Salvation Army, W1
Time Out rounds up the best charity shops by area
Salvation Army, W1
Central
Central London is surprisingly good for charity shops – Marylebone High Street, Victoria and Pimlico are hot spots – but most are hidden away in clusters, so you need to know where to go.
British Red Cross, Victoria
This branch is packed with designer labels thanks to donations from wealthy locals. Brands currently in stock include Ralph Lauren, Armani for men and women (lots of it), Gucci and Christian Dior, plus Manolo Blahnik shoes. A selection of bric-à-brac, handbags and hats are also up for grabs alongside a range of ballgowns.
British Red Cross, 85 Ebury St, SW1 (020 7730 2235) Victoria tube/rail. Open Mon-Fri 10am-5.30pm, Sat 10am-4pm.
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Cancer Research UK, Marylebone
A high-quality selection of fashion and accessories, many of them in mint condition, can be found here. The shoes are particularly noteworthy.
Cancer Research UK, 24 Marylebone High St, W1(020 7487 4986) Baker St tube. Open Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat, Sun 11am-5pm.
FARA
A small shop with an overbearingly pushy shopkeeper (don’t let that put you off) selling goods in aid of Romanian children. It specialises in an excellent range of kids’ and baby wear along with prams and buggies at bargain prices. There are two other FARA branches, including Retro Mania at 6 Tachbrook Street.
FARA, 40 Upper Tachbrook St, SW1 (020 7630 7730) Pimlico tube. Open Mon-Fri 9.15am-5.15pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 11am-5pm.
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| Oxfam Menswear, W1 |
Oxfam Menswear
London’s sole menswear-only charity shop, selling a range of quality and designer items, including classic Savile Row and Italian designer suits. Recent brands found include Herbie Frogg of Jermyn Street, Hugo Boss and Gieves & Hawkes.
Oxfam Menswear, 71 New Bond St, W1 (020 7493 5115) Bond St tube. Open Mon-Sat 10.30am-5.30pm.
Salvation Army
Two floors of sublime thrift. On the ground floor you can find brilliant shoes, including designer labels like Charles Jourdan, and great old ladies’ sandals. There are lots of faux-fur jackets, an abundance of 1970s dresses and skirts, and a fine selection of secondhand denim. Upstairs is a little more boutiquey, with luxurious finds such as floor-length fake-fur coats and glam evening bags – the latter can be snapped up for less than a tenner.
Salvation Army, Princes St, W1 (020 7495 3958) Oxford Circus tube. Open Mon-Sat 10am-6pm.
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31 comments
whaaat...!!! Primark - yep in the sales but otherwise still too expensive for the needy - used to be cheap but is going up all the time but yep you can still grab a bargain in the sales which is why it is usually mobbed. Hve u noticed that it is the cheaper shops that are surviving this recession!!
Note: Poundland are opening more stores and Primark still seem to be making good. There is a lesson to be learned here. The mighty have the biggest fall and all that
The needy can no longer afford to shop in charity shops.. they now shop in Primark.
volunteers often price and don't know how much things are worth hence overpricing primark items. Rag men often pay between 50p and 1.00 (averaging 70p) per black bin bag of items full to brim - this is culled stuff too which may have been on shop floor for £20 or more. Most shops dont like sale rails and will let rag man have stuff instead of selling each item for cheap - crazy!!! and not in best interest of making money for charity. Rag men are getting richer - each item is worth less than 5p for what they pay per bag including big name stuff. All big charity shops will tell you they are a business not a charity shop. Charity shops used to be there to help the poor as well as making money for charity generally - this is no longer the case.
Do charity shops get a special rate for rent charges and business rates?
I used to manage a small charity shop in my local high street so I do have some knowledge of what I am talking about here. It makes me very angry when Charity shops sell clothes from places like primark or peacocks etc at a price higher than the original selling price but they do indeed do this. It is not correct to say that people won't buy and they will have to put the prices down because what will happen in reality is that people are buying enough of the other stuff for the charity shop to make its money and all the other overpriced stuff that should have been cheaper in the first place will get put out and taken by the rag man. In my shop we rarely charged more than a couple of pounds for any top or skirt and the result was that people bought from us freely, it didn't matter too much if you got home and found it didn't fit as you hadn't paid the earth for it and would just as likely take it back to the same or another charity shop as a donation. We used to get loads and loads of donations all given for free making 100% profit on goods, we also used to put a hug eamout out for rags as the turnover was so great. Personally I would much rather let something go for 1.00 less than the written price then see it hang around and then get put out for rags. When you can't even afford to shop in a charity shop in this life then something is seriously wrong!
yes i see what you mean jackie but just wanted to say I have been volunteering in charity shops for 3 years now
Is this a political site or a general site. Many people ask simple questions about where they kind find things and don't receive an answer but a few people are getting into political conversations. Work for a charity and you will find out yourself where the money goes!
Goga bond... i know marks & spencers will not let you off 50p if you ar short but a charity shop is selling second even third hand clothing...which they DID NOT PAY for! therefore they are making 100 % profit!
selling the item for £3.00 still gives them profit!
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.