Charity shops

Don't know the answer to this one. My nearby charity shop is also adopting a "no new donations" policy and then I go and read in the local rag that charity shops are crying out for donations!

Well, which is it then?

Maybe it's because they are inundated with donations, and people are just not buying in sufficient quantities?

There must be a reason.

I did notice that our local charity shop had the same things displayed in the windows each time I passed over some weeks.

I know inflation has fallen to its lowest level for (3?) years, but we are facing higher energy bills, prices are still high in supermarkets, and we don't yet know what our council tax bills will be, so it could be that people are just not spending for these reasons, and the stock isn't moving?

I now have lots of stuff on Vinted but I really wanted a charity to benefit.

Nanny27 you could send the money you raise on Vinted to your favourite charity, so they would still benefit 🙂

They won’t take books here anymore but they still accept good clothes. If you like books you can get brand new beautiful ones, the choice is yours !

There IS a reason

Look folks there is only so much space in a shop We get around 120 to 200 big boxes or black bin bags full a day of donations and it doesn’t happen often but sometimes we have to temporarily stop donations for a few hours or a day to try and catch up
We work flat out but sorting isn’t the only part of a charity shop work We sort, we steam, we hang, we price, we tidy, we serve, we have to keep our wits about us and our eyes open to stop the theiving, we have to climb in the window to get goods or stop to answer questions or be pleasant to the customers and all that for love of the charity or love of being busy and useful.

There is usual between 3 and 6 volunteers on duty in our shop it only takes one to be off sick or at an appointment to make a difference

The shop area I work in has it own small sorting room off from the main sorting one and every day I will clear an area to work in and by the end of my shift the next day I will practically have to climb over the back bags to get into my room I regularly work in an area of a few feet surrounded by full black bags overflowing
It’s nearly Christmas everyone is clearing out to make room for all the new stuff they will buy
By the way we sell books, DvD s and some records but we no longer sell Videos
We are incredibly busy and sell enormous amounts of ‘stuff’ each day but we also get some dumpers people who bring a bagful or a boxful of total crxx dirty or broken ..,but most customers are lovely and we are often amazed at what high priced (designer) goods people just throw away including Rolex etc We do also sell high end goods on eBay

Please don’t grumble come and volunteer and help us we need your help not your condemnation

Rolex watches- wow. I always check out the op shops when we are travelling because the ones in the bush are so very interesting. I don’t buy that much, but I love looking and seeing unusual farming implements etc. I send heaps of clothes and towels etc to our local ones, no point in hoarding stuff at my age !

My favourite charity shop turns nothing away. It's run by a woman whose teenage daughter died of cancer and they raise thousands of pounds which is donated to families dealing with childhood cancer. I so admire her and her team. They rent a small village hall with a basement so they have masses of storage space. Adult clothes are on sale at £2 or £3 for three weeks after which they are moved to a 50p rail. Books are all 10p. They also have a café with hot food and gorgeous cakes.

It’s nearly Christmas everyone is clearing out to make room for the new stuff they will buy

Or be given.

BlueBelle is spot on, obviously first hand knowledge with working there.

It says it all though. And after Christmas, folk will be bringing in unwanted presents, Christmas jigsaws, toys, toiletries, clothes, books, …..just more stuff that shouldn’t have been bought in the first place.

All so pointless.

Thankyou Calandergirl I egularly literally climb over a mountain of bags to get in my small sorting room and I have to move and clear them to see the fire door.

We thank our donors profusely but please don’t judge us! nothing is done without a real necessary reason
Come and help us instead

I’m in the same position as BlueBelle Climbing over sacks to get to something. A health and safety office would have a touch of the vapours 😱
Lots of charity near us are now doing car boots with sales. They have tubs of clothes priced at 20p.
We have 2 regular customers who buy up a lot of clothes to send to Iran and Nigeria.
I don’t know what’s happening with the price of rag in other areas but here the price has dropped significantly.
Will the time come when it’s no longer profitable to run these companies, I think it will.
As it stands now there isn’t an answer because we are all consumers
As I’ve mentioned before I deliver free clothes and toys to a women’s refuge and a drop in for asylum seekers. Both these centres have rejected our donations for some time now because they are overwhelmed.
Then we have the joke It’s costing us money to dump donations. The council don’t give us those skips, we pay for them.

I have all my charity bags collected by the British Heart Foundation, becausecI cannot carry them.
There is a number to call on their website.
However, I phone my local shop and they organise a pick up.

I am always informed of how much has been raised, using Gift Aid.
It is a charity close to my heart, ( pardon the pun), because they are funding research into an unusual heart condition I have.
I was fortunate to be treated by the Professor, who's research was being funded by them.

We all need to buy more things from Charity shops. It is the best form of recycling.

I divide mine between charities and have had no issues. I am the problem as i was buying too much. Had a massive clear out and only have things I wear and like, I never buy first time I see something, I now have considered purchases as the clothes mountain is ridiculous. Next step ornaments and framed pictures I've had up forty years. Plus my copper collection. My son said he's frightened to sit down in case its him next.

Petra I m so glad to read someone who understands what I was saying Unless you see it you would never believe it and people would think I was exaggerating
Our rags now get pennies it’s gone down month on month

We do pass a lot of stuff on to others, another charity shop that gets less, warm coats etc for a homeless charity, school uniforms to a uniform bank, and books to a free book service nearby, sleeping bags and duvets to Calais but it’s a drop in the black bag ocean and needs volunteers time and goodwill to follow up

Please people do not criticise if we have to stop donations temporarily while we try and catch up a bit.

I recently found the emotional wherewithal to clear out my late husband’s wardrobes. He had some very good clothes. I tend to favour one of the hospice shops but there are a number of charity shops at the local shopping mall and they are all happy to take donations at the moment.

BlueBelle
I wish I had taken pictures last Thursday. That was a really bad day 😱 you know what I’m saying. 😉

When I felt ready to do so I gave my husbands clothing seasonally to charity shops. His coats I gave autumn time and his shorts and many T-shirts were given late spring.

I am in awe of people who work in Charity shops. I ran the 2nd had uniform shop at my children's school and we got some awful 'bags'.

We donate to Headway quite regularly (they were brilliant with DS1) and we have only been turned away once.

*hand

Thanks for all your replies. Bluebelle I certainly wasn't judging the good folk like you who work on charity shops. I just feel a little sad that my good intentions came to nothing. I like the idea of selling on Vinted and donating any money I raise.

There is a link on the Oxfam website which enables you to order a bag from them for free. You can then fill it with up to 10kg of items (any sort), take it to your nearest DPD collection point (there are lots) and it will be taken to Oxfam for free.
Also clothes in any condition can be dropped off in Salvation Army collection bins - they have an amazing hi-tech depot which can sort them into different categories and distribute as appropriate. These are not my favourite charities but useful if you have stuff to get rid of and are unable to take it elsewhere

Calendargirl

^It’s nearly Christmas everyone is clearing out to make room for the new stuff they will buy^

Or be given.

BlueBelle is spot on, obviously first hand knowledge with working there.

It says it all though. And after Christmas, folk will be bringing in unwanted presents, Christmas jigsaws, toys, toiletries, clothes, books, …..just more stuff that shouldn’t have been bought in the first place.

All so pointless.

This is true. I volunteered in a charity shop for 15 years. Every year just after Xmas we received all the unwanted Xmas gifts - slippers, nighties, books,DVDs, perfumes, diaries and calendars, ornaments etc.

One year a woman came in with a big laundry bag full of wrapped Xmas gifts to donate. I asked her why she didn’t unwrap them and she said every year she gets “rubbish” that she doesn’t want or need and she just can’t be bothered. Takes all sorts I guess.

I frequently donate to:

anglodoorstepcollections.co.uk/

They collect from your address and they support a few charities from which you can choose.

We also have volunteers who collect for the homeless in our area.

The type of things they ask for, at this time of year, are warm jackets and coats, jeans, joggers, socks, trainers, hats, gloves, scarves, toiletries, chocolate.

On our community page, often see pictures of van loads of stuff being sent out.