Charity shops

[Florence Fennel]

Florence it depends which one you go in - some of them (oxfam particularly) charge a lot more than a pound, (sometimes more than when the book was new ) the one I was talking about is Cry, its the best one round here

Not heard of that one, what's the cause please?

[Seahorse]

I don't think there's anything at all wrong with charity shops charging a decent price for things. Years ago they used to be where 'poor people' shopped but now there are plenty of cheap clothes and discount bookshops. I'd still far rather spend £5 or £10 on a secondhand frock from Next or per una than give the same amount to Primark or New Look for something that will fall apart after about five minutes and spotting a cookbook on my wishlist at half price (or less!) makes my day

[bubblewrap]

Florence it depends which one you go in - some of them (oxfam particularly) charge a lot more than a pound, (sometimes more than when the book was new ) the one I was talking about is Cry, its the best one round here

Bought a book from Help the aged last year for £3. looked on line cheapest on offer.................£75.

I did not realise it was worth? that much....................It was about coal mining in Leicestershire.

[chris]

I've never thought to shop in a charity shop, but am always dropping bags of clothes/unwanted things off there. Next time I'll have to have a look at the books/gardening stuff if there is any!

[jojo2910]

We drop stuff off when we have a clear out and I like shopping there too. I don't think I've had quite the bargains other people have had. I bought a decanter for £3 which is really lovely far nicer than the full priced things I saw. I did get lots of book bargains at the summer fairs, over the summer there is at least one a week round here.

[di]

They tend to be the only shops I really go in when in town.
s for the prices...there are a few that seem to charge more but in the past I've known people that trawled charity shops for 'bargains' coming away with stuff that was worth far more and then selling on at a huge profit.
I think most now have people either working in them that can spot the pricey stuff or get specialists in to spot the antiques and price them accordingly.
Also,the majority of them now steam clean all the clothes before putting them out...they're not the smelly old tat filled shops they were a few years ago...and like Seahorse says...rather spend £5-£10 on a posh Next frock that will last,knowing the money goes to charity as opposed to buying new one from Primark.

[Snadger]

Not heard of that one, what's the cause please?

I used to dabble selling books on eBay and I'm not the only one that does it.
Oxfam have book specialists pricing the books and the one in Newcastle only sells books..........its like walking into a library when you enter.

If I could make a living by buying books at charity shops and selling them on eBay for a good profit, Oxfam are basically cutting out the middle man (me) and making a good profit for charity.

They are to be applauded for it but I always gave them a miss when buying books to sell.

I always got my best bargains at the PDSA!

[Snadger]

............................ I've known people that trawled charity shops for 'bargains' coming away with stuff that was worth far more and then selling on at a huge profit...................

A friend of mine and his wife go around the bargain shops and boot sales each weekend looking for 'named' gear to sell on eBay. They do quite well from it.

My best buy was two Barbour jackets for 8 quid each which sold for 60 quid each on 'that auction site'!

[bubblewrap]

One problem many second hand book shops have closed since charity shops came into being we used to have two in Loughborough both now closed.
Although Help the aged(Loughborough) only sells books.

[Two_Sheds]

they used to be where 'poor people' shopped

Now they're where the bright people shop I am always asked (in the staffroom anyway) where I bought that? Oxfam, says I (M&S give their brand new, unsold stuff to Oxfam, as do many good RTW shops)

They tend to be the only shops I really go in

Same here. Why pay £45 for something when you could get it 6 months later for £3?

second hand book shops have closed since charity shops came into being

We have a massive 2nd hand bookshop in our town - he's currently selling all books for 90p each. I can't see how he makes a profit?

[wollyanna]

Charity Shops can be life savers.Some years ago we went south to go to a cousins sons wedding. My husband insisted my mother and I got ready first as it wouldn't take him long.....He went to change and suddenly realised he had forgotten the trousers of his suit. My mother suggested trying the charity shops in town. We finished up by getting a very nice Marks and Sparks three piece suit for 5 pounds(my lap top has US signs )at Help the Aged they certainly did although we were younger then. My cousin actually commented on what a nice suit my husband was wearing....we didn't spoil the illusion

[HeyWayne]

My mum runs one of these shops; Keech Hospice Care | Home | Shop on the high street so we are always donating stuff and taking stuff round to my mum and dad's house on other people's behalf.

When you hear some of the rubbish that people "donate" it makes you wonder. Mum has had bags of rubbish donated - quite literally.

Add to the fact that you have a lot of these so called "discount retailers" and mum sometimes struggles to compete on certain lines.

She also has 'regulars' who come in looking for certain items, collectors quite a few of them.

We've had loads of items for Bean and donated back about the same amount. I've rarely bought anything for myself - clothes-wise especially. There are few folk of my stature after all.

All of you who do shop there, well done - keep up the good work.

[solway cropper]

As someone who used to run a successful secondhand bookshop for 6 years I have very mixed feelings about charity shops, especially Oxfam which often prices its books higher than a bookshop! and they get them for nothing. Having said that we got a lot of our stock from charity shops, especially the small local ones who know nothing about book values. But it's not all bad. I get things like demijohns and kilner jars in charity shops for a fraction of the new price. Another one had a stack of those circular pub trays for 50p each and they are fantastic for setting large pots in as you can put an inch or so of water in them and let the toms take it up as they need it.

see what I've been doing
the recycled gardener

[Dottie]

I drop stuff off all the time, as I'm not interested in using all the charity bags that come through the door, as only a small % goes to the actual charity. When I was putting a load of my gym equipment onto Freecycle, I got the local Debra to come and collect a cross trainer, exercise bike and a range of other stuff I felt they could make some good money on. But I've never stopped and actually looked around for anything to buy.

[sharon 1]

I donate to charity shops all the time but I always have a good look at their stock of books and dvds Ive never paid more than £1.25 for a book and never more than 75p for a dvd and Ive come out with some great finds. ! book in particular was priced at £50 on amazon and I paid 90p for it. I now have over 200 gardening books and only ever brought 2 of them as new.