Charity leaders are warning that the quality of donations to their shops has plummeted as people increasingly use websites like Vinted and eBay to sell their higher quality items, research has found.

Two in five charity bosses say the quality of donations has fallen since the rise in popularity of online commercial selling sites, also including Depop, in recent years.

One in ten warn this drop in quality “has been significant”.

Half of donors have also admitted the rise in online resale platforms has impacted what they give to charity shops, found the research by financial firm Rathbones.

One in five donors say the quality of clothes they donate “is significantly lower as they only give charity shops items that do not sell”, researchers found.

Just under one in ten people say they have stopped giving to charity shops and now only sell online.

But not all charities are experiencing such a decline in quality if items, including clothes and books, with one in five saying they have receiving better quality items in recent years.

According to Rathbones charity shops generate £300m a year in profits for good causes, employ just under 25,000 people and are supported by more than 223,500 volunteers.

“Charity shops are an important source of income for many charities, so any shift in the quality or volume of donated goods matters for the sector,” said Rathbones director of charities David Cox.

“It is understandable that people may want to sell higher-value items online, particularly while household finances remain under pressure, but this research shows there can be a knock-on effect for charity retailers.

“The good news is that selling online and supporting charities do not have to be mutually exclusive. Donors can still give a portion of what they earn, use platform donation options where available, or continue donating items that charities can resell.

“Small choices can make a meaningful difference to charities that rely on retail income.”

Challenges facing charity retail

The research has been published amid a challenging year for many charity retail operations.

Several have been forced to review their shops amid rising costs and falling income over the last year.

In June the British Heart Foundation announced plans to close 150 of its charity shops over the next two years, citing increasing costs a “changing customer habits” as factors.

This week Garden House Hospice Care said it had made “the difficult decision” to close its shops in Fairfield, in Bedfordshire, and Hitchen, in Hertfordshire.

“Over the past year, we have worked hard to improve performance across our retail estate through investment, marketing, pricing reviews and operational changes,” said the charity.

“While this has delivered improvements in many areas, Fairfield and Threads have continued to face financial challenges.”

Three years ago data published by the Charity Retail Association revealed recruitment and retention challenges facing charity retail operations. One in three were reported volunteer shortages, while almost one in four said they faced staffing challenges.

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