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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

is it morally ok to sell stuff that you got for free of Marketplace ?

52 replies

LidiaM · 27/02/2020 11:41

I wonder what people think about making money by getting stuff for free of gumtree or Marketplace then selling them instead for money ?
am I wrong to think its wrong ?
lets put that right - Im not talking about the stuff you get from family or friends, just strangers that give free stuff on websites because of their lack of selling or they cant be bother to or maybe because they dont care about a tenner or 2.

OP posts:
Shoxfordian · 27/02/2020 11:42

I think its fine, you can do what you want with property once its yours

Neverender · 27/02/2020 11:43

As above, once something is yours, that's it.

NoMorePoliticsPlease · 27/02/2020 11:43

Morally not ok

Lsquiggles · 27/02/2020 11:44

If you got something for free it's because the seller just wanted it gone, if you can make money off it then go for it Smile

LochJessMonster · 27/02/2020 11:45

It's your stuff to do with what you want.

I bought a tv cabinet and coffee table off of marketplace for £30, then sold the coffee table (didn't fit) for £25. I'm going to sell the tv cabinet soon too.

The original seller wanted a quick sale (hence £30), and the new buyer was happy to buy the table for £25.

Nowayorhighway · 27/02/2020 11:46

Some people make a business out of this or they will buy things for cheap on eBay/at charity shops and resell them for a hiked price. You do also get people who stock up on popular things that sell out quickly so they can re-sell them for twice the price which is annoying.

HoneysuckIejasmine · 27/02/2020 11:47

Depends why they gave it to you for free. If it was charitable then yes YABVU but if they just wanted rid of it, then it's less unacceptable. I still wouldn't do it though.

FruityWidow · 27/02/2020 11:48

If you've legally obtained an item and sell it for profit I see no problem with it. It's no different if you were to buy something and then sell it at a higher cost.

PenelopeFlintstone · 27/02/2020 11:49

Be aware that sometimes people get slated on FB for doing this. I think it’s fine though.
People get irate that someone has sold a free item but maybe the second person needs hard cash for an electricity bill or something, rather than actually needing the free item.

LilQueenie · 27/02/2020 11:52

its how resellers make money. doesn't always seem fair but if you don't sell if yourself you can't complain about someone else making profit on it. For many its their business and only source of income.

ChocolateQuiltedShitPig · 27/02/2020 12:31

absolutely fine. Why not?! It is how people make money

RandomLondoner · 27/02/2020 12:31

There's nothing wrong with it. If I give something away it's because I want it gone and it's less painful than throwing it away. I don't care who takes it or why.

SinkGirl · 27/02/2020 12:36

I once listed a load of my twins clothes on a Facebook group, stuff they’d outgrown. Some I’d bought new, some I bought second hand from the group. I had so much stuff I didn’t remember what came from where.

After I listed them, someone messaged me to say they had reported me because I was selling stuff for more than they’d sold it to me for and it was wrong to try and profit off it.

I had no idea which clothes I had bought from her and when I looked back, I’d listed them at £1.50 more than I’d paid her for them. Wasn’t intentional, I just put what seemed like a fair price on them.

Haven’t bothered listing anything since!

If I give stuff away for free it’s usually because I want it gone and don’t have time to faff about selling it. If they sell it on I don’t really care.

CalmdownJanet · 27/02/2020 12:36

I think it's shit to take stuff for free just to sell them on, like those "I'll have it" vultures ready to pounce as soon as the ad goes up BUT I think if you get something for free, take it, use it, don't need/want it anymore and decide you can make a few quid off it then that seems different to me, if that makes sense

xILikeJamx · 27/02/2020 13:16

It's weird that people seem to have a problem with this.

It's basically just Bargain Hunt but with newer stuff. Nobody has a problem with antique dealers doing it

Purpleartichoke · 27/02/2020 13:21

Resale as a business is why I stopped posting things for free.

Most of the stuff I have to get rid of is for kids. Now I watch my local mom’s chat group for people posting in search of, reply to those, and give away for free once they come to retrieve. This tends to be a smoother transaction anyway. People pouncing on free ads tend to be very flakey.

cobwebfew · 27/02/2020 13:22

There was a massive hoohah on my Facebook feed the other day about a lady donating her corner sofa to someone who desperately needed it who then used it for several months and then tried to flog it on marketplace for £250. The lady who donated it made a massive stink about it, she was upset that the sofa wasn't donated to someone else if it was no longer needed. I get her point but then again it was now the property of the other person to with as she wished 🤷‍♀️ morally, I couldn't sell something I got for free.

Fucck · 27/02/2020 13:23

Really depends on the circumstances on which you received it.

If you were on your arse and someone helped you out by gifting an item to you = not ok to sell it.

If you came by an item by chance etc, = fine.

faracrossthepond · 27/02/2020 13:24

@LidiaM

No problem at all to do this.

In a similar vein, I used to get things (in the noughties,) from poundland (for a pound obvs) and sell it on ebay to overseas buyers for £5 to £8 - eg little beanies and cards and novelties with N Sync, Britney Spears, Man United etc, and the buyers from America and Australia and Canada flocked to buy these 'rare' items.

I made money, and they were happy, but I got a really snotty arsey message from another ebay seller saying 'you've got a fucking cheek, buying stuff from poundland and selling it for £5 to £8. Making money from people, what a bitch.'

i was like Shock I ignored him and reported him to ebay. And if I recall correctly, I blocked him. Asshole. Just jealous he was. Grin

oohnicevase · 27/02/2020 13:25

It's legally ok but doesn't sit right with me ... I gave away loads of stuff when I cleared my dads house a few years ago and one guy collected a lot of stuff then was stupid enough to put it back on the same fb page for £10 .. I just commented 'really???' But ultimately I felt sorry for him if he needed £10 that much!!
I knew no one would pay for the items ( I'm very good at selling stuff) so there was no harm done really , he pretty much wasted his petrol but I do think it's very wrong!!

testing987654321 · 27/02/2020 13:25

I am way too lazy to sell stuff, so give it away. Anyone who wants to sell it after that can go ahead. I just don't like binning things if possible.

Echobelly · 27/02/2020 13:26

I'm not comfortable with doing it personally. OTOH, if someone really does need the money, I wouldn't hold it against them at all.

MrOnionsBumperRoller · 27/02/2020 13:27

Good luck to those with the motivation to upsell/flip goods.

nokidshere · 27/02/2020 13:31

If I give things away it's because I don't want them in my house anymore and I'm too lazy to sort out it being taken away.

I have no interest in the item once it's left my house. The same applies to things I sell, if someone gets more money on a resell good luck to them.

Tulipan · 27/02/2020 13:32

Sometimes I don't mind, I just want it gone and it's nice to think it's helping someone out as their business. Sometimes I say it's not to be sold on (but obviously can't control that). If I am gifted something I usually never sell it on, but if I do sell it, I then donate the money to charity.