Usual Oxfam format, helpful staff and although I did not buy anything books seemed reasonably priced. Steve Newman 17.08.12
Shop small but too much space given to gifts and cards. Pricing often VERY high - internet influenced valuation seemingly taking no account of condition or edition. Peter M 28.03.18
This used to be one of the better Oxfam's in London. Sadly that is no longer the case. On entry today I thought I had gone into a Xmas gift shop, not an Oxfam Bookshop! With 50% of shelf space given over to Xmas stock there was not a lot left for books. Come on Oxfam, you can do far better than this.
One of the book series I collect are Observer Books. I have had around 2500 over the last 10 years so do know something about them. Whilst pleased to see around half a dozen for sale, I was shocked at the prices asked. £9.99 & £14.99 for bog standard books with torn DJ's and faded spines. Worth £1 to £2 only in that condition.
I felt that I could not leave without mentioning how ridiculous the prices were, and found a long serving member of staff. I showed her the books asking who was pricing them these days. To be fair she immediately withdrew them from sale, and thanked me for drawing the matter to her attention.
I have in the past found good quality books at reasonable prices here, but it just goes to show with Oxfam, it does all depend on having good management in place. The present incumbent appears to think that selling Xmas stock takes priority, and that says it all really. Steve Newman 18.12.21
A small shop which is even smaller since 2020. Despite that a very large percentage of the small space left is taken up by cards, ethnic gifts, hand woven dog biscuits etc. Possibly the worst Oxfam bookshop in London. NWAD PeterM 18.03.22
I agree with the comments by previous reviewers. What has happened to this shop is a real shame. Until a few years ago, it was one of the better Oxfam bookshops in London, perhaps even one of the best, with a high-quality and extensive stock and reasonable prices. The knowledgeable and helpful shop manager eventually decamped to Somerset to run the Oxfam bookshop in Taunton. And, at about that time, the rot seemed to set in here. Now, the Wanstead shop is a shadow of its former self. The stock is almost entirely mundane, and anything remotely unusual tends to carry an exorbitant price tag. Over the years, I have donated a few dozen high-quality books, but they rarely (if ever) appear on the shelves here. I suspect they are either sent straight to other branches or are offered only on the internet. In one respect, at least, it is easy to see what has gone wrong here: almost half of the selling space is now devoted to shampoo, coffee, herbal teas, greeting cards, woven throws, ceramic dog bowls (seriously!) and a whole load more of this sort of stuff. Formerly one of Oxfam’s better-kept secrets, but now emphatically NWAD. Booker T 30.08.23