WALKING into her local charity shop, Sarah Beighton headed straight for the homeware section. She was looking for some cheap crockery for a BBQ she was throwing, when a tall blue vase in the 50p bargain bin suddenly caught her eye. “It was so unusual - heavy blue glass with bobbles running along the outside,” says Sarah, 52.
“It felt so nice in my hands, and I thought it would be good for cocktails at the BBQ, so I handed over my 50p and bought it. "I had no idea it was a rare collectible that would sell at auction for a whopping £1.1k - the record sale of the day.
“People think you can’t find gems in charity shops any more - but that’s not true. Since then, I’ve made thousands which has helped pay for holidays, car repairs and dinners out.” Ross Dutton has been a manager for Crisis's charity shops for four years and currently runs the charity's Finsbury Park shop in London.
Choose your area - As a rule of thumb, the posher the area, the better quality the clothes that are donated. Don't hang around - If you see something you like, buy it, as it'll likely be gone when you come back Look out for cut-off labels - Some of your favourite high street stores will have deals with local charity shops to donate stock that isn't sold during their own sales. Often part of the deal is that they need to cut the labels off the clothes.
Stay at home - While some charities have their own site, like Oxfam and Crisis . many also sell from dedicated eBay stores, such as British.
