General Chat

hi i love charity shops i mostly buy books and some clothes and i bought some glass bowls aswell years ago i bought clothes for my children including a kilt which my daughter wore loads as a very young girl and then when older they were the fashion to wear very short with thick tights so it was in use again we also bought baby clothes which becky used on her dolls but probably the best buys have been from the lorus chop in leicester it sells furniture and 2 summers ago we bought a small chest of drawers for £4 which my hubby sanded and altered and stained and its a much admired TV, video, DVD stand - we couldn't find one in the shops that was right and fitted so this is perfect last summer we went back and bought a kind of dresser which yet again hubby sanded and stained and it's beautiful it cost £30 but turned out to be made of oak so was another bargain the only bad thing was that when trying to buy the chest of drawers there was another one there and we wanted to buy both but they wouldn't take switch, we didn't have cheque book and they cost £4 each and we had £7.5o or there abouts...and they wouldn't let us have them for that nor would they save them without full payment think they thought we weren't teling the truth... lou

Oh Lynne, what a marvelleous find. I hadn't heard of 'skip sales'. And yes, of all the places that could have been on the map, yours was the home of your ancestors. Bet you'll never ever part with that. Colonising or breeding? if we go to our nearest shopping centre which is just one street, there are 8 charity shops, and in the other direction which is a small town, there are 10. If I don't go in them at least once a week, I get withdrawal symptons. Wish they had been around when my children were small, I see some wonderful childrens' clothes.

Hi - spent over a year working in a charity shop fairly recently, and it would just amaze you the stuff that people "donate" - donate usually means throw out! Valuable antiques, 1st edition books, designer clobber and of course manky old vests that are indescribable! I love seaching through Charity Shops and am not too proud to say that I often wear items that have been purchased there. Hubby who is a "string bean" recently acquired 3 pairs of Levi 501 jeans (brand new) for £4.00 per pair when he would normally pay anything up to £60.00 a pair. They were obviously donated by a slim young man with more money than sense. Can't keep Hubby out of the place now. Many an old dear would come into the shop, pick up a dress or skirt and say "this is nice dear, have you got it in a size 20" Laughs a plenty - one of the best places I have ever worked. Jacqui

I love charity shops too....what a great story only a very old person would get away with saying that! I often go to the local Salvation Army shop..best buy for me was "Lovejoy" the one that used to be on the TV - an Ominibus book of 4 stories by the original creator Jonathon Gash..for 50p..eh who said I was ripped off!! :o)

Hi Norah, we call them Op Shops here (opportunity shops). I have found heaps of educational books in them over the years that my children loved. Even boardgames (with all the bits there) too. I think I've had to buy a couple of dice for them. I don't worry too much about the clothes, but have bought blankets for the dog's bed. And yes, we donate to them too. Mags (NZ)

My Best bargin was a Hi-Fi I brought two yrs ago for £8 it isn't brilliant but it does mean I can play all my vynals again and annoy my wonderfull children. Sue

Hi Norah when I'm in the Clochester area I make a point of going into a charity shop there as they do a very good range of books at next to nothing prices(handy to take to read when away in the caravan.But by the best place I have been was last year.We saw a sign advertising a skip sale (when we were away with said caravan).We duly arrived and couldn't believe what was for sale.It seems that skips when coming into the yard were sifted through and anything worth selling was put aside and there were bargains galore.One of the items I bought was an old fire screen.I haven't a fire but I have been given an old needlepiont that was done by an ancesror which was once housed in one.I paid £2 for it and didn't take any notice of the map that was in it till I got home.It was of the suffolk hundred and I discovered it was an original.It is not in a very good state of repair but I would not on looking at it closely get rid of it as of all the maps it could have been it showed a tiny part of Essex and the very village My ancestors came from Lynn Lynn

I love the local Chaity shops, and like to have a nose around, sometimes spotting items the same as I had bought perhaps in the sixies and seventies and thrown out years ago. But there do seem to be more and more of them. Visiting one in Winchester a few years ago, got chatting to the lady behind the counter, and she told me this true story of an elderly lady going in and having a look round at the clothing. She finally chose a couple of items which were then put into a bag for her, and on being told the price said indignantly"you don't expect me to pay for them do you, what ? after you getting all this stuff given to you for free" Come on then, tell us all, what is your best bargain from a Charity shop, or in the States I believe they are called Thrift shops. Norah in Hampshire