I do agree with John Howard Norfolk's comments that charitable gifts 'come from the heart'. However, we should remember that it was the charities that initiated this scheme and in my researches for my article I found no indication that they were unhappy with its onerous nature. On the contrary, and as mentioned by Paul Fisher above, they have quite streamlined operations to track the items, their sale, and the amounts donated as a result.
In the article I mentioned that 'the first national charity to implement the retail gift aid scheme was Sue Ryder Care and that its use is responsible for additional gift aid repayment from HMRC of over £2 million per year'.
So if you are regularly donating items - whether you are a higher rate taxpayer or a basic rate taxpayer - the charity will benefit by your signing up to this method.
I would also point out that HMRC have published notes on the 'Retail Gift Aid' scheme at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/c...t_aid/rules/retail.htm. Richard