Stock acquisition and processing

Rate this page

Rating statistics for this page

3.2 out of 5 from 291 votes

Breakdown

79 votes

15 votes

88 votes

93 votes

16 votes

Acquisition of donations

Although some shops do sell new goods, charity shops are primarily reliant on donation as a method of stock acquisition. Goods can come from:

• direct donation to the shop: chatting to customers and targeted posters can encourage specific donations
• house-to-house collections: encouraging members of the public to fill collection sacks left with them; a  license is needed from a local authority in order to make collections, and certain information about the charity and the collection itself must go on the bag packaging (as required by the Charities Act 2006)
• local businesses and larger corporations: they may have surplus or returned stock
• collections in schools and workplaces: encouraging people to bring in one good quality item each or to fill the sacks/boxes which you have left them
• textile/book/shoe banks:  these must feature certain information about the charity and any partners they are working with; note that goods from banks which are sold in a charity shop will raise a lot more funds than those sold in bulk to a reprocessor.

Sorting and processing of stock

When goods arrive in the shop, they will need to be sorted and prepared before being put on display. The backroom should be equipped with the following items to accommodate this:

• sorting table for stock sorting: preferably with a worktop that is 3 feet high and measures 8 feet by 4 feet - height is important, as it can be painful and tiring to lean over a lower table
• rag pen for textile storage: unsorted clothing and rags can be stored in this large compartmentalised wooden cage
• sack frames for filling textile bags: having a supportive frame makes sacks easier to fill
• wall rails to house out-of-season and back-up clothing: these need to be easy to access
• shelves to store bric-a-brac: these also need to be easy to access
• portable rails for recently processed stock: this makes it easy to wheel the stock onto the shopfloor
• a steamer to clean and freshen up textiles: this is a simple alternative to a more costly washing machine, although some shops do use them too
• tagging gun to attach price tickets: this enables quick and efficient pricing of stock.

Shopfitters specialising in charity shops should be able to supply all these items.

Disposal of ‘rag’ and other unsaleable items

Unsold textiles can be sold on to a textile reprocessor or ‘ragman’. These garments will then be recycled or exported for use overseas. Typically, a textile merchant will make a weekly collection and will pay either by the sack or by the tonne.

There are commercial companies who will also pay the market rate for unsaleable books, music and some other items from charity shops. Wood and metal can also be sold on for recycling.

Useful links

• D-day: donate, don't dump campaign to get more donations 
• Fundraising and charitable collections (Office of the Third Sector)
• Textile Recycling Association
• Directory of suppliers (Association of Charity Shops) - for details of suppliers to the sector, including shopfitters and textile recyclers.

What's next ...

• Stock display and pricing

Have your say

Have your say on the Trading and shops forum.