Charity shops.

There is a lot of mixed messages around charity shops. Some think that it is wrong to buy and sell on, and others that they are threatened by people selling on their unwanted items on Vinted. Some think that they exist to help 'the poor' to buy cheap items and others that they are there to raise money for the charity so should charge a market price. Some object to people 'offloading' unwanted items, and others think that saving unwanted items from landfill is a good thing. Some think they lower the tone of high streets and others that they bring in footfall. It's a minefield .

What puts me off donating higher value items is that my mother used to work in a charity shop, and the staff all creamed off donations. Yes, they paid for items they bought, but they were priced by the shop floor teams, so they got good prices, and then a 25% discount. This system was explained to them in induction, and was 100% above board - nobody thought it was wrong, and nothing was hidden.

They would put items aside for one another, and there was a book kept in a drawer saying things like 'Look out for baby clothes for Gladys's granddaughter - 6-9 months or bigger - also good quality toys up to age 3', 'Brenda is looking for an iPad cover', or 'Keep wool coats in size 14 for Mavis - she's in on Tuesdays and Fridays, so leave in coffee room'.

I have no objection to passing on a coat that could be sold for a reasonable price to raise money for charity, but I am not keen to let Mavis have it for £3 when she already has another half dozen that never made the racks. I'd rather sell it on, or (more likely) send it to Anglo Doorstep Collections who are at least honest about their charities getting a percentage of profits.

I know that not all shops operate like this, but I am certain that the one my mother worked in did. It is part of a local 'chain'. A friend of mine has recently started working in a different branch of the same one, and the same system operates there still. It is seen as a 'perk' of the job for the staff, and not in any way dishonest - everyone is very open about it all.

As a frequenter of charity shops almost as long as they’ve been around, I’ve noticed that the prices are not cheap these days.
Vinted are cheaper for clothes, even with postage.
Of course, it’s great to be able to see the condition of the clothes/books/homewares etc and give to a charity, but many people will be seeking the most economical outlet.

we have plenty of charity shops around Guildford and Godalming all seem to cater for different customers.
One in particular is the Salvation Army shop in Guildford, large shop with plenty of stock, appeals to students and families with sensible and bargain price tags meaning stock changes regularly. Some charity shops ask too much for things sometime putting customers off so perhaps those will be the shops closing.

South Devon where I live has lots of charity shops. Some sell furniture too and we've bought drawers, wardrobe and a cupboard from them when we moved here. There were no fitted wardrobes in this house like our last one so it was a great help.

I've taken lots of stuff to the local charity shop and it'd always been washed and ironed or dry cleaned first. I do gift aid so make a note of sale proceeds and declare them on my tax return, every little helps.

Some charities occupy empty properties for free or low rent but have to move out quickly if the owners want to sell or find a paying tenant. Perhaps that is why some close quickly.

I've seen secondhand stuff in charity shops selling for more than it cost to buy new. Not expensive 'named' stuff, just clothes from places like Primark and New Look. I doubt they ever sell it.

I used to love going round charity shops but haven't bothered for a long time. Most of the good stuff is quite expensive and the local shops seem to be full of cheap, new, stuff from India and China.

I used to volunteer in a charity shop.
I was always surprised and a little shocked when the stock used to get rotated and most of the older clothing was put into bags for rags.
The problem is: so much stuff is donated and they can’t cope with it all.
Also, a lot of clothing is rubbish and unsaleable.
You wouldn’t believe the dirty stuff that we had to sift through.
Especially students who used to dump bags on the doorstep after term time ended. Disgusting.
But it all has to be checked.
There are around five charity shops where I live, so they are still needed I think.

I love charity shops and we have several in my small town - as ever, some are better than others. In a nearby town, there are a few lovely charity shops with a big warehouse style one out of town, which sells furniture. My favourite in this town is a small charity bookshop, which raises funds for a local charity for blind and partially sighted people. Unless specified otherwise, every paperback costs £1.50 and every hardback £2. I give the books that I am not keeping to this shop. I regularly donate other items to other charity shops and, if l have clothing that l know is not good enough to sell or old underwear and odd socks, l put them in a separate bag and clearly mark it as rags as it saves the volunteers a job and money can be gained through rags

The ones I have worked in -all nationwide charities, would bag things that weren’t selling after a certain date and they’d be collected to be taken to another branch. Things that don’t sell in one shop will apparently sell in another.🤗

The stuff that was bought with a staff discount (where this applied) had to be priced and out on the shop floor that day before it could be bought after the shop closed. A record was kept of each staff members’ purchases.

Doodledog
My manager lets me buy items at heavily discounted prices.
That’s because:
I pick up goods from people’s houses.
I deliver to peoples houses.
I deliver to women’s refuge and other charities.
I take washing home.
I take clothing home to repair.
I take rubbish to the tip when our skip is full.
My partner has done no end of repairs to the shop.
My manger is very very grateful and shows it.
I save that shop far more money than the discounts I get.

We have six fab charity shops in our Thames side town. I buy 90% of my tops and jackets from them as they are generally very good quality. Also the costume jewellery is good too.

Musicgirl I think it would be a good idea for charity shops to put a list up of things they won’t accept and also to say whether or not they accept rags (a legitimate source of extra income for some charities)
because the rag market fluctuates and the shop may not have storage room to spare either
It beats filling the household bin with good quality fabrics.

We are raising money for a charity so I m perfectly happy with the term charity shop Nana8

Grandmaderby we have a van every two weeks that moves the goods around our 48/50 shops We are a local charity to my county and nearby ones , so decent items will maybe sell in one area that wouldn’t in another. My shop does extremely well on children’s toys and clothes having a decent size area so a lot of the other shops with a different demographic send their stuff to us
We pay for any goods we buy doodledog with 25 p in the pound off. No one buys loads just odd things here and there
I give 24 of my hours free a week, plus I take bags home to wash and dry using my electricity ( my choice) I also take home bags of battery toys to test or baby stuff to age into bags while I m watching tv I don’t feel in these least bit out of step if I occasionally buy something a bit cheaper !!!

We're in greater London and there are quite a few within a 20 minute bus ride, but none very locally. There are Salvation Army bins for clothing and shoe donations on our estate and others at local supermarket. Also my daughter regularly has a charity come and collect a sack of childrens' clothing and household effects from outside her front door. I would probably contribute to this rather than go on the bus to the charity shops.

knspol

I've taken lots of stuff to the local charity shop and it'd always been washed and ironed or dry cleaned first. I do gift aid so make a note of sale proceeds and declare them on my tax return, every little helps.

The gift aid is such a good idea, I donated quite a lot of things before we moved and they have claimed on items I donated. I don't think that you actually need to declare them, the shop can claim if you sign the form.

Hope ours don’t shut. Bought a brand new hand held clothes steamer to iron my new curtains £10. The same one is £40 odd at JL.
I stock up on dvds & books (which go in the freezer for a week).

Greciangirl, at my daughter's university, there was a scheme whereby graduating students could leave things behind for other students, who needed things but had very straitened circumstances. I thought this was a really good idea and it would also have the byproduct, hopefully, of fewer items that charity shops were not able to use.
On another note, when our daughter started university, we bought all her crockery, cutlery and cooking utensils from charity shops and car boot sales. It saved a fortune. I bought some of her bedding from Ebay and only basics like towels, mattress protector, duvet and pillows were bought new. We saved a fortune and many items from landfill in this way.

@MT62, why do you put your dvds and books in the freezer for a week?

petra and BlueBelle I was at pains to point out (twice) that I was not suggesting any dishonesty or malpractice in staff getting discount (or pricing the items they buy), just that knowing this is what happens makes me less inclined to donate. I know my mum saw it as a return for the time she gave to working there, but I see it differently. There are several staff, as they all work part-time, and by the time all their lists are serviced (for their family and friends as well as themselves) it's amazing anything got as far as the rails. The knock-on impact must be that footfall is reduced as there are fewer bargains to be had, and of course word gets round, so I'm far from the only one to have given up on donating.

Interesting.
I live between two Bristol “villages” and they both have at least 5 charity shops each. I do look in regularly and donate.

I visit a fantastic charity shop once a week. They sell everything for £1 or less. I buy lots there without trying on. It's so cheap I donate what doesn't fit back. There are 4 other shops in town but at normal prices.

We have an extraordinary number of charity shops in my town , at least 20

In Bedford, we have lots and they all seem to prosper! A new Animal Welfare one has just opened, where Bodyshop once was.
I wonder where al the clothes come from that people donate- although we do still have Primark and New Look…

Barnardo’s have several shops in our area - each shop specialises in specific items, i.e. bric a brac, clothes, baby goods. We also have shops which support our local hospice. They all have free parking nearby, but I always check whether they’re accepting donations before I take anything.