What are your old clothes worth?

Tori_Scope

Birmingham Live spoke to Scope's Northfield charity shop about what goes on behind the scenes, where your donations go, and how prices are worked out. Read the full article here.

“We’re like one big family,” says Scope shop manager Rosie Hall.

In the stock room of the charity shop, volunteers tirelessly work their way through the mounds of donations piled up around the room. The shop receives an average of 200 donation bags a week full of an array of eclectic items.

Each item is priced, catalogued, labelled and cleaned before they reach the shop floor. Seasonal items like Christmas decorations and prom dresses are put to one side, ready to be moved to a prime position when they are needed.

Volunteers closely examine the condition of every donation they receive before deciding on a price. “We want to make as much money as we can from donations but we don’t want to rip people off at the same time,” says Rosie.

“We like to prize items accordingly. We look at the brand, the quality of the time and we adjust the price based on where we are selling it.".

So how much are your old clothes worth? More than you might think, according to manager Rosie.

“Your average bag of donations makes the charity about £20. You might think you’re just cleaning out your closet but these donations make a big difference,” she says.

Recent research conducted by Scope found the average adult in Birmingham has 25 items of unwanted clothing and footwear in their wardrobe. It says 150,000 donations nationwide would be enough to fund all of its disability services.

So what’s the hardest thing about running a charity shop? According to area manager Carl Prinzel, the cost of living crisis is proving a significant challenge.
“The cost of living crisis kills us in charity shops. Gas and electricity bills, tax rises have all had a knock on effect,” he said. “A lot of people think the cheaper you sell your stock the more money you make - you don’t. All you do is sell more stock, work twice as hard and make no money.”.

Rosie says one of the biggest misconceptions about running a charity shop is that staff help themselves to the best stock before it hits the shelves. Carl assures me that all charity shops consider this misconduct in that it “sends the wrong message to customers.”.

And what about the best thing? “That’s easy,” says Carl, “the volunteers.".

"They are all so committed - there’s a real community atmosphere here. When I go into a shop that’s struggling - the first thing I look at is how many volunteers they have.”.

Scope's loyal army of volunteers were on hand to bring the shop back to life after it was burgled four times in the last year and Rosie has heaped praise on the “family” of volunteers who keep the shop afloat.

“The volunteers come just to be here - a lot of them already work jobs,” she said “We’re like a big family - everyone comes for a bit of looking after and a chat with friends. Giving up all that time for us is just amazing - they’re so dedicated.”.

Over to you...

If you're interested in volunteering at one of our charity shops, you can find out more on our website.

Do you enjoy looking for bargains in charity shops?

Do you have any items at home that you could donate?

Have you ever considered volunteering in a charity shop?

Sandy_123

Good article, I donate to charity shops, clothes, books etc.  I pop in to look at the nic nacs, my grandchildren like looking at the toys and have bought many.  My grandson spotted a science set yesterday and we sat doing experiments together,  making a blob lamp in a test tube amongst other things. 

leeCal

I like charity shops, great fun looking around for bargains. I must say I buy a lot of clothes from them and we do donate too. 

Tori_Scope

I like to look at all the random bits and pieces too @sandy_123 The science set sounds fun! What's one of your best charity shop finds? 

Tori_Scope

I get most of my clothes from charity shops these days too @leecal It's usually cheaper, more sustainable, and it's a donation to charity. I also tend to find things that I might not usually buy new in there, which has helped me to broaden my style a bit.

Have you got any good bargains from there recently? Mine would probably be a pair of Vans (shoes) in really good condition for around £5.

leeCal

I did get a lovely cotton traders seersucker shirt for £3, which I thought was a bargain. A friend of mine bought a pair of over ear Blutooth headphones for a similar price, good value and he was chuffed with them @Tori_Scope 🙂

Sandy_123

The heart foundation has nice furniture in, dinning tables, sofas etc.  I got some scales for kitchen one of the days I was in. 

janer1967

I donated my sofa to heart foundation a bit ago had email to say it raised £55 for the charity 

I don't really look round charity shops as a lot are not accessible but donate all my old clothes some still with tags on 

Sandy_123

Some have ebay shops on ebay 

Grinchy

i use charity shops for the dvds and blurays, 10 dvds for a pound, i always pay a bit more, feel cheeky getting stuff so cheap, we have bought furniture etc as well

L_Volunteer

So many good deals here that you are all sharing! What's everyone's favourite charity shop find so far? I am intrigued to hear more of your stories. I think mine must be when I was younger finding CDs for so much cheaper