“Charity shops are often popular with people who are frugal, people who live on a limited or fixed income, collectors, and people with unusual tastes.” – Wikipedia
“I blame the credit crunch.” – everybody
Charity shop til you drop, from dogfrog's creative commons licensed photostream
Charity Shop Tourism is the way forward, for me, in these economic climes. If you want a shopping experience that a) helps charity; b) provides you with things for cheap; c) streamlines your shopping experience (to make things like choosing a book to buy easier); d) enables you to discover new places; e) goes well with a nice cup of coffee, then charity shopping is what you’re looking for. So, I thought I’d put together a little record of the places I go when I have a day out, because invariably I’m found perusing through people’s leftover clothes, records, bric-a-brac, whilst exploring a new place; and that’s how I have my frugal fun – and it’s nigh on the best way to have an explore of this country of ours.
Having formally given up buying new books and CDs (a wrench!) I’m currently wrestling with clothes – I’ve now found the holy grail of secondhand jeans in my size, but it might be a while before I can face charity shop undergarments. When I’m charity shopping with my constant companion, I’ll also be looking for: more books; olde maps; CDs and records; stripy shirts; new ways of making coffee; all the corduroy jackets in the world; the occasional fancy from the tat shelf.
I try and set rules/limits for myself, foremost of which is “it’s only a bargain if I actually need it.” However, when scouting for places to visit, it’s a good idea to checkyour not wasting your time first: search for “charity shops” on Google Maps (visit the Charity Shop Tourism map for an example) or We Love Local, or ClickCharityShops.
This blog is about the places I visit and the things I find there, in the shops and outside. What it’s NOT is any sort of guide to where the best bargains can be found, or a guide to thrifty living – I’m deeply incompetent at that. Thanks for visiting though, and do say hello and send me a recommendation in the comments boxes, or on Twitter. You can find me elsewhere on the web at…
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13 Comments
September 11, 2008 at 10:02 am
Been doing this for a few years now.
In my experiance though, Oxfam music and book shops in rural areas are often more expensive than actually ‘propper’ book and music shops. £4.99 for a second hand book? Give me the 25p a book prices of the London and Liverpool shops.
One area I think charity shops need to work on, is all the free cds they get from newspapers and magazines, the ones no one wanted nor will ever want again. Maybe they could send the shops staff on a creative CD sculpture course or some such? There must be something they can be used for.
I agree that Leamington is indeed well provided with charity shoppage.
September 11, 2008 at 11:48 am
Who doesn’t want an entire shoebox full of Daily Mail giveaways?
Me, that’s who. Ah well, it’s part of the challenge. I agree partly with you via Oxfam: they know the right price of things, but you can still pick up a bargain, as well as some nice old collectables.
January 13, 2009 at 4:39 pm
[...] Philosophy West Hampstead [...]
February 2, 2009 at 10:09 pm
How have you not been to Cobham? Home of Chelsea FC, Shell executives and stockbrokers.
Charity shops must be worth a look. There’s at least four in the town.
March 5, 2009 at 10:17 am
I’ve lived in London in the past, and next week I’m coming to visit my favorite city in the world.
Being a fan on charity shops, with limited cash on my hand, and a love for wondering the streets of London, do you have any recommendations for the best charity shops in town? I’m particularly interested in books, music and cloths (for women)
Cheers
March 5, 2009 at 11:33 am
Well presuming you’re after central London, the best cluster is in Marylebone. Not the cheapest you’ll find, but quite good nonetheless. Also good is the Oxfam bookshop near the British museum.
If you want to get out a bit, I recommend Richmond and Twickenham, Golders Green or there’s an interesting looking bunch in the Clapham/Balham/Wandsworth area that I’ve not got to yet.
March 14, 2009 at 12:29 pm
This is the first time I comment here and I should say that you give genuine, and quality information for bloggers! Good job.
p.s. You have a very good template . Where did you find it?
March 17, 2009 at 11:28 pm
I tend to go for books and clothes.. sometimes you can get some great stylish jackets, worth more than some of the modern shops. I also like boardgames and you can come across some good ‘collector’s items’. I suppose I fit in all your categories but if I had won the lottery, I’d still come into the charity shop for a wander and I think I’d rather spend my money on say, Hospice in the Weald that some rich Chainshop owner. It is also a friendly place to come to, unlike a lot of the newer shops.
March 21, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Why don’t you visit The Green Room at 192 Archway Road, N6 (only 200 yards down hill from Highgate Tube)?
Open 7 days per week 10qm-6pm and often later.
The Green Room has been described as ‘the most unusual shop in London’ (Time Out); A Treasure Trove’ (Ham & High) and ‘An Alladin’s Cave’ (Hornsey Journal).
Because there is very little pedestrian traffic in the area, we specialise in the unusual and quirky items that people will remember and tell other people.
We do not sell clothes, apart from unusual items like Cherie Blair’s outfit. We do stock thousands of books with a special offer of 40 for £10 – pick your own. Likewise we have a huge stock of vinyl – most at £1.
On the more unusual side we have: Dinosaur Dung. Dinosaur Egg. Fossil Fish. Meteoroits. Phrenology Head. Antique newspapers including one of 1690 and another issued during the siege of Mafeking. A Maggie Thatcher nut cracker. Political memorabilia. Document signed by Tony Blair and another signed by James Early Ray (assassin of Martin Luther King). Old Banknotes. Ancient Ushabi. Tony Benn’s pipe – autographed. Roman coins including one issued by Pontius Pilot in 27ad. A brick issued for the wedding of Charles & Diana and so on.
Noel Lynch (manager)
All profits go to environmental causes.
April 18, 2009 at 6:46 pm
excellent idea for a blog! my local tip is Walworth Rd – it has minimum 3 – I think it even has 4 – a Salvation Army, something for deaf people, something else and possibly something else.
Maybe you’ll buy something I donated.
The Green Room sounds ace too.
June 10, 2009 at 5:09 pm
[...] blog from self-confessed charity shop addict on where to go and what to look [...]
August 23, 2009 at 8:22 am
While ever there is a box of lp’s in the corner and shelf of books in a charity shop,I’ll Be A Happy Camper
My Town Of Sheffield has Bucketloads of Charity shops And I Must Admit To Being A Bit Of A Adict ,So This Blog Is A Great Bit Of Work 
September 25, 2009 at 6:10 am
I love this blog
)
Being a thrifty shopper myself I’m trying to live the second hand life. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to buy second hand underwear (although you can upcycle t-shirts into knickers
http://thisismysecondhandlife.wordpress.com/