Charity Shops

(posted by Elizma)

I forgot all about charity shops. No, not that they exist, but what it is like to take take them things.

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't expect them to fall at my feet in grateful abandon. I just don't want to feel that I have to convince them that my stuff is good enough for their purposes.

As per all the previous times, my arrival yesterday was met with a kind of a frown and not even a greeting. After hesitantly greeting them, I pointed in the direction of my goods and asked if they would be interested in it. When the frown didn't change, I started citing their worth: only read once, very good condition, etc, etc, upon which I was asked to leave it in the corner. I almost didn't ask if they wanted the second-hand camera I still had in the car. 'Bring it in if you want,' was the response.

Not a very positive experience. I'm not sure if ALL charity shops are like that, but the ones I've been to has all been the same. Once I was even told that they have enought stuff and I should try someone else!

I do understand that they sometimes receive things they can't use, but it's sure not encouraging me to go back and I might really consider binning the things in future instead of taking it there. It is a hassle as they are only open in the week and are mostly situated in the high street, where there is never any parking. I do it however as I believe it is for a good cause. (Maybe a small part of it is the fact that I can't stand waste and would rather have things re-used, which could seem a selfish reason for making the effort...)

Wouldn't it be better to just take the things (with at least something that resembles a smile if they can't muster the real thing) and throw out what they can't use? It might create more work for them, but at this rate no-one will want to take them anything and in a couple of months, they might run out of stuff to sell. And they'll probably wonder why...