Shop like this and you can save yourself a fortune - and make the world a better place, too!
Chazzing, apparently, is where it's at. Everyone's doing it. So what exactly am I talking about and how should you go about it?
The art of charity shopping, otherwise known as `chazzing', is enjoying new-found popularity. The Charity Shops Survey 2008 found that this sector is one of the few winners of the credit crunch.
Many retail giants have seen profits fall as consumers tighten their belts. The charity shops surveyed, however, saw profits rise by 7.4% over the past year, to a total of almost £107 million.
Top of the league was Oxfam, with profits totaling over £21 million. Cancer Research UK took second place - with a 1.2% profit increase - and the British Heart Foundation came in at number three, enjoying a 14.2% profit surge.
The biggest growth came from the Salvation Army, which saw its profits shoot up by an enormous 64%.
So, a rare good news story on the back of all the economic depression. And chazzing is one way to get that retail therapy fix without burning a hole on your wallet.
But how do you get the most out of shopping in this way? And can you really save yourself a fortune?
Save £217 a month
I'm a charity shop regular, popping into my local ones several times a month. I tend to decide on something specific that I want, and then hunt around until I find it. So if I wasn't buying the item in a charity shop, I'd still be buying it - just elsewhere and for more money.
Here's a table to show the money I've saved - in the last month - by shopping in this way.
Item | Price in charity shop | Price of nearest equivalent found new | Amount saved |
|---|---|---|---|
Whistles blazer | £5 | £115 | |
Paperback book - The Oxford Murders | £1.50 | £4.49 | |
Shoe rack | £1 | £8.99 | |
Monsoon evening dress | £6 | £89 | |
Total saved: £217.48 | |||
Obviously, you're usually buying secondhand goods. And you may not have bought the same item if you had to pay full price (I needed a jacket, but I wouldn't have paid that amount in Whistles!).
Still, that's a good chunk of money saved in a single month. And you also get a warm fuzzy glow because you've supported a worthy cause (and no, I'm not referring here to your bank balance).
Making the most of it
If you're about to hit the charity shops, here are some tips on how to make the most of your trip.
If you're on a tight budget: Only go chazzing when you want something specific. If I just pop in for a browse, I tend to end up with all sorts of fascinating things I never knew I needed (antique fruit knife, anyone?). Each item may be cheap, but it all adds up.
Go posh: To find the best quality goods (and designer brands), visit the charity shops in upmarket areas.
Ask nicely: If you're after a lot of the same sort of things (like baby clothes), ask the shop volunteers if they'll put them aside for you as they come in. You can then pop in at the end of each week and easily sort through all the likely items.
Quality does tell: When it comes to clothes, I usually stick to really good quality pieces that I couldn't afford if they were new. Cheaper items tend to wear less well, and some brands - like H&M - sell for almost the same price new anyway.
Clothing condition: Charity shops usually only stock clothing in relatively good condition. But it's still worth checking it over carefully for stains, seam wear and damage the volunteers might have missed (underarm stitching is a good place to start).
And consider dry cleaning costs - they often add up to more than the cost of the item. Paper tickets pinned to the washing labels inside garments will show if they've been dry cleaned already.
Think ahead: Think a season ahead of yourself. Most people will donate clothing at the time of year they no longer need it - coats in summer, for example. So if you know you're going to need new warm clothes for this winter, start hunting them down now!
Make a day of it: Unfortunately, thorough chazzing isn't really for the time-poor. But charity shops do tend to group together in the suburbs - so pinpoint four or five and visit them all at the same time to up your chances of striking gold.
You can find your local cluster using Google Maps (just type in your town or borough followed by `charity shops'). You can also track them down on the Association of Charity Shops website.
Be prepared to rummage: If you're really skint, concentrate on the smaller, more disorganised charity shops where you really have to rummage.
Many of the bigger chains sort their goods thoroughly and display them clearly, but prices will probably be a little higher and you're less likely to unearth hidden treasure.
Don't want to leave the house? Charity shop from the comfort of your sofa - you can buy on eBay for charity without venturing outdoors.
Finally - a contentious issue: Is it wrong to buy in charity shops and then sell your wares (for a profit) on auction websites like eBay? It's certainly a controversial issue.
Some argue that `profiteering' in this way is against everything charity shops stand for.
Others maintain that they badly need the extra cash, and that charity shops are benefiting too, so everyone's a winner. (Most people agree that getting free stuff off Freecycle - and then selling it on - is a step too far!).
From a practical point of view, it's an unpredictable way of making extra cash, and your profits are likely to be fairly small. Hunting down items, photographing them and listing them can take a very long time.
If you do decide to try your hand at this, a bit of expert knowledge will help. Can you spot a rare piece of vinyl or a sought-after antique at 100 paces?
If you do make a huge profit on an item, you could always hand it back to the charity concerned.