Is it me or has anyone else noticed charity shops no longer seem to be about charity?

Question

I used to regularly donate and shop at charity shops, however i no longer do, i thought the purpose of a charity shop was to make money for charity and sell things at a lower price to help people less well off plus the fact the stuff was given to them anyway? i went in oxfam the other day and they wanted £7 for a dorothy perkins top, they only cost that new, where do they get their prices from? would you pay full price for something second hand? i have also donated a LOT of designer baby stuff to several shops yet not actually seen any of it for sale, where did it go? my brother used to work in a charity shop and said if good stuff came in the workers would ring their mates to see if they wanted it, i now no longer donate. does anyone else feel charity shops have lost their 'charity' status?

Answer 1

I agree with you also.  I've donated lots of stuff to charity shops over the years and yet, when my husband worked as a doorman, he would regularly buy his jackets from charity shops (as they were always getting ripped) and we were shocked at the prices that the likes of Oxfam were charging.  We now donate directly to a halfway house in Manchester, the clothing goes directly to people there who need it and no one is making any profit on the side.

Answer 2

Probably the same as every other business.  They have overheads and costs so they try to make as much money as possible so they can give as much money as possible to the charity they represent.

Answer 3

our local hospice shop has an Argos catalogue to hand when deciding prices  and charge a couple of quid less than whats charged in there for similar things they have the cheek to charge £5 er for a cherokey (tesco) worn out pair of jeans no they are scared that there stuff will appear on bargain hunt and they havent made the profit BTW they do have overheads but DO not have to pay local buisness rates...Edit .. Salvation Army (care and share) realy do offer charity and you get the best prices in there

Answer 4

I think charity shops have to compete more with the big businesses - it's not an easy sector at all as there is so much competition (7500 charity shops in the UK) and more and more competition for 'cheap clothing' like Primark and the supermarkets.  on top of all that, the overheads are HUGE.

The aim of charity shops isn't to "....sell things at a lower price to help people less well off ....." but to raise money for the charity that it is run by.  

With overheads rising all the time, that's not as easy as it used to be.  Rent is extortionate, as are all the utility bills.    and also, children's stuff simply doesn't sell as well as other stuff donated - it's more likely to get moved to one shop in the area that would specialise as it takes up a lot of space that would earn the charity far more money.

Answer 5

You are confusing shops that are set up with the mission of providing low-cost items to the poor, and shops that are set up to provide funding for an organization to provide its services.

For instance, in the USA, there are stores called Good Will. A lot of people are under the mistaken impression that, because Good Will accepts donations of clothing and other items and sells them, that their mission is to provide things at low-cost to needy people. It's not -- their mission is to provide job training and employment opportunities for people who have trouble finding such because of chronic unemployment, lack of education, disabilities, etc. Their stores provide both a learning platform for people they serve, and income to fund the organization's programs.

http://www.goodwill.org/

Similarly, OxFam isn't in the business of providing low-cost items to needy people in developed countries; its stores generate income for its many programs.

If you want your clothes to go only to needy families, that's fine, but then you should look for an organization that's focused on such. And if you think a store isn't using your donations properly, go and talk to them, rather than making accusations online -- I think this is a case of your making some assumptions without a more full investigation of the facts.

Answer 6

Hi!

I'm afraid I have to agree with you on that one!!

The only charity shop that truly has good prices, plus sells brand new jewellery (that's comparible to that sold in retail outlets) for only £1 per item - is Scope.

The worse offenders in my opinion are Oxfam and the British Heart Foundation.

Sue Ryder shops aren't too bad, although they are very few and far between.

I don't blame you for no longer donating, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth, doesn't it?

Answer 7

Beat this one then...... My mum died and i took all her clothes to our local charity shop and they said they couldn't use them as they weren't good enough so i took them to cancer research instead. I wouldn't have minded if they'd been old and tatty but some of them were nearly new.

Answer 8

No, you are wrong, Im afraid.

Charity shops exist to make money for the charity they are set up to support, not to provide cheap goods for the public. It is the duty of charity trustees to maximise the income they receive from any assets of the charity - whether its a village hall letting out rooms or Oxfam selling clothes. Oxfam exists to feed the hungry, etc, not to clothe people who come in off the streets expecting a bargain. If someone was really in need of cheap clothing, there are other charities set up to support them. If workers in charity shops are stealing donated items, they should be reported - but dont taint everyone who gives their time in the sector with the same brush, please.

One final point, charity shops themselves are not charities but they would normally be trading companies set up to donate their profits to a named charity. Any business has the right to charge whatever it wants for its products - its called capitalism.

Soryy, I know this wont be a popular answer, but its an accurate one.

Answer 9

i have known people who work at "charity shops" who decide how much good things are worth and then buy them for themselves or mates. if you think that practically every country in the world has charities and shops like ours you must ask yourself if anything goes to charity at all. They give themselves the right to charge what they like and hope that people will just pay it believing that they are helping but in reality if they did serve their causes to the full we wouldn't need them because the problems would be solved, personally i think oxfam are the worst for over charging.

Answer 10

make sure that the shops you donate to are registered

charities . they will have a charity commision number. if you ask to speak to the shop manager, you could find out where the baby clothes are and what is their system for checking and selling items donated. sometimes they have to hold the donations for a time in case the person wants them back. if there are several shops for that charity then they might exchange items that they have too many of.

Answer 11

You're very right. I've seen good stuff I donate never make the rails, worthless items overpriced and also seen some decent stuff under priced. It's demoralising for sure and makes me less inclined to donate although I just moved house so have a lot to get rid of so they're doing me a favour taking it off my hands...