Charity shops getting stupid with prices

[daz]

£4.65 million for the CEO and 386 people with salaries greater than 60k (over £22 million) in one charity

But not high for a CEO right?

Spoiler: big image

Bear in mind that whilst a large number of those organisations are "charities" in the legal sense, they are not all charities in the sense that they raise money from high street charity shops or other similar fund raising activities.

The other point is that the large bona fide charities that are on the list, are massive organisations and running them is not dissimilar to managing a similar sized business in the private sector. Without appropriate sized pay for the CEOs and other high level roles, they wouldn't attract the characters required to run such large organisations. The charity sector is pretty well regulated in the UK and every charity over a certain size has to report on the % of funds spent on admin vs spent on the actual cause they are raising for.

 

[a1ex2001]

I really don’t see the problem with charity shops selling things at eBay prices, their entire purpose is to raise as much money as possible for the associated charity not to give the scalpers a bargain!

 

[Retro6]

I really don’t see the problem with charity shops selling things at eBay prices, their entire purpose is to raise as much money as possible for the associated charity not to give the scalpers a bargain!

They wont get ebay prices in there shops tho because ebay will have more people seeing the stuff for sale where as a charity shop will have a few locals popping in and out. A lot of things require a specialized market to make the money they want.

A lot of the stuff charity shops sell is literally junk with high price tags that has no value regardless either way.

 

[a1ex2001]

They wont get ebay prices in there shops tho because ebay will have more people seeing the stuff for sale where as a charity shop will have a few locals popping in and out. A lot of things require a specialized market to make the money they want.

A lot of the stuff charity shops sell is literally junk with high price tags that has no value regardless either way.

They will get close to eBay prices, they demonstrably do! Gone are the days of a box full of vintage cameras going for 50p each and good quality musical instruments fetching a tenner, rightly so. Most charity shops have plenty of junk mixed in with good stuff all of which will be priced in such a way that it sells these shops turn over vast amounts of items at low prices it is how they have always worked they have just become more price savy over the years. Lots have dedicated eBay stores where they sell the good stuff to maximise income.

 

[Retro6]

They will get close to eBay prices, they demonstrably do! Gone are the days of a box full of vintage cameras going for 50p each and good quality musical instruments fetching a tenner, rightly so. Most charity shops have plenty of junk mixed in with good stuff all of which will be priced in such a way that it sells these shops turn over vast amounts of items at low prices it is how they have always worked they have just become more price savy over the years. Lots have dedicated eBay stores where they sell the good stuff to maximise income.

Back stateside I was amazed when I saw old vintage floor wooden TV's for 5 bucks. Old computers, Pentium Pro's II III going for 10 bucks and a whole lot of other things that would be considered high value over here.

 

[gpuerrilla]

They used to be charities, now they’re businesses

This.

I used to pop in and grab any books that were interesting and on rare moments some random chance items were also bought. No problem. However they do seem to jack up prices and have too seen things for same or more than brand new retailers were selling (incl. warranty etc.), madness.

 

[CircleFaust]

i used to look round them a lot when i bought CDs. would have picked up the odd DVD too, but now the tables have turned and i'm looking to get rid of my DVD collection! have ripped them all so they just take up space now.
also i don't buy CDs any more. just don't have the space to amass media anymore.
last thing i bought in a charity shop was a book for £3 or something, large hardback. thankfully those still seem cheap.
when charities are putting prices way up it's time to think twice about buying. if no one is buying then they will have to drop their prices at some time

 

[mid_gen]

I'd like to think, in my passing, my clothing etc will be donated to charity shops. So that people can buy them for next to nothing

I must be missing something here....surely the point of charity shops is for people to donate stuff to raise money for charities...

Seems like a lot of people seem to think charity shops exist to give them cheap stuff Entitlement these days, jeez.

When I give stuff to a charity shop, I bloody well hope they get the best price they can for it.

 

[malachi]

I must be missing something here....surely the point of charity shops is for people to donate stuff to raise money for charities...

Seems like a lot of people seem to think charity shops exist to give them cheap stuff Entitlement these days, jeez.

When I give stuff to a charity shop, I bloody well hope they get the best price they can for it.

Thats true but its different when "oh, its xyz on ebay so we sell it for higher than that in our charity shop" When really, they are ripping people off. Then they turn into a business not a charity.

 

[mid_gen]

Thats true but its different when "oh, its xyz on ebay so we sell it for higher than that in our charity shop" When really, they are ripping people off.

Yeah because that's what happens

Honestly the stuff people whinge about on GD, you're not entitled to cheap stuff from a charity shop. They can set prices any way they bloody please and if you don't like it you can not buy it.

 

[Bear]

Thats true but its different when "oh, its xyz on ebay so we sell it for higher than that in our charity shop" When really, they are ripping people off. Then they turn into a business not a charity.

Well it is pretty much a business as they have to turn a profit else theres no point in running the shop is there? Considering someone earlier posted a charity shop closed in their town, it sounds like the pricing may be a necessity to make it worthwhile

 

[malachi]

Yeah because that's what happens

Honestly the stuff people whinge about on GD, you're not entitled to cheap stuff from a charity shop. They can set prices any way they bloody please and if you don't like it you can not buy it.

Well it is pretty much a business as they have to turn a profit else theres no point in running the shop is there? Considering someone earlier posted a charity shop closed in their town, it sounds like the pricing may be a necessity to make it worthwhile

That's why I said, a business not a charity.

 

[Bear]

That's why I said, a business not a charity.

No they are supposed to be charities, it’s just got to make money to make running a shop worthwhile. If survival means they can’t give away stuff anymore and have to price things higher then you have to be more business minded and increase the profit.

 

[G J]

Nobody has a entitlement to buy things from charity shops cheep but a lot of these charities seem to be entitled to peoples money that have volunteers in town centers with ipads that harass people for donations while their personal details get sold/paid to scummy companies who call people and harass them for even more money while multiple people in these charities are pulling 40-60k+ a year.

I cant remember for sure but I saw a article saying that some charities are run so bad/money being skimmed that pennies on the pound actually go to the cause.

 

[mid_gen]

That's why I said, a business not a charity.

They are a business and a charity, it's really not that difficult to understand. They have bills to pay.

 

[Retro6]

I must be missing something here....surely the point of charity shops is for people to donate stuff to raise money for charities...

Seems like a lot of people seem to think charity shops exist to give them cheap stuff Entitlement these days, jeez.

When I give stuff to a charity shop, I bloody well hope they get the best price they can for it.

Well they are donations and its not as if the charities are paying for the stock and most of what they get is literal tat and very low value items. Maybe they should just ask people for money rather than charging high street prices and generally ripping people off. It just doesn't seem right. I understand charities need to make money but ripping people off is the wrong way to go about it and not exactly a charitable thing to do.

The whole point of charity shops are there so that poorer people can afford to buy things as well as "second hand" stuff being re-used. When I donate to charity shops I don't mind how much they want to charge I just hope my donations go to somebody who will get some enjoyment from them. I often take a box of stuff down to the charity shops because I need to clear lots of space out and I just haven't got the time to list it all on ebay.

 

[SpeedFreak]

Charity shops aren't there for the buyers, they sell to generate cash so they can buy the things that their target recipients need. They don't disburse pictures and silverware to them when they need food, medicine and accommodation. View you choosing to buy at a charity shop as an act of charity in itself, not an episode of bargain hunt in order to flip for a profit.

 

[Retro6]

Nobody has a entitlement to buy things from charity shops cheep but a lot of these charities seem to be entitled to peoples money that have volunteers in town centers with ipads that harass people for donations while their personal details get sold/paid to scummy companies who call people and harass them for even more money while multiple people in these charities are pulling 40-60k+ a year.

I cant remember for sure but I saw a article saying that some charities are run so bad/money being skimmed that pennies on the pound actually go to the cause.

It has nothing to do with entitlement... if charity shops are going to be charging stupid prices nobody will bother going in them anymore. People will shop else where for bargains and the charity shops then close down.

 

[bjorkiii]

• Retro are you related to anybody that works in a shop retail cant remember the id, used to whinge about inane stuff, nearly every thread it made all it did was whinge ?

 

[Scania]

On the whole, I agree with this thread, charity shops have become ridiculous in their general pricing, that said, I recently spotted a BBC Model B computer in a shop In Newport, Shropshire, it was up for £30 untested so I tried to buy it,they said their card machine was playing up so I needed to get cash, off I go to the atm, on my return the machine had fixed itself and someone else had just bought it…..

They go for 10 times that price on the bay and user groups even though I wanted to have it for myself…. :/

Not the first time I’ve missed out on such a keenly priced Beeb, one day I’ll bag another and relive my youth!