A charity shop, thrift shop, thrift store, hospice shop (U.S., Canada), resale shop (when not meaning consignment shop U.S.) or op shop (Australia/N.Z.) (from "opportunity shop") is a retail establishment run by a charitable organization to raise money.
Charity shops are a type of social enterprise. They usually sell mainly used goods donated by members of the public, and are often staffed by volunteers. Because the items for sale were obtained for free, and business costs are low, the items can be sold at competitive prices. After costs are paid, all remaining income from the sales is used in accord with the organization's stated charitable purpose. Costs include purchase and/or depreciation of fixtures (clothing racks, bookshelves, counters, etc.), operating costs (maintenance, municipal service fees, electricity, telephone, limited advertising) and the building lease or mortgage. It is widely recognized that quality thrift store merchandise is priced 50-75% below the original retail price, offering significant bargains.
Read more about Charity Shop: Popularity of Charity Shops, New Goods Sold At Charity Shops, United Kingdom, Australia, United States and Canada, Thrift Stores
Famous quotes containing the words charity and/or shop:
“Reputation is not of enough value to sacrifice character for it.”
—“Miss Clark,” U.S. charity worker. As quoted in Petticoat Surgeon, ch. 9, by Bertha Van Hoosen (1947)
“So it is with books, for the most part: they work no redemption on us. The bookseller might certainly know that his customers are in no respect better for the purchase and consumption of his wares. The volume is dear at a dollar, and after to reading to weariness the lettered backs, we leave the shop with a sigh, and learn, as I did without surprise of a surly bank director, that in bank parlors they estimate all stocks of this kind as rubbish.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)