Charity shops are no longer a flop (General Charity Shops)

Member Name: misssaxyness

Product:	General Charity Shops
Date:	25/10/08 (112 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Helping others, great bargains, unusual products.

Disadvantages: Some overpriced items, not enough shops!

My first memories of Charity shops go back to the early 90's when i was about 13. It was extremely unfashionable and frowned upon to even know what a charity shop was, let alone make the mistake of shopping in one. I only wish i had taken the scary steps of actually going into one earlier than i did, imagine the bargains i've missed out on!

Anyway, on with my review...

My drama teacher at school, Miss Vokes, was fabulously boho and effortlessly cool. A fellow pupil asked her one afternoon after lessons where she had obtained her gorgeous dark brown faux sheepskin coat. She replied flippantly "the Oxfam shop" and left amongst a fluffy of gasps and muttered insults such as 'bin raider' and 'tramp'. Still reeling from the spend spend spend culture of the 80's, designer labels and catwalk models being the big thing, as expected everyone thought this was terrible.

I however was inspired and went home to ask my mum if we could take a look around some of our local charity shops in town on the following Saturday. I don't really know what made me feel differently to the majority. Maybe it was purely the prettiness of the coat, maybe it was wanting to emulate Miss Vokes or maybe it was the same thing that has made me slightly different in lifestyle to this very day... whatever it was, i'm glad i jumped in with both feet to the wonderful world of charity shopping and i'd like to think after reading this maybe you will too (if you haven't already!).

Back then things were very different to how they are now. Obviously with inflation prices have and will always rise in charity shops pretty much the same as they do in your average highstreet retailer. Within this, the charity shop has evolved in some areas and stayed quite dormant in others. Larger chains such as Oxfam, Cancer Research and British Heart Foundation have upped their price tags closer to those of highstreet shops with books usually selling between £2-£5 and an average pair of jeans costing about £4. Bric-a-brac can still be picked up for less costly prices, beginning at around 50p.

Entertainment prices have gone up a considerable amount with some shops charging upwards of £6 for dvds and videogames, which you can actually buy cheaper online or in shops brand new. A lot of this unfortunately is down to the wonderful volunteers behind the scenes who don't really know the value of what they are pricing, as there aren't clear guidelines or price comparisons to work from for them. I used to volunteer for The British Heart Foundation in Beckenham, Kent which is why i'm using this personal experience in my review. We had no kind of pricing guide to work from at all with entertainment donations, just basic clothes and bric-a-brac guidelines.

In contrast to the larger organisations, we have the generally smaller charity shops that tend to cater for local charities. Prices here have remained more akin to those of the charity shops from my youth, with books available at 10p a go, and VHS sales such as 4 for £1. These little hidden gems of the charity world are often placed where you'd least expect to find them. We have one in Beckenham down an alleyway next to a chinese shop - the only hint its there is a little wooden sign leant up against the wall on a Saturday morning. I shop in both types of shop but i have to admit i have a weakness for the smaller non -chain charities as on top of having the cheaper prices and in most cases more unusual items, i also feel like i'm doing more good with my money. There seems to be little swallowing up of my donation into
admin, fundraising events or wages and everyone always seems welcoming and pleased to have my custom - and i to, to have their service.

This leads me nicely on to money and profits - where does Charity shop money go? I already mentioned Admin and fundraising costs that most of the larger companies have to juggle. Oxfam openly support helping less developed countries with water and sanitation, education, health and welfare and agriculture among many more. The British Heart Foundation aims to spend your money in helping research into heart conditions, supporting sufferers and survivors and in promoting healthy living. Cancer Research does similar with their profits, helping survivors and sufferers living with cancer as a part of their life, and contributing massively to research in this area.

Each larger charity has websites easy to find if you search the name of the charity you are interested in for lots more information on how to donate, where your money goes and any other questions you may want answering.

With the dreaded credit crunch (i didn't want to mention it!) and people generally becoming more relaxed with second hand goods helped along by websites such as eBay, and the age old tradition of hand-me-downs within families, the charity shop is becoming a very acceptable place to buy from, for all types of purchase. If however you still aren't liking the idea of buying second hand goods, most of the larger charities sell new goods which are often organic, fair trade, of a high quality and of course, a percentage of the profit still goes to fund the good causes each charity supports.

Thankyou for reading my review. I hope you go on to find a charity shop that works for you and one that you can feel happy supporting, as i have. Charity shopping and volunteering is something i feel very passionately about and i hope i've passed some of that passion on in this review! For more information, why not have a look at a few links i have listed below.

www.oxfam.co.uk

www.bhf.org.uk

www.cancerresearchuk.org

www.charityshops.org.uk/locator.php (a great charity shop locator)

www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=23497420164 (my own personal Facebook group for people who love charity shopping!)

Summary: We all deserve a treat now and again, why not help someone out in the process?