Is it odd to just walk around a charity shop and not buy anything?

Posted by God_Lover77@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 24 comments

Is it odd to just walk around a charity shop (or any store) and not buy anything?

I have always felt weird when window shopping because I always feel like I was being watched and may get a judgemental look from the store owner from time to time when I leave empty handed, so I let it go. However, sometimes I really do need something but it's not there. This is always the case with charity shops for me. I feel so guilty for walking around and not buying a thing. The thing is they don't have permanent stock, so you can never be too sure what is in there. Sometimes I do just like to check of they have knick knacks that I may like but most of the time don't. One store has wide open floor space and normally has only elderly customers so I stand out like a sore thumb and the other is a bit easier to disappear in but I used to volunteer there so they know me. Oddly enough this one person who is always there always acts like they have never seen me a day in their life and ignores me even when I used to try and engage.

Is it that weird to walk around aimlessly?

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tmstms@reddit

No, it's completely normal.

TulipTattsyrup99@reddit

Not at all odd. I love buying quirky glassware from charity shops. If they haven’t got anything I fancy, I leave, same as in any other shop.

LadderInteresting775@reddit

I do this all the time, I just always say thank you when I leave to make myself feel better! 😂

SnooRegrets8068@reddit

Nope but it can feel awkward especially if small. There's a fishmongers in the village but it's basically a counter and a 8x6ft area in front.

They refuse to post prices so I went down after hours and took a picture through the window rather than go in an ask. No issues with procuring huge government contracts but this place gets on my nerves.

Having found just about every thing they sell costs more per kilo than the local butchers charge for rib eye I'm glad I didn't go in. Sure it's fresh and everything but a kilo of fish would be the same i pay for shopping for myself for the week as it seems to be £30+. Obviously not for me as someone on over the UK average.

EdmundTheInsulter@reddit

Just buy a whitebait for 5p and give it to a seagull.

They don't stock it looking at recent social media. Still no prices too. They cheapest thing appeared to be a dozen scallops for a tenner. 5 years ago.

Not taken a picture of the menu since then.

evilcnut@reddit

I do it all the time if I’m on a day shift and it’s my lunch hour

Boxoffrogs99@reddit

To be fair I reckon that's what about 80% of people do in charity shops, most the time there's nothing of interest in there, just by nature of the way they work

CDs and dvds, not like you can buy 10 Black Lace albums 1-10 for a £1 just cos you went in there to see if 'The Wall' had suddenly appeared.
Well yeah go on, maybe Black Lace 1 with Superman etc

rmulberryb@reddit

Honey, you have every right to look and not buy anything. Store keepers staring at you judgementally says nothing at all about you, and everything about them.

Charity shop workers are the worst for haughty behaviour if you do buy something 'how dare you take this one eyed cat ornament for just 25p'

It's like you're buying their firstborn

No, just Aldi where they try to resist your exit via tills.

Awesomeandkindaweird@reddit

Charity shop manager here, it's not weird at all. The vast majority of people who come into a charity shop just have a look around and browse. We're always hoping people will buy things but there is no judgement if you choose not to.

If the feeling really bothers you then a few pence in the donation box by the till will always get you a smile and a thank you 😁

What will get you judged is trying to haggle over the price of something. You might be surprised at how many people try to do that.

Difficult_Falcon1022@reddit

No it's not odd? If you volunteered in a charity shop I am sure you saw people do this all the time. You are massively overthinking this.

For various reasons I stick out quite a lot in general, and I find wearing sunglasses and headphones helps me a lot. Like, if they cannot perceive me perceiving them perceiving me then I feel less bothered? Idk may help :)

StereotypicallBarbie@reddit

No when my mum was alive we’d often just go walk around for a look.. plenty of times not buying anything! Charity shops are hit and miss sometimes they have stuff you want but plenty of times they don’t..

chris_282@reddit

Further to the previous excellent advice...

The human eye is drawn to movement. If a shop assistant is staring into space and you're walking around, they're going to look at you. It's the way we're wired. If you're an anxious sort, as I am, it can feel like you're being glared at.

LetterheadLong8109@reddit

Jeez, I feel like a shoplifter every time I walk out of a shop without buying anything. I can't explain why. I always try and make myself not look like a thief. That probably in turn actually makes me look a bit suspect 😂 Some shops make it really hard to get out of too. Like forcing you to squeeze past people in a queue as all the other usually open ways out now have alarmed gates.

terryjuicelawson@reddit

The only place it seems weird is little corner shops where the expectation would be you have a purpose, that pink of milk or can of drink. A shop full of tat set up to browse, I hope they don't think it is weird as I walk in and back out without buying anything all the time.

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