This good old-fashioned charity shop situated on Kemp Town's St James' Street is certainly not for…read moreeveryone. When comparing it with Oxfam's flashy locally designed clothes just up the road on North Street, or even with the colour co-ordinated rails of Kemp Town's neighbouring charity shops, you may well turn your nose up at this one. It's dark, dingy and disorganised. It can even smell pretty bad. However, if you're not too sneeze-prone and have a bit of time for a good rummage this place is definitely worth a visit. Although maybe don't even bother if you suffer from OCD - with its disarray of items, and seemingly no discerning judge of what makes the shelves, it is hard to resist the temptation to give The Friends Shop a thorough clean and tidy. But for the dedicatedly thrifty amongst us the prices are dirt cheap - all books are 50p for example and clothes much the same. Make a few trips, have a good rummage, and you're sure to find a bargain you'll be proud of. Well, eventually. One of Brighton's hot spots it may not be, but I feel strangely fond of The Friends Shop. It recalls those days of yesteryear before charity shops were popularized by magazines and celebrities, and thus anything vaguely nice always ransacked by an earlier bargain hunter. And with money raised supporting local hospital and healthcare facilities, at least there's one clear excuse for that 'bound to come in handy' item you end up buying.

Before charity shops caught onto the fact that they were sitting on a goldmine of retro treasure,…read moreand hiked up their prices, you could get any number of things for less than 50p. Friends however, still maintains this old school ethos or maybe no-one told them about inflation. Either way, have fun rifling through the rails as bric-a-brac drips from the cluttered walls. There is so much packed into a small space that it takes a surprisingly long time to get around it all. Best of all is that they have already concocted different fancy dress outfits from the random jumble, genius.

The Samaritan charity shop had a really nice energy about it. I think it was the cosy size, the…read moresmell of incense and the fact that the woman behind the counter was knitting, but looked up to say hello. I bet the incense is to cover the must - as I didn't smell any. Other than the usual clothes and housing items, Samaritan had some board games (including classic 20 Questions), some greeting cards, a suitcase full of toys, CDs, vinyl, DVDs and 99p paperbacks. All of them! 99p! Done and Done. There was a sign up asking for donations of warm winter clothing. I recommend this little shop, especially for books, and if you can, bring an old coat or mittens along.

Starfish might be half the size of other vintage stores like Dirty Harry and whisper it, American…read moreRetro, but it's still well worth checking out next time you're in the Lanes. They have a cool fridge in the window, great music on the stereo and racks of clothes from the 50s to the present. I know vintage is supposed to indicate decades of wear and tear but hey, you can't make people carry on wearing flares when everyone else is wearing drainpipes! As a result, you can find lots of flares and checked shirts in Starfish alongside old Levis, leather jackets, skirts, dresses and distinctive coats. The clothes smell fresher than in other vintage and charity shops in the city and the staff are usually pretty friendly. I'm just waiting for an original Johnny Cash tee to come in...

Dresses and jumpers and jackets, OH MY! Starfish is tiny and a bit pricey, but nevertheless, I…read morecan't help loving everything about the place, from the cute name to the Coca-cola fridge in the window. Even the dressing room fills me with joy as I bundle into the impossibly small space and basically wrap the curtain around myself. An experience that would irritate the hell out of me elsewhere somehow makes me chuckle in this shop. How? And why do I rave so? I don't know, it's just a really satisfying little shop that makes good use of space, displays its merchandise well and never fails to have a cool pair of shades or earrings waiting for me at the counter! On top of this, they have a really great selection of vintage dresses in all shapes, sizes and styles, from strappy sun dresses to 80's prom dresses, whatever you need, you'll probably find it (or something else too good to be true) here. I was in here today and I noticed they have a really good selection of woolly v-necks at the moment- I think I might have to pop back and snap one up myself!

George Street probably has more charity shops than any other types of shop these days - you really…read moreare spoilt for choice of charity shopping is your thing. Scope is one of about 6 in this street alone, and it's a good one nevertheless. It's quite a small shop but there are all sorts of tidbits to be found, but it's mainly clothes and books. I've found a few cool items here including a snazzy sequin jacket (hello festival season) and me being the magpie that I am just had to have it. Definitely worth having a little nose around.

Great little charity shop in the heart of Hove, on George Street, that does what a charity shop…read moreshould do. Scope works hard for people with disabilities, especially Cerebral Palsy, and the volunteers here (who are often being helped by the charity) are super-friendly and happy to help. But this Scope shop wins on price. The books and clothes and things aren't wickedly priced and it's hard not to pick up something for a few quid every time I pop by. Keep up the good work!

I totally agree with Jack M....this is a great secondhand shop! People might think that all…read morecharity hops are the same- full of people's unwanted 70s crockery and old school jumpers. They are so wrong. There is a weird, unfathomable rule at work, that means some charity shops are just a hell of a lot better than others. I guess the best donators go the shops where they have the most joy as shoppers! Or something like that. I know that's what I've always done. St. Vincent's is one of the top charity shop dogs! I only discovered the place the other day, as I mosied along the Lewes Rd. It is large, well-stocked and fastidiously organized into logical categories. The displays are attractive, the ladies who run the place friendly and they simply have a superior class of second hand stuff! As I perused the rails, I found a couple of recent Topshop items as well as a great retro style jacket. I wished I had a boy with me, because they also had some great men's checked shirts. Aside form clothing, they have a great selection of crockery, home ware and toys. Well worth a gander, if you're looking for a cheap treat!

Next to Spar on Lewes Road this is one of the bigger charity shops in Brighton and has a good…read morecollection of books, clothes and other odds and ends. St Vincent's is a Christian voluntary organisation and they are very kind and helpful. They even offer impromptu fashion advice, which I think was warranted as I ponced around in front of the mirror in a ladies felt jacket which was clearly too small for me. Thank you St Vincent's for what could have been a very unwise purchase. But there are far more things of worth in here than most tired shops and it's a breath of fresh air to hunt around in a shop where the possible purchases are so cheap. Perceptive and conscious staff under a roof filled with passed on treasures.

Damn Dirty Harry. I…read morewent down there this afternoon with the sole purpose of finding a new pair of cowboy boots and they had none left in my size! They had dozens of pairs stacked up prettily in the cowboy boot corner but they were all either too small or too big. When I told the friendly, tattooed guy on the floor, he laughed and said they'd had a new shipment in three days ago but my size - 5 and a half - tended to go within hours. Crushed, I wandered around the three floors of this awesome vintage emporium and looked at the tried and treasured Levis, the cool leather jackets, the checked shirts, the 50s and 60s dresses, the skinny ties, the Sonic Youth and Joy Division tees and the the neat accesories. My heart just wasn't in it though. I guess I'm gonna have to go back later this week and camp outside til the new boots arrive.

The North Lanes is full of "vintage" shops, however, with the exception of 'Beyond Retro', most of…read morethese are no better than their less glamorous charity counter parts. I really failed to see what was vintage when I came here, while most of the clothes are indeed second hand, they are largely tasteless cast off's that nobody wanted. The average price of a t-shirt in here would probably be about £20, despite the fact that it originally probably cost £10, and is only about 5 years old. I equally disliked that much of the stock is made to look vintage, but is actually mass produced and brand new, just expensive.

Every Saturdays, from 7 am to 5pm, on Upper Gardner Street there is a lot of independent stalls…read morethat sell everything from secondhand books, antiques, records, clothes to street food and vegetables. Every time I go there I usually manage to find and buy a vintage cookery book. I have now four cookery books, they were published between 1911 and 1970. On Upper Gardner Street there is also a very big two storey antique shops which I really like: North Laine Antique & Fleamarket, it is the perfect place to find old fashioned plates and cups of tea for example.

The best thing about this market is it has such a variety of stalls, which makes it much more fun…read moreto walk around than if it was just fashion or organic vegetables. This street really does come alive every Saturday with sellers and prospective buyers. I sometimes wonder how these people have the energy to move larger items like bookcases and tables from place to place, especially first thing in the morning. You've got to have a passion for it is all I can say. Personally I'm a fan of perusing the vintage jewellery, the second hand books and records, the retro clothes stalls and the cakes!

This is such a brilliant charity shop! The building has an old pebbled finish, painted black so…read morethat the shop's entrance in white looks like the entrance to a cave- a cave happily filled with bargains! Martletts is the best charity shop for crockery and kitchen wear- they have two walls of dishes, pyrex, tea cups, plates, bowls, cutlery, mugs. I have found so many useful kitchen things here and some really lovely bowls and vases that I use all the time. This shop also has a section devoted to books- particularly hardback reference and art books- some nice pieces of furniture and some nice decorative items. The style tends to be a little old-fashioned but all the things are good quality and could be adapted. The ladies who work here are quite matronly and chatty- it's all a bit Jam and Jerusalem!

Unlike most charity shops, Martlets don't sell much in the way of clothing. I don't know whether…read morethat is a conscious decision or just that they haven't had clothing donated. They mostly sell crockery and china ornaments and similar items. I suppose the old lady style crockery is cool if you want to have an artfully mismatched set of floral plates and cups, but I'm not sure the ornaments will ever appeal. It was only old people that were shopping in there when I went in.

What I liked about Barnardos were the signs up telling me what a £5 or £10 purchase could do -…read morethat's also why I like Oxfam. Even if it's not where your actual £5 goes, it's nice to have a concrete idea of what you can help with. I think more charity shops should do this. Anyway, this Barnardo location has a good supply of books - so many that they've put a big crate of them outside to lure people in. Inside are also DVDs and CDs, the usual clothes and accessories - I noticed a nice rail of women's knitted cardigans by the door. (It's almost like they were trying to lure me, specifically, inside.) Accessories included many scarves and winter hats along with bright, colourful jewellery, and some greeting cards were only 69p. Barnardos also has an urgent stock appeal, so if you have anything to spare, now's a good time to donate.