Vinnies' Monster Warehouse Sale this weekend...

If you go, we'd love to see what bargains you found...

Behind the Scenes at Vinnies

By Ms Frugal Ears: who writes about frugal and simple living, parenting and low-cost recipes. She is a compulsive op-shopper, even when trying to declutter and embrace mindful minimalism.

I love op-shopping. Okay, perhaps I am a bit obsessed. And I have always wondered how charity shops manage the sheer bulk of donations that come in. How do they stock a store so that everything is neat and ordered? How do they price items? So I was thrilled to participate in a behind-the-scenes tour of the Mitchell Distribution Centre of the St Vincent de Paul Society (Vinnies) along with fellow I Op Therefore I Am member The Shopping Sherpa.

Photo by The Shopping Sherpa

Our tour guide was Gary Crowder, Area Manager for the Mitchell Distribution Centre and Dickson Centre; which encompasses the full time management of the warehouse. He didn't look like he worked in an op-shop. Well, I don’t know what I expected but I am used to being greeted by kind older ladies. 

Photo by The Shopping Sherpa

Gary is ex-military, a snappy dresser and clearly good with logistics. When we saw the scale of the operation, we realized why his ex-military skills must come in handy.

Photo by The Shopping Sherpa

Vinnies Mitchell handles three units: a retail shop, a sorting facility and a service unit. The Mitchell facility is responsible for sorting donations for five Canberra stores to include Mitchell. Belconnen and Tuggeranong stores do a certain amount of self-sorting, but none of the other stores have the facilities to process all donations themselves. Vinnies trucks visit the stores on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and service the general public on Tuesday and Thursdays.

First step on our tour was a walk through the retail shop. I found it hard to move through the retail shop without pausing to look at things. I wanted to try on the jewellery, flick through the women’s clothing rack, search for craft items and books and check out the children’s wear. Oh, that vintage fake-fur coat! That Tupperware butter dish! The children’s DVDs! This instinctive need to touch things and take them home only intensified when we visited the stock out the back. ‘Just pretend it is like a museum,’ whispered Anna-Maria. ‘No touching.’

You may not realise that there is a retail outlet in Mitchell. I didn't actually know there was one before our visit. It is hidden in a side street behind some adult establishments, one street back from the Salvos op shop. For several years it was not open to the public, operating only as a sorting facility and warehouse, but it re-opened for business a few years ago.

Photo by The Shopping Sherpa

Photo by The Shopping Sherpa

The sorting centre receives bags containing up to 15 kg in unsorted donations from its stores. These are stored at a shed on its premises until the bags are sorted (more on that to come). Vinnies Mitchell workers are able to sort between 100 and 120 bags per day. They also receive other donations from drop-off bins and centres, including at the Mitchell centre itself.

Wearing gloves (cloth or vinyl gloves – not latex as some people have allergies), workers open up a bag and then sort into three piles: A-grade (shop stock), B-grade and items unusable (rubbish). Vinnies has a ‘ban list’ of products that it is prohibited from selling, or that it is unable to sell (e.g. it does not sell electronic items). Most items are good quality, but some bags contain soiled or dangerous items. Vinnies policy is that if the bag smells funny or does not look safe, dispose of it. Safety of worker is paramount.

Photo by The Shopping Sherpa

A-grade items are placed in either a blue or a white laundry basket, depending on whether the items are suitable for winter or summer clothing. When they are full, the A-grade baskets are then taken to another section of the sorting area, where they are sorted into labelled boxes.

Photo by The Shopping Sherpa

Photo by The Shopping Sherpa

Photo by The Shopping Sherpa

I was amazed at the effort Vinnies put into packaging items according to category, for example men’s ties, women’s belts, women’s vests, women’s dresses, children’s toys and so on. This system means that it is easy for shops to place an order when they are low on a certain type of item: for example they can request more women’s summer t-shirts and a box is easily located and sent to them.

B-grade items include clothing that is faded or needs minor repairs, or other items in less than top condition. These items are on-sold in bulk bales to textile companies.

What does Vinnies Mitchell receive the most of in donations? A large proportion of items—up to 85%—consist of women’s clothes. It receives much less menswear and there is always a demand for good quality men’s clothing. “Men in Canberra tend to wear tailored suits, and then wear them until they are nearly worn out,” explained Gary. “We get a lot of suit jackets that we can sell, but there are not nearly as many pants. And there is not much in the way of casual wear, either.”

We ventured through another ‘do not enter’ door into the inner sanctum of the sorting facility. Here there were tall pallet racks filled with large sacks of unsorted items, piles of books, tins of jewellery, and odds and ends.

Photo by The Shopping Sherpa

Photo by The Shopping Sherpa

Photo by The Shopping Sherpa

 All items sold have to comply with Australian legislation. For example, if an items is faulty then a customer can return it and request a refund. And DVDs can only be sold with the correct Australian classification. Many of the classifications have changed—for example there is now a MA15+ category—so Vinnes has a volunteer who comes in during the week to search the DVD titles online and label them with new classification stickers.

Photo by Ms Frugal Ears

I noticed a pile of crutches and walkers stored on the mezzanine level of the warehouse. Gary explained that they provide these items to customers if they ask; they do not display them as they find that some people purchase and then resell for profit.

We thought we’d seen everything, but there was more. Gary took us out the back and into a large shed, where sacks of unsorted material received from Vinnies stores were kept. The shed houses anywhere between 2,500 and 3,000 unsorted bags at any time. “My aim is to ensure we have at least one and a half months worth of goods to stock Vinnies stores in storage, in case donations dry up for any reason” said Gary. The forklift drivers had a system for sorting the goods so that they are stored chronologically.

Photo by The Shopping Sherpa

Photo by The Shopping Sherpa

And finally, there was a warehouse across the road. The warehouse held boxes of goods that had been labelled and packaged in the sorting centre. 

Photo by The Shopping Sherpa

Beside the roller door was an order that had already been prepared for the Vinnies Phillip store. Once a store orders what it needs, warehouse workers locate the relevant boxes in the warehouse and then make a stack of them, ready to load onto the truck and transport.

Photo by Ms Frugal Ears

The warehouse also contained some furniture. We admired a funky green-and-black-striped retro sofa, and a brown hipster-style sofa. 

Photo by Ms Frugal Ears

But this furniture was not destined for Vinnies stores. “Around 80% of our furniture goes to people in need,” said Gary. “Homelessness is a real problem in Canberra. And since most of the people we gift furniture to live in small apartments, it’s a challenge to find items that are small enough to fit.” Vinnies buys new foam mattresses to go with the beds it gives these people, to ensure that the bedding is hygienic and safe.

Photo by Ms Frugal Ears

The thing that impressed me the most about Vinnies Mitchell Distribution Centre was the commitment to quality. Items were treated respectfully, and a lot of care went into the sorting process. Gary emphasised that Vinnies always welcomed quality donations; and an issue for them was the cost of dealing with poor quality or damaged items. He tactfully avoided discussing the direct cost to Vinnies of dealing with rubbish that had been dumped, but from his anecdotes that was clearly a problem especially with some of the bins near suburban retail stores. Vinnies Mitchell has a massive skip bin out the back, which it used for the large volume of damaged goods or items it was unable to sell that it received.

Photo by The Shopping Sherpa

As to how volunteers price items, Gary admitted it was a bit random. It is difficult for the volunteers to know what the items they are pricing sold for new in the shops. That said, Vinnies had some basic guidelines based on the type of item they are pricing.

And if you think that staff and volunteers out the back get the first pick of the best stuff at bargain prices, think again. Vinnies has strict policies to ensure that managers monitor and approve purchases by staff, and that the items are being sold to them at the same price they would be sold to the general public. And Gary said that Vinnies workers were buying what you or I would buy – mid-range clothing mainly. There are still plenty of bargains to be enjoyed by everyone.

Speaking of bargains, Vinnies Mitchell will be holding its annual Monster Warehouse Sale from 6 to 8 November.

Vinnies Mitchell is located at 10 Buckland Street in Mitchell, and is open Monday to Friday 9 am to 4 pm and Saturday 10 am to 3 pm.

Total outfit for $11? ...only from an op shop!

(Reposted from Fotofraulein...)

Sometimes I find gold and on my last day before heading back to work, I scored gold. I headed out to Salvo's in Fyshwick as I hadn't been to the southside of town for a while and in particular to Fyshwick.

Being a weekday it was quiet and there wasn't a queue for the change room. I'm on the hunt for a crop demin jacket. Do you think I found one? No, but of course I couldn't leave empty handed. On the half price rack was a linen Marks and Spencer skirt for $3. I love the black with the cream and peachy colour block hem.

Not one to usually look at the shoes today I did. And thank the op shopping stars I did! Funkis clogs $5, in size 41? Yes please! And they look brand new!

The thought of ironing work clothes does not thrill me, so during my first week back at work I headed into Vinnies Mitchell, picking up a cute, cool, non iron Liz Jordan top for $3. And to finish off my bargain $11 outfit, a handmade necklace, made by my darling friend Libby.

Liz Jordan top - $3 (Vinnies Mitchell)

Marks and Spencer skirt - $3 (Salvo's Fyshwick)

Funkis clogs - $5 (Salvo's Fyshwick)

Total spent: $11

Salvo's Mitchell

Reposted from Fotofraulein.

If I enter an op shop with something in mind, I always come out with more than anticipated.

I went in today to buy ice cube trays. I got them... along with a few other things.

Two Ikea ice cube trays for $3 each. I'm sure they are actually cheaper at Ikea, but hey, I'm giving to a charity and it's cheaper (and quicker) than a trip to Ikea in Sydney, so I'm not complaining. I also got a pink silicon Masterchef Muffin tray for $3, which I will also use for ice cubes for punch bowls or jugs of iced tea.

Brand new, still with the tags on, a Virtu Janey cardigan in dark gray for $15.

Although it is the middle of Summer, this will be a great edition to my wardrobe in Autumn or Winter. The cardy has large press studs down the side, so it means it can be worn numerous ways.

As it's too hot to take photos in a knitted vest, here are some photos from the Virtu site.

Vinnies Mitchell Monster Sale

(Reposted from FotoFraulein)

I have a bit of an op shop addiction. But I like to think I have it somewhat under control. Somewhat, but not totally. Where does this obsession come from? Thrill of the chase? The hunt for a bargain? Being a poor university student for so long, which has seeped into adult life? For me, I see it as all of the above, plus I am giving to charity, rather than large multinational corporations. So, as I love op shopping and thrift stores so much, I'm going to do posts on my blog on Thursdays of my thrifting finds and anything ACT related I will repost on I Op Therefore I Am - ACT.

Towards the end of November 2013, the St Vincent de Paul in Mitchell had their monster sale. It started on a Friday, one of the great things about working in Mitchell, a visit fitted perfectly in my lunch break! 

The Vinnies warehouse, where the magic happens twice a year!

I spent $16 and what did I get?

Grace Hill Dress - $6

Capture Black Bolero Jacket - $3

The fabric in this dress has a real 1950s feel, with a satin waistband and neckline. I love pink and gray together and thought it would be great for Summer Christmas parties.

For work, I got this Suzanne Grae short sleeve top for $3. I loved the pattern and I find these tops a great alternative to t-shirts.

Both of the tops I bought have the art deco style sunrise motif. I do love art deco and when it's on fabric,  even better! Also for work and a casual Summer look, I picked up an Epilogue long sleeve top for $4. It is slightly hi-lo at the back, made of light weight polyester, quick drying, no ironing. I wear a lot of white, black and gray, so it goes with many things in my wardrobe.

So all up, a sensible shop, with quite a few good purchases. Have you been op shopping of late? What bargains have you picked up?

Vinnies monster warehouse sale starts Friday

Yes it is last year's poster, but we don't have a copy of this year's.  Be assured that the sale is on Friday-Sunday at Mitchell.

Mitchell Tin

I picked up a great pressed metal cake tin at Tinys Green Shed in Mitchell today. Complete with paper towel and cake crumbs inside, it is now going to house my sewing thread.

More from Mitchell

Salvos Mitchell is having a book sale until Saturday, with tables filled with books priced from $2.00 to $4.00 each.

I may or may not have staggered out with a rather large pile after my visit this afternoon...

Vinnies Mitchell reopens!

That's the good news: The woman behind the counter explained it's like the factory outlet of op shops: the stuff that doesn't get sold comes here and what doesn't sell is compacted and sent overseas to sell.
( It was weird being back there)
The bad news?
At this stage they're only open during the week...

Just in time to stock up on winter clothing...

(Particularly useful as autumn seems to have disappeared off the calendar)

The Zonta sale is this weekend:
(Thanks to Maria)

And reader Cindy emailed us today to pass on details of the next Vinnies Monster Warehouse Sale, which is on 15, 16, 17 March, 9.00 to 4.00 pm each day. For those going for the first time, Vinnies is at 10 Buckland Street in Mitchell. Eftpos and Cash Sales only.

Cindy points out that the sale overlaps with the Lifeline Book Fair by a couple of days. Smart thinking Vinnies!

Dear Vinnies.

I saw this at the local Vinnies on Friday. I was there two days before, and will swear that I had not seen this advert.

Dear Vinnies, If you want your sales to succeed, you need to give better notice of them.

Just for Kids at Salvos

Anonymous from the comments asks:
Hi, I saw an add in the northside chronicle today for a Salvos stores "just for kids" sale from the 9th - 16th of april. at the mitchell store. but can't find any more info on what on offer or the opening times. have they done this before? is it worth me dragging kiddies out for?

Anyone have any info?  There wasn't anything in store at Mitchell when I was there Monday.

Sounds like it's discounts on kids clothing, possibly toys, too.

Do post or comment if you have more info.  I'm not going to have time to ring them tomorrow.

Recent Finds

I have not posted here for a while - I really have not had much luck finding anything I want to 'bring home'.

Last weekend at Fash'n'Treasure I picked up this great 1960's dress for $5 - bot sure if I am keen on the high neck - but the fabric is great. I also purchased a Jaeger of London mauve hat. Not that it is something I would normally wear, but my favourite op-shop purchase of all time is an 1960's Jaeger orange wool jacket (picked up circ. 1992 for $5) and I still wear it every winter.

And today, I visited R-Shop in Mitchell (picking up books: vintage Disney, ABBA and Pollyanna), before heading to Salvos in Mitchell where I had found a purchased more books (Judy Bloom)

In the Salvos at Mitchell I had a bit of an op-shop dilemma - finding a fabulous orange glass vase (the sticker reads Radio Brand Hand Crafted Japan); but the price was more 'antique-shop' than 'op-shop'. The vase came home - it was orange, how could it not come home!

I also picked up a old (not-used) Snoopy scrapbook - I am sure it was published before the days scrap-booking became popular. My mum is a collector of all things 'Peanuts', so this will be gifted to her. Oh, it came with a free photo!

Our final stop was Salvos in Phillip, my only purchase a Vogue pattern. I am trying to limit pattern purchases to vintage or 'by designer' patterns.