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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To tell trading standards

50 replies

hipslikecinderella · 08/08/2019 07:34

On holiday in a uk seaside town and I didn't bring enough underwear. I went to a small shop in the town to buy some knickers and noticed she has basically opened up m&s multipacks of knickers and individually hung them on little hangers. Charging £2.99 per pair and upwards. The labels clearly say they are part of a set of 5 etc and I know multipacks are cheaper than she is charging.
Plus she is not m&s.
It pissed me off as it is so disingenuous. This is a town without an m&s clothes store in it. Would TS care?

OP posts:

JovialNickname · 08/08/2019 08:19

But you bought the knickers right? I bet you did!

OtraCosaMariposa · 08/08/2019 08:21

Tell M & S they will deal with it

And what exactly do you expect them to do? If this stock has bee bought in the shop in the regular way, then she is doing nothing illegal.

M&S might have a POLICY of not allowing people to buy for resale, but that's not a law. I know, for example, when we receive M&S new stock donated into the charity shop where I volunteer (directly from a M&S shop, not an individual) there are rules about how to process it, things like obliterating the code number on the label so that cheeky fuckers can't buy a top and then take it into M&S for a refund. We are happy to do that because we want to keep M&S sweet and keep getting boxes of stuff. But it's not a legal requirement.

There was a shop neat us which got into trouble to buying to resell but with one crucial difference. The owner was buying cheap leggings from places like Matalan or Primark, cutting the label out and passing them off as designer leggings at £20 a pair. That's deception. But what the OP is talking about is not deceptive in the slightest.

scarbados · 08/08/2019 08:23

I once set off on a weekend away and realised when we got to the hotel that I'd not packed the underwear when I was scooping stuff into the case. (Yes, total numpty!) I'd have welcomed someone with the enterprising spirit to sell chain-store knickers in her own shop because a trip into the high street of the little seaside town offered only charity shops for any kind of clothing.

I agree - you need a life. Is there a small shop selling them where you're staying?

rainbowstardrops · 08/08/2019 08:25

Blimey OP, don't be a dick!
I honestly couldn't get worked up over this and I'd probably be pleased that I'd found some decent knickers!
Is it any different to Joe Bloggs buying things from a shop and then selling them on EBay or the like?
No one is forcing you to buy them 😆

IAskTooManyQuestions · 08/08/2019 08:27

She might be selling seconds or catalogue returns

TBH OP - you need a life love

Anerak · 08/08/2019 08:29

Am surprised by other reactions. I'd definitely inform trading standards. Then I would let it go and enjoy my holiday. Good luck OP

Dancinggertrude · 08/08/2019 08:31

@anerak how could you enjoy your holiday knowing you’ve potentially brought down someone’s business and maybe even landed them with legal bills that could result in them losing their home?!
Do you have nothing constructive to do with your life?

Pangur2 · 08/08/2019 08:31

It's not even that much of a mark up! M&S pants are usually £12 for 5, which makes them £2.40 each.

Dancinggertrude · 08/08/2019 08:33

Imagine being on holiday with a partner whose priority and obsession is reporting the knicker shop to trading standards!

Anerak · 08/08/2019 08:37

@Dancinggertrude the shop owner is ripping people off so yes, I would feel comfortable reporting this

Original poster

hipslikecinderella · 08/08/2019 08:37

It is quite a shit holiday, real holiday is next week when we reunite with kids and fly abroad. Sans knickers, I did not buy them and will get some at airport.

OP posts:

Flatwhite101 · 08/08/2019 08:38

I'd get the local paper onto it. Surely this is crying out for a sad-faced compo picture with said knickers held aloft.

sirfredfredgeorge · 08/08/2019 08:38

I don't think it's like multi-buy vending packs of walkers crisps where you're not allowed by Walkers to sell them individually as they are smaller packs than usual

It's got nothing to do with the smaller, it's because there's specific information required on retail sales of food (food labelling regulations) which these multipack versions don't contain - specifically printed that way so as to prevent re-sales, there's nothing similar with pants.

StrippingTheVelvet · 08/08/2019 08:41

Anerak how is that ripping people off? How is it any different to buying other stock and marking the price up?

adaline · 08/08/2019 08:45

@Anerak how is she ripping people off?

Nobody has to go and buy them, do they?

Millie2017 · 08/08/2019 08:49

How do you know they are new? I’m assuming there are no m&s labels if they were part of a multi pack (many moons ago)...

NoLeopard · 08/08/2019 08:49

Yes, why give money to a small independent trader when you can pay more to a big chain at an airport.

PhillyLift · 08/08/2019 08:53

You would rather go without knickers than either pay a couple of quid or wash some out and let them dry?

Fair enough I guess!

Why has this holiday been so shit?

herculepoirot2 · 08/08/2019 08:55

Doubt it. I think you can sell on things you’ve bought for whatever price you like.

EffYouSeeKaye · 08/08/2019 08:56

Knickerless and joyless! What a holiday

FenellaVelour · 08/08/2019 09:28

Trading standards wouldn’t give a toss about this.

🙄

rainbowstardrops · 08/08/2019 10:42

How is she ripping people off???

You do realise that all shops sell their wares for more than they paid for them?! It's called 'business'

butterflywings37 · 08/08/2019 10:59

On another note - why don't you just wash your underwear if you've ran out?

bookmum08 · 08/08/2019 11:09

Many major retailers sell off disconnected lines, seconds or unwanted returns to other retailers or people who sell them on market stalls. Perfectly normal and legal. Tkmaxx basically sources their stock this way and many 'discount' retailers do too.

rwalker · 08/08/2019 11:16

Burn the shop down.

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