Your Charity Shop Donations

[Lush]

Just been watching Mary, Queen of Charity Shops on BBC2. Fantastic programme as Mary Portas of Harvey Nix fame tries to turn shops run by well-meaning old dears into profitable businesses.

Her biggest problem seems to be the absolute garbage that gets left outside charity shops. Stuff left over from car boot sales or that people can't be bothered to take to the tip, that the charity then has to PAY to have taken away.

What do you think of charity shops? Do you donate stuff to them? Have you ever found anything good?

I must admit to only going in for fancy-dress stuff, but can't help thinking there's a market there in these cash-straightened times, if only they had a better image.

 

[gullshark]

My mum has managed a few, and they generally have to chuck most of the stuff they get donated. She's seen trousers with interesting stains on em, unwashed, turn up outside her shop.

 

[We're the Stripes]

*Love* charity shops - spend a lot of time browsing in them for books, records, DVDs, clothes, odd bits of memorabilia/collectables. Also have regular clearouts and take stuff along to a number of our local favourites.

Probably at least a dozen I pop into regularly in the Worthing area.

The best ones are well organised, make it easy to browse, change their stock regularly, are sensible about pricing and regularly change their window display. The bad ones are a shambles, smelly, overcharge and are best avoided.

Given the popularity of eBay, car booting and TV progs like Flog It and Cash In The Attic, you'd be lucky to pick up anything valuable for a song these days. Unless you really know what you're looking for ...

 

[skipper734]

Neighbour of mine works in one. I get first dibs on the Lacoste stuff and the like. I refuse anything that doesn't still have the price label still on it.
The stuff people chuck away without wearing it is amazing. I suppose it helps to live in a prosperous area though. Funnily enough they seem to get even more stuff in at the moment.

 

[pasty]

We usually take unwanted clothing down to the one in Kemptown. Just last week I gave them my old Jasper Conran made-to-measure suit I paid about £400 for a few years back as I have zero chance of ever getting into again.

 

[Lush]

We usually take unwanted clothing down to the one in Kemptown. Just last week I gave them my old Japser Conran made-to-measure suit I paid about £400 for a few years back as I have zero chance of ever getting into again.

Should get a few pennies for it in Kemp Town ...:safeway2:

 

[Adam Virgo's Shirt]

We often use them like libraries for books. Buy a book for 20p or so, read it then take it back and buy another.

 

[Notters]

We usually take unwanted clothing down to the one in Kemptown. Just last week I gave them my old Jasper Conran made-to-measure suit I paid about £400 for a few years back as I have zero chance of ever getting into again.

Size

 

[Spider]

Don't know so much about clothes but my experience of DVDs in charity shops has been that they have been living on another planet for some time. Obviously it's for charity, but the prices are pretty ridiculous nonetheless. When you can buy stuff cheaper first hand than second hand from a charity shop you know the management have no clue.

 

[Gwylan]

I've bought some great clobber from the Oxfam in Hampstead - top of the range stuff.

I give loads of books to charity shops. If you go into the BHF shop on Preston Circus, I'm sure you'll find my name on some of them.

 

[Twinkle Toes]

Size

OOOOOOOH. SUIT YOU SIR!