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AIBU?

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Original poster

They sold something that I reserved

38 replies

Mylovemine · 12/04/2025 18:15

I reserved furniture in a second hand furniture shop that I needed last week for this coming Monday and I have just told been told that it has been sold to someone else on Friday. So I don’t have enough places for everyone to sit. I don’t know how it’s happened and am really disappointed as I could have got something else but now I need to wait for them to get new furniture in.

OP posts:
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DPotter · 13/04/2025 12:20

The number of times I heard of my craft work - "Ooo, I like this. please reserve it for me & I'll come back for it" and I never see them again. I now ask if they would like to pay a deposit - they never have taken me up on that offer! Sadly too late for now, but always pay a deposit at minimum, or ideally in full.

By way of helping you out with your immediate problem - try the recycling sites, such as Freegle. You can check what people are offering, and also ask for things. I managed to find a great table in about an hour and chicken wire in 40 mins! And all for free bar my petrol to collect

Scentbird · 13/04/2025 12:15

So you asked them to keep it but hadn’t paid for it or or paid a deposit?

What was the actual conversation?

i get it’s annoying, but just one those things. You will need to either buy new or look in other second hand shops

AllrightNowBaby · 13/04/2025 12:12

Years ago, family coming round for a meal and on the day two people arrived who I hadn’t expected.
Lovely as that was, i was short of dining chairs at the last minute, so in a panic went around to my next door neighbour and asked if they needed all their dining chairs for the next couple of hours.
Luckily they didn’t and were happy to lend me two and the husband even carried them round for me.

Branleuse · 13/04/2025 12:09

Ive known second hand shops to reserve something for a few hours without deposit.
I think youve likely misunderstood. Nowhere is just going to keep it aside without a deposit for very long

Tandora · 13/04/2025 12:02

polkaloca · 13/04/2025 09:19

I would expect a shop to communicate with me re how reservations work eg deposit or not, how long they reserve for etc.

Right.

lactofree · 13/04/2025 10:04

The fact that op won’t answer the did you pay a deposit tells us all we need to know

It’s a business. They sell to the first person waving cash. Imagine if you had never came back and they turned down a customer!

polkaloca · 13/04/2025 09:20

@Tandora that's far too logical!

polkaloca · 13/04/2025 09:19

I would expect a shop to communicate with me re how reservations work eg deposit or not, how long they reserve for etc.

polkaloca · 13/04/2025 09:18

Surely at the point of reserving the item the shop would have mentioned a deposit?

Coconutter24 · 13/04/2025 09:11

I don’t know how it’s happened and am really disappointed

Understandable you’re disappointed but it’s clear to see how it happened, you saw the furniture last week reserved it, I’m guessing by your silence on the question of a deposit asked by many posters you didn’t leave one. The shop still had the furniture a week after you said you’d be back for it a buyer then came and took it immediately. Not everyone who says they are going to come back to buy something do and the shop can’t wait indefinitely for your return

Tbrh · 13/04/2025 09:03

Usually a shop might 'hold' something for a couple of hours or maybe a day. But I'd expect at least a deposit if it was for longer (because most people reserve things then don't come back)

FuckityFux · 13/04/2025 08:18

When we moved abroad it took us a few months to buy a new property and our furniture was in storage. As it was around Christmas, our stuff wasn’t arriving for a couple of weeks so we ‘rented’ some furniture from the local furniture charity shop and when our own furniture was delivered, the charity shop took theirs back. We paid them a fair fee and they were delighted to help out.

ThatsNotMyTeen · 13/04/2025 08:12

That is annoying, but can some of your guests not bring folding chairs or something?

FuckityFux · 13/04/2025 08:09

You can’t reserve stuff indefinitely and until it’s paid for, then the shop can choose to sell it to someone else.

If you part paid for it, then they entered into an agreement to sell it to you but I assume you didn't do that?

saveforthat · 12/04/2025 22:49

justasmalltownmum · 12/04/2025 19:11

We have a huge extended family. At gatherings, everyone sits on the floor. But this is also normal in our culture.

What is the point of your post? I'm assuming OP is from a culture where guests expect to sit on a chair or she wouldn't have ordered some.

pinklimefish · 12/04/2025 22:47

Often a reserved item will only be reserved for a day, two max before it’s put out for sale again. If you really want it, best bet is to pay for it and arrange collection - then it’ll have a massive Sold tag on and will be set aside.
Take it as a lesson learned, OP!

Thepossibility · 12/04/2025 22:43

Have you looked into renting some furniture? That's what I do if I'm hosting something bigger than my existing furniture can accommodate.

lnks · 12/04/2025 20:38

You didn’t reserve it if you didn’t pay a deposit.

Fruby · 12/04/2025 20:31

Mistakes happen. Little shops are busy places and it’s easy to for a reserved sign to fall off something

BlondeMummyto1 · 12/04/2025 20:25

For all they know you may have never went back for it.

Lavender14 · 12/04/2025 20:16

If you paid a deposit and were within the collection window then yanbu and that's frustrating. If you hadn't paid a deposit or were late in collecting your items then this is on you.

Tandora · 12/04/2025 20:13

I geT what people are saying but surely the shop shouldn’t have told OP she could reserve it if she couldn’t? Or if she needed to pay in full to reserve it surely they should have told her that ?

Layla30 · 12/04/2025 20:10

I work in a second hand shop and unfortunately it does happen. It’s never intentional but sometimes the reserved sign falls off or another staff member hadn’t realised and sold the item.
we also only reserve items for 48 hours then put them back up for sale so it may have been that too.

LoreOfBabylon · 12/04/2025 20:02

Mylovemine · 12/04/2025 19:07

What is the point in reserving something if they’re just going to sell it to someone else

Mistakes happen. Hope you find something else soon.

MargaretThursday · 12/04/2025 19:47

If it was last week, then I'm assuming you meant over 7 days away, so I'd expect anywhere to have assumed you didn't want it by then.
Ours reserves no more than 3 days because they're short of space (and you pay in advance). However if you get them to deliver it, you can ask for up to a week away.

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