Charity shops - Opinions please

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merryone

Registered Shopper
Joined
Jun 24, 2008
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I thought I'd ask as there seems to be very mixed opinions. I personally love them, though I must agree some of them have a unpleasant smell about them. Post massive wardrobe cull, I've stopped simply browsing them for the sheer hell of it, as I'd usually end up buying something which of course could land me right back at square one. These days I go in for a specific purpose, like just this week I decided to hunt for a new skirt as I finally decided I'd get rid of my extremely pricey LK bennet short boucle black skirt. It's been too big for me for quite a while and because the waistline slips down it hangs too low and it's baggy around the sides it looks really frumpy. The fact I paid a lot of money for it has made me loath to part with it. When it fit, it looked fab, so I thought I'd try and find something similar in the correct size. I have now donated it. I found a perfect replacement for £3.99 ok it's Dorothy Perkins, but in mint condition, fully lined and looks just as classy as the LK Bennett. Now for me, anything I buy from a charity shop has to be brand new with tags or in absolutely tip top condition and believe me things like this are extremely easy to find. I know a couple of people who buy everything from charity shops but are far less discerning than me and sadly their clothes look second hand (or just old). Recently I was browsing with one of them after we'd met for a coffee and she bought a top that had definitely seen better days, then a skirt, that again looked a bit tatty and I noticed it had a stain on it which I pointed out, she said "no worries, I'll get that out" sorry, but eeww you've got to draw the line somewhere and removing other people's unknown stains is a step too far for me I'm afraid!
On the other hand, I know people who won't even go into a charity shop, let alone buy anything because they think they're disgusting places and the idea of wearing somebody else's cast offs gives them the collywobbles!
For me, they're a great way to spend an afternoon, you never know what you'll find, and it's not just clothing they sell, a couple of years ago I picked up a brand new aeropress for coffee that retails for £30 for a mere £2.99 and most of all you're supporting a good cause. In all if you're fussy about what you buy, then you can get some lovely clothes that nobody would ever know were second hand unless you told them. The only thing I've found is that it's extremely difficult to find knitwear in charity shops that looks new, there's usually some degree of bobbling, creasing and crispiness so I tend to avoid those.
Do you love a good charity shop, or are they a no no?
 
Very interesting post Merryone. I like a good charity shop but find they differ so much, and round where I live the clothes in them are not much to get excited about and are often something that's not my sort of thing or are old and bit tatty looking. But for books they are great and i often can pick up newishly published books for £1 or £2, and they are in very good condition. If I come across an Oxfam bookshop on my travels I get quite excited and can spend ages browsing. I know some people are "funny" about charity shops and that smell that sometimes pervades them but most of the ones I visit aren't like that at all. My sil works in one part time and gets some great bargains, leather bags, she probably gets first dibs but that's fair enough imo
 
I enjoyed reading your post, Merryone, as usual, but I would not buy from a charity shop even if the clothes were brand new. I just don't like the idea of it. I know someone who does buy often, and has picked up, among other things, several Ralph Lauren silk blouses for a song. They were in good condition, but had been worn.
 
I have a few shops within walking distance (I don't have a car now) and one is a large Barnados Distribution Centre where goods are sorted for other shops, but also has a large shop area.

I used to go in there a lot to browse (not clothes, but DVDs, gadgets, kitchen stuff and general bric-a-brac) and bought many things, but the novelty wore off and haven't been in there for at least a year. These days, I go into a shop, buy what is on my list and come out again, I've lost interest in browsing.

But perhaps I should give it another visit soon.
 
We have several charity shops in our small town centre but all of them seem badly organised and chaotic. It`s a shame because it makes browsing quite unpleasant and the shops seem to have too much stuff in too small a space. I collect powder compacts and sometimes go into the charity shops to browse for them but usually I end up walking out because the stores are too cramped and too disorganised. I`ve donated lots of things to them and some of the items brand new and unworn but trying to find decent stuff in a charity shop is like trying to find a needle in a haystack where I live.
 
It does actually make a huge difference where you go. We had a traipse around the charity shops in Hastings back in the summer, don't get me wrong there was some lovely shops, and eateries, but all the charity shops we visited that day were cramped, chaotic and smelly. Didn't stop one of my friends rummaging through the baskets, and yes, she bought a couple of rather unsavoury looking specimens. I kept my mouth shut, no choice really as I didn't really want to ingest the smell. In Henley on Thames where we go every year to a music festival, it was a completely different story, the shops were immaculate, however, the prices were crazy and I don't normally see anything worth buying anyway. They say that the more affluent the area, the better the charity shops and whilst I have found this to be true, just so long as they don't overprice the goods. I picked up a brand new Cos dress a few years ago in Arundel for just £8, I reckon had that been in the one of the Henley stores they'd have been asking £25. My nearest shopping area has a fair few charity shops and thankfully most of them are well kept and well organised, apart from the Red Cross which is just full of really "scabby items" until recently everything was priced at £1.99 each but I'd rather pay a bit more for nicer things. They've dropped the £1.99 price point but sadly the quality of the goods remains the same, incidentally that's where my friend bought her saggy top and stained skirt! Each to their own of course.
The main thing I love about the charity shops is that you never know what you're going to find and of course they're a great way to offload all your unwanted clutter!
 
On the subject of charity shops - my wife left a stack of cookery books for me to try to re home after her death. Like a lot of things after a death of a loved one, inertia sets in, and for months I couldn’t bear to do anything with them. Then, post the anniversary of her death (I can’t bring myself to say passing, not with the pain and suffering of that ‘passing’), I felt ready to approach the matter. Her sister took a fair few. Her friends on FB weren’t interested. So I then I decided to donate the rest to a charity shop. Marie Curie have recently opened a large double fronted shop in Chilwell in Nottingham, so I took probably about 30 books there. The books were good ones - latest or near latest James Martin, Rick Stein, Nigel Slater..etc..etc..I brought two very heavy and large carrier bags into the shop. Going up to the counter, I was expecting at least a thank you, and obviously for them to take the books. An unsmiling woman behind the counter essentially told me to take the books and go as we: ”Don’t have the shelf space, Duck.” Absolute garbage, as surely they could have left them around the back until more space became available. I had already explained these were my late wife’s, and as a result of them refusing them, however unfairly, I felt her memory was being disrespected, and the real truth was they were just too bone idle to take them.

Anyway, I drove the books to the local PDSA who virtually (pardon the pun) bit my hand off for them. I reckon most of the books could have gone for between three and five pounds. So times that by say, 30, and Marie Curie potentially lost out on 90 odd quid, even conservatively speaking.

The head office of Marie Curie subsequently apologised to me for the books’ refusal - saying the staff were wrong not to take the books, and a new manager was now in place after a head office team went in for ‘training issues’.

The thing about charity shops now from a buyers perspective, is that in years gone by you could go into one and come acroes some potentially great finds for no money. Particularly if you were interested in toys or records and other such collectables. I am afraid those days are long gone, and charity shops in general today, very much have a handle now on the right prices to charge for all goods. And I suppose in fairness, that is actually a good thing as those monies are going to benefit people in need.
 
I go for a nose at the books, to see if I can spot some interesting perfume, that never happens but other great some great interesting stuff.

Once a few years with a friend who called into a Christian one, her brother drove the van for I got a great suede jacket for £3, now I did pay £35 to get it cleaned but still wear it. Oh, the friend was ripping it as it was too small for her.
 
I go for a nose at the books, to see if I can spot some interesting perfume, that never happens but other great some great interesting stuff.

Once a few years with a friend who called into a Christian one, her brother drove the van for I got a great suede jacket for £3, now I did pay £35 to get it cleaned but still wear it. Oh, the friend was ripping it as it was too small for her.
A friend of mine picked up an sealed 50ml bottle of DNKY be delicious a couple of years ago for a fiver!!! Charity shops are normally a bit more savvy than that and would price it up at £15 and put it in the cabinet, but I guess they must've been having an "off day", which can happen!
 
I've just offloaded my latest charity shop donation bag including the denim trucker jacket I was talking about on the QVC thread, that and few of my Christmas/Birthday presents, thankfully the person/s who gave me the stuff don't go into charity shops so I'm safe. The bag weighed a ton btw! I donated a pair of fluffy slipper boots, they are lovely however, I tend to prefer slipper socks that fold up in a drawer when you're not wearing them, these bulky boots take up too much room and if I'm not tripping over them when I'm not wearing them, I'm tripping down the stairs to open the door to the postman, I'm clumsy enough as it is! Got shot of a very plain glass vase that looked more like a large beer glass. I've got a couple of lovely vases - had it been aesthetically beautiful I'd have made room for it, the most horrendous mauve ceramic plant pot containing a display of plastic cacti set in epoxy resin gravel. Other than that a set of shower gels which I won't use as I prefer baths and if I do shower I use my trusty soap on a rope. A trip to the charity shop is always a source of amusement. Today I saw a Baylis and Harding toiletries set complete with gift tag saying "Merry Christmas Linda, from your secret santa xxx" A boxed mug with "Grandma" written on it, a bit mean to jettison that, but it could have a sad story behind it. This time of year gives a good snapshot of what not to buy people for Christmas!
 
I've just offloaded my latest charity shop donation bag including the denim trucker jacket I was talking about on the QVC thread, that and few of my Christmas/Birthday presents, thankfully the person/s who gave me the stuff don't go into charity shops so I'm safe. The bag weighed a ton btw! I donated a pair of fluffy slipper boots, they are lovely however, I tend to prefer slipper socks that fold up in a drawer when you're not wearing them, these bulky boots take up too much room and if I'm not tripping over them when I'm not wearing them, I'm tripping down the stairs to open the door to the postman, I'm clumsy enough as it is! Got shot of a very plain glass vase that looked more like a large beer glass. I've got a couple of lovely vases - had it been aesthetically beautiful I'd have made room for it, the most horrendous mauve ceramic plant pot containing a display of plastic cacti set in epoxy resin gravel. Other than that a set of shower gels which I won't use as I prefer baths and if I do shower I use my trusty soap on a rope. A trip to the charity shop is always a source of amusement. Today I saw a Baylis and Harding toiletries set complete with gift tag saying "Merry Christmas Linda, from your secret santa xxx" A boxed mug with "Grandma" written on it, a bit mean to jettison that, but it could have a sad story behind it. This time of year gives a good snapshot of what not to buy people for Christmas!
They may be called SHOWER gels but they work equally well in the bath!

In fact, I've never seen anything called bath gels.

I've been using shower gels in the bath for as long as I can remember, as they don't leave a scum like soap does.
 
They may be called SHOWER gels but they work equally well in the bath!

In fact, I've never seen anything called bath gels.

I've been using shower gels in the bath for as long as I can remember, as they don't leave a scum like soap does.
I have tried using them in the bath before, but I've found they don't lather up enough...I guess it depends upon the make. I've got plenty of bath foam to keep me going so not too sad to see them go, and a good cause will benefit after all
 
I have tried using them in the bath before, but I've found they don't lather up enough...I guess it depends upon the make. I've got plenty of bath foam to keep me going so not too sad to see them go, and a good cause will benefit after all
I found that if you have an over bath shower, you can fill the bath with the shower hose and get MANY more bubbles than expected!
 

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