How much do you value charity?

Oxfam has raised more than £500m to fight poverty worldwide

Oxfam will celebrate the 60th anniversary of its first British charity shop this weekend, with an appeal for diamonds and more volunteers.

But has this type of shopping reached its sell-by date?

BBC News website readers have been debating the value of charity shops.

Join the debate

HERE ARE SOME OF YOUR COMMENTS:

As a teenager I got almost all my clothes from charity shops. But for the last few years, it's actually been cheaper to buy many types of basic everyday clothing such as jeans and T-shirts brand new from large shops (including supermarkets). Especially if you factor in searching time. But, if you are lucky enough to be shopping for 'wants' rather than 'needs' and have the time to dig, there are still some incredible bargains to be found, particularly for classic formal clothes.
Mary, Midlands, UK

I regularly donate clothes etc to our local charity shop. However even their prices have gone up recently and to be honest I would rather pay a little more (and it is a little) to buy new. It used to be a cheap way to clothe us (occasionally) but not any more.
[nicebeeblebum], East Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Charity shops provide a useful 'recycling' function, but they don't go far enough. There should be huge state-run warehouses where we can deposit stuff we no longer want and then other people can come there and take that stuff away for free. It's amazing, walking past a skip or dropping stuff off at the council tip, to see all the perfectly good items everyone seems to throw out, for want of space, that still have useful life in them and could have been reused.
Colin, London

I naively believed that one didn't buy things from charity shops just to get a bargain. It's also a way of giving, isn't it? I'd sooner pay an extra pound and have it go to someone needy rather than a lesser amount to a mega-company's profit margin.
Jim McDermott, Daventry

What is to stop supermarkets from having an area within their shop to do the important job that charity shops have been doing for years and years rent free, funded by their nice little profits?
Ed Oxnard, Newcastle Upon Tyne

I bought a beautiful vase from a charity shop ten years ago for £1. In 2007 I had it valued and it was given a value of £35,000. It was sold at an auction a week later and fetched £63,000. So I made a profit of £62,999 which I think is quite impressive. I bet whoever got rid of it will be kicking themselves! So, yes, charity shops are great places with hidden treasures!
Joe Jordan, Leicester

Charity shops are probably in decline due to the very high prices that they charge these days. Ten years ago you could leave a charity shop with several bags of clothes, books etc having spent only a few pounds. These days most items in charity shops are being priced at almost the original retail price. While they obviously need to get as much money as they can for the charities they should remember what made them popular in the first place - a wide selection of goods at very low prices.
Ben platt, Liverpool, United Kingdom

I always give stuff to charity shops. To be honest I can't be bothered to sell something on eBay unless I'm going to get at least £100 for it. It's too much hassle. People who sell books for £2 on eBay amaze me ! Anyway, seeing as charity shops get all their stock for free, how can they be out-priced ? They can drop their prices lower surely and still make a profit? Also, I agree that some have become too choosy and a little snobby.
Richard, London

No one wants second-hand goods anymore. Let's be honest, if you can buy brand new jeans for £4 from Primark then you won't go to a charity shop. Burglaries are declining because of this too. Changing times I am afraid. Only the strong will survive.
Jason Convery, Montrose, Scotland, United Kingdom

I love charity shops. Thanks to them I can wear Monsoon and Jigsaw clothes with Gabor shoes and eat off Wedgewood and Denby tea services, all while giving to charity and recycling. You just can't beat that. If you buy cheap from High Street stores you get rubbish throw-away fashions while supporting the misery of sweatshops. Why would you want to do that?
Teresa Midwinter, Oxford

I used to buy a lot from charity shops but now I find they are attempting to charge far too much for the items and clothing. I even saw a jewellery box in one charity shop that was priced higher than in a new shop where it was originally bought. A coat I liked and would have bought was priced at £40 which is far too much for jumble sale second-hand clothing. I have consequently stopped visiting these shops.
Charles Swann, Derby