Originally published: UK Fundraising, 9 September 2026
Charity shops are losing their best donated stock to online resale platforms, according to new research from Rathbones, one of the UK’s leading charity wealth managers.
Executives report a fall in the quality of donations
Nearly two in five (38%) senior executives at charities that run shops say the quality of donations has fallen since the rise of Vinted, eBay and Depop. Around one in ten describe the drop as significant.
In contrast 42% report no change, while nearly one in five (18%) say the items they receive have actually improved.
Half of donors say online selling has changed what they give
Rathbones also surveyed people who give items to charity shops. Around half (49%) said their use of online sellers had affected what they donate.
Roughly a fifth (21%) reported a slight drop, keeping their best items back to sell online themselves. A further 19% said the quality of the clothes they donate is significantly lower, because they now give charity shops only what will not sell elsewhere. Around 9% said they had stopped donating to charity shops altogether and now sell online instead.
What is at stake
Charity retail contributes around £300 million a year in profit to the sector, across more than 9,900 shops. Those shops employ around 24,900 staff and are supported by more than 223,500 volunteers.
The findings put a number on something charity retailers have described anecdotally for several years. The problem is not a fall in the volume of donations so much as a fall in their value, as donors sort their wardrobes with a resale app open. For shops that rely on a small number of higher-value items to carry the margin on everything else, that shift matters rather more than the number of bags coming through the door.
Research was commissioned by Rathbones Group, via independent research agency Pureprofile, to interview 100 senior charity executives, including board directors, finance directors, investment managers and investment directors during July 2026.
Additional research on donors’ attitudes was commissioned by Rathbones Group via independent research agency Pureprofile of 1,000 UK adults during July 2026.
