Charity shops getting stupid with prices

Retro6 · 9 Mar 2022 at 19:53

I had a look in some Charity shops today and there is literally rubbish in nearly all of them with high price tags. Today I saw a stoneware Ink bottle labeled as a ginger beer bottle from 1870 with the Bourne Denby mark on it for an eye watering 45 pounds. Its actually from 1890 and very common so common that bottle diggers leave them behind when they go digging in old Victorian rubbish tips. The Ink bottle is worth about 5 pounds at the very most and that is being generous. It was all secured behind a glass cabinet its laughable.

They had old tatty key chains in there for 4 pounds each among other over priced things.

I'm finding myself more and more less likely to go to charity anymore because they rip people off by charging way too much plus they don't have anything half decent anymore. Some charity shops I walk into and walk back out again within seconds when all they sell are women's clothing and crockery.

I used to enjoy going to charity shops and I would always find things but now days there is nothing worth looking at in them.

Who else enjoyed charity shops?

Nevakonaza · 9 Mar 2022 at 19:55

Yep,ive noticed charity shops prices are getting a bit OTT lately with their prices,i think what isn't helping and they're catching onto it now is these bloody Youtubers going in,Filming,Buying things "Cheap" then shoving it on Ebay and making profit.
Some of them even blatantly say to their partner out loud how much is that going for on Ebay.....

R.P.L · 9 Mar 2022 at 19:56

Inflation even affecting charity shops now

ThestigGT999 · 9 Mar 2022 at 19:57

PS3 game went up from £1 to £3

robfosters · 9 Mar 2022 at 20:05

They used to be charities, now they’re businesses

Retro6 · 9 Mar 2022 at 20:09

Nevakonaza said:
Yep,ive noticed charity shops prices are getting a bit OTT lately with their prices,i think what isn't helping and they're catching onto it now is these bloody Youtubers going in,Filming,Buying things "Cheap" then shoving it on Ebay and making profit.
Some of them even blatantly say to their partner out loud how much is that going for on Ebay.....

I agree Those kinda Youtubers are a pain. Its all fine doing it but posting it on youtube isn't good. Its the same with all these treasure hunting videos.

Malevolence · 9 Mar 2022 at 20:21

Great when you drop on bargains though. Last thing I got was a Jeff Banks' overcoat for £8 (new and with tags), and before that I snagged a long black (it might be lay person's black though) overcoat for £6

Semple · 9 Mar 2022 at 20:28

I guess their prices are pretty much market driven, if people stop buying stuff then they'll have to drop their prices.

Retro6 · 9 Mar 2022 at 20:37

Malevolence said:
Great when you drop on bargains though. Last thing I got was a Jeff Banks' overcoat for £8 (new and with tags), and before that I snagged a long black (it might be lay person's black though) overcoat for £6

Its rare I find a bargin. The last bargins I had in charity shops were 3 years ago, 3 pounds for a bag of old coins that had some good ones in there and 10 pounds for a WW2 ARP bell.

Retro6 · 9 Mar 2022 at 20:40

Semple said:
I guess their prices are pretty much market driven, if people stop buying stuff then they'll have to drop their prices.

But nobody is buying it. Some of these charity shops have had the same things on the shelf for months.

Monkeynut · 9 Mar 2022 at 20:46

I got Mouse Trap for £3. :cool:

Semple · 9 Mar 2022 at 20:48

Retro6 said:
But nobody is buying it. Some of these charity shops have had the same things on the shelf for months.

They must be shifting other stock to get some income. I know their business rates are low or non-existent, and rent is probably cheaper. But they still require some turnover.

malachi · 9 Mar 2022 at 20:50

robfosters said:
They used to be charities, now they’re businesses

This.

Used to be a good place the buy retro games. Now its cheaper to buy from eBay instead.

chroniclard · 9 Mar 2022 at 20:56

I dunno, wife seems to do quite well in the various shops near us, got a school bag for daughter the other day which was brand new with tags on still, £5, is an £80 bag in the shops. :eek:

Also seems to get loads of clothes for decent prices. (At least thats what I am told :cry:

)

robfosters · 9 Mar 2022 at 20:59

chroniclard said:
I dunno, wife seems to do quite well in the various shops near us, got a school bag for daughter the other day which was brand new with tags on still, £5, is an £80 bag in the shops. Also seems to get loads of clothes for decent prices. (At least thats what I am told )

Yeah, I’d be checking the credit card statement if I was you

arknor · 9 Mar 2022 at 20:59

chroniclard said:
I dunno, wife seems to do quite well in the various shops near us, got a school bag for daughter the other day which was brand new with tags on still, £5, is an £80 bag in the shops. Also seems to get loads of clothes for decent prices. (At least thats what I am told )

isn't that like buying a brand new pc from the local oxfam

chroniclard · 9 Mar 2022 at 21:02

arknor said:
isn't that like buying a brand new pc from the local oxfam

dont understand?

Resident · 9 Mar 2022 at 21:16

Retro6 said:
I had a look in some Charity shops today and there is literally rubbish in nearly all of them with high price tags. Today I saw a stoneware Ink bottle labeled as a ginger beer bottle from 1870 with the Bourne Denby mark on it for an eye watering 45 pounds. Its actually from 1890 and very common so common that bottle diggers leave them behind when they go digging in old Victorian rubbish tips. The Ink bottle is worth about 5 pounds at the very most and that is being generous. It was all secured behind a glass cabinet its laughable.

They had old tatty key chains in there for 4 pounds each among other over priced things.

I'm finding myself more and more less likely to go to charity anymore because they rip people off by charging way too much plus they don't have anything half decent anymore. Some charity shops I walk into and walk back out again within seconds when all they sell are women's clothing and crockery.

I used to enjoy going to charity shops and I would always find things but now days there is nothing worth looking at in them.

Who else enjoyed charity shops?

British Heart Foundation is the worst for this.

When I have a bit of time in between buses and it's crap weather I usually pop in to charity shops for a bit of browse to get me indoors.

I remember one time seeing a Sofology sofa set (3 seat & 2 seat). They wanted an eye-watering £999 for it. Curious I checked with Sofology's website and it was only 799 brand new.

To me, charity shops are forgetting that they're not a retailer selling new products or that the stock hasn't actually cost them anything as they're donations. In the beginning the people who used charity shops were people who couldn't necessarily afford new/retail prices and now they're pricing out people who needed the help.

Retro6 · 9 Mar 2022 at 21:29

There are better ways charity shops can make money rather than trying to get more money than what things are worth. Charity should never be about ripping off the public.

Semple · 9 Mar 2022 at 21:53

Resident said:
British Heart Foundation is the worst for this.

When I have a bit of time in between buses and it's crap weather I usually pop in to charity shops for a bit of browse to get me indoors.

I remember one time seeing a Sofology sofa set (3 seat & 2 seat). They wanted an eye-watering £999 for it. Curious I checked with Sofology's website and it was only 799 brand new.

To me, charity shops are forgetting that they're not a retailer selling new products or that the stock hasn't actually cost them anything as they're donations. In the beginning the people who used charity shops were people who couldn't necessarily afford new/retail prices and now they're pricing out people who needed the help.

I suspect some of that behavior is because of donations of luxury items from wealthy people. There are many celebrities who donate some of their expensive clothing/accessories to their local charity shops. The shops know they can get hundreds or thousands for some of these items so they offer them at that price.

It's not like your average Joe having a wardrobe clear out and donating a load of old t-shirts that someone might have paid 50p/£1 for.