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| Best find: brown leather knee boots, £9.99 |
North
North London’s posher areas, like Belsize Park, St John’s Wood, Hampstead and Highgate Village, are good hunting grounds for thrifters, but there are charity shop gems in Islington, Muswell Hill and less salubrious climes such as Camden High Street and Kilburn, which has a cluster of well-stocked shops.
Cancer Research UK, Islington
A treasure trove of clothing, accessories and general bric-à-brac where you might even find the odd antique. Clothing ranges from designer labels, including recent Hugo Boss and Moschino, to cheaper high-street items, all still in good condition.
Cancer Research UK, 34 Upper St, N1 (020 7226 8951) Angel tube. Open Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 11am-5pm.
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North London Hospice, Muswell Hill
This charity shop is stuffed with interesting books and clothes. Recent finds include a Bakelite phone. The volunteers are friendly and helpful too.
North London Hospice, 44 Fortis Green Rd, N10 (020 8444 8131) East Finchley or Highgate tube then 134 bus. Open Mon-Sat 9.30am-5pm.
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| Best find: Sebastian Faulks' 'Human Traces' in hardback, £2.99 (original price, £17.99) |
North London Hospice, Crouch End
Another branch, and another good charity shop selling a bit of everything at bargain-basement prices.
North London Hospice, 21Topsfield Parade, Tottenham Lane, N8 (020 8340 3269) Finsbury Park tube then W7 bus. Open Mon-Sat 9.30am-5pm.
Norwood Charity Shop
This shop, which supports children with learning difficulties, sells everything except furniture. Clothes are the main draw, though, and if you rummage, you might even come across a designer gem.
Norwood Charity Shop, 84 Golders Green Rd, NW11 (020 8201 9426) Golders Green tube. Open Mon-Fri,
Sun 9.30am-5pm.
Oxfam, Hampstead
An excellent range of fiction and non-fiction books, designer clothes, shoes and accessories, as well as good-quality toys and bric-à-brac, such as plates,cups, antique guitars, scales and ceramics. Oxfam, 61 Gayton Rd, NW3 (020 7794 4474/www.oxfam.co.uk) Hampstead tube. Open Tue-Sat 10.30am-4.30pm.
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23 comments
the trinity hospice in tooting is very good one of those outdated shops where you can always find well priced items and great finds unlike the oxfam next to it which isn't even really worth bothering with..found a fantastic shirt in trinity for like £3 and love it my friend also got a lovelly pair of black brogues for £3 also the something hospice on kingsland road is not bad some furniture and electronis bric a brac and shoes and clothes but if you are looking for vintagey stuff its pot luck also the staff are a bit rude kept following me around the shop as if i was stealing then demanded that a belt was £3 despite the fact the other belts were £1
well, the charity IS the business, an i do not understand why should somebody expect to get price for £3, if original price is $3.50!! do you go to the Marks & Spencer and ask for lower price??
Charity this day's is real business, and they pay real prices for renting!!! why they should care for some ,homeless people??? do M&S care?? NO!!! Charity shop also have to pay rent, electricity, watter, heating etc. etc....they dont open to help some costumer, they open to make money, and do the business! so "london calling" get real, and do some shopping elsewhere if you do not like charity's!!
Do you know any charity shop with huge amount of children clothing in London?
Thanks,Dorina
You can find charity shop addresses (and what stock they specialise in) using the Association of Charity Shops' online database: www.charityshops.org.uk
You can find places that will take and sell 2nd hand furniture & electrical on the website of the Furniture Reuse Network: www.frn.org.uk
i always have a look around in charity shops and i am amazed at the high prices being charged for utter crap! i have seen worn out clothing with Primark labels being charged for much more than Primark charges itself!
a charity shop i understood was for the poor & needy. i witnessed a customer at a store in west hampstead who looked a bit poor and definatly in need of some kind of financial help... he picked up a shirt priced £3.50 and he asked the shop assistant if he could have it for £3.00 because that is all he had till his next benefit payment. The shop assistant replied.. "WE ARE A BUSSINESS! NOT A CHARITY SHOP. WHY DONT YOU FIND ANOTHER SHIRT FOR £3.00 INSTEAD? " I was shocked! i had to say something.. so i said to the assistant "i think you will find that you are actually working for a big charity that helps children" why cant you let him off with the 50p? She told me to mind my own business! what a bloody cheek!
Anyone know where you can get good secondhand sofas or beds from
'I heard somewhere that...' Always a good start to any unqualified assertion. Charities have to publish their accounts, so it's easy enough to find out whether they really spend all their money on admin, wages, rent etc as is often asserted (often as an excuse for not parting with cash).
A site like intelligentgiving.com makes this even easier as you can compare charities directly. For example, Oxfam spends 71% directly on charitable work, compared to 80% at British Red Cross, both a little more than the 3% someone once told Mick.
As for the accusations of 'greed', it just doesn't make any sense to accuse a charity shop of this- they are they are there to make money for the charity and are therefore run like any other business, i.e. they will charge whatever people are willing to pay. If it is really true that you can get the same quality for cheaper at TK Maxx or wherever, people will soon stop buying and they will put their prices down. That's capitalism, and they have to operate within it just like anyone else.
Personally, I'd rather the profits from my purchase go to the beneficiaries of a charity than to the unaccountable shareholders of TK Maxx, whom I imagine are earning somewhat more than even the top brass of the biggest charities. However, unlike the charities, they aren't required to tell anyone what they spend their money on.
I don't know how true this is. I heard somewhere that one of the largest charity organisations, (who shall remain nameless), don't pass on all the money they make in their shops. Allegedly, only three(3) pence in every pound goes to actual charity work. The rest goes into running the charity and paying their top brass top wages.
Is any charity shop selling dining chairs?
cld u tell me which charity shop i cld get sewing machine thanks
i think it's a bit unfair to accuse charity shops of greed - if anyone is making money out of it, it's the charity. i've no idea what sort of rent they're paying, but maybe they aren't actually getting special deals and are paying the same as the starbucks next door.
yes i totally agree they're overpriced i've been charity shopping for years and am really into vintage the whole reason i got to the charity shops rather than the vintage shops is that they are meant to be cheaper but now they've all got vintage sections selling sometimes stuff that you wouldnt even find in vintage shops for those ridiculous prices, they think just cos they've put down linoleum flooring they can up the price by 50% its just greed and it seems they've completely lost sight of thier customers needs!!!
try the salvation army thrift shop opposite the william morris gallery in walthamstow, got some good stuff in there.
Are any of the charity shops actually worth visiting then or are they all over priced ?
You should definitely check out the Red Cross shop just off the Kings Road - 69-71 Old Church Street, Kensington, SW3 5BS - famous for selling designer items at low prices.