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Not all the shops are rat infested - honest

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3 Jul 2nd, 2001 

8 Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful

Advantages:
Wide selection, hygine checked, charity aid, low prices, great name clothes and friendly people .  As well as the thrill of the chase !

Disadvantages:
As with all things, there are some good and some bad charity shops .  Don't be put off by one bad one, as the majourity are excellent .

Recommendable Yes:

Detailed rating:

Price

Value for money

Selection & range

Quality

Staff knowledge

7sefton

7sefton

About me:

Hi. My name's Marcus and I'm a student in Liverpool. I'm new here so I'm still learning, but I hope ...

Member since:28.06.2001

Reviews:42

Members who trust:4

Imagine wearing dead people's clothes? I always thought when people told me they went to a charity shop. A little while ago, I'd have never even dreamt of setting foot inside a charity shop. I had a vision of some old spinster behing a MFI table with odds and sods which would have looked bad even on Madonna (and would be about the only place she wouln't shop fot that 'new image').

However, it was only when I had to do something for charity in college, and not being the type to run half way around the earth or make a fool of myself in public, I decided (reluctantly) to help out in the local Heart Foundation shop. This is itself, was one of the most embarasing things to do in the name of charity, but I had to do something.

And so at 9.30 Monday morning I tramped into the shop. My first of many suprises was how bright and freindly it was. Sure, there are a few old dears who came in buying tweed skirts, but they were actually reall friendly and a good laugh. I also found a book donated that dated from 1933, which was found to be able to fetch the charity a lot of money.

But my biggest suprise was when my best friend came to the till with a few odd coursework books and a armful of new-looking clothes. She always looked so carefully dressed. Anyway, she nearly died of shame when she saw me, and i learnt she bought a lot of stuff (not only clothes, but books, home things ect.) at charity shops.

And so that is what gave me some confience to go and shop in them. i have been in a few which where a big yucky, but the majourity of them cater for all tastes, budgets and needs at such great value. It also makes you feel good knowing that some little kid in Africa has survived another day because of you.

It's simply a glourified way of recycling. When I don't need anything any more, I donate it to the shop. When I do, I can buy a lot of things ona much smaller budget. I'm certainly not ashamed, and for any of you who don't like the idea of wearing dirty clothes, when I was helping out I saw the amazing amount of work that went on. All clotes are washed twice, ironed, checked and steamed before sale, and if they don't meet a set standard are thrown away.

So please, whether it's donating time to help out, old stuff to sell or your custom, give your local Oxfam a try. It's not as glamouros as Harvey Nicks (and you don't get a posh bag), but you can be assured to be able to spare some cash to enjoy on a Friday night. 

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Comments about this review »

petersmyth1 02.07.2001 19:11

Marcus I gave this a H but it could have been a VH but for the spelling. Hint write your op. off line in Word, your not paying for the time spent writing it, run the spell and grammer check, then copy it, go on line open ciao get to your place for posting, click write opinion and in the resulting page paste in your op. Marcus just a thought to improve your ops. Cheers, ....Peter

dabmim 02.07.2001 19:11

Personally I find charity shops okay, except for one thing- the prices. Many of the charity shops in our area have out priced themselves, especially British heart foundation and oxfam!



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