Charity Shops

[Gennaio]

Mary Portas does not like them, she maintains that high street tones are lowered by them; I would like to say that, without charity shops, a lot of our smaller individual high street retailers would not exist, without them. They do, in fact bring people into our high streets; these days, people from all walks of life are happy to come into and shop in charity shops, they have become the new 'new'. Mary Portas is behind the times.

I work for Age UK several afternoons a week, we have a high turnover of high quality goods, that includes, women's', mens', childrens' clothing, bags, shoes, accessories, furnishings. All our donated goods are thoroughly checked, steam cleaned and placed on hangers.

Above all, we are able to provide our valued customers with, good quality clothing for their growing families at a very reasonable price, for students, needing to get furniture for their first flats, and for older, first time buyers, struggling with a mortgage, and for older folks, looking for presents, keep sakes, we enjoy doing that.

We also have at this time of the year, Christmas cards and calendars. Why not look out for one of our shops where you are and support a cause.

Best wishes

[Daffodil]

I am a staunch supporter of charity shops. I belong to an Amdram Group and find them invaluable for costumes and props. Many of my local charity shops will even hold a 'shopping list' for me and let me know if any specific items come in.  Last year we did a production which required lots of hot water bottles - condition unimportant as they were only used for a dormitory 'pillow fight' scene.  I managed to get 10 at a fraction of the cost of buying new!

Long Live Charity Shops!

[Hugh]

As much as I think charity shops do a great job and many kind hearted people work for nothing. Just how much damage are they doing to the high street shops, and just how many shop personel are out of work and now living on welfare?

[Gennaio]

Hi Daffodil

Great post, thanks; - we have a large fancy dress rail and it is renewed almost daily, for AmDram searchers, Halloween prospecters, partiers looking for theme ideas. This alone provides us with a lot of money for AgeUK related purposes.

Hi Hugh

I fully respect your point of view, thanks; however, a lot of our high street shops are not trading, due to huge and ongoing rental increases levied by greedy landlords.

Charity shops pay the going rent out of their constrained budgets and do employ management staff. We also welcome into our community volunteers, people who do not have a good command of English, and we work with them to give them confidence with learning our language. We also welcome students, who want to have some experience of working, and are pleased to help them with their CVs for future life.

Best wishes

[granny bee]

Don't suppose designer clad Mary Portas has much need to shop in the charity sector!  Am getting pretty fed up with these smug well to do, high salaried bods pontificating to the rest of us!!

[Rita Postlethwaite]

Without charity shops we have seen areas, particularly of our local market towns, become boarded up, run down, depressive areas. The charity shops are clean and bright and are run by polite people who are very helpful (something the retail sector would do well to emulate!) The majority of people who use these shops are people who are so needy that they would not be able to go into retail shops to buy goods anyway!

[Maywalk]

Personally I think charity shops DO help many folk who dont have a lot of money to throw about.
When I went for lunch the other day our local UK charity shop had in the window dummy figures dressed in the bride and bridesmaids clothes.
It looked EXTREMELY eyecatching and I noted quite a few folks going in and out while sitting in the car waiting for it to be parked in a disabilty spot.

I have found the price of new buttons to be extortionate and have very often called in the cancer charity shop at the hospital when keeping an appointment to go and see what they have in stock regarding buttons.
They put them into little plastic bags that one can see the colour and shape through and I like to wander in to have a look to see what I can buy to use on my hand knitted garments.
25d to 50d for six is a ruddy sight cheaper than £1 - 50d for six.  Sometimes £1-50d is the price of ONE button depending on the size when bought from the wool shops. 

Mary Portas has evidently NEVER been in dire circumstances but one never knows what is in store. Life can play many unforseen tricks. 

[Lisa]

Charity shops are a blessing for a lot of families these days. If you look carefully a lot of lovely childrens clothes can be found. When you consider how quickly they grow out of the things it makes sense to buy cheaper . When my husband was in full time work (self employed gardener) we used to find lots of items suitable for his job.

[Daffodil]

I clothed my three children mostly from charity shops which meant that I could afford to spend a little more on clothes for parties and special occasions, shoes and accessories. Then suddenly, in their early teens, my girls decided they wouldn't be seen dead in second hand clothes and insisted on new! However, when going through her wardrobe she came across an old faded denim jacket and was over the moon when she realized it was an original Levi and won't part with it! (purchased very cheaply in a charity shop!)

[Rita Postlethwaite]

Well Daffodil, that means your daughter has learned a valuable lesson and that is, what is someones unwanted is someone elses treasure. I am sure your thrift will stand them in good stead one day.

[Papaumau]

Sadly, the rise and rise of so many charity shops is highlighting very clearly that many people from all walks of life in Britain are now suffering badly from the downturn in the economy.

Because wages are now either frozen or are even being reduced in some cases, and prices are continuing to rise with a daily-increasing inflation-rate in food and clothes, many people, who used to buy from boutiques, are now buying some very fashionable and good quality clothes from charity shops. ( My daughter, who works as a highly-qualified nursery-nurse and - along with her also-employed engineer husband - who has to run a family, now finds that she can only get her hands on some great bits of affordable fashion from charity shops as she can no longer afford to buy from anything above Primark ).

Of course this DOES actually make life for the owners of the boutiques much harder as they too are effected from a few directions by the damaged economy.

It seems - to me - that it is OK for the ordinary people of Britain to suffer from the stringent and draconian cuts imposed by this government but they do not seem to know that it is us and our spending power that actually keeps the economy afloat.

Surely it is time that somebody told them this !

[Oldtimer]

When my two daughters attended university they bought all their cloths from Charity shops
and looked a lot more fashionable than many of the other students who where all on low budgets.
Today youngsters have to be street wise although many are driven by peer pressure to want expensive cloths and shoes.

[Carolyn]

I am 65 and love looking around the charity shops but I have to admit I do not buy much from them.  Some of the items take me back in time.

[Oldtimer]

Goodmorning Carolyn! Early riser?