Are charity shops getting expensive

[Big Al]

If Big Al is happy with £4 Asda jeans and doesn't want to trade up a brand for a bit more brass in the charity shop, well there are obviously plenty more like him. That's no insult to you Big Al but you are a lovely example of what I'm trying to point out (don't leave the area in a huff as you post some of my favourite reads one way and another ).

Don't worry Flo, i'll not be departing just yet.... I can't play devils advocate on many sites as they ban me for being politically UNcorrect.

For me it's not about being happy with £4 jeans or the cost v quality argument. I honestly believe that if you buy cheap you buy twice and I'd love to buy 501 red tabs etc but in my case it is down to available money. A lot of people are the same as me in that they have very tight cash flow but they in general are too proud to own up to that where as I am not.

I wear my clothes till they can't be worn anymore and in essence i have a pair of garden jeans, a pair of "decent " jeans and a pair of dress trousers. In the past I was down to one pair of black combat trousers for everything. For shoes I have a pair of steel toe boots and a pair of dress shoes. Likewise for shirts and coats etc and that's it.

At £4 I was able to buy two pairs of jeans or 1 pair of better jeans second hand from a charity shop. If the £8 pair from the charity shop is in the wash I'm stuck in the house until they dry.

I broke my glasses frame yesterday, Went to the opticians and they couldn't fix them. I booked an eyetest for next week and even for the cheapest glasses, frame and test it was going to be £112. That's more than a months shopping budget for 3 of us and it would take at least 8 weeks to try and save that up so I cancelled the apt and went home. got the araldite out and the frame was too thin to glue so I glued the top frame to the lens then the lens to the bottom frame..... sorted. I've not got until May for the next apt for my eyes to save up the cost of the new glasses.

These are but two examples of day to day living when on the breadline and this government gives several billion pounds to India in foreign aid to build shit houses in the slums when India is a nuclear power and also spends over £50 billion per annum on space flight and exploration....

And the poor old age pensioners get the winter fuel payments regardless of wealth when disabled, non OAP people often need heat get nothing.
Now people don't believe me when I say these things because they think that in todays society in the worlds 4th richest country people are not as destitute as me. I'm not bothered because I'm generally happy but to get back on topic, if the charity shops sold good quality jeans for £4 then I'd buy them from the charity shop and give them my money but until then Asda will get my £4 for new jeans.

Again i'm not upset at your comments flo, I used to go by the handle old rhinohide because i was thick skinned and incredibly horny but that's another story.........

[Graye]

Sorry to wander off topic but in relation to this comment (shows off her new-found ability with the quotes bit)...

These are but two examples of day to day living when on the breadline and this government gives several billion pounds to India in foreign aid to build shit houses in the slums when India is a nuclear power and also spends over £50 billion per annum on space flight and exploration...

...and not wishing to admit to reading the DM, did you happen to see the piece this week on the suicide bomber attacking the aid food queue in Pakistan? Much as I feel desperately sorry for the victims I was amazed to see two men waiting for news of an injured relative who had been in the queue. They were beautifully dressed, covered in gold jewellery and both using very up to date looking mobile phones. Why are these people receiving aid when we have people of our own who would love to be as "poor" as these two?

[prison break fan]

Really enjoying this topic but like Graye need to wander off as I need her to share her new found skill with the quote!! pbf.

[scrap]

Really enjoying this topic but like Graye need to wander off as I need her to share her new found skill with the quote!! pbf.

Click the ''quote'' tab in the right upper corner of the post,this will open the Reply menu with the quote already neatly in place.Do this instead of clicking on PostReply.
You can trim down the quote to pick out the relevant bits,as long as you don't mess with the stuff between the brackets.
Give it a go...

[123sologne]

This is a very interesting thread indeed.
I read all the comments, and I understood that the complaint on prices is not simply about prices here and then but the link to the prices of these particular items new. So you can find the supermarkets brand in the charity shops too, but the charity shops seam to price these items like they were from the High Street stores, while they are way cheaper to start with. Maybe it would make more sense if they price them based on a percentage. so your Txco jeans would be let say £1 instead of £4 new and your Nxt would be £4 instead of £20 new...
I have no problem buying a MnS top for £3 to £4 because I know it is way more expensive, but I would have a very big issue buying a used pair of jeans from the charity shop at the same price than in the supermarket where it is sold new. I think I bought some jeans from Sxxxbury at £2 once and I was okay with that because it is cheaper than the new ones in the Sxxxbury (and they fitted me like a glove!).
As for designer goods, well there are some brands which are way better than others full stop, I am not thinking fashion here but in sports gear, especially for walking/hiking, if I found some big brands like North Face I would have a good look at the price even if it was still more expensive than buying the "same" item in a supermarket or even in a cheap sport's shop, because I know the quality is top notch for that brand and their prices are very high indeed....
But hey if I have £10 in my pocket I won't spend £20. It also all comes down to that too.

[Flo]

Caroline - that's exactly what I do in the charity shops, I look for the better brands and see if I like the price for them. Sounds as if there are two of us who treat the charity shops the same way - for buying good stuff a little more cheaply than if we went into the original shops.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Much as I feel desperately sorry for the victims I was amazed to see two men waiting for news of an injured relative who had been in the queue. They were beautifully dressed, covered in gold jewellery and both using very up to date looking mobile phones. Why are these people receiving aid when we have people of our own who would love to be as "poor" as these two?

It is, of course not, impossible that the DM selected this picture over others to convey a particular impression to their readers.

While I agree that the priorities of some Western governments with respect to the interests of their electorate can seem a little, well, odd, I don't think many people would wish hunger and disease on those living in poverty just because some of their fellow countrymen drive flashy cars or because their own leaders make poor choices about what to do with limited resources.

(I meant to add...) it is highly regretable that some charities seem to have lost their way in the effort to maximise revenue. Charity was once about being a volunteer. Perhaps it was reasonable to expect the reimbusrement of out-of-pocket expenses, but the way that working for a charity seems now to be a well-paid career choice doesn't sit easily in my view. I'll always do my best to use charity shops but, like Big Al, I can't afford to be stupid with money when it comes to "need" rather than "want" purchases.

[Susie]

(I meant to add...) it is highly regretable that some charities seem to have lost their way in the effort to maximise revenue. Charity was once about being a volunteer. Perhaps it was reasonable to expect the reimbusrement of out-of-pocket expenses, but the way that working for a charity seems now to be a well-paid career choice doesn't sit easily in my view.

I disagree with this (respectfully!). I used to work in the voluntary sector (and I've volunteered for various organisations), and while I absolutely agree that there are many reasons why working for a charity shouldn't necessarily be an unusually well-paid career, I do think it should pay a living wage. There are some things it's flat-out impossible to deliver through volunteers. Also you have to be able to afford to volunteer so if you don't make it possible to earn a living doing it you exclude a whole swathe of society from participating.

It would be interesting to look at Oxfam (or whoever's) accounts and see how much money they actually make from their shops. I think at one point they actually only just broke even with retail income but I might be wrong .

[oldjerry]

I spose thats the same old prob resurfacing again,pragmatism vs. gut-feeling.Fraid my gut-feelings got the upper hand,but then I've always thought that charity was the antithesis of sharing. Muddy waters here,but genuinely thought-provoking ,thanks .

[matowakan]

I too visit a lot of charity shops and I too object to the rising prices in many of them. But more than that I object to the sale of all the new items in some.
I learnt an interesting fact about charitable trust shops a while back, they only have to give something like 18% of takings to the actual charity or cause they support and can do what they like with the rest.!!
Personally I am using bootsales and jumble sales more and more now which is where the real bargains are.

[old tree man]

I've been following this with great interest but at the end of the day the main reason for the use of charity shops, bootsales and jumbles is that i am trying to save money !!! and if i can buy something cheaper new i will, thats just common sence ....i'snt it .... we have had our money cut in line with vat rise and everything else that has gone up, so i buy the cheapest because thats all that we can affofd, do'nt get me wrong because we are as self sufficient as possible we live pretty well but i'm not going to waste money because it has a fancy name on the label !!!!.......... i know alot of people have issues with beliefs and various other things and that is just fine, but i am surviving and i'm sorry to say when it comes to that my family comes first.....................

[Graye]

I just had to resurrect this thread. Did anyone else read the news last week about the Salvation Army's involvement with an "entrepreneur" earning literally millions from donations? I know SA make substantial sums of money too but I do wonder whether the donees really intend for their thoughtful donations to be dealt with in this way?

No doubt lots of people have noticed the huge Salvation Army Trading Co boxes springing up with other recycling boxes. They are a deep green colour and loom over the other boxes. Apparently these are placed and administered by a separate company who collect & sort all the donations and send everything off to Eastern European countries in bales where it is sold. From the net profit the company makes a donation (I think I read almost 60% after the total costs of administration etc - which is an enormous way down from 60% of sale proceeds) leaving the director of the company living in a mansion and on a six figure salary. I had wondered why there were so many of these boxes around and yet I have seen so few Salvation Army charity shops. I've pondered how I feel about this and yes SA make lots of money this way to do their charity work and so on. But I would still prefer to think anything I put in that box (which I now studiously avoid and donate to the local hospice shop instead) were offered for sale in the UK to people who need to buy in charity shops.

I HAD been giving lots of our stuff to the local pet veterinary treatment shop. I then discovered that your pet can only be treated free or at reduced rates if you are receiving means-tested benefits. It made me wonder about all the people who have pets, don't qualify for such benefits but really can't afford vet's fees if there was an emergency. It seems a very narrow ruling. All made worse by an acqaintance of OH's who knows (and claims) every benefit to be claimed, works more or less full-time on the black economy and scoffed at me when I told him how much the rabies jabs were for our two cats. His cat and dog have the best of treatment and it apparently costs him nothing.

[the.fee.fairy]

I have a great charity shop near me in the UK. it's for a local hospice (I think...). It's a teeny tiny shop and it is literally bursting at the sides with stuff! It's staffed by a couple of elderly ladies who make up the prices on the spot. They always price really low, which inevitably leads to me spending three times what i was going to.

Last time i went i wanted a fitted sheet to put on my bed as a mattress protector. I was taking it back to China and not planning to bring it back to the UK, so i wanted a cheap one. I went in, asked the lady on the counter where they were, she went bumbling off into the back somewhere and came out with a mattress protector in a new condition. She looked at it and said '£1.25?' i agreed, and then, because i thought it was going to cost more, i had a look at the books and picked up 3 (50p each for paperbacks, £1 for hardbacks), a couple of ornaments and a handbag! £7 odd later and i had loads of stuff.

They get more sales from people because they are cheap. When you go in expecting to spend £5 on a sheet, and then it's only £1.25, you end up browsing for other stuff too.

[Milims]

I bought a lovely outfit from the charity shop last week - off the reduced to clear rail for £1! It's an amusing concept!

[Susie]

We do have a salvation army charity shop here, and it's actually one of our only charity shops that I would say is reasonably priced. It's always busy. I have no problem with the SA using donations to make a profit by selling abroad per se: clearly they've worked out this is the best way of maximising their income (and if they don't do that, they can't fulfill their charitable objectives). I think it should be made absolutely crystal clear though to people who are donating through boxes that this is what is happening, so they can choose to donate direct to the shop (or elsewhere) instead; and I think it's completely crap that someone has a mansion out of it. I have no idea why they couldn't source a company to work with who operate ethically and with minimum profit/ administrative/ management margins.

I know this is controversial to say and I apologise to any of you reading this who work for charities (because obviously this doesn't apply to all of them). However my experience is that there is a huge, unmanageable amount of pressure on charities to act like businesses (because if you can't rely on traditional sources of funding you have to be entrepreneurial) and because it's so antithetical to the whole charity culture they end up doing it badly and cack-handedly, and being seduced by chancers like the mansion man. Obviously having guaranteed year-on-year funding brings its own issues as well though. It is all very difficult and I shall slink away with my personal obsessions and stop boring you nice people ;-).