Donations under control: five rules for charity shops
Donated goods cost nothing – which is exactly why they are hard to control. Five rules that protect your team and your donors.
Why every item needs its own price
Second-hand has no price list. Why clear rules, comparable prices and a second opinion beat gut feeling.
In regular retail, the price is set before the goods reach the shop. In second-hand it is the other way round: the goods are there, and the price still has to be found – for every single item.
Gut feeling does not repeat
Anyone who takes in many items a day develops a good sense for prices. But that sense has two weaknesses: it differs from person to person, and nobody can check it. The same vase costs €8 on Monday and €15 on Thursday, depending on who picks it up.
Three things make prices better
Comparable prices. What have similar items actually sold for? Sold prices matter, not asking prices – ideally from your own sales.
Clear rules. Up to what value may staff decide on their own? When does someone with more experience take a look? A clear limit, say €20, brings speed to everyday items and care to valuable ones.
A second opinion. For high values and unclear items, a second look pays off – from an experienced valuer or an expert.
Then: keep watching
A price is not a one-off decision. How long an item stays on the shelf tells you whether the price is right. By watching time on shelf and adjusting by fixed rules, you gradually find the prices at which goods move.
How go2markt.de helps
go2markt.de suggests a price range with its reasoning for every item, applies your valuation limits and sends valuable items to a valuer automatically. Gut feeling becomes a price you can explain.