THEY were once one of the most common sights on the British high street. Charity shops were everywhere; preferential rates meant they thrived where other shops failed.

But now even they are feeling the pinch as financially savvy householders increasingly find new ways of getting a return on clothes, bric-a-brac or any other second-hand items they no longer want.

The result is that the traditional supply of second-hand goods to many charity shops is drying up – the picture being so bad that some branches are now having to contemplate closure.

“People are now selling things on for personal gain because of the economic climate,”

says Karen Brown, manager of the Age UK branch in Consett, County Durham.

“Fifteen years ago they would have donated those same items to us. We now probably get a quarter of what we were once used to – there is definitely a reduction in what is being donated.

Unfortunately, people cannot afford to give away the quantity and the quality of the things they used to.”

So-called “cash for clothes” companies have taken a bite out of the charity shop market.

These weigh the items donated and pay per kilogram of weight.

While anyone donating items in this way is unlikely to get rich quick, it can provide a small return on the original investment.

A lucrative “rags trade” has grown up around many of these companies, with clothes being sold on wholesale to traders in places such as eastern Europe for profit. Then there is the internet.

Why bother giving your old CDs away for free when there are websites which will pay you for them?

Meanwhile, online auction site eBay enables both people and businesses to buy and sell all manner of goods, whether second-hand or new.

Anything can be auctioned on the site as long as it is not illegal and does not violate the company’s prohibited and restricted items policy.

Elleanor Moore, 53, who lives near Bishop Auckland, turned to eBay after leaving her job on health grounds. She now regularly sells second- hand designer items on the website, some of which she admits she would have previously given away to charity shops.

“I stopped working, which meant my wage was no longer coming in, so I became much more switched on in terms of maximising what I have got,” she says.

“I have a wardrobe full of really nice branded stuff I have previously bought, some of which might get worn once a year, and what you can get on eBay is fantastic.

“I am having really good success with what I am selling. I had one item, a pair of trendy FitFlops, which were listed for 99p and sold for nearly £50.

“This morning I have sold two necklaces, one for £9.99 and one for £15, I couldn’t tell you the last time I wore them – they have just been sittingin the jewellery box.”

Elleanor says she now assesses everything she owns with a critical eye, in terms of what she can sell.

“We might still give bulkier items to charity, but with smaller things such as clothes, jewellery and handbags there is a ready market for them out there,” she says.

“I do a feel little bit guilty about not giving as much to charity as I once did, but we are living in tough times.

“This is a way of bringing in a bit of pocket money rather than raiding the bank account.”

CHARITIES are now getting wise to this new world. Many organise door-to-door collections across the region so they don’t have to rely on people going into their shops with donations.

But there is a sense that, with more competition than ever for second-hand items, repeated appeals for contributions are becoming increasingly urgent.

Marie Leighton, from the Children’s Society, which has several charity shops in the North- East, says it is in dire need of clothing and she warns that some of its shops are at risk of closing.

“People are selling their kids’ clothes on eBay and are going to extremes to get a few pounds in,” she says. “I do not blame them for that, but we need stock as well.

“Shops down South are not as badly affected, but it seems as though here in the North- East we are not getting as many donations in.

“There is the possibility that if we do not get up and running to the extent we would like then we may have to close. It is dire straits that we are in. I would hate shops to go.”