Vintage Loveliness

This week I have been on a mission to make up for some Kilner Jars I stupidly left behind in a charity shop a few weeks back!

I have found a couple of gorgeous pieces in the charity shops, in fact some felt so cheap I had to give the lady more than she wanted!

First up were these gorgeous doilies, I needed some for a little table the speaker in the lounge is resting on and I found a few so I bought them all. With a few balls of wool the woman said give her 49p! I was gobsmacked and only had a £1 coin so gave her that and told her to keep the change.

Next and I almost didn't pick this up but considering how much they are new it was actually a bargain, this rather fabulous boxed Tala Icing Turntable was just £2.50. I adore the original box and that it is made in Great Britain.

And finally, I love Vero Moda stuff and have picked a couple of pieces up from this particular charity shop, they stay looking great. Another bargain at just £2.99.

I love all these things and am becoming quite the charity shop obsessive, hoping to find some bargains to adorn the house.

Linking up to Magpie Monday over on Me and My Shadow.

Overpricing in Charity Shops

I have noticed this more and more recently, charity shops are ever increasing their prices.

What once would have been a few pounds is now £7-8, some things are just sat on a shelf week after week when I go in. One shop had a tea service in for about 5 months before it was either sold or got put away.

So my question is this, rather than have stock hanging about for months because it is overpriced wouldn't it be a better idea to sell the good stuff on ebay or send to auction and then sell everything else off quicker and cheaper.

Stock becomes stagnant and if it is the same old stock time and time again I stop going, plus if they are intent on being greedy then the money isn't coming in and the charity is missing out.

After all I am sure every penny and pound is needed, so is not better to sell 10 plates at 10p than none at £1 each?

With money so tight these day's that impulse buy is a thing of the past, before I might have bought something to find a home at a later date, now because they are so expensive I will walk away.

So charity shops, you are being given these things for free, anything you make on it is profit so is it time you stopped being greedy and waiting, hoping someone will buy that overpriced bit of china and instead accepted that you will get less and instead take half of what you would of liked.

If I see you have lots of stock I probably won't be giving my next lot of hand me downs to you, but if you are selling lots, you can have that next bag.

Using ebay as a pricing guide is only good if the things on there actually sell, are shop staff simply looking at buy it now prices or inflated starting bids, for items that never sell?


As one guy I overheard the other day said, it is worth that I checked on the internet and that is what they cost, fair enough I thought but surely something is only worth what someone will pay for it.

Would love to hear the thoughts of others on this.

Magpie Monday

I had a trip into town today and then on the way to pick my son up and found a few beauties in the charity shops so decided to link up to Magpie Monday over on Me and My Shadow

Today's finds are first of all a bargain pair of Converse for my daughter, we had been looking at some on ebay and although these won't fit her for a while I couldn't resist and they can go in the cupboard for when her little feet grow, only 95p!

Next I couldn't resist this jug, I don't know why but I really liked it, it's not named or worth anything but it is so light and I love the how it is painted. It was a snip at just £1, so will sit nicely on my windowsill.

And finally, this gorgeous Vila dress. Was only £2.99 and I have a couple of other Vila dresses so new it would look good on. Perfect for wearing with some thick tights and boots in the winter or leggings in the cooler summer days remaining.

Hope you liked my finds this week, do check out the other fab posts over on Me and My Shadows blog.

Magpie Monday - Charity Shop Goodies

This is my first Magpie Monday, mainly because this week has seen some gorgeous bargains being found!

First these pretty trousers, they are a really gorgeous purple cord with a paisley lining and were £1 from a Cancer Research shop. I had a quick look on the internet when I got home and as expected the would have cost about £15 new so quite a bargain as they look as they have hardly been worn.

Next I found this playsuit from Baby Gap, when I saw it I nearly squealed. I bought the same thing in a smaller size when my daughter was first born and she always looked gorgeous in it so when I saw this I had to get it, it was a snip at £1.50.

 

Finally, these gorgeous glass bowls by ARC, France were only £1 for 4! As soon as I saw them I knew they had to be mine. The pictures don't do them justice but they are really pretty, the gold is sparkly and they are quite translucent. I used them to serve Madeleines and strawberries in for breakfast yesterday and they looked great.

I hope you enjoyed my finds as much as I did, the bowls were definitely my bargain of the week!