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We’ll be honest, when we sent out this survey in February, we really didn’t expect over 40 responses. A huge THANK YOU to all of you who took the time to complete our online questionnaire. If you have anything further to add, then please do get in touch via email to [email protected].
What must underpin the branch’s activities going forward is the fact that of those who responded, only 7% said that they would be interested in helping out as a volunteer and only a couple of people provided us with their email address. Nevertheless, we were really pleased that so many of you had views on what you would like to see for families locally and you certainly gave us some food for thought. Here are the main headlines from the survey and our thoughts on how to take this all forward…
The Nearly New Sale is still your priority
Requiring a huge amount of volunteer time and effort to run, and bearing in mind that over the years the NNS has become less profitable for the branch, we had thought that maybe there was less of an appetite for an NCT Nearly New Sale. Whilst appreciating that those who responded are those who perhaps are more engaged with the branch and use the NNS the most, we could see against our other activities that the NNS comes pretty high up your priorities list and is, therefore, still high on ours.
However, we are looking at ways of making it more profitable (if we fail to raise enough, we limit our ability to subsidise the hall hire costs of our Bumps and Babes and NCTeenies groups) and also reducing the burden on the Nearly New Sale Coordinator who has yet to find a team of people to help support her in organising the bi-annual Sales. So, we are making a tough decision to concentrate on just one sale this year. We’ll let you know with plenty of notice when and where this will be.
In more detail here are your comments about the Nearly New Sale...
You said RE: Notice and promotion of sale:
Variable, it's not always advertised very well locally and on local websites etc.
We say: We have been very conscious that in recent years, due to the constraints of having a small NNS organising team, the dates of the next Sale have been set and promoted at very short notice.
As mentioned above, we’re going to concentrate on one sale this year and all the branch volunteers are going to support Helen, the current NNS Coordinator, to put on this one sale with the aim of making it as profitable as possible. We also know that with more notice, we’ll get more people through the door which is something that we have seen a decline in.
Any help from our supporters to prepare, promote and organise the next sale would be very much appreciated. With enough people, we may well decide to put on our usual two sales.
You said RE: venue and accessibility
Excellent
We say: We’re going to review the current venue which we know works very well for the current scale of our sale but we must be mindful of the hire costs and the aim to raise funds to support other activities.
You said: Re: £1.50 entry price
I think £1 is enough. I also think the goodie bags could go.
We say: The sale is a great resource for the local community, but it is also put on to raise money for the branch to help us subsidise the hall hire costs of our parents and baby/toddler groups. We need to raise as much money as possible and the entry price and the goodie bags (where advertisers pay us to put in their leaflets) are a valuable way for us to maximise our income if we are to put on activities for the benefit of our community.
You said: Re: Quality of toys, clothes etc
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We say: We will always make it clear in the seller pack and literature that we only want ‘nearly new’ condition clothes. It is entirely up to the seller to price and package and make their items as attractive to buyers as possible but we appreciate it is the NCT’s reputation that is at risk. We will ensure we are as strict as practicable at our next sale, but the onus is on all of us (buyers, sellers and volunteers) to be as vigilant as possible.
You said: Re: Information on display about branch
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We say: We have printed some new literature to promote the branch. Should you wish to take some leaflets and take them out into the community for us then please do get in touch.
You said: Re: Comparison to other NNSs
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We say: We were concerned that our Sale was losing buyers and sellers to competition from other local sales. The feedback here together with the responses collected rating our sale in comparison with other sales has reassured us that we are still competitive.
We asked: how can we improve our Nearly New Sales?
You said…
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The timing of the sale (in the morning) means that our volunteers still have the afternoon to make plans with their families (many of whom work full time so weekends are precious). Also, we have traditionally had our sales at this time and our customers have continued to come along at this time year on year. We tend not to fix the sale on a regular date, but do need to take into consideration when other local NCT NNSs are taking place so we do not clash with them. We are also bound by when the venue is free.
It is a great idea for sellers to help promote this more widely, we do tend to include a poster in their sellers packs but putting more of an emphasis on the sellers to generate interest in the sale would do a great deal to boost visitors on the day. Social media sharing is part and parcel of this.
The great thing about the NCT NNS is that the sellers price their own items so it means that buyers can grab a bargain if the item has been priced to sell, it will however mean there are price discrepancies.
If you volunteer to help set up the NNS you can attend the pre-sale and really grab some fantastic bargains. So rather than a preview online, we offer a pre-sale which is the best way to enjoy the best bargains.