About Charity Shops in the UK

 

Charity shops can be found in every town in the UK, from the high street, to a village side street and through to the internet highway. They are so common that competition between them has risen greatly in the last few years, for your hard earned cash and donations. On www.charityshops.co.uk we mean to list every charity shop in the UK, along with information on what each sells, quality of products, designer products or not, value for money, what days are best to shop and where you can find them. If you want to donate your time for free we will even help you find that volunteer position you have always thought of doing. All in all we hope it is a great resource site and guide for all those who want to give to a worthy charity or help those less fortunate than themselves.

 

Look down every High Street and you will find either a locally based shop or a national leader but where should I spend my money and how exactly do they spend money gained from my charitable purchases or donations? I am sure it is a question that we have all thought about but never got around to asking. Well, now’s your chance as we will soon be having a forum that allows you to ask directly those kind of questions. Let’s hope it is what we want to hear. Either way we will then publish their answers for you to read.

 

Charity Shops, have they taken up too much of our High Street? What do you think? Well here you can decide yourself by reading what others are saying. Did you know that of the many small businesses that close down on the High Street some do so because of rising running costs and that the main culprit or cost is business rates. Did you also know that charity shops pay no or reduced business rates, receive their goods for free and have very low tax liabilities. Is that fair? One thought is that 10 years from now over 50 percent of the High Street will be charity shops; others say including this site that a balance has been reached and will not change.

 

Where does your money go to?  What percentage of takings actually gets to the person who needs it most?  Aboard local NGO’s (nongovernmental organisations i.e. charities) usually pay their staff and some pay high wages and give staff new expensive cars, who are the culprits, is this a necessary cost? How is your money been spent? We are not saying what they do is wrong but like any business, better efficiencies will lead to greater cost savings and more profit and more money to give to good causes, and we firmly believe it is good to give to good causes.

 

To be fair however, it is not all doom and gloom, charity shops perform a great public service and they are vital to fill in the places government neglects, but some shops are better than others and we would like to know so they can be encouraged to do better.

 

Let’s all pull together and make this industry an open and efficient place that makes the lives of those that need help a little better. This will help make the world into a better place to live for all.