Charity Shops

[watervole]

[Poll #1557343]I was annoyed by a local charity shop today.  I spotted a bird book in one yesterday that looked potentially valuable to me. It was priced at £2.  I told the girl on the counter to seriously consider pricing it at a minimum of £10 and when I got home I looked it up on the Internet to find that the cheapest copy for sale was £75.

Went back to the shop today to be told by the guy in charge that he'd sold it to one of the staff.  He wouldn't tell me the price, but he stated that as a matter of principle he never priced a book higher than £5.  (I'm hoping he sold it to the girl I spoke to, because I think she'll give most of the money to the shop if she sells it elsewhere.)  He also added that he sold children's books at 10p and was most disgusted that Oxfam charge 30p for them.

I've spoken to this guy before. His shop barely makes enough money to cover the rent.  It isn't hard to see why....

He also believes that charity shops should never compete with other shops.  In fact, it is positively sinful for charity shops to compete with book shops.  The fact that there are no book shops in Broadstone seems to have slipped past him.

Went into another charity shop in Broadstone and was pleased to see that the skirt I'd donated the day before was on sale at £4.99.  (The other place would have sold it for less, which is why they didn't get it.  They underprice everything, but the shop looks so tatty that not many people go in there in the first place)  Both shops support similar charities - Age Concern and Help the Aged, but the contrast between the two is amazing.

One is dingy and full of junk.  The other is clean and bright and has clothes that are properly sorted and priced (and steamed).  I shop in both, but I spend more money in the nicer one.

Comments

[watervole.livejournal.com]

The trick is to learn to recognise key categories of books and have a check list of names of collectable novelists. (Check lists of this kind are very useful for unskilled volunteers, but training courses can also be helpful)

Having said that, 90% of donated books are paperback novels and those are almost never collectable, so are just sold on age and condition. (though I did once catch a rare Dr Who novel) Sorting paperback novels is an art, and can be quite fast once you get your hand in.

If you have a book on birds, canals, railways, knitting, etc, you check the price (knitting books sell well at present as a lot of people are taking up knitting). If you see a book by a famous writer, then you check to see if it's a first edition. (You get good at spotting first editions after a while). Only some first editions are valuable, and condition is very important, but many are worth £10-£30 and some are significantly more.

You get better over time.

It's great if you have someone who knows designer clothes - I remember one Oxfam shop manager locally who was brilliant in that area, but lesser mortals learn to check the label and look at the list provided to see if a dress is an expensive brand. Likewise, I remember check lists of what was currently in fashion.

You can't get experts in all areas (charity shops LOVE volunteers who can identify valuable china/art/etc), but the better shops have experts who visit now and then and check stuff over.

Having said all that, there will always be something that slips the net. Your game is a good example.