ML&G Shop

[aerie]

Permanently closed - hard on the heels of Give and Take - so where are all the lovely clothes, accessories and costume jewellery being donated now?

[LondonMix]

ML&G said they were doing a refurb not permanently closed based on the sign that was in their window. Has the situation changed?

Anyhow, there are loads of other places that sell clothing and accessories on Lordship Lane, North Cross Rd, Melbourne Grove and Zenoria. I can think of at least 11 shops off the top of my head and I am sure there are ones I'm forgetting.

[Sue]

There is a notice in their window saying they will reopen between (I think) 22 and 25 July - ie soon.

[alice]

with two refurbs in a year [ish] cant be much profit left over for StC.

being inquisitive would love the numbers.

[Passiflora]

Genuinely asking what/where is the ML&G shop?

[aerie]

Mary's Living and Giving, on the corner next to Health Matters - it was an expensive charity shop. Now folded after a visit from the Mary apparently.

[Sue]

aerie Wrote:

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> Mary's Living and Giving, on the corner next to

> Health Matters - it was an expensive charity shop.

> Now folded after a visit from the Mary

> apparently.

So why does it have a notice in the window saying it is reopening after refurbishment?

It is definitely being done up.

[aerie]

yes Sue, I read the notice and looked online, to see when it would re-open - the site said, Permanently Closed.

Now it transpires the builders are tackling rising damp and it will reopen in early August.

A false alarm from misinformation, for which I apologise.

[Sue]

A new notice in the window says it is reopening tomorrow (Saturday 6 August).

[alice]

Looks exactly the same - 'done up'

[i*Rate]

The shop is now open but I did contact the Save the Children charity about why so much work was being done to the shop after only two and a half years of it being opened. Obviously, more running costs, expenses, etc, mean less profits = money for the needy.

It seems that they have been caught out by the landlords and say that they have to carry out 'structural work' required in their contract and are making alterations to improve staff facilities.

I told them that, personally, I was wary of charities after the scandal of the decline of Kids Co, for example, and hoped that they were 'doing a good job'.

My wife and I have given our most valuable second hand items to them in the past, but not sure if we will from now on. What finished it for me was learning that Save the Children had contrived to give an award to Tony Blair to boost his image when he needed it!

Cheers.

[aerie]

What does 'caught out by the landlords' mean?

When the phone rings, the answerer responds : 'Mary's Living and Giving,' and not 'Save the Children.'

I have bought a Gap shirt last year, and will go in and have a look soon, but it is overpriced,

items of clothing are more or less the same price as new and often more,

and to factor in the cost of dry cleaning.

Mrs Aerie's beef is that she has taken in new and beautiful

items of clothing and accessories which have never appeared in the shop, which is manned by volunteers

so who knows, perhaps they feel entitled to perks. I hope they are paying what they would if the item

was in the shop on the rail. Otherwise we are providing volunteers with a supply of goods which are

intended to stock the shop and give everyone an opportunity to purchase, and feel this is not the spirit

in which this giving was intended.

I do feel that this MLaG shop was partly responsible for the demise of

Give and Take, as well as their curious way of doing things, and frequent notices on the door exhorting

people not to bring in any more stock as they had enough, as it clearly wasn't moving. Now we know there

are generous people about who donate really quite valuable clothes accessories and 'things' so we will do

what we can to keep recycling, but not if the prices reflect the cost of the lengthy closure and repairs.

I hear what you are saying, and believe that at the end of each week, the takings should be displayed

and the net amount to StC declared. At least with a local charity we can be sure most is going

into the kitty for which it is intended, and hope this is not a naive assumption.

[i*Rate]

aerie,

I agreed about the ML&G shop showing us their takings/profits.

I recently received an annual statement from the St Christopher's Hospice charity showing me how much my donations has raised including the VAT claimed back - a very satisfying result. I did register with ML&G, last year, but never got details from them of what they made from my donations.

Is it all just a lot of PR for Mary Portas - who knows?

Cheers and happy shopping.

[EDmummy]

I've donated at this shop and got an email telling me my clothes sold for well over ?100. There were a few designer tops and the rest Cos.

[jo1973]

Hi there,

I'm a volunteer at the shop you're discussing: Mary's Living and Giving on Lordship Lane. I'd just like to clear up a couple of points over which there seems to be some confusion.

Firstly, volunteers NEVER take donations for themselves for free. This is completely against the charity's policy and does not occur in any of our shops. If a volunteer was found to be doing this, they would be reported to head office and their services would no longer be required. We give our time to raise money for this wonderful charity and take theft very seriously. If a volunteer wants to buy a donation, they are not allowed to price it themselves and they pay the FULL asking price.

Secondly, we have gone through a period of refurbishment as our sorting and donations room had damp and was in desperate need of updating. I know that you would all want your loved items to be priced and sorted in an environment that is clean and in line with health and safety requirements. All of us volunteers were very upset to see the shop close for 6 weeks, but we understood it was for the long term good of the shop and health of our team.

Thirdly, if when you donate items you would like to receive information about how much money your goods have raised, please say you would like to do 'Gift Aid'. Filling in this simple form gives you a unique number and we receive an extra 25% on every pound your item is sold for from the government. We will always ask if you would like to do 'Gift Aid' or show us your designated donating card and you will receive a letter which will tell you exactly how much money your goods have raised for the charity.

Lastly, their is a pricing structure set in place for volunteers to follow but there will always be the odd occasion that a brand or designer is not recognised by a volunteer and slips through the net at the wrong price: this is something that is rare and we have regular staff training sessions to make sure we price as correctly and fairly as possible.

I'd just like to end by saying that I hope none of you feel upset that sometimes a volunteer may purchase a donated item (paying the full price). It gives the charity the same amount of money as a member of the public paying for it, and I don't think that's an unfair approach to have for a charity trying to raise as much money as possible for a very worthy cause.

We are always in need of new volunteers so we would love to hear from you if you can donate just 4 hours of your time each week. Come join us!

[EDmummy]

Thank you for taking the time to respond to the cynics! Was getting fed up with the charity bashing on here.

jo1973 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Hi there,

>

> I'm a volunteer at the shop you're discussing:

> Mary's Living and Giving on Lordship Lane. I'd

> just like to clear up a couple of points over

> which there seems to be some confusion.

> Firstly, volunteers NEVER take donations for

> themselves for free. This is completely against

> the charity's policy and does not occur in any of

> our shops. If a volunteer was found to be doing

> this, they would be reported to head office and

> their services would no longer be required. We

> give our time to raise money for this wonderful

> charity and take theft very seriously. If a

> volunteer wants to buy a donation, they are not

> allowed to price it themselves and they pay the

> FULL asking price.

> Secondly, we have gone through a period of

> refurbishment as our sorting and donations room

> had damp and was in desperate need of updating. I

> know that you would all want your loved items to

> be priced and sorted in an environment that is

> clean and in line with health and safety

> requirements. All of us volunteers were very upset

> to see the shop close for 6 weeks, but we

> understood it was for the long term good of the

> shop and health of our team.

> Thirdly, if when you donate items you would like

> to receive information about how much money your

> goods have raised, please say you would like to do

> 'Gift Aid'. Filling in this simple form gives you

> a unique number and we receive an extra 25% on

> every pound your item is sold for from the

> government. We will always ask if you would like

> to do 'Gift Aid' or show us your designated

> donating card and you will receive a letter which

> will tell you exactly how much money your goods

> have raised for the charity.

> Lastly, their is a pricing structure set in place

> for volunteers to follow but there will always be

> the odd occasion that a brand or designer is not

> recognised by a volunteer and slips through the

> net at the wrong price: this is something that is

> rare and we have regular staff training sessions

> to make sure we price as correctly and fairly as

> possible.

> I'd just like to end by saying that I hope none of

> you feel upset that sometimes a volunteer may

> purchase a donated item (paying the full price).

> It gives the charity the same amount of money as a

> member of the public paying for it, and I don't

> think that's an unfair approach to have for a

> charity trying to raise as much money as possible

> for a very worthy cause.

> We are always in need of new volunteers so we

> would love to hear from you if you can donate just

> 4 hours of your time each week. Come join us!

[DulwichFox]

i*Rate Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> aerie,

>

> I agreed about the ML&G shop showing us their

> takings/profits.

> I recently received an annual statement from the

> St Christopher's Hospice charity showing me how

> much my donations has raised including the VAT

> claimed back - a very satisfying result. I did

> register with ML&G, last year, but never got

> details from them of what they made from my

> donations.

> Is it all just a lot of PR for Mary Portas - who

> knows?

>

> Cheers and happy shopping.

I too recieved an annual statement from the St Christopher's Hospice charity showing me how

much my donations has raised including the VAT claimed back.

Evidently a legal requirement if you are registered for gift aid.

St Christopher's have now updated their system to a fully computerised one with new plastic Customer Suport Cards

which you simply scan to enter your details. No more form filling in.

DulwichFox

[Sue]

DulwichFox Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> St Christopher's have now updated their system to

> a fully computerised one with new plastic Customer

> Suport Cards

> which you simply scan to enter your details. No

> more form filling in.

Their previous manual system for recording gift aid items was hit and miss to say the least, so let's hope this one is actually working, which it seems to be.

[i*Rate]

jo1973,

Keep up your good work as a volunteer; the shop is an asset to Lordship Lane and there is a great range of designer clothes there.

Unfortunately, after emailing the management of the chain of shops about how much money was spent on them, I cannot see how there is any profit left for Save the Children at the end of the day, unless your shopfitters are volunteers too? The rent there must be high and utility costs plus business rates.

If there's nothing left, is it just PR for Mary Portas? Sorry to be cynical, but after what went on at Kids Co, there's bound to be doubt.

Cheers.

[EDmummy]

Charity shops have business rate tax exemption, add to that gift aid and a charity is already doing quite well. Charities also attract other tax exemptions which may (although I don't know for sure)cover some of the costs of refurbishments etc. I seem to remember that St Christopher's pay a reduced rent for their store, I don't know if it's the same for ML&G. Charity shops have other benefits for charities in promoting brand etc. I can not imagine many charity boards would support activities that are losing money.

i*Rate Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> jo1973,

>

> Keep up your good work as a volunteer; the shop is

> an asset to Lordship Lane and there is a great

> range of designer clothes there.

> Unfortunately, after emailing the management of

> the chain of shops about how much money was spent

> on them, I cannot see how there is any profit left

> for Save the Children at the end of the day,

> unless your shopfitters are volunteers too? The

> rent there must be high and utility costs plus

> business rates.

> If there's nothing left, is it just PR for Mary

> Portas? Sorry to be cynical, but after what went

> on at Kids Co, there's bound to be doubt.

>

> Cheers.

[spark67]

I've bought a couple of things from here, always found the staff pleasant, and happy with the price i've paid, i've also taken a few of my unwanted things in too, and received a statement telling me how much they sold them for (?80 in my case) Personally i've not felt there being anything dodgy going :)

[monica]

Mary's living and giving have organised a week of workshops in East Dulwich,in association with Fantasy high street. you may have seen the cute bunnies in the window :) It started on Saturday and finishes on the 11th September. If you want to your children along to any of the workshops, they are free and I think its a great way to learn arts and crafts.

And the 2 lovely ladies on stilts entertaining the shoppers on the lane were a great addition to the festivities.

[NewWave]

I'm sorry but I do find this shop horribly overpriced for mediocre clothing.

I prefer to donate to Mind and St Christophers where at least the clothes are sold at prices that the poorer folk amongst us can afford.

[Sue]

NewWave Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I'm sorry but I do find this shop horribly

> overpriced for mediocre clothing.

> I prefer to donate to Mind and St Christophers

> where at least the clothes are sold at prices that

> the poorer folk amongst us can afford.

I think the prices at the Mind shop are really high, and sadly St Christopher's seem to be heading in the same direction :(

The Living and Giving shop prices on the other hand seem to have reduced since the shop opened.

[jo1973]

We try to have a very fair policy on pricing. Mary's Living and Giving shops are by nature slightly more expensive as we only sell the better quality clothing: we send a large amount of donations to regular Save The Children shops if they are not suitable for MLAG. The ethos behind our stores is to sell those top quality donations that would be difficult to sell for a fair price in Save The Children.

It's about getting a better price for your clothing for the charity and hopefully those who donate to the shop will be happier their garments are priced correctly and in keeping with their quality donations.