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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to be annoyed that people buy stuff then hike up the price on eBay?

29 replies

TooSleepyToCare · 16/09/2017 11:50

I'm really quite keen to get a beauty and the beast Mrs Potts money box but there aren't any in my local Primark stores.
They cost £8 instore and some people seem to have cleared the shelves and are now trying to sell for upwards of £20. I hate this level of greed.
It reminds me of those dinosaur egg things last Christmas (£65 or thereabouts?)

Is it just me?

OP posts:
SuburbanRhonda · 16/09/2017 11:54

It isn't really greed, though is it?

Something becomes popular, demand goes up, people respond to that in different ways.

I bet if you wait a year you'll be able to pick one up for a fiver.

twinklefeather · 16/09/2017 11:55

It's really greedy, I been looking regularly for Harry Potter Christmas decorations in my local primark the day they came in I also popped in there was nothing left. I asked an assistant she said it's always the same as soon as the order is on the shop floor people fill up baskets and baskets then sell it all on eBay for double! I think it's quite a selfish mentality but then people are buying it Confused

Idontevencareanymore · 16/09/2017 11:57

Oh I hate this! A friend got sucked into paying £200 for 2 presents last year, me I'd just tell my dc sorry nope!

It is greedy. Availability Is affected due to people purposely going and buying these items for the sole purpose to resell at extortionate prices. BUT people pay them. People didn't pay it, items would go unsold and therefore wouldn't happen.

The people are to blame.

coddiwomple · 16/09/2017 11:59

It's not greed, it's good commercial sense. The shops buy the items from a supplier for pennies, sell them for pounds, and some people try to sell them for even more.
If you think it's too expensive, just don't buy. If a seller can't find buyers, he will have to drop the price, at least to break even. It's a gamble, but I can't blame anyone for trying for luxury items.

The ones that I think are immoral are the ones doing this with baby milk, and other vital necessities. It feels wrong to over charge desperate parents, because they don't have a choice.

mysteryfairy · 16/09/2017 12:00

You know primark buy the goods for much less than they sell them for? Why is it ok for a multinational corporation but greed for an individual?

MrsPringles · 16/09/2017 12:00

I bought one for £20 plus £4 p&p from eBay, I really really really wanted one but was still a bit annoyed at the price hike.

They have them in my local store now so I should have waited 🤦🏽‍♀️

jaseyraex · 16/09/2017 12:01

There are Disney groups on facebook where lovely people sell or trade the primark items. They generally sell them at original price plus postage so much better than getting off eBay! It's where I've had to get most of my BATB items as they're like gold dust in my local primarks.

twinklefeather · 16/09/2017 12:09

businesses have overheads, pay tax, import charges plus many other of things. Driving your car to town filling up baskets then listing on eBay for at least double isn't quite as expensive and I damn sure the majority do not contact HMRC and inform them or their income. It's greed like it or not the shops do it slightly more honestly. Wink

19lottie82 · 16/09/2017 12:12

Meh....... sorry but it's demand / supply and commercial enterprise. If you really want something then don't wait til the last minute.
I'm an eBay business seller (and pay taxes) - if there was something like this I knew I could make money on I'd do it in a heartbeat, it's how I make money and pay my mortgage.

Original poster
TooSleepyToCare · 16/09/2017 12:20

Oh, Jasey I'll have to try and find the Disney group.

I do get what some of you are saying about supply/demand but I think sometimes people go too far. Just my opinion.

A few years ago, B and M started selling those matching pyjamas that had Mum Elf, Dad Elf etc on. People did the same with those. Wiping out the stores. I was in a Christmas group and bought the items in my store and shipped to them for cost. I could have made a fortune but didn't want anyone to miss out at Christmas.

OP posts:
skyzumarubble · 16/09/2017 12:22

But why not just leave them in the store for people to buy?

Original poster
TooSleepyToCare · 16/09/2017 12:22

Aww MrsPringles that's annoying.
I keep ringing the 3 nearest to me and there's none. They just keep saying to keep trying.

OP posts:
existentialmoment · 16/09/2017 12:24

It's not greed, it's capitalism. Anything is worth what someone else will pay for it.

If I could buy something for a fiver and sell it for 50, why the hell wouldn't I? That is after all how every single business model actually works!

ILoveMillhousesDad · 16/09/2017 12:40

I agree. I am after a classic mini snes for my dd for christmas. They retail at £79.99. The prices on ebay and even amazon are eye watering.

I won't pay it and I do think people are greedy.

I couldn't do it myself in all good conscience.

Penny4UrThoughts · 16/09/2017 12:47

People do what they need to do to make ends meet.

I just knowingly paid double on eBay for something that sells in a shop that most people can access relatively easily. There isn't a branch where I live and it would cost me much more to go there or get it delivered by the delivery service they use here. So I bought on eBay from someone that is making their living that way.

If I wanted a primark beauty and the best box I'd do the same. It is a really useful service for people like me that don't live near these big stores, and I'm happy to pay people a bit for offering that service. It still saves me a ton of money.

Fogg · 16/09/2017 12:52

You do know that every single thing you buy, anywhere and everywhere, is bought/manufactured at price A then a profit percentage is applied so you pay price B. Plenty of times the items change hands many times and the percentages keep on mounting.
Tomatoes in the supermarket, tops in primark, tat on a market stall.
It's called livelihood and bread a butter for a lot of folk.

Original poster
TooSleepyToCare · 16/09/2017 12:57

I think there is a difference between someone making their living, as a shop, and someone going into a store and wiping out the stock just to sell on ebay or similar. If it was a case of someone paying their mortgage (handmade items etc) then I am more than happy to pay them for their time, skills and materials which is usually higher than the mass produced stuff in the shops. I know what I am signing up to with that. It is different, in my opinion.
They were lucky enough to find a store with stock and rather than giving everyone a chance to buy the product for the rrp they decide that lining their pockets is more important.
The same thing happened with those carrot toys from Aldi at Christmas last year.
I won't pay inflated prices like that, although i know some people do and I guess that is why it still happens.

OP posts:
coddiwomple · 16/09/2017 12:58

When we are talking about items that are just non-essential but frivolous fashionable that you don't really need. I can't see anything morally wrong in selling them back for a premium.
(Nothing wrong in buying them either, my home is full of non-essential stuff!)

Buxtonstill · 16/09/2017 13:01

It's how the world works. And as long as people buy, people will sell. A pair of trainers costs £3-4 to make, inc labour. They sell for £100 a pair in some cases. You go for steak and chips and it costs the restaurant a few pounds to produce; some places will sell it for £30-40. An iPhone costs about £10 in materials. The difference in cost for a 32gb and a 256g version to Apple is around £1. Yet there is £300 difference in cost for both models. Apple would not exist if they took your stance and didn't charge more, to make sure people did not get a phone.
To be honest, I think it's a bit pointless to waste energy getting annoyed by it. If someone is trying to make a little more money, good luck to them. If you can't beat them, join them. Nobody has a gun at people's heads to buy. That is individual choice.

Original poster
TooSleepyToCare · 16/09/2017 13:02

Fogg, yes I very much do understand that. I am prepared to accept that as that is the way the world works. I then decide if that price if agreeable and if so I will buy it.
But my point is that people are taking stock from a shop with a price that I would be happy to pay (£8 already marked up) and in some cases quadrupling that price. I understand that people have bills to pay etc etc and if it was someone was say on a market stall etc with overheads and this was their livelihood then ok they are doing what they need to do to make a living but this is a different situation, in my opinion. This is a person (or persons) in the right place at the right time who see a quick buck.

OP posts:
coddiwomple · 16/09/2017 13:06

This is a person (or persons) in the right place at the right time who see a quick buck
How do you think most businesses start?
A kid in my school had got in trouble for selling chocolate bars at break time to his classmates. I thought that was quite clever of him Grin

For items like that, there's no moral issue. People pay because they are happy to. No big deal. Primark exists in the first place and is so successful because of the low price items. Other shops might follow suit if their sales tumble down.

HunterofStars · 16/09/2017 13:23

They had some in my local Primark last week but not sure now. I think in my local store when the Chip teacup ones first came out they sold out completely but when they restocked, they limited them to 3 per person, which probably gave genuine shoppers a fair chance of getting one and to stop such greed. I really hate this too, OP. It's greedyand leaves nothing for those who genuinely want just one and that's what they're content with but I don't think it will stop anytime soon.

Penny4UrThoughts · 16/09/2017 14:04

Toosleepy - but maybe this is how they make their living - I really can't think that too many people spend their leisure time selling things on ebay if they don't need the money.

You don't know their situation.

It's funny how you are happy for multi-million pound corporations to make profits, but you think it's cheeky for some person that is feeding their family to show a bit of initiative to do the same!

If you don't want to pay the premium, don't. You have a choice, you can go to the shop and if you are quick enough off the mark, get the item at retail value. I actually don't. I have to pay the premium or not stand a chance of getting the item. But I notice that my post about how it can benefit people like me has been totally ignored :D

OneInEight · 16/09/2017 14:14

Honestly a double mark-up does not make much profit by the time:

You pay listing fees
You pay ebay fees and paypal fees on sale of the item and postage
You pay for packaging
You allow for customers who want spurious refunds on damaged or lost items.
You have no guarantee that the item you have bought to sell will sell (at the price you want or at all).

Floofborksnootandboop · 16/09/2017 14:17

The Primark I'm our town only let you buy 2 of something in high demand. Annoying because I wanted 4 of the chip mugs, For me, both DDs and Ds1 girlfriend, and they wouldn't let me and wouldn't let one for the girls take the other 2 and cue again and pay separately Sad But I guess it's a good idea to stop people buying as much as they can and listing them on eBay for double.

We got our mugs in the end by going back in after we finished in town a few hours later!