Charity shops know from experience what sells. They also know what sells better in certain branches than others e.g. jigsaws in one branch, teenage clothing in another.
Some bins that look like (and are) refuse bins are an ideal size for sorting things to take to another of their branches, but you don't know what the charity's refuse arrangements are e.g. call-for or infrequent or maybe even no council collection, do it in-house, employ a specialist firm ad hoc or regularly.
More and more charities also sell online. Either for online or even for most items online or not, they often have items properly opened and sorted elsewhere. Often a shop's staff do little or no sorting, only selling.
Items that are broken and need repair, including sewing alterations (the charity won't do those for you/buyer, why should they), are likely to be rejected straightaway. A donor can think "oh someone'll buy it, it's only got a small crack" but the reality is that no one will pay good money for it unless maybe if it's antique...would you if you were the buyer? (but it can be hard sometimes for a donor to fully "let go" of an item in their heart and to assess their items objectively.) And these days charities receive so much, not just from individuals, that they can afford to pick and choose - all that's good, as you want your chosen charity to maximise their takings, so there's no reason for me to feel offended if they reject an item, indeed I should feel bad if all I've made them do is act as a refuse disposal system when I should've done it myself.
If you do Gift Aid the charity keeps records for HMRC and send you a letter/email after a few weeks/months saying exactly how much your donation raised in total (no details but gives you an idea of what sells). Tip: don't forget to cancel your charity account when you retire!
A few charities accept working electrical items, if they have a volunteer qualified electrician available to certify them. They may even accept broken ones and the electrician will see if she/he can repair them. In such shops electrical goods often fly off the shelf. Charities tend not to advertise that they do this, however - find out by asking or by word of mouth.
A few charities sell, or even specialise (as with British Heart Foundation), in secondhand large furniture such as beds, (complete) lounge suites, wardrobes/chests of drawers often only if matching etc, sometimes with definite wear and tear, provided any relevant fire safety certificate is intact and still attached e.g. sofas. Popular with landlords of B&Bs or letting bedsits (especially in or near a university). Popular with donors. Such charities often have a free collection service but expect to send photos and maybe have an item rejected when the collector actually sees it.
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