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| Best find: green cotton men's Gap shirt, £4.99 |
South
Northcote Road in Battersea is a great place to go charity shopping, as is nearby Clapham, where you’ll find many a d well-stocked thrift store. Venture further afield for the real gems, however – from Wimbledon’s glorious Oxfam to the richly stocked shops of affluent East Sheen.
Barnardo’s, Brixton
A vast and lively charity shop with an exciting, unpredictable mix of clothes and accessories, stocking all kinds of high-street brands with the odd designer bargain. A Dolce & Gabbana suit was recently snapped up for £50.
Barnardo’s, 414 Brixton Rd, SW9 (020 7274 4165) Brixton tube/rail. Open Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 10am-5pm.
British Heart Foundation, Balham
This clean (it reeks of Mr Sheen) and brightly lit branch sells a good selection of high-street and mid-range brands at very good prices – £2 for a foxy pencil skirt. The shoes and jeans are well worth a look here. They’re all sold alongside a range of new, cheaply priced accessories, including necklaces, earrings and hairbands from £1.99.
British Heart Foundation, 184 Balham High Rd, SW12 (020 8675 5401) Balham tube/rail. Open Mon-Sat 9.30am-5pm, Sun 10am-3pm.
British Heart Foundation Furniture & Electrical
A great charity shop to know about if you’re after secondhand furniture or electrical appliances. Selling everything from washing-machines and fridges to sofas and dining-room tables, it’s the perfect place to pick up things for the home at bargain prices. The shop works with a company called Remploy to ensure that all electricals are serviced and in proper working order. A washing-machine could set you back £100-£180. Its collection service will also come to your house.
British Heart Foundation Furniture & Electrical, 211-219 Old Kent Rd, SE1 (020 7740 1668) Elephant & Castle tube/rail. Open Mon-Sat 9.30am-5pm.
Marie Curie Cancer Care
A must if you’re after designer labels. At the moment it’s stocking Chloé, Prada and Gucci trousers and Valentino men’s suits. There’s also always a great selection of designer accessories, including Mulberry handbags in near mint condition. Look out for good quality bric-à-brac as well.
Marie Curie Cancer Care, 1 Lichfield Terrace, Richmond (020 8940 1800) Richmond tube/rail. Open Mon-Sat 9.30am-5pm.
PAWS
A down-to-earth favourite among Claphamites with a good mix of clothes, books and ornaments. All proceeds go to the worthy animal charity.
PAWS, 62 Clapham High St, SW4 (020 7720 9962) Clapham North tube. Open Mon-Sat 10.30am-5pm, Sun 12noon-5pm.
Scope
Another good all-rounder, but especially worth checking out for its mix of clothing, including some good-quality designer pieces, and brand new shoes and handbags.
Scope, 69 St Johns Rd, SW11 (020 7801 0746) Clapham Common tube. Open Mon-Sat 9.30am-5.30pm.
Trinity Hospice, Clapham
This charity shop sells a good selection of everything and is a great place to rummage through mountains of bric-à-brac. As for its clothing, it’s a mixture of high street and designer. On our last visit we spotted an Alberta Ferretti suit.
Trinity Hospice, 40 Northcote Rd, SW11 (020 7924 2927) Clapham Common tube. Open daily 10am-5pm.
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22 comments
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.
Visiting london nesxt week and will be staying in the Kensington area,can you let me know of a few charity shops in this area please,
many thanks.