A challenge to charity shops

[Tsundoku]

Interesting piece inna The Guardian about the changes to charity shop culture, and it's affect on the High Street
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2...items-bargains
Comments are worth a look too, reprising some of the arguments we've had here for years.

[Tsundoku]

The general trend of charity shop over-pricing doesn't affect me that much, luckily, as I'm more interested in buying weird old records that no one really wants. I have paid a fiver a few times to speculate rather than 99p but have not been burnt that many times.

[Little Jimmy Oddman]

What a silly article. The criticism seems to be that it's getting harder to find a "bargain", rather than anything about serving poorer people. Put simply, most charity shops are still full of bargains and, more importantly, exist to raise money for their respective charities not to provide some form of welfare to their customers.

If we start criticising Cancer Research for not supporting poor people, things are getting a bit muddled.

[Rich Hero]

If we start criticising Cancer Research for not supporting poor people, things are getting a bit muddled.

Very true, and I'm not about to argue with that. But, the point that the article may be trying to make, but not making as well as it could, is that some charities are also part of the support network for the less well off in society, who need to make their money make stretch as far as possible. No, records are not a necessity so I have little problem with them being priced up. In addition, the article touches on the point that charities' profits are down. This could be for any number of reasons but, if that's due to the public turning off, maybe the maximising the price of individual items rather than attempting to keep the stock flowing isn't working. If charity is traditionally a tax on the poor, it's an intriguing sign of the times that some of the traditional customers perceive themselves as being priced out. But yes, I agree that the article's light weight and doesn't really get to grips with the subject.

...Dan, what's with the new handle?

[Cacapo]

No, records are not a necessity

[Tsundoku]

I thought the article was interesting largely because it was interesting to see some of the same gripes we've raised about charities over the years being reflected in other areas of the charities' business. I think their pricing is made pretty much inevitable by the rise of ebay and semi-professional dealers scouring the shops for bargains. I think the changes implied to the nature of the high street by the rise of charity shops is of interesting in itself, but it's a big subject and I am halfway out the door.

New handle - just fancied a less daft name!

[medlar]

Oxfam in Streatham yesterday, a copy of Linda Ronstadt's "Hasten Down The Wind" for a bargain £19.99....

http://www.discogs.com/sell/list?rel...=2300173&ev=rb

Grab one for pence instead, if you must

[smashingcheesegromit]

its only a minority of charity shops that seem to be over priced,oxfam being the main culprit,many chazzas i visit are no more than a £1 for a record,clothes etc.. im not about,but my mum reckons cloths are even being increased,some are even equal to high st retailers.

[emperor tomato ketchup]

Rather a tedious re-tread.

Does anyone give out that Harrods is greedy and doesn't offer poor people a bargain?

And even if the problem were real there's a better solution if it is the shop's role to offer poor people a bargain. There's an irish charity that is set up to help the local poor which gives vouchers to said local poor so they can get stuff from the charity shops while also selling vintage 80s shoulder pad jackets to hipsters for €15. Surely thats a better solution than selling the jackets for €1 when there's every chance it'll be the local vintage shop pwner who'll net the bargain and sell for the mark up.

As for Primark being the same price as new, that's because a shop will often have a recommended price for a category, so a ladies jacket might be €5 and the people doing the pricing may not be aware of just how cheap it can be in Primark. It's very difficult to have an completeknowledge of the current market trends for cloths, books, music and everythign else so of course mistakes happen.

[ROCKPROF]

Well I do price up records now at some shops. The local hospice one is happy to have standard stuff at reasonable prices as the area is rather poor. they do still get grief from customers but its usually the dealers who complain.

Another one I price at is a very well known charity in a posh area and they told me to increase the prices to keep stock sitting in there for 3 to 4 weeks and to create a buzz(?). A pogues lp for £11.99 for example.

[AlanP]

bit of a missed opportunity really - there's far more going on here than just prices going up, but the journo didn't seem particularly interested in digging for it. Given the lack of sources I suggest it's probably more a silly season space filler that was knocked off in an arvo before heading to the pub.

dealers are a real issue here. they piss the chazzas off no end, but there's not a lot they can do other than proffer the odd furrowed brow. and they do struggle with the conflicting roles of social service/ fundraiser.

[SirSlim]

New handle - just fancied a less daft name!

the good Dr. is smiling no longer...