them, always washing them first to get rid of shrinkage. If only I'd bought that brand new lime green Per Uno coat last year. .

This question is addressed to volunteers.
Do you find that your 'rag' collectors are getting more and more fussy in what they will buy off you?
Last week I had more rag that the company wouldn't take than what they would !!!
This means that we have the option of taking it to the tip (usually me) or filling our skip which costs £25 a time.
Last week we put out 5 pink sacks of books for the dustman.
It's criminal, but we have no option because of lack of space.
Please don't think that we don't try to sell these books.
20p for adult, 10p for children.
There's just too much of everything

I just love charity shops. I have a kitchen trolley . I have had chairs books clothing toys and shoes. Most of my stuff is from charity and second hand stores . I also hassle people i know who are throwing things out and i take their stuff to the charity shop

i buy loads in the charity shops and have done for years.for the home grandson and my partner.home stuff books china jewellery toys.i'm a size 6 and find lots of childrens things fit me better than womens also shoes and boots have been purchased.dont know what i'd do with out them as normal shop prices so expensive.but i do buy my underwear from supermarkets tho!.

I wish I could find nice clothes in the charity shops. I never do but I find it hard to like any clothes. It's not for want of trying. I have to wear them for a while before I'm happy with them.
I've bought toys and books for the DGC and a battery radio cassette player for the bathroom. Sheer luxury.
I have skip dived though and found a Lloyd Loom chair which has been in everyday use for a couple of years.