Featured I’m being unreasonable, sure, but you’re thoughts?

okay, so my story is that I work in a charity shop as the valuer of brica. We get heaps of junk, but that is another story. My shop is located in a lower income area of my town, so we are instructed to keep pricing low. So even when I get decent items, I have to keep the demographic in mind.
No issue so far, but I notice that there are a number of customers who are regular and clearly buying items to sell them on for profit.
I know, once sold it’s no longer my business, but it’s galling to take advantage of charities this way.
What say you?

 

I have the same problem - at first I was annoyed because we had to price everything so low but now I look at it as strictly turnover and shelf space. Everything we sell is donated so there is no money invested in the actual items. We do have a once a year auction so if we get something that is really good we save if for the auction; otherwise, it gets a .25 cent to 5.00 price sticker and goes on the shelf. We also sell furniture but it is also very reasonably priced. I learned to just enjoy getting to see some of the beautiful items and be happy for the resellers who find such a bargain!

 

I wish I had this problem in my area! The thrifts around here tape printouts of the highest eBay listing they can find to their "higher-end" items. These are inflated asking prices, not sold, eBay prices. Some of the thrifts would charge more than an antique mall for many items.

I don't fault thrifts for trying to be inline with market prices for better items. Poor people likely need useful items such as clothing, furnishings, and kitchenware's not antiques and collectables so I can see keeping pricing low/reasonable on items that are likely to be purchased for the purpose of being used.

Is it possible for the thrift to sell the antiques and collectibles online or have a boutique area in the store that has higher market priced items?

 

I agree.
After all, are the resellers taking advantage of charities? Are they conning them? No. The charities charge the price they want to charge. They have access to the same information as the resellers. And they have people like you to assist them in finding the right price.
For good items there is a chain of selling and reselling. People who go to a charity shop expect bargains. And the people who pay top dollar never go into a charity shop, so they wouldn't buy those nice items for the right price anyway.

 

I am grateful it happens...it's how I make my money
We're all part of a chain. I just happen to be at the bottom to last link. I certainly don't think I am *taking advantage* .

 

I think take what price you can get. I see SO many charity shops with stock sitting for many months because someone has looked at Ebay asking prices (!) as a guide. Even worse when they're selling Primark clothes for more than the original retail.

I certainly don't see it as taking advantage of the charity shop: for a start, those sellers may be on subsistence incomes. And, the goods are donated. Far better to have quick turnover and more income. I once bought a fabulous handbag in a charity shop. For me, I hasten to add. Told the nice lady they could have asked more, she answered that it had come in ten minutes before I bought it, and they were very happy indeed to move something so fast.

 

A valid point. They may need the extra income for food, medicine, whatever. Most of what we sell goes to medical bills. Neither of us have the opportunity to buy at charity shops, by the way.

 

I get a certain amount of pleasure,too, from taking something neglected & unloved and selling it to someone who will love it and appreciate it.
I really cannot see how what I do is *taking advantage*. I do the research, I do the cleaning...I do the pictures, I do the listing.

The info is there for all to find. I just happen to be a person that does it.

The prices I have seen in some charity shops are ridiculous.

 

Finding something in an OZ thrift shop to sell on eBoo is almost impossible as the head offices of the charities are utterly merciless in their determination to get the most out of the donations. None of the shops can remember the last time they had something silver and mentioning gold gets a good belly laugh. I think the head offices bundle up the best bits and sell them to the local auction house where I buy them and donate back what I can't sell due to postage costs. Kinda got this circular thing happening as I see a lot of things I used to own in the shops. It keeps me off the dole queue and minimises the draw down on my superannuation fund for my survival. Gee it has been a long time between finds in the thrifts.
Cheers
Stephen

 

Best answer EVER !

 

???
I don’t understand how it can be construed as “taking advantage” of the charity. The charity priced the item and the charity got the money that they asked for. End of.

 

As others have said, I think you just have to price items at a level that results in them being sold within a reasonable time, and not worry about the buyers' intentions.
You can't price things so high that they sit around the shop forever; and it is common in any sale situation that some folks will buy for resale.

 

There are tales of seller's woe sprinkled throughout the threads on this forum, of selling an item & finding out after that it was worth much more. The bottom line, literally & figuratively, is whether or not you lost money on the deal. Since your items are donated, whatever you get is pure profit. The hope of stumbling over a 'find' is probably what keeps your most loyal customers coming back. Think of underpriced items as loss leaders.

 

Go read the last 100 posts on the FINDS thread......or the first 100 posts......or the middle 300 posts...........or read 50 then jump 50 and do that for an hour.

I think it'll open your eyes & answer some of your questions......
Oh....& it's a fun as all get out read !!

 

What the cat said. (another subsistence level dealer here) The resellers come looking for bargains; if we don't find them we keep walking and buy nothing. The shop needs to strike a balance between giving something away (not that I mind free stuff!) and charging so much the buyers walk. Charge me $10 for a necklace I can sell for $10 and it's going to sit; charge me $3 and it walks out the door leaving $3 in your till. In a lower income area, the buyer for luxury merchandise is the reseller. Those willing to pay rack rates shop in luxury areas, and the true poor don't buy them. The guy in the middle, i.e. resellers and some collectors, will buy if the price is right. If your store gets known for overpricing higher end items, dealers will stay away and those items will sit until doomsday.

 

I've also experienced "buyer's woe", LOL. Many an item I've purchased at the thrift has ended up worthless for resale and gets donated back. I figure it's for a good cause.

 

Thanks, folks. All valid answers, and I guess my point now is that it no longer bothers me as it did when I started this work.
I did fail to mention that what DOES still bother me is that the very recognisable resellers are always the ones that want to haggle me down on already cheap items, in a charity store.
I had a lovely selection of Wedgewood miniature plates and the person in question wanted all 5 for $10. That’s taking the piss, really.

And to answer some other posts:

The head office doesn’t really hold back the valuable items. It’s normally the shop manager that will do that, and generally they will send those things on to the outlets in more affluent suburbs, in the hope of getting better resale.

My charity is not allowed to set up its own eBay store, but they should.

Shelf space is always a consideration, so turnover is important. But we rotate stock amongst all the outlets so items that don’t sell are moved to another store until we reach a point where we are sure it’s not going to sell.

Many stores, staffed by volunteers, don’t have people who know what they’re looking at. In my store, I saved a beautiful Murano glass ashtray that had been put in the dumpster because a staff member thought we shouldn’t promote smoking!!

 

Not if all they can sell them for is $25. The bottom has fallen out of the ceramics market.

 

I used to work in a charity shop for five years. I was quite happy to pay next to nothing for antiques and flip them high. The charity's got the money you gave it. What the hell else do they need?

Besides, most of these shops process HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS OF ITEMS EVERY DAY.

They simply don't have the TIME, or the SPACE to price stuff high and WAIT AROUND FOR IT TO MAYBE SELL. It has to go as SOON as it's out on the floor because there's literally nowhere else for it to sit if it doesn't sell IMMEDIATELY. I know some charity shops who try and sell antiques for higher, and oh god they SIT for AGES. I mean AGES. MONTHS at a time, whereas the shop's SCREAMING for shelf-space and floor-space for stuff that people ACTUALLY NEED, and they CAN'T, because there's no damn space to put it anywhere.

So no, I don't care and I don't feel guilty. If they want to sell a huge silver bowl for $20, I'll buy it.