Donate Pre-Loved Items - Queenscourt Hospice
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Donate Your Pre-Loved Items

Donate your Pre-Loved Items

Looking to Donate to One of our Charity Shops? Here’s how you can donate your pre-loved items today!

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of our supporters, our donation capacity fills up across all our shops very quickly. We’ll always do our best to squeeze you in, but to avoid disappointment, we recommend calling your chosen shop ahead of time! (See our directory below for more details.)

Please note that any items that are left outside of our shops cannot be sold. To make sure your generous donations don’t go to waste, please bring them during our opening hours of 9:00-16.45 Monday to Saturday.

Our Formby Shop on Brows Lane, accepts Womenswear, Menswear, Bric-a-brac and Accessories Only. Electricals can be donated but will not be sold in that shop.

Donations We Cannot Accept at Queenscourt

At Queenscourt, we gratefully accept a wide range of donations to support our hospice services. However, certain items are unsuitable for resale and can incur additional disposal costs and consume valuable time from our volunteers.

There are a number of reasons why we are unable to accept these items including safety, hygiene, legal considerations, and alignment with our charitable values. Accepting such items can lead to unnecessary waste and divert resources from our core mission.

Appliances and equipment

  • Mains or bottled gas appliances (safety reasons). Includes cookers, fires, lighters and hair-styling tools.
  • Microwaves (safety reasons). Costly to test: standard appliance testers may not be qualified to conduct the necessary radiation tests.
  • Electric fires or cookers (safety reasons).
  • Oil heaters, petrol or diesel fuelled items (safety reasons).
  • Computer hard drives (legal reasons). Copyright law forbids the resale of computers containing software.
  • Bicycles (safety reasons). Selling an unsafe bicycle is against the law and can result in a large fine. Including E-bikes or Scooters.
  • All types of protective headgear (safety reasons). Includes cycle helmets, motorbike helmets, riding hats, hard hats.
  • Medical Aids including Wheelchairs, wheeled walkers (safety and hygiene reasons). We cannot guarantee infection control. Wheelchairs should only be bought with professional advice to ensure the item is appropriate for the user.
  • Four-wheeled mobility scooters (safety reasons). Mobility scooters need road worthiness testing.
  • Car Jacks (Safety reasons.)
  • Climbing Equipment (Safety reasons.)
  • Lawn Mowers or Strimmer’s (Safety reasons.)
  • Any form of Safety Equipment.

Medical and cosmetic items

  • Medication of any kind (safety and legal reasons).
  • Cosmetics and scents (hygiene reasons and undesirability). We can accept new, unused cosmetics, aftershaves and perfumes if they remain sealed in their original packaging.
  • Dentures and prosthetics (wellbeing reasons).
  • Earrings and jewellery for pierced ears or any other pierced body parts (hygiene and safety reasons).
  • Reading/Prescription glasses (wellbeing reasons).
  • Used hot water bottles (safety reasons).
  • Used Candles (We can accept new if they remain sealed in their original packaging.)

Dangerous items

  • Firearms and ammunition (legal reasons and undesirability). Includes starting pistols and other blank-firing weapons and ammunition.
  • General Weapons and realistic toy weapons (legal reasons and undesirability).
  • Pointed objects that can be used as weapons (safety and legal reasons). Includes butcher’s knives, flick knives, sports knives, swords, darts, daggers and axes.

Please note, knives, blades or sharply pointed items will not be sold to under 18s (safety and legal reasons). Includes knives, knife blades, razor blades and articles with a blade or sharp point that can cause injury. Excludes scissors and pairs of compasses. Each shop keeps a ‘refusal register’ to notify local Trading Standards of anyone who appears to be under 18 who is refused a purchase.

Poisonous, toxic and hazardous substances

  • Flammable items such as firelighters and barbeque lighting tools (safety and legal reasons).
  • Solvents and solvent-based products (legal reasons and undesirability).

Multimedia

  • Any goods that infringe the copyright law (legal reasons). Includes pirate DVDs and counterfeit CDs. These can be recognised by the colour of the disc, hologram labelling or poor packaging.
  • Pornographic publications, DVDs and videos (legal reasons and undesirability). Includes DVDs and videos classified as R18.
  • Any DVDs and videos not legally classified by the British Board of Film Classification (legal reasons and undesirability). Includes DVDs missing classification labels.
  • Books – Marked “Not for Sale or distribution”

Please note, any films or computer games rated 12, 15 or 18 cannot be sold to anyone underage (legal reasons). Over 18 films are kept on high shelves. Each shop keeps a ‘refusal register’ to notify local Trading Standards of anyone who appears to be under 18 who is refused a purchase.

Children’s items

  • Toys without the CE mark (safety and legal reasons). Or Chemical sets or
  • Children’s garments with drawstring hoods (safety reasons). We can accept this clothing if the drawstring is removed.
  • Cot, crib or Moses basket mattresses (wellbeing reasons). There is research that showed an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome when using another family’s second-hand baby mattress, but no proven link yet.
  • Children’s car seats or booster seats (safety reasons). Second-hand seats often have no or incomplete fitting instructions. Seats that are not installed correctly or are damaged may not be able to protect a child in an accident.
  • Used breast pumps, sterilisers or baby monitors (safety and hygiene reasons). Only acceptable if brand new and they pass portable appliance tests.
  • Baby walking frames, door bouncers, baby slings (safety reasons).
  • Child safety gates (safety reasons). Second-hand stair gates may not come equipped with all the necessary fittings and fixtures. These are essential for ensuring safety.
  • Nursery furniture that contains upholstery (legal reasons). We can accept these if the item complies with The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988 and has the relevant label attached, or predates 1950.
  • Repainted cots (safety reasons). Cots that have been repainted may contain lead or other substances that may be harmful if chewed.
  • Roller Skates & Skate boards (safety reasons).

Please note, All prams and push chairs must display the appropriate warning labels.

Consumables

  • Alcohol (legal reasons and undesirability).
  • Cigarettes, tobacco and related products (legal reasons and undesirability). Includes electronic cigarettes, vaporizers and their accessories.
  • Drugs (legal reasons and undesirability). Includes prescription drugs, illegal, recreational or any other form of drugs and drug paraphernalia.
  • Foodstuffs (legal reasons). A Foods Standards Agency licence is needed.

Animal products

  • Taxidermy (undesirability). Includes new and second-hand items.
  • Items made of fur (undesirability). Includes new and second-hand items.
  • Items made of ivory (legal reasons). The trade in ivory is banned, except for pre-1900 furniture, wooden items or pianos with ivory inlays or keys and items believed to be ‘antique’. An affidavit from an antiques dealer is required to ensure items are sold legally.
  • Items made of bone (legal reasons). Includes items made from animals such as elephants, mammoths, walruses and whales.
  • Turtle or tortoiseshell items (legal reasons). Applies to items made, in whole or in part, from any part of sea turtles, regardless of the age of the item. Tortoiseshell-patterned items made of plastic or synthetic materials are permitted, but should clearly indicate they are not made of tortoiseshell.
  • Items made from endangered species (legal reasons). Endangered species are listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. This applies to both new and second-hand products, but not to antiques.

Other items we can’t sell

  • Anything that is already broken or damaged.
  • Clothing without their safety label displayed inside the garment
  • Clothing which are deemed as copies, fakes or dupes.
  • Blinds without warning labels & safety instructions
  • Used/Worn underwear or socks
  • Religious items (undesirability). Includes crucifixes, menorahs, Buddha statues, rosaries and nativity sets. Excludes religious and political books and texts including the Bible, the Quran and the Torah.
  • Official items (undesirability). Includes police, emergency services or government identification, uniforms and vehicle license plates.
  • Golliwog-related items (undesirability). Includes dolls, toys, badges and books.
  • Sex aids or sex toys, in any condition (undesirability, hygiene reasons).
  • Nightwear without flammable warning labels (safety reasons). Includes children’s and adults’ nightdresses, pyjamas, dressing gowns and bathrobes.
  • Upholstered foam-filled furniture (legal reasons). We can accept these if the article predates 1950 or complies with The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988 and has the relevant label attached.
  • Mattresses, pillows and quilts that are not in new, unused, condition (hygiene reasons).

Recommendations for Donating Hand-Knitted Items

To increase the likelihood of your hand-knitted items being accepted:

  • Include a Label: Attach a label indicating the fibre content and care instructions.
  • Ensure Safety Compliance: For children’s items or nightwear, include a “KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE” label if the material does not meet flammability standards.
  • Contact Ahead: Before donating, check with your local Queenscourt shop to confirm the specific requirements and policies regarding handmade items.

Alongside these listed goods, each Queenscourt Hospice shop reserves the right to refuse to take or sell items for other reasons not outlined on this page.