WARNING about Charity Christmas Cards

irishbloke77

Maybe I have been niave about this and please accept my apologies in advance if this rant is about something that most of you are already aware of.

We recently bought a pack of Christmas cards in aid of Down Syndrome Ireland, assuming that a good portion of the sales goes to them, as this was the main reason for buying this particular, since a lot of cards look the same after all.

We paid €8.95 but I see on the back of the box today, that the charity gets a minimum of 45c per pack. To me, this seems an extremely small amount, given that this charity (and many others) are having their names/logos splattered across the front of the box to promote the sales of these cards.

Our main reason for choosing this box of cards, against any others, was that we were supporting this charity.

This company also promote many other Christmas cards with various charities, I am assuming they all have the same agreement in place.

Now I know that some may say that this is the minimum amount and there may be cases where the charity gets more. My point is, should the charity not get a larger minimum amount?

I also am aware that these amount details were stated on the box (albeit the back of the box) when we bought them, so its our own fault.

Just thought I'd make this more known about in case others are under the same misunderstanding as we were.

Next year, we'll buy a cheaper set and donate the cash we saved to the charity, giving the charity a better return.

Thanks for reading.

C3PO

It has always been thus I'm afraid!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Absolutely nothing new in this. There has always been a racket with these cards purporting to be in aid of charity. It's always worth reading the details in the pack before buying.

njs030

Yes it's always been like that!
Sometimes you can buy cards and calendars directly from charities (animal charities for example) and they get all of the profit so it's worth looking out for those.

nilescraneo

Bought cards directly from Peter McVerry trust this year after years of doing what OP was. Makes sense to cut out the middleman, sorry never copped it sooner.

irishbloke77

notjustsweet wrote: »

Yes it's always been like that!
Sometimes you can buy cards and calendars directly from charities (animal charities for example) and they get all of the profit so it's worth looking out for those.

That sounds like a much better plan for next year then, thanks everyone

CeilingFly

Of the €8.95, - €1.60 is vat, about €3 goes to the retailer (in fairness they have massive costs), about 45c to the charity (this 45c does not have vat) and the balance is manufacturer costs.

In some cases a fixed fee is paid to the charity instead of an amount per pack.

As above, best way is to purchase direct from a charity.

Kurtosis

Thanks for the heads up irishbloke. Have to buy some cards tomorrow so will keep am eye on this. Another option of course is to pick up a more reasonable pack of normal cards and donate the difference direct to the charity.

beauf

How do you buy direct

don_carlos

Bought some for the ReachOut charity from Supervalu. There is no info anywhere on the box how much of the 7.99 goes to the charity!

appledrop

Go onto website of whatever charity you want to support + most sell their cards this way. That's how I got mine + 45% of price went back to charity. Cutting out retailer saves them a lot of money.

CeilingFly

don_carlos wrote: »

Bought some for the ReachOut charity from Supervalu. There is no info anywhere on the box how much of the 7.99 goes to the charity!

That's probably done on a fee basis - eg, they are paid €xxxx in order that their name/logo is used.

august12

Better buying direct from the charity which is what I did this year and like most here, wondering why I did not do this sooner, bought directly from Milford Hospice, a well deserving charity.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

CeilingFly wrote: »

That's probably done on a fee basis - eg, they are paid €xxxx in order that their name/logo is used.

It should still have details somewhere on the packaging.

Daisy 55

Oxfam shop?

bottlebrush

I was in a sue ryder charity shop last week and they were selling packs of eight really lovely good quality cards for only one euro. I presume if they were being sold in shops they would only get 45 cent so better sell them direct.

tritriagain

bottlebrush wrote: »

I was in a sue ryder charity shop last week and they were selling packs of eight really lovely good quality cards for only one euro. I presume if they were being sold in shops they would only get 45 cent so better sell them direct.

All fine and well buying direct but I know the charities make more by selling larger quantities at lower take rather than selling direct. Many charities made an attempt at going direct sale but went back into shops as final outcome was better.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

bottlebrush wrote: »

I was in a sue ryder charity shop last week and they were selling packs of eight really lovely good quality cards for only one euro. I presume if they were being sold in shops they would only get 45 cent so better sell them direct.

They wouldn't be getting much more. There's still printing costs and VAT to come out of that €1.

amtc

Charities are vat exempt

tritriagain

Only the charitable donation portion is exempt.

amtc

Not necessarily. I did a lot of research on this and it included services on the charity e.g stamps and stationery. Advice from one of big 4 and revenue

Tenigate

I'm surprised how low that is.
I wonder if the card distributor forks over €20k to down syndrome ireland for use of the logo, and that money pays the charity's executives' xmas bonuses.
I know svp sell cards directly through their shops. I reckon more money ends up where it's meant to go.

Autochange

If you want to buy cards that will benefit those who need it buy from Peter McVerry. Its an excellent and genuine charity.

Doltanian

All charity’s are scam throw a homeless wino or junkie a fiver and he can do whatever. Give charity money and you are feeding pigs at the trough as has been shown time and time again.

C3PO

Doltanian wrote: »

All charity’s are scam throw a homeless wino or junkie a fiver and he can do whatever. Give charity money and you are feeding pigs at the trough as has been shown time and time again.

Wow ... now that’s a generalisation!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Autochange wrote: »

If you want to buy cards that will benefit those who need it buy from Peter McVerry. Its an excellent and genuine charity.

It's ONE, there are many more out there in many fields.

bladespin

C3PO wrote:

Wow ... now that’s a generalisation!

True but the more that comes out (and there's been a goid bit of scandal) the more cynical you become.

ansible

irishbloke77 wrote: »

We recently bought a pack of Christmas cards in aid of Down Syndrome Ireland, assuming that a good portion of the sales goes to them, as this was the main reason for buying this particular, since a lot of cards look the same after all.

Thanks for supporting a very worthwhile charity.

In future you can buy Christmas cards in aid of Down Syndrome Ireland directly from their online shop - https://downsyndrome.ie/Shop-DSI/. I don't know the exact percentage but I believe they get far more from direct sales.

Thanks

mikeymouse

We paid €8.95 but I see on the back of the box today, that the charity gets a minimum of 45c per pack. To me, this seems an extremely small amount, given that this charity (and many others) are having their names/logos splattered across the front of the box to promote the sales of these cards.

Call me a cynic, but how much of that 45c will trickle down (no pun intended)

LynnGrace

It is something I was aware of - how little the charity ultimately gets. I buy directly from the charities that I support.

kev1.3s

I'd be interested to see how much of the 45c the charity gets how much of it actually goes to the intended recipient?
You can call me cynical all you want but I don't trust any charity.

Autochange

Adeline Gray Landscape wrote: »

It's ONE, there are many more out there in many fields.

No need to shout. I didn't say different

CeilingFly

Adeline Gray Landscape wrote: »

It should still have details somewhere on the packaging.

I think that's a UK requirement not applicable to Ireland

anewme

Does anyone remember those unsolicited “charity” cards from foot and mouth artists.? We used to get them years ago. We were so poor we used them and never had the money to send back? My Mum said years later that she knew it was a scam....that was a lie!

Ann22

I volunteer for a local dog rescue charity and 100% of money raised from Christmas cards that we are selling go to us.

L1011

anewme wrote: »

Does anyone remember those unsolicited “charity” cards from foot and mouth artists.? We used to get them years ago. We were so poor we used them and never had the money to send back? My Mum said years later that she knew it was a scam....that was a lie!

Unsolicited goods, fairly strong legislation on them here. Suspect that's why I haven't seen a set in years

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

CeilingFly wrote: »

I think that's a UK requirement not applicable to Ireland

And I still maintain it should have the details on the package.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

anewme wrote: »

Does anyone remember those unsolicited “charity” cards from foot and mouth artists.? We used to get them years ago. We were so poor we used them and never had the money to send back? My Mum said years later that she knew it was a scam....that was a lie!

I got them this year and last. Threw them back in the post as 'unsolicited mail'

witchgirl26

I spotted this type of thing a couple of years back on the cards I used to buy so now I buy cheaper cards and just donate the difference (plus a bit normally) to the charity directly. Means I get cards I really like (often don't like the charity ones), the charity gets more money directly and everyone is happier