What has happened to the Mind Shop?

[Prussia]

I think the point about the prices at the MIND shop is incredibly valid.

Yes they give money to charity BUT they are also meant to be a place where you can buy SECOND HAND items which are priced as second hand items. I have often seen that items there are priced the same as they would when brand new which is a shame and in the end loses them money rather than makes it because people just won't be prepared to pay.

It's a point well made and trying to pull the charity card is a shame.

[Reg Smeeton]

If there's stuff that the Mind shop is unable to sell because of high prices, I suggest they donate it to a charity shop.

[peterstorm1985]

Prussia Wrote:

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>

> Yes they give money to charity BUT they are also

> meant to be a place where you can buy SECOND HAND

> items which are priced as second hand items.

There is a clear view by one section of this forum that charity shops are 'meant to be a place where you can buy SECOND HAND items which are priced as second hand items'. Whilst there are some charity shops that have been set up to provide low cost clothing, the MIND shop is not one of them (it's worth looking at their website, and that of Oxfam and the Red Cross, to see what the purpose of the charity shops is stated to be). There is no law requiring that they set the price below the original cost of the item, and there is nothing in the MIND shops advertising or charity literature to say that they do (The Red Cross does mention 'grab yourself a bargain' which could be construed to suggest it but the rest of the wording indicates that this is just a slogan). The value of an item is what someone is prepared, or able, to pay for it; what it cost previously is irrelevant.

If you don't like the prices in this shop then don't use it. If they have an empty shop for days on end they'll soon change their pricing structure. If they keep turning a healthy profit then they won't.

[Alec John Moore]

Haven't read it all but looks like an interesting article on how charity shops (based on an Oxfam example) operate and the contribution they can make to their community.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jan/04/what-happens-to-oxfam-donations

[jimmyay]

never liked that shop. the staff were nutters :))