Charity shops everywhere

[Citybreak1]

Every empty unit in my town becomes a charity shop. Selling books cds and dvds yet who even buys dvds anymore? They seem to take over prime sites too. I am sure years ago pre 2000 we never had many charity shops. Why are there so many why can’t they just auction goods on eBay instead rather than clogg up the high street?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Every empty unit in my town becomes a charity shop. Selling books cds and dvds yet who even buys dvds anymore? They seem to take over prime sites too. I am sure years ago pre 2000 we never had many charity shops. Why are there so many why can’t they just auction goods on eBay instead rather than clogg up the high street?

They're cheap to run because staff are often volunteers, and they tend to take over the ends of leases when a major store has closed again at a discounted price. Plus they're more visible than fleaBay etc. They clearly work for them.

 

[66701GBRF]

Every empty unit in my town becomes a charity shop. Selling books cds and dvds yet who even buys dvds anymore? They seem to take over prime sites too. I am sure years ago pre 2000 we never had many charity shops. Why are there so many why can’t they just auction goods on eBay instead rather than clogg up the high street?

There were loads of charity shops in the early 2000s so not a new thing. Rather than clogging up high streets that are mostly dead anyway they are using space that would otherwise sit empty or turned into another bar, café or fast food place.

 

[Phil56]

Every empty unit in my town becomes a charity shop. Selling books cds and dvds yet who even buys dvds anymore? They seem to take over prime sites too. I am sure years ago pre 2000 we never had many charity shops. Why are there so many why can’t they just auction goods on eBay instead rather than clogg up the high street?

The aren't clogging up the High Street because usually no one else wants to rent the empty shops, so landlords rent them to charity shops at discounted rates just so they get some rental income rather than none (and so the landlord doesn't have to pay business rates on empty properties). At least with a tenant, the premises are being looked after and don't need regular security/maintenance checks.

It's not new either. I last worked in our town centre 30 years ago, and there were plenty of charity shops back then. The difference was that they didn't used to be in prime locations, they were usually on the side streets around the central shopping area, or in smaller shopping precincts further out of the centre. Now because the "big" names have vacated the city centre, the charity shops are relocating into the otherwise unwanted prime central areas.

 

[Lloyds siding]

Things are so bad round here even the charity shops are closing down...

 

[bleeder4]

Where a charity shop will always win over eBay is allowing you to find things you didn't know you needed. Same with any shop really. You could pop into a charity shop to look for a picture frame to hang your new picture in, and whilst in there spot a dining room chair which would look great by your table. It's those "spur of the moment" decisions that charity shops depend on for income. If they just traded on eBay you would never have bought that dining room chair because all you'd be seeing in your search results is picture frames.

 

[SargeNpton]

Every empty unit in my town becomes a charity shop. Selling books cds and dvds yet who even buys dvds anymore?

Enough people buy DVDs to prompt the production of them; and to prompt the likes of Amazon, HMV and the major shopping chains to carry on stocking them.

Though you, and your friends, may stream all your music and films that's not to say that there are still those who prefer to own a tangible copy of what they are paying for.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Though you, and your friends, may stream all your music and films that's not to say that there are still those who prefer to own a tangible copy of what they are paying for.

I think a lot of people with time on their hands (i.e. retirees etc) will buy and then re-sell DVDs, books etc. My Dad does. Thus he spends less to watch a film or read a book than he'd pay for an electronic copy.

 

[Citybreak1]

Give it ten years I will ask the question again. Most people steam these days. Most of HMV shops is taken over pop figures and t shirts. Primark sell cheap clothes so no need for charity stores. Infact a local one round me which sells furniture is much more expensive than new.

 

[Kite159]

With a DVD you pay once and it's yours (until it breaks). With streaming sites once you stop paying or the site closes down you own nothing.

And for some, putting a DVD into the player to watch an old TV show can be easier than trying to find it on a streaming site.

 

[Ediswan]

Most of HMV shops is taken over pop figures and t shirts.

If anything, my local HMV has been taken over by vinyl and turntables. (I have not investigated the quality of the turntables.)

 

[Bletchleyite]

With a DVD you pay once and it's yours (until it breaks). With streaming sites once you stop paying or the site closes down you own nothing.

And for some, putting a DVD into the player to watch an old TV show can be easier than trying to find it on a streaming site.

Depends I guess on how often you watch films. I generally only watch them once (unless they happen to be on TV) so ownership isn't for me.

 

[skyhigh]

Primark sell cheap clothes so no need for charity stores.

....eh?

So because you can buy cheap fast fashion (along with all the labour and carbon implications) we don't need places that allow you to give good quality clothes people no longer want further use while also benefitting a charity?

 

[Busaholic]

Give it ten years I will ask the question again. Most people steam these days. Most of HMV shops is taken over pop figures and t shirts. Primark sell cheap clothes so no need for charity stores. Infact a local one round me which sells furniture is much more expensive than new.

My county has no Primark, so a 150 mile round journey to buy cheap, crap clothing, whereas some charity shops sell good, well-made, clothing items at bargain prices (we have at least eight in my town.) I dare say the furniture in question is higher in quality than what might be available (to order, usually) in a local furniture shop.

 

[S&CLER]

Long may charity shops continue! I always mooch around them whenever I am on holiday in the UK. Recent trips to Great Malvern, Largs and Llandrindod saw me load my suitcase with several dozen classical CDs; the charity shops in Aberystwyth were particularly rewarding, with one shop having a shelf full of Rossini rarities (not the kind of thing streaming is any good for. when you want the libretto as well). Given the very low prices in some stores (3 or even 5 for £1), if you don't like it when you play it, the loss is bearable. There are a few, such as Oxfam Bookshop in Preston, which habitually overprice their vinyl, on the assumption that all vinyl is somehow collectable, but even here there are some bargains. What I find frustratingly rare are DVDs of older films, not the famous classics, most of which I now have, but the lesser films which I still enjoy watching. Nowadays the best source for them is TV: I record on HDD, watch and if it's worth keeping make a permanent copy on DVD.

 

[Shimbleshanks]

Where a charity shop will always win over eBay is allowing you to find things you didn't know you needed. Same with any shop really. You could pop into a charity shop to look for a picture frame to hang your new picture in, and whilst in there spot a dining room chair which would look great by your table. It's those "spur of the moment" decisions that charity shops depend on for income. If they just traded on eBay you would never have bought that dining room chair because all you'd be seeing in your search results is picture frames.

Also, selling stuff on Ebay isn't always practical because of high postage costs or because the thing is too large or unwieldy to post.

If I need anything, I always look in our local charity shops first. It's a painless way of making a charitable donation; whereas I probably wouldn't put £1 in a collecting tin (I'm far too mean), I'll happily part with the same amount to buy 10 books in the local charity shops in Caterham.

 

[Starmill]

Charity shops are quite economically efficient. They are ways to gather in lots of unwanted goods and re-sell or recycle them, then use the money raised for good causes. That takes all of the friction out of selling the old goods yourself that you don't want any more and allows you a way to make a charitable donation. People who donate used clothes and things to charity shops probably won't sell them themselves otherwise, they would just put them in the bin. Charity shops are also therefore useful ways of reducing waste.

 

[Ashley Hill]

The thing I don’t like are those people who trawl such shops looking for things cheap to sell on for personal profit. You may have seen them rummaging through the CDs,Bric-a-Brac etc whilst comparing prices on Discogs/eBay on their phones.

 

[Darandio]

The thing I don’t like are those people who trawl such shops looking for things cheap to sell on for personal profit. You may have seen them rummaging through the CDs,Bric-a-Brac etc whilst comparing prices on Discogs/eBay on their phones.

Why, who's business is it other than those who do it? Most charity shops run their own Ebay storefront these days and have systems in place to direct items of value there, many also have direct connections with collectors who will pay good money for certain things.

If they miss something and someone gets a bargain, what's the problem?

 

[Ashley Hill]

Why, who's business is it other than those who do it? Most charity shops run their own Ebay storefront these days and have systems in place to direct items of value there, many also have direct connections with collectors who will pay good money for certain things.

If they miss something and someone gets a bargain, what's the problem?

I just think it’s cheeky. I often look out for railway books,I asked once why a particular shop seldom has any (decent ones). Apparently someone had an arrangement to have first pickings. This also happens at recycling centres where staff will keep back stuff for their regulars.

 

[Gloster]

I just think it’s cheeky. I often look out for railway books,I asked once why a particular shop seldom has any (decent ones). Apparently someone had an arrangement to have first pickings. This also happens at recycling centres where staff will keep back stuff for their regulars.

It depends on whether they pay a fair price. I occasionally give a bit of advice about one or two categories of books to one of my local charity bookshops. In return I often get a chance to poke through the railway books, but I always pay a fair price for what I buy: they look them up through their normal means before they quote me a price. Or I get a look at stuff that is priced and waiting for space on the shelves. A couple of times I have spotted something that had been missed by the normally highly competent pricer and would have gone out at below its value.

 

[GusB]

The thing I don’t like are those people who trawl such shops looking for things cheap to sell on for personal profit. You may have seen them rummaging through the CDs,Bric-a-Brac etc whilst comparing prices on Discogs/eBay on their phones.

That's capitalism! It's no different from going to a car boot sale, spotting a bargain and then selling it on for a higher price.

I'm not disagreeing with you entirely, though. The issue is that charity shops are largely staffed by volunteers who may not have the expertise, nor the time, to be able to spot items that may be rare or valuable.

 

[Ashley Hill]

It’s not the particularly rare or valuable I’m after,sometimes I buy a book because it has a photo of an unusual signal box or something which I don’t mind paying a few pounds for. But when the only railway book on the shelf is a 1979 copy of the WH Smith Big Book of Trains it’s a bit frustrating if you know someone has already had first pickings.

 

[david1212]

Things are so bad round here even the charity shops are closing down...

Likewise several have vacated a unit since March 2021.


Unlike eBay you can inspect the item, try for fit and if suitable pay and use right away rather than both a delivery cost and waiting time. Also useful when on holiday if forgotten to take something and wander into on a wet day!!

 

[londiscape]

Without a high street presence, how is one supposed to donate one's unwanted stuff to said charity shop for sale?

Currently nice and easy:
1) chuck stuff in plastic bag
2) take to charity shop of choice on way to work

If charity shops become online only:
1) acquire sturdy cardboard box - either pay for it or reuse from previous delivery
2) pack securely in said cardboard box - fragile items? Will need polystyrene pellets or other protection from couriers chucking boxes into van with extreme force
3) arrange courier and pay for it to be delivered to some warehouse in (e.g.) Daventry
4) be home when courier arrives to collect - 9am to 5pm? Buggerit, need to take a day off work
5) obtain receipt of collection (possibly least onerous task in this list)

Can't help but think this would lead to folk just chucking their old stuff in the bin rather than donating it to charity.

 

[AY1975]

Where a charity shop will always win over eBay is allowing you to find things you didn't know you needed.

Yes, and unlike eBay charity shops (and indeed all shops) are also accessible to, and popular with, people who don't use the internet, a lot of elderly people for example (although even in that age group the number of internet users is rising fast).

 

[dk1]

It’s that foisty smell that often puts me off mooching around in a charity shop. You don’t seem to get it so bad at an antique emporium. Perhaps it’s the clothes they often sell or the furniture fabric.

 

[AM9]

Some here seem to be missing the point of charity shops. Well intentioned donors take the trouble to bring unwanted but resellable items for the benefit of the charity of their choice. That takes a bit more effort than putting them in recycling bins or even taking them to a recycling centre. The charity shop for its part then puts them on sale for the benefit of the cause. Customers entering the shop do so in the knowledge that buying from the shop benefits the cause. That's an honest business model that harms nobody and benefits many including through the environment.
Those that either don't want to support any particular charity usually have a choice of shops in towns of any size and those who feel that only new items are ever good enough for them can go to a conventional shop where their existence is just to make profit. As has been said above, "that's capitalism", but charity shops, like the ever increasing availbility of food banks are in general wholly altruistic.

 

[birchesgreen]

My local high street became dominated by charity shops a couple of decades ago, i remember being bored one morning in the early 2000s and counting them all, 14 in one average suburban high street (Erdington in case you know!)

I was surprised, when i visited Stratford a couple of weeks ago, to see quite a few more charity shops there now.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Oct 2022 ==

It’s that foisty smell that often puts me off mooching around in a charity shop. You don’t seem to get it so bad at an antique emporium. Perhaps it’s the clothes they often sell or the furniture fabric.

All the clothes are supposed to be steam cleaned (or they were anyway when someone i know used to work in one years ago!)

 

[2192]

It's only the small charity shops (with only one branch) that smell, but you do get the cheapest prices there. The larger ones with many branches know their limitations in prices, and refer some items to paid group managers. For instance, my aunt was told 20 years ago all beatles records had to be referred for expert advice on the price in case an extremely valuable one turned up. It would then be sold in a speciality shop.

The do have rag collectors call from time to time to buy stuff by weight they are given that is unfit for sale, or which doesn't sell. People selling on ebay don't have such access.

Charity shops will continue to exist until folk don't discard clothing until it is worn out.