Charity shops

[DRM]

In Britain, I believe that charity shops don’t pay business rates, which is why every town is full of them, and they also employ 3rd party warehouses that sort the utter rubbish from the sellable donations, I’ve been in one local to me, they sort the clothing into items that are destined to be bought by the tonne by companies that shred them for workshop rags, and stuff that can be sold in the shop, electric goods go for recycling, as safety wise they can’t be sure of it’s integrity, same with toys sorted between junk and sellable, sometimes they stumble across high value items, such as designer clothing/handbags that go to specialist shops that sell it for it’s true value.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Most of my books and cd's come from charity shops, plus the odd vinyl record when I spot something that takes my fancy. I've also got a few polos and sweatshirts that cost me a quid a throw.
As well as helping the charity and reducing waste, I see it as low risk shopping. if i buy something I decide I really don't like much, or a book that's not very readable, I've only lost 50p or a quid and I can donate it back again.
I refuse to patronise Oxfam though, and they are often overpriced anyway, or the places staffed by bossy overbearing middle class do-gooder types.

 

[Roadrat77]

I don't know how the system works in the UK but it is surprisingly hard for charity shops to compete with "normal" shops. One area not recognised is that most high street shops have a very streamlined delivery system, whereas we have to deal with what we get, so our warehousing costs are higher: our shop is 2/3 warehouse and my bicycle storage area is the size of some bicycle shops, not including the piles of bikes I've got in a field which are gradually taken to pieces for sale as scrap.

We are fortunate because we are funded to some extent to help vulnerable adults, otherwise the organisation couldn't afford occupational therapists, but still we have to operate like a business with all the challenges and risk that entails, and our manager is constantly looking for opportunities and starting new departments; in our case we are half owned by the county so the "board" is basically the 22 mayors of each town.

That people don't realise is that the manager is the one who makes sure people like me can focus on our clients to help them. Without him running about dealing with politicians, finding business opportunities and arranging leases and contracts, I couldn't do my job. We rely on him being good at what he does, so he has to be paid accordingly.

Charity shops in Britain operate on massively favourable terms. Unpaid volunteer staff, they don't pay VAT I believe and their rates are zero - there is a trend for Charity shops to spring up wherever a business closes down and consequently local high streets become dominated by them - my local high street has thirteen of them.

 

[GeekDadZoid]

Charity shops in Britain operate on massively favourable terms. Unpaid volunteer staff, they don't pay VAT I believe and their rates are zero - there is a trend for Charity shops to spring up wherever a business closes down and consequently local high streets become dominated by them - my local high street has thirteen of them.

The do get some favourable benefits true. However most of the big charities will have paid shop managers and possibly even other staff. The small animal charity I have assisted with IT Issues over the year have mostly paid staff running the shop, however most the work the do in their sanctuary is by volunteers. They also have all the legal responsibilities of an employer when it comes to H&S etc so there is a fair amount of cost.

High streets being taken over by charity shops is a complaint I often here in my local town, until there are no empty units then I think it is not a valid one, to be clear there must be at least 20% of the shops empty at the moment, the local town centre in the last 5 years has lost, Marks and Spencers, Debenhams, BHS and Sainsburys, none have been filled with shops. The good high streets I visit have a good blend of non charity and charity shops.

 

[Paulus]

In Barnet, there were 13 charity shops, even some of those have now closed down.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Charity shops in Britain operate on massively favourable terms. Unpaid volunteer staff, they don't pay VAT I believe and their rates are zero - there is a trend for Charity shops to spring up wherever a business closes down and consequently local high streets become dominated by them - my local high street has thirteen of them.

Arguably so do we, although we pay VAT and rent can be expensive, but of course we are paid to help our clients so we don't have to finance everything 100% though the till.

 

[Andy in Germany]

High streets being taken over by charity shops is a complaint I often here in my local town, until there are no empty units then I think it is not a valid one, to be clear there must be at least 20% of the shops empty at the moment,

Good point: "too many" charity shops would seem to be a symptom of a wider problem.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Most of my books and cd's come from charity shops, plus the odd vinyl record when I spot something that takes my fancy. I've also got a few polos and sweatshirts that cost me a quid a throw.
As well as helping the charity and reducing waste, I see it as low risk shopping. if i buy something I decide I really don't like much, or a book that's not very readable, I've only lost 50p or a quid and I can donate it back again.
I refuse to patronise Oxfam though, and they are often overpriced anyway, or the places staffed by bossy overbearing middle class do-gooder types.

We sell paperbacks for 0,50€ and many customers see this as a sort of rental: they'll buy five books and then bring them back and donate them a month later.

They like to check they haven't "rented" them all before so we have a comfy chair for test reading.

Also, I'm astonished how many records we sell.

 

[Reynard]

Here in Ely, we have, all within a stone's throw of each other: Cancer Research, Mind, British Heart Foundation, Oxfam, East Anglia Childrens Hospice, Age Concern, Sue Ryder and Wood Green Animal Shelters.

When I first moved out this way, there was only Oxfam and Sue Ryder, but in recent years there's been an explosion. Not only that, they've gone from being good places to pick up stuff inexpensively to being overposhed and touristy, and more than not, pricing out the people who could really benefit from keenly priced clothes and homewares.

There's also a big Emmaus between here and Cambridge, but again, they are very spendy. Heck, even the recycling centre in Witchford has really hiked their prices of late...

 

[Andy in Germany]

In Britain, I believe that charity shops don’t pay business rates, which is why every town is full of them, and they also employ 3rd party warehouses that sort the utter rubbish from the sellable donations, I’ve been in one local to me, they sort the clothing into items that are destined to be bought by the tonne by companies that shred them for workshop rags, and stuff that can be sold in the shop, electric goods go for recycling, as safety wise they can’t be sure of it’s integrity, same with toys sorted between junk and sellable, sometimes they stumble across high value items, such as designer clothing/handbags that go to specialist shops that sell it for it’s true value.

Similar here, especially the rubbish. We have an in house electrician who supervise a team of clients to certify all the electrical items.

We also sell high value items ourselves: clients are encouraged to google and find out what something is worth and they are then priced accordingly. These items do sell, which is why we need managers who make the shop inviting to wealthier people: good managers bring value.

Most charity shops here are more localised organisations; we are half owned by the county and half by Caritas, which is part of the the Catholic Church, but even that is "Caritas Freiburg", not "Caritas Germany" which probably also helps keep corruption down.

 

[DRM]

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/new...s-donated-touching-note-raises-ps3000-1817878
Then there are things that turn up like this wedding dress at the St Gemma’s Hospice shop in Garforth , Leeds

 

[presta]

This old independent department store has been a BHF shop for years, they sell furniture and domestic appliances, and it's better than most furniture and domestic appliance shops. I keep spotting furniture that I really like in there and Sue Ryder, but the problem is it's never the stuff I need.

Unfortunately I can't generally find clothes in my size in charity shops

I never bother looking for clothes, I'm in the tallest 1-2% of the population, so I wouldn't expect more than 1-2% of their stock to be my size.

 

[Petrichorwheels]

Most of my books and cd's come from charity shops, plus the odd vinyl record when I spot something that takes my fancy. I've also got a few polos and sweatshirts that cost me a quid a throw.
As well as helping the charity and reducing waste, I see it as low risk shopping. if i buy something I decide I really don't like much, or a book that's not very readable, I've only lost 50p or a quid and I can donate it back again.
I refuse to patronise Oxfam though, and they are often overpriced anyway, or the places staffed by bossy overbearing middle class do-gooder types.

interesting view on Oxfam there skipdiver.
The one in Skipton, terribly nice of course, doesn't seem to be too full of bargains.

 

[Mike Ayling]

Charity shops have a dual purpose:
To provide cheap clothing etc for those who are doingit hard and
To generate revenue to be used for the Charity's prime purpose.
In Fremantle Western Australia we found a Vinnies outlet in the tourist area which was branded as selling retro clothing at commercial rates and there was a sign on the door directing welfare seekers to visit one of the suburban branches.
I am a Vincentian in Victoria and we give our clients as well as food parcels and supermarket vouchers Vinnies store vouchers which are debit cards which they can charge their clothing purchases against .
Vinnies Victoria also has a team of Test and Tag people who visit the stores to ensure that electrical appliances are safe to use.

 

[AuroraSaab]

Several jigsaws to entertain us during lockdown. £1 or £2 each.

Jigsaws are great. I did one the other night. Pretty chuffed as it only took me 40 minutes. It said 2 to 5 years on the box.

My best charity shop find was an as new guitar for £50. Not a brand I'd heard of but when I got home it turns out they sell for £350. I said in the shop I thought they should check as it seemed underpriced but the manager was happy with the sticker price.

Our tip has a shop where they sell off donated items and I've had some good stuff from there very cheap.