I've found various bargains in the British Heart Foundations on Western Road and London Road. For…read moresome reason though, I think the stock in the Hove branch of the national charity shop is always a bit dated and lacklustre. Last time I went in with my mum, my auntie and my better half and none of us could see a single item of clothing we liked enough to even pull off the rack, let alone try on! As for the rest of the stock, the curtains and blankets were criminally bad and the bric a brac section was bare, save for a few chipped vases and solitary wine and champagne glasses. My advice would be to donate some good stuff yourself or skip it and try the other charity shops further down George Street.

I was in several charity shops today and the British Heart Foundation was tops. It's not that the…read moreclothing was especially fashionable, but it was organised by size! And the sizes were clearly indicated by those little dealies on top of the hangers. So nice. There was a modest CD and DVD collection - I picked up a DVD for £2, and I think the most expensive one on the shelf was £3. Books included a children's area along with paperbacks and hardcover, and there were also a few houseware items out on display. The sales clerk was lovely - she thanked me for my little purchase and sounded so genuine. Aw, nice.

This is another of the long standing charity shops of Broadwater, many of the others have changed…read moreover the years and additional ones have popped up. Whilst this is one of the long standing charity shops the shop itself has changed in terms of the items which they are selling. Previously there was mainly secondhand items and the prices were fairly low. Now however, there is a mixture of both new and old items and the prices are much higher. I have to admit that I prefer to find just secondhand items in charity shops rather than go to them to buy new items which is why there is a lower rating. Additionally I know that other charity shops charge a lower price for very similar items or I can find the items in a car boot sale at an even lower price. Whilst I still check out the stock once a week or so when I am in the area I dont often find anything which suits my needs.

Two of my favourite books are JT Leroy's The Heart is Decietful Above All Things and Carson…read moreMcCullers' The Heart is A Lonely Hunter. I've read them both countless times and am always singing their praises to anyone that will listen. I've yet to find a secondhand bookshop with a copy of either in stock but bizarrely, I've seen both for sale in this tiny branch of British Heart Foundation. The rest of the stock seems a little tired compared to the Oxfam and Shelter shops on the same stretch of Western Road but hey, you can't knock a charity shop that two of the greatest novels this century! Who knows what they might get in next, Raymond Carver.... Annie Proulx... Walter Mosley... Toni Morrison... The potential is endless!

I've been in so many charity shops recently, they're beginning to blur together: The usual cheap…read morebut not very stylish clothing, brightly coloured and gaudy jewellery, and mix and match kitchenware. The British Heart Foundation definitely has these things - the necklaces were right up to par - but the highlight of this particular shop was the selection of home entertainment. The bookshelves were packed with many well-known authors - Michael Crichton, Paul Coelho, Stephen King and Helen Fielding were a few of the names that stood out. CDs were also plentiful - members of the staff were having fun flipping through the discs to find something to listen to. (They chose some classic Britney Spears.) Other items in the area included tonnes of VHS tapes, in case anyone can still play them, a few DVDs (I bought Ghost World for £2.99) and a decent selection of toys. Enough to keep the children of shoppers happy, anyway.

In the sign outside, Spiral Sussex claim to be 'Brighton's most interesting charity shop.' I think…read moreOxfam would probably contest this but I admire the fact Spiral is an independent, community based charity that ploughs any money they make back into helping young people and adults with learning disabilities. I've taken bags of books, CDs and records into the shop and each time I've visited I've been amazed by the amount of new stock they get in. There's a back room devoted solely to books and big pieces of furniture and two smaller rooms devoted to bric a brac, decorative items and vintage pieces of clothing. Last time I went, I picked up a spare chair for the kitchen for less than the price of a beer or packet of smokes!

Reviewing charity shops is a tricky business as the process sparks numerous ethical and moral…read morequestions. Such stores stock products just like every other retailer, yet their profits contribute to good causes, aiding communities and individuals in need. Should they be judged merely in relation to their range of items? Or perhaps based upon how much good they do? Morally, I'd like to give every single charity shop a five star review, simply because of the ethos such operations espouse, and their contribution to society. That said, it seems slightly unprofessional to give a business five stars when the service it provides is actually worse than most, if not all of its commercial competitors, and so I feel forced to resort to a juggling act in which I try to balance these two thought processes, in order to produce a fair rating taking into account both arguments. Spiral certainly does a lot of good. This charity is run by volunteers who use the proceeds they make selling donated items to aid people suffering from learning difficulties, specifically helping such individuals to participate in activities and recreational events. Although, unfortunately, to be frank, their stock isn't anything special, that doesn't mean this shop isn't worth visiting. You'll find books, vhs tapes, furniture, and other such assorted items, and many of the products are old, and not in the best of conditions, but that said, I'm sure if you hunt through the items available for long enough, you probably will find something that peaks your interest, and the cheap furniture in particular seems ideal for students who want to pick up something for an affordable price, which, whilst perhaps lacking in style, still performs the job it was designed for.

I found a mint vinyl copy of Little Earthquakes here yesterday…read more For the bargain price of £5!!!! I've been searching for this record for at least eight to ten years and here it was, sat in the window of British Heart Foundation, just waiting for me. There were lots of other great looking records and books dotted around too. But I'll be honest with you, I couldn't concentrate. I just wanted to get home, drop the needle into the groove and play Tori Amos's amazing debut album at full volume.

This is a great little bookshop and record shop where all the proceeds go to the British Heart…read moreFoundation. It's well worth the trip out of town down London Road- particularly if you collect records, they always have a good selection for a few pounds each. The shop is small so the selection is limited but it still packs a second-hand punch- good quality fiction (both the range of titles and their condition), cookery, politics, history, reference, photography. They also have a small section of dvds- all checked to make sure they are working.

This large Cancer Research Shop, sits on the bottom corner of the High Street,and just over the…read moreroad from the Pedestrianised Friars Walk area, so it's in one of THE prime shopping locations in Lewes, which is good for a charity shop, as I bet McDonald's, Primark etc..are just waiting to snap it up. I wasn't too hopeful of seeing anything I liked in here as I walked past, as I thought the clothes would be less eclectic and fashionable than the ones in Brighton (due to the demographic). Yet I was delighted and surprised to see on their racks a really nice Parka Coat on sale for only £14.50, which was a total and utter bargain. On top of the Parka, there happened also to be a full bodied ski suit, which although I didn't need or want, would have saved some person perhaps hundreds of pounds on buying a new one. Other than the clothes, there are lots of little trinkets and odds and ends, that are nicely stacked and exhibited, to get your teeth into, as well as cards and books to browse.

There are so many huge charity shops in Lewes! This is another huge and well stocked charity shop…read moreand it's a great one for rummaging. Some charity shops are so overstocked that you just tend to scan things looking for anything promising. This one has plenty of floor space to manoeuvre so that you can get digging through the rails. There are some nice clothes picked out and displayed and many more high-street brand clothes on the rails. They have a lot of nice ceramics and kitchen china- often nice sets of plates, cups, saucers from very good names like Worcester. As the shop is large they can also accomodate some furniture so you can pick up a nice bedside stand, or bookcase.

Quite deep into Kemptown, this is one of the bigger charity shops in Brighton and has a good…read morecollection of books, clothes and other odds and ends. They have a good choice of books hailing from all sorts of esoteric genres. They are really quite cheap too; I got The God Delusions for a mere one pound sterling. But there are far more things of worth in here than most tired shops and with their helpful volunteers, it's a breath of fresh air to hunt around in a shop where the possible purchases are so cheap.

Definitely the best charity shop in Brighton and Hove. I've been shopping in charity shops all my…read morelife and this one rules. What makes it so good? The stock is always brilliant and of the highest quality. I have never left there without something great. They have mens, womens, kids, bric-a-brac, records, DVDs and CDs. I bought a brand new cashmere jumper for £5! What also sets this shop apart is the staff, who are always friendly and chatty and cheerful. It's a real pleasure to go in there because you always feel welcome. In addition to that, there is always a great mixture of Kemp Town characters. You could spend a whole day in there browsing and people watching and never get bored.

Mind on St. James was the first charity shop I went to upon moving to Brighton. I bought a single…read moregreen coffee mug for about a pound. Step one: Move to new country. Step two: Ensure a means to morning cup of coffee. Clearly my priorities were in order. There's a decent selection of books - each £2 and I saw several classics on this most recent visit. Perhaps a good stop for English Lit majors. DVDs are £3, but there are only five of them at the moment. The home décor selection is also a bit slim - a few trinkets, dishes and a set of wine glasses for £5.50. Of course there's also clothing, accessories and shoes - more for women than men. There's not too much unique about this location, other than personal nostalgia.

Loved it! The woman helping me was friendly and got several things out of the window for me…read more I got a lot of gothic pieces here for very cheap, £15 for an amazing Lolita dress, and £4-6 for some jackets, because her neighbor was donating and I was so lucky to receive slashed prices on these amazing items!