This is another impressive Edinburgh charity shop. It's just round the corner from a large BHF…read morefurniture and electrical shop, and keeps things traditional. I primarily browsed the DVD section here, and was not disappointed. Charity shops are the ideal place for a great bargain. For example, whilst perusing the DVD shelves, I found 'Wanted' for the bargain price of £2.99. All of the stock on offer seemed of a good quality, and I was impressed with the selection of things on all fronts. As with all charity shops, you have to hunt around a bit, as they are not as meticulously organised as typical high street retailers. I may have to come back and do a more thorough check of their selection. Of course, the stock will change all the time, as is the case with charity shops. An unbelievable bargain is almost guaranteed.

I am a frequent visitor to this store. Its conveniently…read morelocated near Haymarket Station and the bus stops just outside (No.3,33,44,4,25.....) Inside it is quite roomy and what I like most is the book selection on the right side of the wall. It is massive. They are stocked in order and you can easily look by authors names. You can get old and new titled books, as well as DVDs and CDs. They also have a vast clothes collection and some children toys and games at the back. You can even find changing rooms and try on the garments in private. The staff is really friendly and the place is clean. Prices are fab and don't forget you support a Charity :-)

I'll never forget the day I walked past this Shelter shop and spotted a huge gold batik print…read moreopened out as a backdrop for the window display. It. was. beautiful. And it was only £30, which is more than a bargain in anyone's book. Unfortunately, my then boyfriend who I was walking with didn't pick up on any of the ten or so hints I dropped on the way home, even though it was 3 weeks to christmas (!) and so sadly it doesn't belong to me. Whoever does own it, you are very lucky. And you have amazing taste. The moral of my ramble is this: whilst some charity shops' stock is not the sort of thing you'd drool over in the window, this place definitely does not fall into that category. It's like a cross between a vintage clothes shop and a one-off homeware boutique, but at amazing prices. What's not to love?!

Shelter is a charity shop, so I feel a little politically incorrect bashing it, but my complaints…read moreare totally aesthetic. The other ones on the street, namely Oxfam, Cancer Research and Barnado's are so much nicer to look at! One the one hand, the other stores may just be better at concealing the fact that all these products have been owned by someone else (a fact I'm sadly not too comfortable with) but it'd also help if Shelter was a little bit better organised. What it does have going for it is that it's not as strict on what it sells, so you could leave with anything from a tunic made in India (I did!), some cooking utensils, a book, or a colourfully sequined hat!

I have said it before and I will say it again. Charity shops are great places to find a genuinely…read moregreat bargain. Yes, you may have to search around, and root through a lot of rubbish to get there, but you will inevitably turn up something good. This shop is one of a number of different charity shops in the Costorphine area, covering a range of the different charities. I tend to be drawn towards the CD and DVD section, which will also tend to have a large number of videos. It's like a chronology of technology in these places. This shop had a fair selection, though there was a much larger section devoted to clothes, mainly for women. Obviously, Marie Curie's involvement in the fight against cancer means that it is well worth supporting the work that they are doing. Give them a visit - you never know what you might stumble upon.

Another charity shop, another bargain opportunity! This time, Cancer Research UK served up 2 for…read more£1 on CDs, some of which were fairly recent. This is one of those deals where you almost feel that it would be rude not to take it up, but I managed to resist this time. I've always been impressed with the Cancer Research's shops - maybe it's the work they do with cancer, or their shops are just particularly nice! Either way, I have a lot of time for what they do. In fairness, this area is really quite full of charity shops, and it can be quite hard to pick between them. It will ultimately come down to how you feel about that charity I guess.

This branch of Barnardos is so good that I always pop in when I am walking past. Located on the…read morebusy Gorgie Road, it sells your usual charity shop stock as well as furniture. The furniture here sells like hot cakes as the stock always seems to be displaying "Sold" tickets. The furniture can be a bit pricey for second hand, but some of it is in really great condition. I have no idea where it comes from. I like to think that rich people around Edinburgh get bored of their furniture very easily so donate it here. The non-furniture part of the store has a great book selection which is usually my reason for going in. There is a "classics" section which stocks authors such as Dickens, Jane Austin etc. They also sell textbooks which came in quite handy when I happened to pop by and they had my course text book for a fiver as opposed to £45 on Amazon. I don't really do charity shop clothes as I always find it is generally middle aged, plump women who donate and being neither of these things I don't find anything I like. This shop hasn't jumped on the vintage bandwagon yet, but I am sure this will come. I panicked the day before New Years Eve because I realised I didn't have champagne glasses for our party. Instead of paying £10 in Sainsburys I picked some up in here for 29p each. Bargain!

I don't think I've seen a charity shop with as much as Barnardo's on Gorgie Road. There are three…read moreparts to this shop - the normal store, the furniture section and a wedding section as well. I went in to the normal part of the store this morning, primarily to have a browse of their DVD section. I'm so often guilty of bypassing charity shops to find my bargains elsewhere. There's always the worry that you never quite know what you're buying in terms of quality. While this may be the case, you can't knock this shop for its range of stock. You may find that you have to hunt the DVD section for a while to find what you're after, as they didn't seem to be in any sort of order, but there was a good selection of older films right up to more recent ones as well. The shop has much else besides DVDs. There's a healthy collection of books that fill a large number of shelves, as well as clothes. I didn't have time to investigate the other two sections of the shop, but they too seem to be well-stocked. This shop probably does great business, and you can shop here with the knowledge that you're helping out a worthy cause.

Capability Scotland is Scotland's leading disability charity so you know that whatever you buy in…read morethis charity shop branch on Nicolson Street, the money will end up going to a good cause. This branch is well stocked with a good selection of books, clothing, shoes and bric-a-brac. The prices are also very reasonable, and by that I mean they are actual charity shop prices. I've been into charity shops where they sell old tat for £100+ which I just find ridiculous. Yeah, it's for a good cause but some people don't have enough money themselves to be that generous. The staff in this branch are also very friendly and when I popped in I was greeted by a smiley staff member and it made the shop all the more welcoming.

I love this charity shop. The staff and volunteers are super friendly and helpful…read more They have a huge stock room upstairs so it's worth asking if you're after something particular and can't find it. The prices are reasonable. The book selection isn't that big but again there is a good range of stuff. I went in looking for a few cocktail glasses and ended up coming out with 25 and a box to carry them in. They have a huge range and even more upstairs that they'll let you have the pick of if you ask nicely.

The British Heart Foundation charity store, located on a street full of charity shops, manages to…read morestand out because of its impressive window display of the latest items available in the store. This shop is literally packed with everything you can expect from DVDs to clothes to books and bric-a-brac. As with all charity shops it's ideal to browse, and best if you aren't looking for something particular or else have a vague idea of what you want (i.e a white t shirt for a dress up). The prices are not the lowest on the street but it's still worth a browse around and in both cases that I have been in here the staff have been super friendly!

I nipped in here for a wee browse last week and it really is crammed to bursting. Most charity…read moreshops only have a couple of second hands videos/DVD's but they literally have hundreds here all very well organised and easy to browse. To be fair, if you go to somewhere like Fopp or HMV you will probably get brand new ones for cheaper but I guess you're getting a reasonably cheap item plus you're giving to a good cause so if you're feeling in a giving mood maybe head here. They had a great selection of clothes and if you take the time to browse I'm sure there's lots of pretty items just waiting to be uncovered. They also have an extensive range of knick knacks and I had my eye on a candle holder shaped like an old flip flop, one of the funniest designs I've ever seen, I'm surprised the original owner could bear to part with it.

I am a huge animal fanatic and can see myself as an old lady surrounded by lots of cats and dogs…read more Although not directly related to animals, of my ambitions is to be able to train guide dogs and hopefully one day, perhaps when I'm retired (I guess it's a long way off) I'll be able to train to do that. Everything raised by the PDSA goes towards animals and for 93 years they have been raising money to pay for animals who are sick and don't have owners or perhaps their owners can't afford to pay for their vet bills. I don't get charity shops to be honest, okay it's great to pick up something quirky and "oh-so-vintage" from a charity shop where it is easy to part with your money and you leave feeling happy but let's face it, they're not designed for fashionistas and cool cats and for me, if the charity shop is standing for something I feel really strongly about such as raising money for animals in need then that's as good a reason as any to browse this store. You might not find a vintage pair of Dior sunnies here but they do have a nifty selection of bric-a-brac, board games, jigsaws and they also have special plates and keyrings made specially for the PDSA. On my last visit I also noticed a very cute cuddly cat sitting in the window but opted for a key ring instead. If you like charity shops then this one is definitely worth a browse and you might find something that you really like and you'll be helping out animals in the process.

This charity shop is ideal if you have a pet. Other than the usual bric-a-brac that most charity…read moreshops have, this one also has a lot of accessories for your little friend (s) . Anyone with some pet knowledge would know how expensive vet bills are and the fact that this charity raises money to help the less fortunate animals without owners is great! This particular store doesn't really have clothes but they do have a decent collection of board games, videos, books and toys. I got a teapot from here- nothing special- but great for our flat in any case.