5 Best Charity Shops in Altrincham

I visited some of the local charity shops in Altrincham, Greater Manchester. In this post, I discuss which ones you must go and see and why they are worth the trip.

I did a recent poll on my Instagram about what makes thrift stores or charity shops great and worth the visit. The answers varied from ‘good quality brands’ to ‘a decent kids section’.

So with that in mind, I made my way into the nearest town which happened to be Altrincham. A Market town in the South of Trafford, Greater Manchester & home to the award-winning Altrincham Market & Market House to check out the charity shops.

I don’t know about you but I’ve found some charity shops and thrift shops to be a bit hit-and-miss when it comes to quality. Quality of clothing, quality of kid’s stuff and the odd charity shop staff member to be a little rude.

There are also times when I have been to charity shops and it’s been full of absolute second hand gems or nothing I like. But I guess that’s just part and parcel of charity shopping.

Here are the 5 BEST charity shops in Altrincham (featuring photos) that blew my expectations out of the water!

Altrincham Market: Image by The Style Cycle

The BEST 5 charity shops in Altrincham:

Cancer Research UK

Sue Ryder

British Heart Foundation

Scope

Oxfam

#1: Cancer Research UK

Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the number 1 charity shop to visit in Altrincham and is worth a visit. With most charity shops, it’s the regular visits that will bring you the most luck when it comes to finding the best quality garments and designer items. You just don’t know when someone will drop off the item you’ve been longing for.

I have visited this shop on many occasions now and the staff are always so helpful and welcoming. This helps when you have questions about the item you wish to purchase. Not only that, their stock is always of great quality.

They do have some items of clothing which I would call ultra-fast fashion (which isn’t my fave) but they also have some high-quality brands too, a great mix.

The shop layout is quite small but the clothes are all in size order and categorised into particular items. This makes it super easy to navigate. They have a small selection of home items, books and balls of wool for any knitters out there!

They offer an extensive women’s section, think Boden, Massimo Dutti, and Zara plus a decent-sized men’s section and a small selection of children’s clothing.

CRUK have a superior toy section for children, from what I’ve seen, all the toys are in perfect condition. A member of staff told me that they check all the toys to make sure they are working before they go on sale.

If your child likes the orchard toy games, you have to go and check them out. They had a range of games which were brand new in the box! What more can you ask for?

CRUK accepts pretty much everything apart from nightwear/underwear although they can take it and pass it on to other charities for you. (So, a handy donation station too)

#2: Sue Ryder

The Sue Ryder charity shop in Altrincham is brilliant and worth a visit. But like I’ve said previously, with most charity shops visiting regularly will bring you the most luck. You don’t know when someone will drop off that gem you’ve been after.

The staff were so helpful and welcoming and the store manager, Natasha talked to me about what their shop had to offer which was so kind. As a customer, this is very promising and helpful if you have questions about future items you wish to buy.

Sue Ryder is a large store with several different sections making it easy to shop. They offer an extensive women’s section. I didn’t notice many ultra-fast fashion pieces either which is a bonus. There is also a men’s section and a small children’s section. I even came across a small selection of vintage furniture which was beautiful.

The best thing though, was a whole section dedicated to vintage clothing at the back of the shop! This section is my favourite part of the Sue Ryder in Altrincham as there aren’t many places to source vintage there (unless you strike it lucky in one of the other stores). Having a large section dedicated to vintage is a dream come true for Altrincham.

They also have a small haberdashery where they do in-house upcycling! How amazing is that?

This shop accepts pretty much everything apart from real fur and they offer a 28-day returns policy.

If you’re after some new goods, give this shop a go, I would love to know if you agree with me. Let me know what you think in the comments!

#3: British Heart Foundation

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) charity shop in Altrincham is located at the top of Altrincham High Street (George Street) and is a regular haunt of mine. They have a very high standard of clothing and secondhand items including a varied selection of books and home pieces for very reasonable rates.

The shop was busy when I visited and the staff were still helpful and welcoming which gave me a lot of confidence for questions you may have. I found a mix of high-end high-street brands and some fast fashion pieces but the manager mentioned they do get vintage items as well which is great!

The shop layout is quite small but the clothes are all in size order and specific categories, making it super easy to navigate around the shop. They offer a large selection of women’s clothing, and a small men’s section but no children’s clothing. BHF also have a small toy section for children and from what I saw, all the toys are in perfect condition so worth a look if you’re after something for your child.

This BHF store in Altrincham doesn’t accept electricals or furniture but one of their other stores close by in Sale does, so definitely contact them if you have any larger pieces to donate.

If you give this shop a go, please let me know what you think!

#4: Scope

SCOPE charity shop in Altrincham is another great option. It’s one of the smaller charity shops in the town but I don’t think that matters much here. They had some great quality items/brands and to be honest didn’t see much ultra-fast fashion when I was there.

I made sure to look out for the quality of brands whilst shopping in Altrincham as that was one of the key findings from my Instagram poll. Many people look for brands like Zara (more of a higher-end high street brand) which they have a few items of. So if that’s your thing, it is worth a gander.

The shop layout is small but the clothes are all in size order and categorised into particular items, which made it easy to find what I was looking for. They mostly offer women’s clothing but the shop does offer a good-sized men’s section and a small children’s section too.

#5: Oxfam

This Oxfam charity shop is technically not in Altrincham town centre but it is located in Hale Barns which is only a minute or 2 down the road and I had to include it. I love it and it is worth the visit.

With most charity shops, there are times when I have visited Oxfam and it has been a dream. I have seen copious amounts of designer items, think Mulberry Bags, The White Company and Levis. I do visit regularly and have bought so many amazing pieces from this store.

The staff are always so kind and helpful. One of their staff members told me they try to reduce the amount of ultra-fast fashion pieces which is great but I guess these items do have a place in the secondhand market and is a much better option than a landfill.

The shop is quite small but they offer a great selection of women’s clothing, a small men’s section and a small selection of children’s clothing/toys and books.

Another gold mine for orchard toy games, I bought ‘cheeky monkeys’ the other day, brand new in the box for £4 what a bargain!

This Oxfam store is one of the only charity shops in Altrincham that has a changing room!! I love this option because I am trying to be more conscious when buying clothes and that still counts for me in a charity shop.

If you visit Oxfam in Hale Barns, let me know what you think and if you bought anything! Enjoy!