A woman has been left stunned by the prices of items in a charity shop, as she shared her thoughts on the ‘ridiculous’ cost of items in the store – and it’s sparked a debate online
A woman was left gobsmacked after spotting the sky-high prices of items in her local charity shop. Charlotte Deering took to Instagram to share her shock at the “ridiculous” prices she found, highlighting a worrying trend as the cost of living crisis begins to impact even the most affordable of shopping options.
Among the overpriced items were bags of LEGO tagged at £7.50 and action figures with price tags reaching up to £60. In her post, Charlotte lamented: “Makes me so sad when charity shops are charging such ridiculous prices for things. Her horror at the pricing in the unnamed charity shop has been shared by members of the public.
Charlotte believed the charity shops, while still perfect for a bargain, were struggling to compete with one another.
Charlotte suggested that while charity shops remain a go-to for bargain hunters, they seem to be struggling to keep their prices competitive. She pointed out that “better priced” independent stores could be driving up prices elsewhere.
In her words: “I love the charity shops SO much, but I notice more and more now that the smaller independent ones seem to be better priced and always busy, so I really think the others need to follow suit and not be so greedy, more people will go in to them and buy more then so it’s a no brainer, surely?”
Her observations about the rising prices in charity shops have resonated with many, who agree that these inflated prices are becoming an all too common sight.
One individual commented: “Very often now I am seeing things in charity shops priced for more or equal to what it would be in the original shop it’s from. It’s crazy to me.”
Another added: “There was a pair of trainers in one of my local charity shops the other day for £25 – the label said ‘Nike’.. they have Shein dresses for £13 and I once went to get a suitcase and it was £25 – the same suitcase was £22 in Primark, I told them this and they just said well go Primark then. The prices are absolutely ridiculous in there.”
A third person added: “There’s a charity shop not long opened near me and it’s pricing is really good and guess what, they sell loads – it’s different every time you go in.
“Other charity shops near me charge silly prices and it’s the same stuff on the shelves week in week out. If all charity shops had better pricing, they’d sell more and actually make more money – it’s amazing they haven’t realised that yet.”
A person claiming to be a charity shop manager has since suggested the problem is not the price, but that getting items onto the shop floor is tricky.
They wrote: “I’m a charity shop manager too and everyone talks about shifting stock but the stock has to get onto the shopfloor first, with the rise of fast fashion and our throw away society donation have risen however the amount of people volunteering has dropped, people with spare time now want a job that pays which is understandable.
“Donations flood in but if there is only one person to sort them it takes time , clothes arrive dirty, torn etc homewares broken so sorting the saleable bit out, pricing, steaming, hanging etc takes ages.
“I find it better to put out the best quality at a reasonable price rather than lower quality at a cheaper price makes us more money due to the time it takes to process.”