It's all for charity dahling! (General Charity Shops)

Member Name: durham_girl

Product:	General Charity Shops
Date:	23/08/09 (34 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some good bargains to be had

Disadvantages: Some are pricing themselves too high

When I was younger I used to be so embarrassed by by Mam, who spent quite a lot of time browsing the different charity shops in town. I would never go in with her and used to wait a fair distance from the shop just in case any of my friends happened to walk past! Fast forward a few years and now I drag her in them!

I must admit I don't tend to frequent them as much as I used to. It seems that through the effect of the credit crunch, more people are shopping in charity shop and because of this they have raised their prices. While I'm all for charity shops making as much money as they can, some places seem to have priced themselves out of the market. For example I have seen Primark clothes priced higher then the original Primark price! For me, the whole point of charity shops is to make as much money as they can and high rotation of stock is part of this, bird in the hand and all that. If people see the same items of stock everytime they come in, they will come in less often, less footfall = less money in the till.

That said, if you can find the right shop, with a manager who shares this view there are some great bargains to be had, I've had designer clothes at a fraction of the RRP, household items and lots more!

Different shops also have different opinions regarding displays. Some go for the 'less is more' approach and some prefer the 'pile it all in' style. Personally I prefer something in the middle. Part of the fun is to have a good rake through the stock in the hope of finding a gem, but it's impossible if you can't get to it!

So, bargains, the thrill of the chase and environmentally friendly too! What more could you want?

Summary: Bargains and environmentally friendly too