Oxfam aims for £2m from online shop

Fundraising | 7 May 2007

Oxfam has launched Britain's first online charity shop with hopes of generating £2m a year.

Over 50,000 items are currently posted on the site and since its launch on Friday the website has received over 150,000 hits. However no sales figures are yet available.

The charity created the online shop in response to the growing consumer trend of shopping on the net. An Oxfam spokeswoman said: "Oxfam recognised that an estimated 17 per cent of all high street retail will soon be online and that it should get on board."

The shop is run by managers and specialist online volunteers in 16 Oxfam shops around the country who select items for sale and then photograph the product and post it online. Oxfam hopes to extend the scheme to a further 17 shops by January 2008 with 120,000 items available to purchase online.

Jill Whittingham, an Oxfam shop manager from Nantwich, Cheshire, said; "By taking part in this, we can showcase a range of our goods to customers throughout the UK as opposed to only our local area and we expect to increase the amount we raise as a result."

The shop features donated items including clothes, books, vintage garments, music, household goods and collector's items such as stamps and coins - offering shoppers the chance to buy one-off and re-used items.

Continuing the charity's contribution to ethical retailing, the online shop also features more than 100 new Fair Trade goods and its virtual gift range Oxfam Unwrapped.

Oxfam director, Barbara Stocking, said: ï¿½Oxfam has pioneered in ethical shopping since opening its first shop selling donated items. At a time when how we buy is at the forefront of people's minds, Oxfamï¿½s online shop gives people a real way to buy more ethically.ï¿½

Selling donated items online has already shown its potential for the charity. In the last financial year, Oxfam raised ï¿½300,000 by selling on eBay and Abe Books. However, it has not cut its ties with eBay and will continue to sell high-value items through the auction site in order to maximise revenue.

Directory: Oxfam

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