I have come across people who feel that they are above purchasing goods in charity shops. This I find very disappointing. On a Sunday I often trawl through the many charity shops in Bromley high street loooking for a bargain. You can end up with some very decent things, be it for your property, or on occasion clothes(once these have been washed where is the difference from purchasing new?). Charity shops create employment and also help people who are not so well off to buy things they may not be able to when new. Don't be a snob, open the door.
Never had a drama with a charity shop - they serve a very noble purpose. I thought snobbery towards them were an out of date stigma.
The problem with charity shops is the negative effect that they have on other retailers, particularly in High Sts. Charity shops gets relief on business rates, which is a major bugbear to their competitors.
Bigger issue with the high streets is offering the bigger companies 3 years free rents and then making the independent companies cover that by upping rents by ridiculous rates.
The thought of entering a Bromley charity shop, only to encounter a pair of @baraettmattesvensson recycled underpants fills me with horror.
On a serious note, there are now far too many charity shops in High Sts and they are a sign of town centre’s economic decline. In places like Bromley & Orpington 1 or 2 are enough. In more good news for the High St, the Govt will soon cap FOBT maximum spins, which will lead to thousands of High St betting shops closing. There are 4 in Orpington alone. Far too many.
Glad you are now respecting the thread. There are two 24 hour fruit machine joints in Bromley now. Wtf wants to go in these places at 3am on a Tuesday?!
Interesting points in the OP. Generally when people talk about charity shops, they think clothing. However, a lot of charity shops offer a much wider range of items that people no longer want. It could be something for the garden, it could be something for craft, it could be something for an ornamental purpose, basically something you need but it does not need to be new. Bit like ebay i suppose. So why would you go to hardware stores, supermarkets, garden centres, craft shops and pay say £30 if you can pick up an item for 99p that's just as good and serves the purpose - I'm not saying that is the case in all charity shops but there are some out there that have no sense in the value of items and give them away as though it was a boot fair or being ordered off ebay. I think the reason the OP is correct, it's based around past and maybe even still present snobbery.
@ForestHillBilly will love this thread...when he gets back on his bike from the Orpington charity shops.
Crisis have a shop in Stroud Green Road, N4. It has lots of very high end furniture and rakes of old vinyl. They even have a coffee shop.
