User:Ohsimone/Secondhand shop

A secondhand shop is a store which sells goods that are not new. These include for profit and not for profit enterprises, specialist sellers and general sellers.

Types of secondhand shop

Antiques shop

An antique shop (or antiques shop) is a retail store specializing in the selling of antiques. Antiques shops can be located either locally, within a shopping centre or market, or with the advent of the Internet, online.

Normally their stock is sourced from auctions, estate sales, flea markets or garage sales. Many items may in fact pass through multiple antique dealers along the product chain before arriving in a retail antique shop. By their very nature, they sell unique items and are typically willing to buy items, even from individuals. The quality of these items may vary from very low to extremely high and expensive, depending on the nature and location of the shop. Frequently many antique shops will be clustered together in nearby locations; in the same town such as in many places in New England, on the same street such as on Portobello Road in London, or even all under the same roof in one antique mall, though frequently in that case it may be referred to as a stall rather than shop, especially if that antique dealer has another larger non-mall location.

Antique shops may specialize in some particular segment of the market such as antique furniture or jewellery, but many shops stock a wide variety of inventory as well. Additionally a shop may have an online component as well, or even be an online-only seller and have no physical shop.

Junk shop

A junk shop is a retail store that sells secondhand goods cheaply. A low-quality antique shop may be bordering on a junk shop.

Used bookstore

Main article: Used bookstore

Used bookstores buy and sell used and out-of-print books. Used bookstores can range in size offering from several hundred to several hundred thousands of titles. They may be brick-and-mortar stores, internet only stores, or a combination of both, selling a range of titles including in print, out of print and collectible books. Large online bookstores also offer used books for sale, for example Amazon Marketplace. Individuals wishing to sell their used books using online bookstores agree to terms outlined by the bookstore(s): for example, paying the online bookstore(s) a predetermined commission once the books have sold.

Bookstore tourism was a project initiated in 2003 to promote towns with independent bookstores as a tourism destination. Destinations recommended in the US include the Pioneer Valley in Massachussetts; in the UK, notable clusters of secondhand bookstores include Hay-on-Wye and Cecil Court/Charing Cross Road, London.

Thrift store (USA/Canada)

A thrift store, (also referred to as hospice shop (U.S.A., Canada), resale shop (when not meaning consignment shop or op shop (Australia/New Zealand)) is a retail establishment owned by a charitable organization and run as an independent busineess to raise money as a type of social enterprise. They usually sell predominantly secondhand 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.

For-profit thrift stores are licensed by the charity, which provides the merchandise for sale, and benefits by the sale of these goods directly to the contractor who operates the shop. The shop may then make a profit from this arrangement. In some cases, e.g. Savers and Value Village they pay a small percentage of the profit to the charity. Charities in the US are supported by tax legislation (see 501(c)(3)) but this does not extend to the 'for profit' thrift shop. Unlike directly charity-run shops run by volunteers, thrift shops pay taxes, and must under their contract have employees with proper contracts of employment. Major US thrift shop operators include Arc Thrift Store, Goodwill Industries, Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Stores, Habitat for Humanity International ReStores and Value Village. Regional operators include Deseret Industries (in the Western US) and those run by the Bethesda Lutheran Home in the Upper Midwest. Many local charitable organizations, both religious and secular, operate thrift shops. Common among these are missions, children's homes, homeless shelters, and animal shelters. In addition, some charity shops are operated by churches and are fundraising venues that support activities including, in some cases, missionary activities in other countries. Several U.S. stores are for-profit, with the charity that collected the goods making money from the wholesale of those items to the store.

In Australia, major national opportunity shop chains include the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store (trading as Vinnies), the Salvation Army (trading as Salvos), the Red Cross, MS Australia, and the Brotherhood of St. Laurence. Many local charitable organisations, both religious and secular, run opportunity shops. Common among these are missions and animal shelters. In July 2009, a U.S. government report revealed that several banks are punishing their customers for saving money by using their credit cards at thrift stores. This includes raising interest rates, lowering the credit limit, or even damaging a shopper's overall credit score, which may cause other credit issuers to further harm the shopper by taking similar actions (universal default), or denying credit applications altogether. The automatic and unfounded assumption is that thrift-store shoppers are in financial trouble. Even if this were true in a given case, such actions would put the customer in an even worse financial situation. Laws passed by Congress the month before are expected to stop issuers from these practices.

Charity shop (UK)

In the U.K., thrift stores are typically known as charity shops. The first Oxfam charity shop in the United Kingdom was established in Broad Street, Oxford, and began trading in December 1947 (although the shop itself did not open until February 1948). Pre-dating this, one of the first British Red Cross shops was opened at 17 Old Bond Street, London, as early as 1941. In total, over two hundred “permanent” (for the duration of the war) Red Cross gift shops and about 150 temporary Red Cross shops were opened during the war years. A condition of the shop licence issued by the Board of Trade was that all goods offered for sale were gifts. Purchase for re-sale was forbidden. The entire proceeds from sales had to be passed to the Duke of Gloucester’s Red Cross and St John Fund. Most premises were lent free of rent and in some cases owners also met the costs of heating and lighting.

There is also evidence that the Wolverhampton Society for the Blind (now called the Beacon Centre for the Blind) opened up a shop in Wolverhampton in 1899 to sell goods made by blind people to raise money for the Society.

During World War I, similar fund-raising activities occurred such as a bazaar in Shepherd Market, London, which made £50,000 for the Red Cross.

Oxfam has the largest number of charity shops in the UK with over 700 stores. Many Oxfam shops also sell books, and the organization now operates over 70 specialist Oxfam bookshops, making them the largest retailer of second-hand books in Britain.Other Oxfam affiliates also have stores, such as Jersey, Germany, Ireland (45 shops in Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland), the Netherlands and Hong Kong.

Other charities with a strong presence on high streets in the UK include YMCA, British Heart Foundation, Barnardos, Cancer Research UK, Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, Age UK (formerly Age Concern and Help the Aged), Save the Children, Scope and Sue Ryder Care. Many local hospices also operate charity shops to raise funds.

There are over 9,000 charity shops in the UK and Republic of Ireland. The Charity Retail Association is a member organisation for charities which run shops.

British charity shops are mainly staffed by unpaid volunteers, with a paid shop manager. Goods for sale are predominantly from donations - 87% according to the official estimate. Donations should be taken directly to a charity shop during opening hours, as goods left on the street may be stolen or damaged by passers-by or inclement weather. In expensive areas, donations include a proportion of good quality designer clothing and charity shops in these areas are sought out for cut-price fashions.

Typical charity shops sell a mix of clothing, books, music and bric-a-brac (such as cutlery and ornaments). Some shops specialise in certain areas, like vintage clothing, furniture, electrical items, or records.

Textiles

Almost all charity shops sell on their unsold textiles (i.e. unfashionable, stained or damaged fabric) to textile processors. Each charity shop saves an average or 40 tonnes of textiles every year, by selling them in the shop, or passing them on to these textile merchants for recycling or reuse. This grosses to around 363,000 tonnes across all charity shops in the UK; based on 2010 landfill tax value at £48 per tonne, the value of textiles reused or passed for recycling by charity shops in terms of savings in landfill tax is £17,424,000 p.a.

In many countries around the world, not just exclusively in the Third World, second-hand clothing that is initially donated is resold as a commodity throughout the world. Some countries forbid it as it harms the local textile industry, as it is in the case in the Philippines. In other cases countries increase tariffs to reduce imports. Some countries ban the sale of second-hand clothing because unwashed used clothing is seen as a potential threat of spreading disease. Karen Transberg Hansen suggests that in Zambia however, salaula, or the selling of second-hand clothing actually helps the local economy in generating income. Hansen said the trade provided more jobs (handling, cleaning, repairing, and restyling). It has also provided governments with revenue from tariffs.

Tax

Gift Aid is a UK tax incentive for individual donors where, subject to a signed declaration being held by the charity, income tax paid on donations can be reclaimed by the charity. Although initially intended only for cash donations, since 2006 the scheme allows tax on the income earned by charity shops acting as agent for the donor to be reclaimed.. Sue Ryder Care was the first to 'Gift Aid' its donations with a system developed with Eproductive Ltd.

Charity shops in the UK receive a mandatory 80% relief on business rates on their premises, which is funded by central government (not by local ratepayers) and is one illustration of their support for the charity sector and the role of charity shops in raising funds for charities. Charities can apply for discretionary relief on the remaining 20%, which is an occasional source of criticism from retailers which have to pay in full.

Consignment shop

Main article: Consignment

A consignment shop is an American English term for second-hand stores that offer used goods, typically at a lower cost than new. In the context of sale, it is usually understood that the consignee (the seller) pays the consignor (the person who owns the item) a portion of the proceeds from the sale. Payment is not made until and unless the item sells. The consignor retains title to the item and can end the arrangement at any time by requesting its return. A specified time is commonly arranged after which, if the item does not sell, the owner can reclaim it (or, if not reclaimed within a period, the seller can dispose of the item at his or her discretion).

Merchandise often sold through consignment shops includes antiques, athletic equipment, automobiles, books, clothing (especially children's, maternity, and wedding clothing which are often not worn out), furniture, firearms, music, musical instruments, tools, and toys. eBay drop-off stores often use the consignment model of selling. Art galleries, as well, often operate as consignees of the artist.

Consignment shops differ from charity shop|charity shops or thrift stores, in which the original owners surrender physical possession and legal title to the item as a charitable donation, and the seller retains all proceeds from the sale. They also differ from pawn shops, in which the original owner can surrender physical possession and legal title for an immediate payment, or surrender physical possession of the item in exchange for a loan, and can only reclaim the item upon repayment of the loan with interest or else surrender legal title to the item. In the UK, the term "consignment" is not used, and consignment shops selling women's clothing are called "dress agencies". Although the other types of consignment shop exist, there is no general term for them.

Give away shop

Main article: Give-away shop

Give-away shops, swap shops, freeshops, or free stores are stores where all goods are free. Some shops operate a one-in, one-out–type policy (swap shops). The free store is a form of constructive direct action that provides a shopping alternative to the capitalist framework, allowing people to exchange goods and services outside of a money-based economy. The roots of the "free store" lie in the anarchist movement. Today the idea is kept alive by the new generations of environmentalists who view the idea as an intriguing way to raise awareness about consumer culture and to promote the reuse of commodities. Although free stores have not been uncommon in the United States since the 1960s, the freegan movement has inspired the establishment of more free stores. In the United States, really really free market groups organize periodic "market days" in city parks. Participants are encouraged to share unneeded items, food, skills and talents (entertainment, haircutting, etc.), to clean up after themselves and to take home any of their own items they were unable to give away during the event. In other cases, used goods are picked up from the donors' homes, thus eliminating overhead costs. Donors are often not motivated by financial need or strictly anti-capitalist conviction, but by a desire to get rid of what would otherwise be waste without adding it to landfill.

Another recent development in the give-away shop movement is the creation of the Freecycle Network. It was started in Arizona for the purpose of connecting people who had extra belongings to get rid of with people who needed something, organized as discussion/distribution lists, and usually hosted on one of the free websites.

Surplus store

Main article: Surplus store

An army surplus store or navy surplus store is any store, usually retail, which sells military surplus — general equipment that was intended for the military but is unable to be used, or originally purchased in excess by the military. These stores often sell camping equipment or military clothing (especially jackets and helmets).

Following the First and Second World Wars large amounts of former military clothing and equipment were sold in these stores.

See also

• Pawn shop
• Car boot sale
• Jumble sale
• Flea market
• Yard sale/garage sale