A charity shop manager has shared a very simple mistake people make when making donations, and she said one woman recently made a “totally gross” contribution
When it comes to bargains, lots of people manage to uncover all sorts of brilliant finds at charity shops. After all, in addition to raising money for good causes, the stores enable people to bag designer goods and products at bargain prices, but sometimes the donations people make aren’t always that grand.
One charity shop manager recently shared just how out there some donations can be, and her story left people in total bafflement. She admitted a donation from one woman was “totally gross”, and she is sometimes left stunned by the strange items people attempt to hand over in a bid to dispose of them.
Gracie May White told the unusual tale on TikTok, and hundreds of people have interacted with it since. As much as shops are always really thankful for donations, she urged people not to make one simple mistake, as it can be hard for charity shop workers to deal with.
Gracie said: “It’s my day off today, and I cannot stop thinking about something that happened in the shop yesterday. I was on the till, and a lady came in with a load of donations.
“I’m not one to judge a book by its cover, but believe me when I tell you you just know, I just knew. One of the things she unloads is a cardboard box of teabags, and I let her know that I can’t take them – I can’t sell anything edible.
“Obviously, she’s not happy with that – tells me that I don’t appreciate her donation. I flipped these teabags over, looked at the best before date – 20 years. 2006.
“And she literally turned around to me, and she said ‘you can’t gift things away anymore. It really upsets me when even a charity doesn’t want things’. I was like nowhere, nobody, not even the food bank would want your 20-year-old teabags.”
Gracie revealed that, whilst she could have simply binned them herself, there was a crucial point behind sharing the tale.
She explained that charity shops fork out thousands of pounds annually disposing of “people’s rubbish”, and felt compelled to shine a light on the issue.
This was precisely why she rejected the donation, urging others not to make similar blunders. Hundreds have watched the clip since it went live, with viewers eager to weigh in.
When charity shops become the topic of conversation, it appears shoppers harbour some rather strong views. They didn’t hesitate to share their thoughts with Gracie either.
One viewer commented: “Some people just don’t get it. Rusty baking trays I get given every day. No, sorry, I can’t accept them as they aren’t [in a] sellable condition. The customer tells me to clean them then.”
Another chimed in with: “That’s shocking. I work in retail, and we support the local food bank. The amount of things people donate that are years out of date is unreal. Like, why donate something you wouldn’t use either?”
A third responded: “I work in one and can honestly say nothing shocks me anymore.” Meanwhile, a fourth also remarked: “Not quite sure how or why someone would have teabags in that cupboard for that long to be honest.”
Just so you know, mainstream charity shops usually don’t accept food donations for resale as they don’t typically handle perishable goods. Instead, it’s best to donate them to your local food banks.
