Charity shop scandal......

My wife and I decided to clear out clothes we don't wear and in her case other bits and bobs for me to take to a charity shop......A well known one.....

Anyway went in and noticed they were charging £2 for books.....and other stuff wasn't cheap.......I thought the point was struggling individuals could get bargains or entertainment at these places ????.......

I reckon anybody could have bought half the stuff twice as cheap at a market....Reading about the 200,000+ salaries the guys at the top of these charities are getting.... plus all the other money wasted through incompetent practices....

It does irk those of charitable mind........

I'm giving these guys stuff so they can charge reasonable prices to those less fortunate !!.

Won't be dropping stuff of there again..........Hope they aren't a common representation............

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:I thought the point was struggling individuals could get bargains or entertainment at these places ????.......

Not really. The point is that money raised will go to charitable causes.

I'm sure many people like me give stuff to these places so money will go to good causes and less well off people can get a bargain..

Not so they can use your stuff to rip people off..

Well it's a trade off between raising money for charitable causes and providing bargains. You don't know that people shopping there are less well off though, especially compared to be beneficiaries of the money, it's not means tested.

£2 for a book isn't ripping anyone off ffs.

Scottrf wrote:Well it's a trade off between raising money for charitable causes and providing bargains. You don't know that people shopping there are less well off though, especially compared to be beneficiaries of the money, it's not means tested.

£2 for a book isn't ripping anyone off ffs.

It's an educated guess that people who shop there are less well off...

25 to 50 p in the help the aged shop nearby per book only 2 quid for atlases and the like. 2 quid is a rip off.

Yes, on the whole, people that shop in charity shops are less well off.

But the point of a charity shop, primarily, is not to provide cheap goods for the poor. It's to raise money for the charity. That much is plainly obvious.

Regarding the high salaries, some of them are too much, I agree. But if a person on a £200k salary saves their charity millions in efficiencies or improved operational practices, how is that a bad thing? Regrettably, experienced and well-qualified professionals don't give up their time for free.

Regarding the books, I assume that the charity shop in question are charging £2 per book because customers are willing to pay that much. If they don't sell, they reduce the price or they don't make money for their charity.

Bit of a nothing thread tbh.

I'm sure there is meant to be a trade off Pr4wny......

Also sure some single old lady on state benefit won't buy books from there...and I'm giving them things for free so ladies like her can !!..

It's a blanket statement saying customers are willing....

Well the blanket statement applies, I'm afraid. That's the state of the world that we live in.

Personally, when I give things to charity, I give them so that the charity can raise funds from selling my stuff. If people are willing to pay £2 for a book then great. The charity makes more.

As Scott says it's a trade-off. Charity shops are there to raise money for causes and provide good quality second-hand produce at cheap prices. £2 for a book is cheap, and I've certainly seen some charity shops selling books for £1. Not everyone shopping there is necessarily in need either, I frequent them because some things are fine to get second-hand and cheaper, and to lessen my environmental impact. Equally, when I moved from France with a washing machine, to a flat which already had one (new at that), I rand up BHF to come and pick up my old one, which they did. As such, it means I don't have to throw it out where it will only go to landfill, the charity shop might make some money from selling it that goes to charitable causes, and the person buying it gets a perfectly serviceable washing machine at a decent price. Winners all around.

Having said that, I do share Truss's unease about charity CEOs making loads of money.

I bought 3 quality thrillers for £3 at Chesterfield market last time I went.....and most of these traders probably get their stuff from these shops on the cheap.....

If it's a trade off only one side is trading..

Oxfam - "All our shop managers set their prices at their own discretion depending on location generally...."

So if you're poor and live in a thriving town you're screwed..

The aim of a charity shop isn't to BE a charity, it's to SUPPORT a charity.

Bit like saying someone doing a charity fundraiser (marathon run etc) should be subsidising people to sponsor them. Or doing favours in return for donations. Preposterous.

Pr4wn wrote:Well the blanket statement applies, I'm afraid. That's the state of the world that we live in.

Personally, when I give things to charity, I give them so that the charity can raise funds from selling my stuff. If people are willing to pay £2 for a book then great. The charity makes more.

Remember you can gift aid anything you donate to charity too. Another reason not to dump clothes in bags outside, take them in properly and do the paperwork so the shop/chairty can benefit from some extra free cash from UKG (or possibly lower sales prices quid-pro-quo).

Mad for Chelsea wrote:As Scott says it's a trade-off. Charity shops are there to raise money for causes and provide good quality second-hand produce at cheap prices. £2 for a book is cheap, and I've certainly seen some charity shops selling books for £1. Not everyone shopping there is necessarily in need either, I frequent them because some things are fine to get second-hand and cheaper, and to lessen my environmental impact. Equally, when I moved from France with a washing machine, to a flat which already had one (new at that), I rand up BHF to come and pick up my old one, which they did. As such, it means I don't have to throw it out where it will only go to landfill, the charity shop might make some money from selling it that goes to charitable causes, and the person buying it gets a perfectly serviceable washing machine at a decent price. Winners all around.

Having said that, I do share Truss's unease about charity CEOs making loads of money.

Read an article in The Sun about what some of these CEO's earn......You think wow !!........One idiot at a top charity sent a tweet out "It's terrible...I'm in Wales on an "important" business trip lol".....

I mean what kind of wally does that ??....The arrogance..

always find it strange to agree with Toppy on something

maybe the name "charity shop" is misleading, but the charity shop's primary purpose is to raise money for the charity. It does this by accepting donations and selling on the second-hand items at reasonable prices. When I donate my washing machine, if it can be sold for £50 or whatever, then great! that's £62.5 I've helped raise for that charity (in this case BHF), with gift-aid thrown in. It also has the nice side-effect that someone has picked up a perfectly serviceable and fully functioning washing machine for £50, and that someone may not have been able to splash out £300 on a new one. Great! But it's precisely that, a side-effect, not the main objective. The charity then uses the money raised to help the cause it is supporting.

I guess I'm in the minority which is okay..........It's all about opinions....Maybe I'm old fashioned..

I give so less well off people can pick up something nice at less than market price...and I imagine I'm not the only one..

But fairplay..

I don't think we are arguing on main purposes...Mad...

Keep it in context....

The corollary of the OP is that charity shops shouldn't be able to charge reasonable prices, thus raising almost no money for charitable causes - just because some people can buy a book for 50p rather than £1.

Basically becoming a food bank general store for odds and sods.

Seems more than a little perverse, to me.

All opinions welcome...even the "predictable" ones with pops in...