2024 has not been an easy year for charity shops, including our own. The recent economic downturn coupled with poor weather at the start of Summer has resulted in a huge year-on-year decrease in footfall to the high street. This is especially difficult for Greyhound Rescue Wales as traditionally, most of our income has come from our wonderful charity shops in Cardiff, Swansea, Neath, Merthyr Tydfil, Blackwood and Abergavenny.
Something that is not a new trend though, are some of the bizarre myths and rumours that we regularly hear about charity retail. With our own retail operation nearing its 10-year anniversary, we thought we’d take this chance to break down 5 of our favourites and hopefully put the record straight!
Myth 1: Charity shops don’t pay rent/bills/utilities
It’s simply not true that charity shops don’t have to pay bills like any other shop. Like other retail units, we have to pay for electricity, water, phone, internet, repairs etc. We most certainly also have to pay rent, although if you know of a landlord out there giving away free retail units, please do give us a call!
Charities are eligible for a discount on business rates, however the amount can vary between local authorities. We think this may be where rumours like this stem from.
Myth 2: Charity shops are there to provide cheap shopping for people and should never charge more than £1
Charities in the UK are governed by very strict laws that dictate what they can use their resources for. Unless a charity is specifically set up for the purpose of providing cheap items to the public, then the reason its shops exist is to raise money for the charity’s cause.
Of course, a great secondary benefit of charity shopping is that you can find some wonderful bargains, but charity shops have a duty to their donors and their charity to raise the most money possible from their available stock.
Imagine if you donated a very expensive item to your local charity shop that was worth, say, £200, because you really wanted to help their charity. If you found out that shop gave it to someone for £1, you would likely be very upset! We’re incredibly grateful for every single donation that comes to our shops and we owe it to our generous donors to make the most of them by selling them at a fair price.
With all that being said, even the highest-end charity shops will still be selling items well below market prices, making them a sure-thing when it comes to shopping on a budget.
Myth 3: Charity shops just sell unwanted rubbish
We are lucky to have a broad range of donors who give all sorts of items to our charity shops. People donate items to charity for lots of reasons, many of them are still brand new or have had very little use and you can really find some excellent bargains if you visit regularly!
We pride ourselves on the quality of our stock and we never put anything out on the shop floor that isn’t in a good, saleable condition. For any items we can’t sell, we have a recycling contractor who is able to take them away for us.
If you’ve never visited our shops before, you might be surprised at just how high the quality of our stock is!
Myth 4: Charity shops have a big laundry out the back, so you don’t need to wash your clothes before you donate them
You’d be surprised how many people think this, but no it definitely isn’t true! Washing clothes in bulk is very expensive and if charity shops had to launder every item that came in, they wouldn’t make any money. Not to mention it is extremely unpleasant for our volunteers to have to sort and dispose of dirty items of clothing. One task we do carry out however, is to hang and steam all of our clothing before putting it on sale to make sure it is in the best condition it can be.
If you’re donating to your local charity shop, make sure any clothes are clean and free from any significant damage. As a rule of thumb, ask yourself: would someone want to buy this item in this condition? If the answer is no, it’s probably best to recycle it.
Myth 5: Most of the money from charity shops doesn’t actually go to the cause
This is a flawed statement to begin with because charities in the UK can only use their funds and resources to further their specific cause, often referred to as “charitable objects“. A charity using funds for any other purpose would likely be in violation of the Charities Act and face legal or regulatory action.
Even looking at charity spending, it is also a myth that UK charities spend excessive amounts of money on overheads and administration. A 2022 study showed that, across the charity sector, 86% of spending on was on ‘frontline’ activity. The remaining 14% goes to vital support work that, while it may not be ‘at the coalface’, is essential to making sure charities manage their money responsibly and get the most out of every single donation.
Looking at Greyhound Rescue Wales, in 2023 our charity spent an average of ~£2000 per dog rehomed. This figure only includes core rehoming costs such as kennelling, veterinary treatment and medication. This doesn’t include the wider costs of fundraising and administration. We are proud of our record of helping dogs that others cannot or will not help, but this does come at a significant financial cost.
Charities are a fundamental part of civil society in the UK. As of 2024, it is estimated that charities prop up £2.4billion of public services annually.
Come and visit our shops
We have six charity shops across south Wales with a great range of stock that is regularly refreshed. Why not drop in and pay us a visit in Blackwood, Swansea, Neath, Merthyr Tydfil, Cardiff or Abergavenny?