A TAVISTOCK charity shop has been at the centre of an online controversy, sparked by a designer-label jacket with an eye-watering price tag, writes Catherine Barnes.
Her Facebook post prompted a slew of comments from local people, with some suggesting that the Oxfam shop’s prices are ‘over the top’.
Ginny, who is bringing up her nine year-old granddaughter single handed — and also cares for her disabled father — said that the donated coat’s £329 price tag had made her ‘laugh out loud’ when she called into the shop last week.
She said: ‘I know Burberry coats can cost £1,000 new but when we saw it we were laughing. The coat didn’t even look new — and it didn’t have any labels.’
Among other items on sale in Tavistock Oxfam shop at the time of writing was a ladies’ blazer by the same designer, priced at £499 by the shop. This was also labelled as brand new, with a red dot on the garment’s sewn-in label suggesting it was marked as a clearance sale item at the original retail store.
Ginny, who volunteered time at a Plymouth shelter for the homeless over Christmas and is currently looking for work, said she regularly browsed and bought from charity shops in Tavistock.
She said: ‘Charity shops are for the kind of people who can’t afford to buy a new coat — and if you were a millionaire who can afford a designer label, you wouldn’t go into a charity shop — you’d want the most up-to-date fashion.
‘I just don’t think the prices in Oxfam add up; this is Tavistock, not London or Oxford.
‘You go in some days and can find something for £2.99 but on other days you might see something that cost less new at Primark. There just doesn’t seem to be a balance with Oxfam.’
A brand-new wool tailored jacket from the current season retails at around £1,400 on the Burberry website, with its tailored blazers priced from around £1,500.
A retail assistant from the Tavistock Oxfam responded on the forum: ‘We very kindly get sent clothing from brands like this and price them at a third of their retail value, a bargain for those who would like brand new designer stuff and an amazing contribution to help people.’
Another volunteer at Oxfam Tavistock posted: ‘It is a cashmere jacket. Check online and see what its retail price is. It is such a bargain [sic].’
One local commented: ‘Oxfam prices are getting ridiculous. I used to love it but go to the other shops now.’
Another said: ‘Oxfam are getting greedy. Maybe if they want those prices they need to sell on an auction site.
‘Clothing donation[s] whether designer label or not, will not get £329 in Tavy.’
One suggested that donating to a charity shop was a two-way street and they would be unhappy to see their own donations not priced more ‘reasonably’.
Another said: ‘No one wants shabby designer clothes.’
But others voicing their support for the charity said that it was right that it should maximise the value of donated goods to support its work with the poor and needy.
One commented that if the item for sale were a donated Rolex watch, they wouldn’t expect to see it for sale for £50. ‘So why is this different?’ they asked.
Ginny said while she would not rule out browsing Tavistock’s Oxfam shop for bargains in the future, she wanted to know more about its pricing policy.
The Times contacted Oxfam’s head office for comment and clarification. The charity responded: ‘We maximise the money we raise from donations by selling them at a fair price.
‘Our volunteers are trained in pricing so people can be assured not a penny of their donation goes to waste.
‘We work hard to raise as much money as possible from the items given to us to support our work fighting poverty around the world.’