Southport BID feature by Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport
Some of the most eye-catching items sold by Queenscourt Hospice on eBay have been revealed.
#teamqueenscourt supports families across West Lancashire, Southport and Formby, and has five charity shops: three in Southport, one in Burscough and one in Formby.
For the past decade Queenscourt has also raised money through its growing eBay initiative.
It allows the charity to raise extra revenue and raise its profile among new customers throughout the world.
Queenscourt Hospice is now appealing for support to help develop the service still further.
The charity would love to see local businesses donate any surplus stock or configuration they have, while donations from people are always appreciated.
Volunteers who can give their time are also being sought. The eBay Volunteer role varies from packing and sorting sold items, taking photos, organising the eBay floor, and listing items to be sold.
While the takings that can be made through Queenscourt charity shops are restricted to the floor space they occupy, with eBay, there are no limits to what can be achieved.
Funds are vital to support the essential services that Queenscourt delivers.
#teamqueenscourt provide exceptional palliative care for over 1900 patients each year and their loved ones, when they need support the most. This compassionate care is provided through its In-Patient unit, Queenscourt Connect, Queenscourt at Home and Queenscourt in Hospital and Community.
In all, it costs over £400 an hour, 365 days a year to keep Queenscourt in service, and this relies heavily on community support and donations to do this.
Queenscourt Area Retail Manager Jodie Lovelock said:
“Our charity shops are thriving and we are always grateful for the support we receive from local people across our area.
“One initiative which is working very well for us is our online eBay offer, which we started in 2013.
“The current eBay team have worked very hard to create the success we are now enjoying with Queenscourt eBay, which has seen us sending out more than 100 parcels a week.
“We are now sending out more than 100 parcels a week which we are very pleased with.
“Whilst our shops have a finite space, eBay gives us more scope with what we are able to sell.
“Our eBay initiative is run by Dave Lavery, who is also the Manager of our Queenscourt shop on Chapel Street in Southport, along with Susan Caunce, his Assistant Manager.
“They are also supported by Charlotte Woods, who has recently joined the Queenscourt Retail Team as Online Sales Assistant Manager, and by Chris Griffiths who aside from being a Bank Van Driver for Retail, also supports eBay as a Volunteer packer.
“We also have great support from our other eBay Volunteers; Ian Potter, Alan Hills, Victor Horniblow and Brandon Keeling. As part of her university course, Katy Taylor joined the eBay team for the summer to fulfil the voluntary work required to complete her course. Katy volunteered 37.5 hours a week which made such a difference to the eBay Team’s achievements.
Queenscourt Hospice retail manager Dave Lavery is supporting thew charity through sales of items on its eBay account
“They are also supported very well by the Volunteers who work in our shops, without whom Queenscourt would not be able to operate.
“We would love to see more Volunteers come on board to support our eBay team.
“Even being able to offer a couple of hours a week would be really useful for us.
“Our team identifies items suitable for eBay, researches them for appropriate pricing, and then takes clear photographs of each item before listing them. Most of our listings end on a Saturday ready to start the parcelling process on a Monday.
“We’d love people to come and support the team to make a difference to the hospice!”
“The eBay process starts with our five shops, as the shop teams identify suitable items that might raise more money online.
“This means that all our customers have the option to send their items to eBay via whichever shop is most convenient to drop them off at. We simply ask that any items for eBay are cleared labelled as such, and that the supporter draws attention to these items with the Duty Manager at the shop.
“The items then go on an auction basis on the site. The auctions tend to end on the weekend when many people like to browse online and have a little shop around.
“On Mondays we start sending out all the parcels.
There have been some notable successes.
Jodie Lovelock said:
“Just this year, we had a lovely customer who came into our Queenscourt shop on Bispham Road.
“She had carried out a house clearance and came in with some vintage Nintendo games.
“We sold one for £1,400! It was a vintage Super Nintendo Earth-Bound Box Game.
“We had five bids on it. We were all really shocked at how much it sold for!
“Having a presence on eBay as well as on the high street means that we have had buyers from Australia, Japan, and across Europe.
“A year ago, we were kindly given some Lladro statues to sell. There were three big statues that were 3ft tall and were donated to us by a family in Formby.
“We raised around £1,000 by selling them.
“We also had a Star Wars toothbrush which sold for £100. It must have been a collectors’ item.
“We sell all different types of items online, including clothes, shoes, designer handbags and cameras. Coming up to Christmas we always issue a plea for people to donate console games.
“We have sold Xboxes, which prove really popular.
“Everything electronic that we sell is PAT tested first.
“It all helps to avoid pre-loved items ending up in landfill, whilst also promoting Queenscourt Hospice both instore and online, as well as raising vital funds for our charity.
“We always welcome more support from members of the public as well as local businesses.
“From a donation point of view, we would really appreciate any surplus stock that any businesses might be getting rid of.
“Local firms are also welcome to promote our eBay service in their stores, and we will be happy to do the same for them.”
- The Queenscourt Hospice charity shop at 28 Chapel Street, Southport town centre PR8 1BH is open Monday 9.30am-5pm, Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sunday closed. For more details about volunteering at the shop or supporting the eBay service
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