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| Best find: red knit top from Jigsaw, £3.99 |
East
East London may not boast the richest neighbourhoods, but it still has a good crop of charity shops, many of them fuelled by local creatives – so expect good record collections, interesting fashions and good books at lower prices than in north or west London.
Barnardo’s, Wanstead
Best known for its wide selection of books, both educational and fictional, this branch of Barnado’s also boasts a good clothing section and always has a few designer names and high-end high-street brands. Most recently it’s had Gucci and Karen Millen items on the shop floor. Barnado’s head office often sends batches of new and secondhand CDs and DVDs to the shop as well.
Barnardo’s, 70 High St, E11 (020 8989 3641) Wanstead tube. Open Mon-Sat 9am-5.30pm.
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Help the Aged
This Walthamstow shop is great for household items, such as kitchenware and ornaments. There’s also a good selection of DVDs and CDs.
Help the Aged, 36-44 High St, E17 (020 8520 9462) Blackhorse Rd tube/rail. Open Mon-Sat 9am-5pm.
Oxfam, Dalston
This branch of Oxfam used to be a cinema in the 1950s, which accounts for its ample floor space. Men’s and women’s clothing, books, records and homewares are all up for grabs with the average garment priced at a modest £2.29. There’s a huge choice with a hotchpotch of serviceable separates, dresses and curios, plus decent plates, teapots and the like, as well as grander pieces such as suits, ballgowns and wedding dresses in the mêlée. It has something of a cult status in the area; there’s even a local blogger known as Dalston Oxfam Shop who rummages the music section for obscure tapes.
Oxfam, 570 Kingsland Rd, E8 (020 7923 1532/www.oxfam.co.uk) Dalston Kingsland rail. Open Mon-Fri 9.30am-5.20pm, Sat 9.30am-6pm,
Sun 12noon-4pm.
Sense
Bargains abound in this excellent Hackney charity shop that sells clothes, crockery, jewellery and electrics.
Sense, 307 Mare St, E8 (020 8986 0494) Hackney Central rail. Open Mon-Sat 9.30am-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.