Has the cheap charity shop bargain become a thing of the past?

Charity shops have always been a bargain hunter’s dream, with many deals to be found on donated clothes. But shoppers have recently started noticing that the price of some charity shop garments are not quite as cheap and cheerful as they used to be.

While many charity shops are still highly affordable - some even offering £1 rails - prices vary according to a number of factors, from the item’s brand and condition to where the charity shop is located.

But recently, several content creators who regularly shop in charity shops have highlighted pricing they believe is unfair or disproportionate to the item of clothing on sale. One TikTok content creator, Anna, who goes by the handle @thesecondhandqueen, shared a series of videos where she finds items she believes are overpriced in charity shops.

In one video, she shows a dress from fast fashion retailer Shein, which is known for its rock-bottom prices, on the rail in a charity shop. The secondhand dress was priced at £14, but Anna claimed it would be just £6 to buy it brand new.

In her caption, she wrote: "Was this a charity shop staff error or are they just trying to squeeze what they can out of the increase in sustainable shopping and second-hand market [sic]? Charity shops are turning away donations and their rails are filled with prices like this."

A second content creator, Lisa, who goes by the handle @lisaturn1poundaround, also commented on how the prices in some charity shops can be disproportionately high.

In a video she shared earlier this year, Lisa said: "I go charity shopping all of the time and some shops are just too much money. I went into one the other day and everything was like £15, £20.

"That’s not an impulse purchase, that’s something I’ve got to really think about spending… Whereas if everything was £5 or £7, I’ve walked out with a bag full of stuff and given that charity £60 to £65. [In] the other shops [where] they’re overpricing, basically… I’m spending nothing."

Lisa added: "Isn’t it better for me to spend £60 to £65 in your shop and buy several things than walk out with nothing?"

‘Charity shops have to be mindful’

Jen Graham, a fashion stylist who specialises in second-hand shopping and who aims to inspire people to shop in charity shops, tells Yahoo UK that charity shops are having to strike a fine balance between keeping the lights on and keeping shoppers buying from them.

Graham, who has been visiting charity shops since she was 17, says: "I do feel that people don’t realise that charity shops still pay for rent and bills like gas and electricity. They don’t get a discount because they are a charity shop.

"As much as shoppers are struggling with the cost of living crisis, so are other shops and businesses, including charity shops. They also still have to pay staff, not everyone who works in a charity shop is a volunteer. So I do agree there have to be some price increases.

"But some shops are charging more than online retailers like Temu, and they need to be careful about that. We don’t want to make it cheaper to buy new or shop on these websites, we want to encourage people to spend money in charity shops so they can keep doing the amazing work they do."

Charity retail plays a major role in fundraising. According to the Charity Retail Association, charity retail shops contributed £387 million to their parent charities in the year 2022/23.

So while people often shop at charity shops with the goal of scoring a bargain, shoppers may forget that any money the shop makes goes back to a good cause, be it to fight inequality (Oxfam), to deliver help to injured people via helicopter (London Air Ambulance Charity), or to help fund life-saving cancer research (Cancer Research UK).

However, Graham warns against charity shops getting carried away with the boom in demand for secondhand retail.

"The charity retail industry needs to be careful that they don’t get a bit too excited and go, ‘Oh, great, it’s busy, let’s put the prices up’. Because people like me who charity shop forever will notice it and decide against going into certain shops because they’re too expensive.

"Whether you’re a loyal charity shopper or not, you’re going to go where you can afford. And everybody is struggling, so charity shops really have to find the right balance."

‘Hunt around until you find the right bargain’

Although some shoppers may feel that charity shop prices have soared, Robin Osterley, chief executive of the Charity Retail Association, advises against writing off all charity shops as doing the same.

"Charity shops are always very keen to provide value for money," he tells Yahoo UK. "They are going to want to make as much money as they can because their primary objective is to earn money for their parent charities, but they’re always very conscious of trying to provide value for money."

Pricing structures vary vastly from shop to shop and manager to manager. Some may be extremely well-organised, such as the British Heart Foundation, who have pricing guides for shop managers, while others have more flexibility.

Osterley’s advice? Shop around. "Go hunting around the charity shops until you find the kind of bargain you’re looking for, because they’re quite often clustered together and there will be something out there for you," he says.

If you do find an item you think is overpriced, you can bring it up to the shop manager in a polite manner. "Our shop managers are amongst the busiest people in the world, even when they’ve got a number of volunteers supporting them.

"But if something is really out of kilter, then bring it to the attention of the shop manager. They may simply have got it wrong while going through hundreds of bags of donations. It’s good for shop managers to be kept up to the mark and make sure they’re considering their pricing carefully."

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• Second Hand September: What is it and how to get involved (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)