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06/11/2009

Comments

Shoestring

I haven't seen this programme but it sounds ridiculous! I expect to find plenty of things to rummage through when I go to a charity shop. It amazes me people would donate actual rubbish. I've donated a lot of clothes in the past few weeks and I washed and ironed them all first!

Sandie

I haven't seen the programme. Several of our local charity shops have had the retail makeover and, for me, it spoils it a bit.

The charges for items are quite high and I go with the old Tesco motto of "pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap". Surely EVERYONE loves a bargain and these shops would sell more of their stock (donated free of charge and wo-manned by volunteers) if they charged MUCH less. Better to shift more, I would have thought.

I have seen items in my local CS (women's tops) that I could buy new much cheaper in Sainsbury's

gill

Yes I watched the programme, it seems to me when a CS is given a makeover they charge much more for their items, so I much prefer the small local charity shops where you can have a rummage and might find a real bargain. I did find her a bit disrespectful towards the ladies who work in the shop, many of whom have given years of service and do so VOLUNTARILY! They couldn't afford to operate without these people prepared to give their time freely, so to treat them as paid employees and criticise their efforts was unreasonable. The right manager (and I think all charity shops needs one of those)will bring out the best in their voluntary staff. I'd love to be a manager of a charity shop BTW, my dream job!

Ulrike

Hello from Bristol! I am one of those people who always read blogs but hardly ever comment, but I have been watching the programme and have been thinking about this quite a bit.

It's a catch 22. I love a bargain as much as anybody but I also want charity shops to make as much money as possible for their respective cause.

The most important point of the first episode was that people must stop "donating" their rubbish to charity shops. It's disgusting what these volunteers (some of them in their 80s!) had to sort through. And the fact that some charity shops have to spend thousands of pounds on skips to get rid of all this rubbish is just appaling!

What I also agreed with is that the pricing has to be more consistent. You cannot sell a plate for 50p and a camera in working order for 70p. It just does not make sense. Our local CS sometimes sells horror paperbacks for 25p - which can be found on ebay for £20! I know this is very nice for whoever makes that bargain and finds the books in the CS - but not very good for the charity itself.

So, yes, I love to rummage and find a good bargain. But ultimately we should have the charity in mind and the charity shops have to strike a balance.
Sorry about the rant, really had to get this off my chest!

Shazza

Elizabeth, I really could not agree more with all your comments! You have stated every thought I had about the programme.

I also think her attitude to the staff is very patronising. Yes, they may be elderly but why some people think that elderly= stupid is beyond me. This isn't a personal beef on my part - I'm only (?) 43 but the way some people talk to the elderly really makes me angry. I was hoping one of them might put her in her place, to be honest!

sharie

Hmmmm, I wonder where all these top designer items are going to come from? Will they be able to maintatin a steady stream? The majority of people buy from the cheaper end of the market so thats what charity shops are going to end up with so need to price accordingly.
Also what about fakes? Are they clever enough to spot one and if so will it be priced properly?
BTW charity shops sell clothes that are worn to the ragman so its worth keep giving them. Junk should go in the bin at home and not taken to the shop to dispose of.

Wendy

Really good piece today and lots of great replies. Glad that you were interested in my comment yesterday. One of my concerns with Mary Portas was the way she hassled the old people, making them doorstep for donations etc.

Maureen

As I'm here in New Zealand I didn't see the programme but I do see some similarites here.
Many of the op shops are filled with rubbish which would probably go straight the skip in UK but the standard of living for many people here is very low and so surprisingly poor ( to me) items are snapped up.
We also have an upmarket shop which does have some wonderful pieces donated from some of the older, richer families here. Last year I bought a beautiful red cashmere coat which loads of people have complimented me on and it cost only NZ$60. (Having said that for people on a benefit of NZ150 that's a dream).
They also supply hand sewn tote bags, made from worn curtains and duvets, every time you buy anything and I see more and more of them in the supermarkets, way better than the plastic.
This same shop also has a couple of staff with a wonderful eye who will help you put things together for a special occasion and I have recently been added to their "Junoesque" client list so that we can get an early viewing of the big stuff!

Maureen

Sorry for posting again. The shop above has a lot of retro stuff and a few weeks ago there was an old male manequin in the window with nothing on but a homburg and a donegal tweed overcoat. On the floor beside him were some lovely ties which I bent down to look at. When I stood up there was a horrified old lady staring at me. I think she thought I was looking under his coat.

I spoke with the shop worker who said the manequin was very heavy to lift so she draped a kilt around him which, I think, would have satisfied the little old lady particularly as Dunedin is a very Scottish city.

Anyway, I went in there yesterday and it was all change again because he was in a posing pouch accompanied by an All Black scarf and pompom hat ensemble..tres chic!

P.S The All Blacks lost to France by the way.

Samantha

I am with you 100% on this one. I love Mary Portas but she did seem to be taking the charity shop off into a different direction.

The more junk and jumble the better as far as I am concerned!

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