TRADING> Setting up charity shop

Remember,target sales figures are fantasy island and dreamed of by someone to validate their own job,how can you say what will be donated one week/month/year from now!!!???.
With many close out,end of line,pound shops etc;you are up against it to sell donated goods and make a profit.
Don't fall into the trap of buying new goods to sell,being left with twenty bags of donated items to get rid of is easier than being left with ten shelves of bought items.
Good luck Dominic,NEVER sell an item unless you know its true value,ALWAYS give the public a bargain,make the reason they come back is because they are eager to buy,not to complain...
hayzee.

Make sure you delegate only to those you can trust,beware of 'serial volunteers' who will creep out of the woodwork,offer to help for a few hours a week,most of which will be spent going through your incoming donations for bargains.
Try and make your first shop as though it was the first of many,corporate colour decor,if only two colour emulsion,make it smell sweet,only hardened bargain hunters enjoy the smell of last weeks jumble sale.
If you are speculating money that has been donated for your worthy cause,don't,use money that has been accumulated from the sale of goods only,you must have got more than the rag/jumble value,assuming you have the full backing of your management committee,if it all goes pear shaped you have only lost your time and effort and can answer to anyone.
back soon.
h.

Lots of good advice there Dominic,I posted before but was timed out,this is going to be short if not sweet.
Hopefully,your venture into charity shop land is to be a natural progression,you have obviously an abundance of goods which you have regularly jumbled,rummaged,car booted etc and the only alternative is to rent a secondary position shop to get rid of the stuff that is bulging all your storage areas on a regular basis at the seams.
Get the best price,check all items for true value against all known collectibles /rare record/antiques /designer label/etc guides,if in doubt don't sell.
back soon.
h.

Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 20:18:16 -0000
From: Simon Rosser

Dominic

You wrote

> We are a small charity for dead and deafblind children with additional =
> and complex needs which is looking to open a charity shop in our local =
> town. Does anyone have any advice about setting up such a shop and any =
> possible pitfalls?

(I am assuming you mean a charity shop selling donated clothing and
bric-a-brac etc)

A number of charity shops are regarded by the organisations running them as
being the public face of that organisation. Unfortunately a great number of
people who buy from charity shops do not do so to support a particular
charity, but because the clothes are cheap, and don't even know which
charity they have bought from. The only customer loyalty you will get is
if the quality of the clothes is maintained and the price is right (though
this doesn't mean you must sell too cheaply).

I don't know if you have a site in mind, but if and when you do, go and sit
outside it (or close enough to see it) for at least a week, preferably
longer, and in all weathers. That way you will get an idea of the passing
traffic. If you don't have a great deal of passing traffic you will have a
very steep hill to climb before you will start making anything other than a
loss. (And there is the likelihood of the more passing trade the higher
the cost of the lease on the shop.)

Secondly, you must consider what the source of your (clothing) goods is to
be. How big a supporter base do you have that will supply you with the
initial stock, and how often can you go back to them for more? Are you in
an area that does not have many charity bags pushed through letterboxes
asking for donations of clothes etc? If so over how big an area are you
known that will fill these bags for you? Can you rely on donations brought
to the shop?

An ideal start is to have three shops around which you can rotate the stock.
Are you going to afford a manager or will you rely completely on volunteers?
Will you accept everything and sell cheaply or 'Rag' the rubbish and sell
(and get a name for selling) quality?

'Rag' men will take your cast-offs that you can't sell, but the price they
give has dropped considerably in the last few years (from over £3 a bag to
less than 70p when I last looked).

There are so many ponderables that you need to think long and hard before
entering in to leases etc. The above are only a few of the considerations.
Remember you will get the mandatory rate relief of 80% and you may even get
more depending on your council. However, budget for the worst possible
scenario and if this makes a profit, then think about taking the lease. And
one other word of warning. Remember the implications of the Health and
Safety at Work Act that apply to volunteers in your shop. There are a
number of organisations that operate on the edge of the law if not the
other side when it comes to volunteers' health and safety.

If you do go ahead, good luck. and keep us informed as to your progress, but
do think about the cons as well as the pros.

With best wishes

Simon Rosser - The Siro Consultancy
Working To Help Your Organisation Make A Difference.
e-mail: [email]simon@siro.org.uk[/email]
website: [url]www.siro.org.uk[/url]

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Hi Dominic,
I'm sure there are plenty of us scratching our heads on this one,not because it's a difficult request for info,a very simple one in fact,but just a question of where does one start...........
I'll make a few notes and try and draw from my own experience before I get back to you on this in the near future,this post is just to let you know you are not on your own and I'm sure there are many who eventually will help as much as possible....come on folks liven up!!!
All the best,
hayzee.