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

I don't consider it taking advantage of a charity when I find a bargain. They priced the merchandise and I bought it. Someone else will come along and buy it if I don't. I don't haggle at thrifts unless something has clearly been sitting for a long time and most thrifts here won't let you on new merchandise anyway. Most have a mark-down system that anyone can take advantage of if the merchandise sits long enough.

Keep in mind that the dealer who buys something one day, may donate to you on another. They also help keep merchandise moving and probably buy a lot of your everyday items as well. As long as there are customers coming through the door, merchandise is moving, and you are meeting charitable goals, I wouldn't worry too much. There may be ways to tweak the shop to meet goals better but that is not necessarily your place to determine. If you are frustrated by what you see, blame may be better placed on management than the customers.

I also don't fault charities for trying to maximize profits. If it gets to the point where the customers are gone, they have done a disservice to their base. One thrift store has raised their prices to the point that I can no longer find much there. This used to be my bread and butter source and I would spend thousands of dollars a year there. I can still find some things there occasionally but most of my thrift expenditures now go to other sources. They don't seem to have any shortage of customers but things do sit longer than in the past. They may have cut out a lot of their dealer base but seem to have maintained enough business to keep the merchandise moving. I lament the fact that this source is not as lucrative for me as it once was but support the charity and what they are trying to do.

 

Those little Wedgwood dishes here are fifty pence to a pound each at car boot sales. There's no value to them any more.

 

If you happen to luck into the really old stuff, i.e. pre-1850 Wedgwood it can be worth a nice chunk. The post-WWII pieces here they pretty well have to give away. No one wants it. I'm still keeping my eyes peeled for a little basaltware urn @gregsglass wanted, but otherwise it can sit for all of me.

 

Yup. I did pick up one plate that sold for silly money, but it was a limited edition black jasper with gold leaf. The ruby/red jasper is about the only thing worth looking for.

 

Thrift/charity shops are my library! I love going through their stacks and getting books for a buck or two. I read them and pass them along if anyone wants, or I donate back to the the thrift. Sure, I could use the library, but it’s not as much fun. It’s my way of not coming home with stuff that I think I could resell, but will end up in my basement along with other u wise purchases...

 

Hi there , i would say if their making money from preying on your knock down prices then start knocking the prices up , i do it at the car boot sale (im in the UK) i keep my prices low but i know who the dealers are so i dont cut them any slack unless their buying a good few items and even then i only knock a few pounds off. RL.

 

I'd say as long as everyone is making money, don't worry about it too much. The thrift paid zero. Generally there's no bargaining in charity shops here, so you pay what they charge.

 

As I have mentioned in the past, a local thrift shop here was one of the best for finding treasures at good prices. Now, because they think resellers are ripping them off royally by making profits, they increased the prices so high, they don't sell much if anything because they think anything vintage is gold.

I was in there the other day while I was in town and decided to take a look.
There was the some HA pink and white crinoline tea cups and saucers sitting on a shelf that was there 2 months ago... or more. Not moving because it is priced too high.

Even the junk is overpriced. The store used to be so busy with resellers and those who needed some items at a discount because of low income jobs.
They need to fire the people running it and get real.

 

As a matter of principle, if I go to a sale and see they have E-bay sheets on items, I turn around and walk out. To me it is a tacky way of doing things.

 

Not tacky - just ignorant. If "It's selling for X on Ebay" I'm not going to pay X, I'm going to pay X/2 most likely. I leave those items where they lay and check out the junk they didn't bother to check. At one tag sale I did pay up, $10 for a used menorah (it was a design I had a use/home for and it was unusual) and they THREW IN scrap gold in a baggie because they wanted the junk jewelry gone. So it does happen. Not often, but it happens.

 

I have seen that some of the major "charity" thifts DO have their own online auctions, and I have seen one or two that had a "boutique" section in their store.
I suppose every area is different. Years ago, I frequented thrift shops several times a week. Nowadays, it's more like once a month - and that is mostly in order to meet another picker who has been consigning some of HIS items to me for sale online.

 

Boutique sections are fine, but...I generally barely look at them. The "mistakes" are much better. Got a Pucci scarf the other day in the Ill Will for $1.50! Do I normally buy scarves? At that price, yep! Meanwhile, they wanted $15 for a Lennox Christmas ornament that probably sells for about $10 if you can move it at all.

 

Another difference between "thrift" shops and online sellers is, most thrift shops sell strictly AS IS, NO REFUNDs. Sell it on eBay, you had better describe it perfectly, be sure of authenticity, and be prepared to back up whatever you said... Even then, you STILL risk losing your money AND the item to an unscrupulous "buyer". As others have said, resellers do a lot of work to find, buy, prepare, list, and ship and item, all with an element of risk. I'd say the charity stores have a great deal going, moving high volume quickly, and every sale a done deal!

 

I'll grab a bargain and a profit any time I see one. We donate plenty to charity shops in time, effort and stock. There are several I won't support, though. Some in Oz are so rapacious it is quite offensive.

 

ra·pa·cious
rəˈpāSHəs/
adjective
adjective: rapacious
aggressively greedy or grasping.
"rapacious landlords"
synonyms: grasping, greedy, avaricious, acquisitive, covetous;

I learned me a new word !!!!!

 

I did too! TY for saving me the time to look it up!!

 

Coming from Oz, I can attest to the fact that some thrift-shops over here overprice their stuff to the point of insanity.

 

at last I contribute to the learning curve! Rapacious -- a good word. Curious that it's eluded you. Whatever, it's now yours to enjoy.

 

Not directly pertinent but a related story..... We recently had a lady go on a rant on our facebook page about how she saw a couple of her pieces that she donated to a thrift show up on our store page. They were, of course, priced many times what they were priced at the thrift. She wasn't particularly mad but more aghast that our dealers would be buying thrift store pieces. The underlying gist, as I saw it, was that she thought it tacky and was just a bit sorry that she didn't realize they had value. I am not sure where she thought we got our merchandise. If she had her way, it would cut out a primary source for many of us. It would also cut out a lucrative portion of income for the thrifts.

 

Indeed, VeryBrad. I was surprised to see buyers' premiums at an auction house in Sydney are now 25%. It's a long time since we've been to the sales, and I imagine sellers' premiums aren't much below 25% either. Tough out there in the 'rapacious' world. It takes a lot of hard work to spin a profit these days.