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Author Topic: Charity shops?  (Read 2463 times)

Martin (Admin)

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Charity shops?
« on: February 05, 2012, 07:53:23 pm »


What are peoples experiences of high street charity shops?

 I've taken stuff in to them, from time to time and seen some of my stuff in the window but seemingly priced ridiculously low,
  is there a reason for that?

 Also, I hear 'urban tails' of some of the "good stuff" being nabbed by the staff for a pittance and ending up in their home or
  on ebay at high percentage personal profits.....


    ... I suppose I'm looking for some reassurances .... please?

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Patrick Henry

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Re: Charity shops?
« Reply #1 on: February 05, 2012, 08:02:38 pm »

They infest our village High Street, every other shop is a charity shop. They come...they go. Sometimes they last for a month or more, sometimes they last a few days.

What I'd like to know is, what happens to the stuff you take in on Monday and the shop's gone by Wednesday...who has it? Do they drop it off into the next shop down the street? Or does someone make money out of it?

I guess the latter...but I'd like to think not.



Rich
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barriew

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Re: Charity shops?
« Reply #2 on: February 05, 2012, 08:13:37 pm »

I take our stuff to the British Heart Foundation because they have feedback system which tells me everymonth how much they have made from our donations. This doesn't mean that everything gets sold, or the price they sell my 'trasures' for. At least it is some feedback. They are also able to claim gift aid tax on the donations.

Barrie
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john s 2

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Re: Charity shops?
« Reply #3 on: February 05, 2012, 08:14:05 pm »

Sadly like many things things in Britain charity shops varie a lot. I know for a fact that some staff will cherry pick and that your donation may go home in their bag. Very little is now thrown away. Clothing is sold for recycling, if unsuitable for resale. Its mainly plastic that's thrown. These shops are sadly becoming too commercial with paid managers, sorting depots Etc. Paying no rates means difficult competition for nearby shops who find charity shops selling new goods. I've found goods pricing varies a lot, so possibly your kind donations are not valued correctly. I support local animal charity shops and steer clear of the big brand ones. If as I have could seen the headquarters of some big charities you would question where your money goes. John.
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Welsh Wizard

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Re: Charity shops?
« Reply #4 on: February 05, 2012, 08:49:12 pm »

I took all my Fathers old clothes down to my local Charity shop in Bangor it was Help the aged around 6mnths later I had a letter off them thanking me for the donation and they had managed to raise over £1500 from the sale of his stuff.I must admit it came like a bolt out of the blue but so nice to hear.
I bought  a model from a charity shop in Chester a couple of years ago for £25 and I told the staff there and then NO WAY was I paying that much and tried to give them £50 but I was told sorry we cant accept that much as it has allready been priced up.I ended up donating the rest to them.I personally would have felt guilty as it was priced to cheap
.
A lot of these charity shops are pricing everything far to low in my opinion,yes it is s/h but as long as it goes to charity I don't mind paying the going rate

Dave
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Rottweiler

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Re: Charity shops?
« Reply #5 on: February 05, 2012, 09:17:26 pm »

     A few years back, I remember an acquaintance had a  shop selling retro clothes and bygones. every day the manageress of a certain charity shop, her sister,brought something  in which had been donated to the charity in good faith. Money changed hands, but did it get put in the charity takings? I think not. I only support one charity,and I think you may be able to work that out, but they do not sell second hand goodies. You may not realise, but although most of the charity shop staff are willing volunteers, but the Manager(ess) of the shop is paid?
The  only thing I can say is at least they are filling what would be an empty, usually eyesore closed shop.
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john s 2

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Re: Charity shops?
« Reply #6 on: February 05, 2012, 10:10:45 pm »

Yes they are but they do not pay rates and if selling new items they can create more empty shops. John.
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catengineman

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Re: Charity shops?
« Reply #7 on: February 05, 2012, 11:42:57 pm »

The wife (drags) me into several of these shops in the area and all I hear from her is that the prices are going out of the roof. I look through the CD and DVD racks and to find a CD album that I like then to find they are charging £3.00 is a little bit on the dear side.
I give to the RNLI which I have no problem with but to listen to the staff in some of these charity shops you would really think that it is a very big business.
While there is a need to get monies for their cause I do think that they are trying a little too much. IMO
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Capt Podge

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Re: Charity shops?
« Reply #8 on: February 06, 2012, 04:12:49 pm »

On visits to charity shops I head straight for the toys section - this can be a good source for "Crew Figures"  O0

Some of the figures go for between 10p and 50p. Some of these figures sell in other retail outlets for somewhere in the region of £16 - £20 each   :o

Regards,

Ray.
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Big Ada

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Re: Charity shops?
« Reply #9 on: February 06, 2012, 06:39:56 pm »

And a lot of Charity shops are staffed by naughty boys and girls who have been sent by the courts to do community service, so I understand.
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joppyuk

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Re: Charity shops?
« Reply #10 on: February 08, 2012, 07:05:29 pm »

As a charity shop worker I have to point out the other side of the coin.
a) itI  is a misconception that all charity shops are rates free. This depends on the local authority, and while some allow a small discount the councils are now strapped for cash as well.
b) items donated are all sorted and saleable items offered through the shop. In our case staff take their chances from the shop floor. Volunteers pay full sale price, or, if they want something we've put aside for recycle, they have to pay more than the recycle value. For example, if I wanted a book from the recycle pile I'd pay 10p where the recycle company pays us 5p.
c) We don't all know the value of everything. If we come across something (that might be) relatively valuable we will get advice (local jewellers aften value for no charge), put it out for auction, or, if we think we'll raise more money, offer it to a local dealer (I recently offered a local book dealer a couple of 1890's encyclopedias that I knew wouldn't sell and could end up recycled, he offered £20. Result for our charity
d) Our prices are low. Even so we still get complaints of charging too much as "it all comes free, and you're just greedy". Occasionally we get the 'good egg' who offers us more - WE never refuse! You can still get the buyer who sells on through e-bay or boot sale and delights in telling us so, but we have got the price we wanted and good luck to them.
e)We recycle clothes,plastic toys,soft toys,metal,china,books,stamps,mobile phones,spectacles,books,CDs,DVDs, (strangely enough Video tapes are not recycleable)
NB - I work for the local hospice shops, and it c osts £13 per minute to run, more than half of this has to be found by the fundraisers.
I could go on, but must get off my hobby horse and calm down.
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Martin (Admin)

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Re: Charity shops?
« Reply #11 on: February 08, 2012, 07:54:15 pm »

Thanks for that Jobby, good to hear the other side.

Next time I donates stuff, I'll put on a suggested retail price to give them an idea of value.   :-))

 
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john s 2

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Re: Charity shops?
« Reply #12 on: February 08, 2012, 08:20:21 pm »

Jobby. It is nice to hear that your shop is well run. Sadly some people are hard to deal with. It might be worth asking what wages the staff in your Hospice get. The hard working volenteers in a chain of charity shops are shocked when i tell them what the management earn of course this is kept quiet. Im sure your charity is better run. Its people like you that are the salt of the earth. John.   
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nhp651

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Re: Charity shops?
« Reply #13 on: February 08, 2012, 08:33:08 pm »

My kids think Oxfam and British heart foundation clothes are designer labelled stuff.......why pay Next prices when you can get them almost new the next season in Barnardo's........we as a third world country need them now more than ever. {:-{ {:-{ {:-{ {:-{
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Welsh Wizard

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Re: Charity shops?
« Reply #14 on: February 08, 2012, 08:45:49 pm »

Martin that is a dammed good idea suggesting a selling price especially if it is a specialised article ....eg a model boat


Dave
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