Charity shops.

I heard that big charities are moving to out of town shopping centres, as high streets are dying. Online shopping has closed traditional shops.
In our market town there was a useful kitchen shop on a very desirable site which closed when the business rates and rent doubled. In moved a Cancer Research shop, one of seven charity shops on our high street.

Yes it is true.

I spoke about my sons experience as an independent shop owner.

And you call us both liars about that experience.

Your experience is only an experience of one shop.

But it’s yours so of course it will be right 🙄🤔🙄🙄🙄

Just not true, tho I doesn't deny it might happen.

Our St Lukes Hospice Charity has brand new (but "last years" garments from good name brands) Local outlets (as opposed online) of brands like Seasalt regularly appear and are priced suitably.
I got a brand new Regatta red outer garment- superb - for £12.
St Lukes have a specialised "high value brand outlet" as one of their shops. It has half its previous price in their sale.

St Lukes os of course totally local, but they do employ 3 people for fundraising, but so many volunteers grateful people.

I have no problems with their paid organisers, its necessary to hold it all together.

Anything new will almost always have been bought in. From wholesalers or sometimes from shops going out of business.

My son has an independent gift shop and has been caught out buying from wholesalers only to find the same goods selling much more cheaply in a charity shop down the road. Their overheads are so much less so they can afford to cut the price.

He’s learned now to ask wholesalers if they supply any charities. And to write it into the contract with them.

The national charity shops are big business, run as businesses. They support charities but they are not part of them.

Lathyrus3 do many charity shops buy stuff from wholesalers?
I thought most of their stock consisted of public donations.
If I see a load of “new stuff” or even so called “top brand” stuff I absolutely avoid it.

Charity shops have -or had, a symbiotic relationship with customers, they exist because people, for a variety of reasons buy second hand stuff and this raises money for the charity.

If there is no advantage to buying from a charity shop eg poor quality, too high prices, uninteresting finds well then that shop will cease to be a viable business.

Low footfall in our hollowed out high street though has been to the detriment of many of these shops as it has hastened the inevitable.

Meanwhile on a tangent here- in this increasingly online world of shopping I am unable to buy a bra or trousers that fit me how I like even in big chain stores because they only stock once it seems and are not in any hurry to restock leaving only very small or very very big sizes on their rails.

Go online and their stuff too is “out of stock” in your size. Say 14,16,18.
Choice and variety is becoming a rarety irrespective of price point and there is no sign either that manufacturers care enough to make the online shopping experience as good as it needs to be to enable me to see and buy confidently like I did years and years ago.
The answer?…learn to make your own!
Or flood every store with emails demanding a better service?
Rant over.🙂

petalpete

And neither do they pay business rate's so its quite an unfair advantage compared to other business's trying to make a living.

Yes, it puts little businesses at a disadvantage when big charities buy from the same wholesalers as independent shops, but can sell the same goods at a reduced price because the charity shop doesn’t have to pay staff or other overheads.

I do think charity shops are great for recycling but they can make life very difficult for a small shopkeeper and even put them out of business.

And neither do they pay business rate's so its quite an unfair advantage compared to other business's trying to make a living.

Lots of BHF shops are set to close soon
I'm my small town there are 5. All v different, some take baby things, others don't (and post on the door that they don't) some take baby things, and in fact I've got stuff for my granddaughter from there which goes back when I no longer need it., another one doesn't take bedding or towels. One is heavily into vintage stuff. Another (hospice) is a bit upmarket and gets stuff from some of the nearby good shops, so you can potentially get good quality stuff much cheaper than even in their sales. Another is cheap and cheerful, always lots of real bargains, and every so often they get excess textiles etc from shops which have moved on to the next fashion trend. Another is just a small traditional one
3 are easy to donate to as you can park close by
Something for everyone.
Charity shops are there to raise money for the charity, benefitting the poor of the district is a secondary consideration. If you're looking for cheap clothing or bedding there is one that can help you with that (they do bundles of baby and children's stuff. Everything you need for a particular age group really cheaply. I don't know but I think if you asked to pay by installments you could do so, it's that sort of shop.
I've seen antique dealers ferret ring through the stuff and buying bric a brac, if they are willing to take the chance good luck to them. Also to those who sell in, it's a risk for the person. However lovely something is you've got to find someone in that particular size who also loves it. I very much doubt that there is big money in selling on clothing
I don't mind if staff buy things either as long as they pay the price that I or someone else might pay (and someone else prices it up etc)
Those who have issues with that, why don't you go and volunteer yourself, if you think it's worth giving up days of your time just to get the occasional first dibs on an item of clothing.or bric a brac.id also not be happy at a shop that insisted something went on the shop floor first. I would think that anyone who was volunteering there would be well within her rights to text a friend to come and buy it for her. Why treat volunteers worse than the public? In my local shops there are loads of good quality stuff that's on the rails or shelves for ages. Only a small amount of clothing will fit you and be the right colour/style/taste. It's not like one volunteer will be buying every size for herself, what good is a size 8 if you're a size 16?
I admire those who .volunteer in the shops, I prefer to volunteer in other ways and would hate to work in a shop if any sort. I did some.temp jobs in shops in the past and that was enough for a lifetime!
Locally we also have NCT second hand sales, people.pay a certain amount to enter clothes, toys and equipment into the same set their own prices, and run their own risk of pricing too high or too low. If there are people locally who want the stuff that they are selling they get a bargain and the seller gets something to buy bigger clothes. Locally there are also occasional swishimg events which sound fun but I've never been
I don't put clothes in those bags, many of the clothing is sold overseas where it causes many problems, and can badly affect the local textile industries

How would you know it doesn’t give to the charity do you mean they openly tell you they are not supporting the charity they are recorded with ? Sounds strange

Sheebee1

If a charity shop has a registered number on the front but doesn’t give to that charity, not listed when asked, should you report to the registered charity? Would the charity let you know if they were receiving money from the shop?

For sure. If you think there is fraud involved do report to the charity. But are you sure it's fraud? I'm sure if I planned to commit fraud there would be easier ways of doing it than setting up and staffing a charity shop with all the overheads that involves. Power. Water. Safety, you have to have the same safety measures involved even with volunteers so you'd need to train a first wider, make sure the fire extinguishers are regularly serviced etc. there must be easier ways of committing fraud than paying for all that from selling £2 jumpers.

Very lucky, northern city with loads of thriving charity shops, good quality clothes, some brand new ones from brands that have been donated. The local Hospice is the chief one, with many outlets, and they have one upmarket store where the designer stuff goes. I've got a couple of fab items there I would never dream of being able to afford.

I think the council is supporting some local ones rent wise other wise they might close. I would say that 50% of my clothes are from Charity shops and if I make a mistake they just go back to the shop. I wouldnt dream of re selling on vinted its immoral imo, the shop needs to reconsider pricing if they can get a big mark up.
The Hospice is clever tho, in the poorer parts of town you dont get the expensive clothes, but you'd get a Primark for £2.

My favourite local one checks incoming bags, they wont just take them in.

We get a fair share of nicking but if they know you know and are watching they soon disappear and the last three we had contact with have never been back however I m sure there’s others we haven’t clocked yet
Horrible isn’t it

Doodledog

BlueBelle

Where do your donations go Janice after collection ?
I will add Doodlebug that our volunteers do not buy handfuls of stuff, just one item here and there I ve never seen anyone buy more than now and then. Certainly not going out with loads of stuff. It just doesn’t happen. I probably buy an item every month or two.
We do get a some shop lifting though which is incredibly annoying and frustrating

I can't believe people would shoplift from a charity shop! How can they sleep at night?

BlueBelle I am not for a minute saying that you abuse your position, or doubting your word at all. As I keep saying, my point was simply that my personal experience (via my mum's many years of working in one) is that such things happen in some outlets. Probably no individual buys lots, but as there are several staff, and all of them look out for specific items for one another the best things go to the people who work there, and they are priced low and then subject to discount. The shop my mother worked in closed soon after Covid, but a friend of mine has more recently started working in another branch of the same 'chain', and the same applies in there. There are several shops for the same charity across the region, so it must be a company policy.

A while ago we caught a woman in a wheelchair stealing.
We have cctv so the proof was there.
We let her leave the shop before we confronted her.
The stolen items ( clothes) were under her blanket.

Ahh that doesn’t happen at mine at all, we all can buy off the floor, but not many do, only the odd item here and there We have 30+ volunteers and I honestly believe we bring in far more donations than ever bought
I suppose as at least half to threequarters of the volunteers are over 60 most of us are getting rid of stuff more than buying and the younger staff members don’t seem that interested
I sometimes buy stuff out the rag mans pickings which hasn’t sold and we can have them for a donation but I m happy with that as it’s saving more from landfill anyway

BlueBelle

Where do your donations go Janice after collection ?
I will add Doodlebug that our volunteers do not buy handfuls of stuff, just one item here and there I ve never seen anyone buy more than now and then. Certainly not going out with loads of stuff. It just doesn’t happen. I probably buy an item every month or two.
We do get a some shop lifting though which is incredibly annoying and frustrating

I can't believe people would shoplift from a charity shop! How can they sleep at night?

BlueBelle I am not for a minute saying that you abuse your position, or doubting your word at all. As I keep saying, my point was simply that my personal experience (via my mum's many years of working in one) is that such things happen in some outlets. Probably no individual buys lots, but as there are several staff, and all of them look out for specific items for one another the best things go to the people who work there, and they are priced low and then subject to discount. The shop my mother worked in closed soon after Covid, but a friend of mine has more recently started working in another branch of the same 'chain', and the same applies in there. There are several shops for the same charity across the region, so it must be a company policy.

I’m a longtime charity shop fan - from back when friends would raise their eyebrows if you said you’d bought something in a charity shop! Before that it was jumble sales.
But I agree with others here that there are a fewer ‘goodies’ now. I think this has happened quite suddenly in the last couple of years - I’ve got some great stuff that I bought relatively recently. But like everything, the pendulum will swing back as all the vintage resellers come to understand that it’s an incredibly time-consuming business, and the returns are really not that good.

I’m especially disappointed at the amount/quality of the bric-a-brac. Lots of the stuff in my house is preowned, and so many lovely things give me constant pleasure. But it’s not the same now.

But I am still delighted by the bookshelves, and I have discovered some absolutely amazing books that would not have been on the tables/shelves of commercial booksellers. And if I’m prepared to wait, even the high profile award winning novels appear on the shelves.

Charity shops have disappeared from some of the market towns near us that are popular with tourists. They have been replaced by retailers who do well in these places where people have time to browse. It’s good for those towns as charity shops don’t pay business rates for the properties that they’re in. It shows that there is some competition to rent retail properties in market towns. They have been languishing so far behind for very many years and I am enjoying their revival.

We have more charity shops than you can shake a stick at.

Where do your donations go Janice after collection ?
I will add Doodlebug that our volunteers do not buy handfuls of stuff, just one item here and there I ve never seen anyone buy more than now and then. Certainly not going out with loads of stuff. It just doesn’t happen. I probably buy an item every month or two.
We do get a some shop lifting though which is incredibly annoying and frustrating

I'm not sure what is happening with some of our charity shops. Some have closed which is a puzzle as I thought they were needed more now. The other issue is the stuff they are selling, ie. Primark items that are priced at almost the same price as a similar M & S item.
I mainly go for books and puzzles but can't resist having a look at the clothes!

I’ve recently moved house and struggled to find a charity shop that would take more than a couple of bags and there’s quite a lot they don’t take. Someone told me about Anglo Doorstep Charity Collections who I’ve now used 3 times and have been very impressed with. You book a date and time on line and they collect it from you free - they take up to 20 bags. You can find them on line if you’d like to know more.

If a charity shop has a registered number on the front but doesn’t give to that charity, not listed when asked, should you report to the registered charity? Would the charity let you know if they were receiving money from the shop?

One of our best charity shops told me that people want the stuff but can't or won't pay. Shoplifting is a problem too . I wanted to donate some vintage lace but the manager said they were dropping textiles in favour of kitchenalia. More profitable she said

cc

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.

The amount raised by the charity and notified to me is then declared on my self assessment tax return as a charity donation which reduces the amount of earnings I have to pay tax on.

most charities have a CEO on 250 grand a year, they charge way too much for things given to them, if they charged less they would make more in volume, the assistants and managers think they are running Harrods and are antiques experts