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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

‘Influencers’ selling gifted items

27 replies

mum2b2017 · 17/09/2020 14:07

Bit of an uproar in the instagram home community... Large instagram home account with over 50k followers who has been selling gifted items.
Im not sure where I stand, on the one hand she has been gifted the items, has done the (presumably) required #ad stating how much she loves the item and couldnt live without it usual garb and now its hers to sell on should she wish
But also half thinking its a bit cheeky to sell stuff you were given for free
Its not just the one item, she has sold stuff ranging from rrp £50-£1000
Whats your take on it?

OP posts:

ameliajoan · 17/09/2020 14:27

As long as she did the advert and whatever else was required then the items gifted to her are hers to do as she wishes with when she’s fulfilled her obligations.

If she wants to sell them that’s up to her, and if the gifters don’t like that then they should be more specific and mention that when gifting.

RemyHadley · 17/09/2020 14:29

Once you own something, it’s yours to do as you wish.

Only exception to that is if somebody gives you their old baby clothes - I always check if anything was sentimental/they’d like it back before passing anything on.

Otherwise crack on.

lughnasadh · 17/09/2020 14:29

It's her stuff, aquired for/during the course of her business.

Why on earth shouldn't she sell it/burn it/paint it with peppermint stripes and call it art?

They'd all become hoarders otherwise.

awsomer · 17/09/2020 14:30

Who’s this? I follow so many homes accounts but I must have missed it.

Redcups64 · 17/09/2020 14:37

It is cheeky really. The wouldn’t have been gifted to her for her to advertise. They would have been gifted then she would have been PAID to advertise. So to sell it on top is a massive cheek. Makes the product look crap so what was the point of using her for advertising. Then she makes more money from selling it. She should just post it back for the person to sell surly?

JaJaDingDong · 17/09/2020 14:41

I suppose the issue is that the influencer has raved about how great the item is before selling it.
If it was that great, they probably wouldn't sell it.

OTOH, they probably get so many gifts, they can't possibly keep them all.

I'd feel better if they donated them to charity though, or at least gave the money to charity - perhaps some do - who knows?

CountFosco · 17/09/2020 14:46

The wouldn’t have been gifted to her for her to advertise. They would have been gifted then she would have been PAID to advertise.

Not always, companies get lots of cheap advertising by gifting things to influencers and not paying for content.

Thesearmsofmine · 17/09/2020 14:48

I believe they if selling on gifted items they have to declare it as part of their income. This is why many influencers donate the items instead. These people get sent so much, they can’t possibly keep it all.

DoTheMaccaroni · 17/09/2020 14:48

I don’t think it’s okay tbh. I mean it doesn’t sit right with me by what can I do?

Rachel Riley always donates money when she’s gifted items so she can ‘pay it forward’... I like that 🙂

Kpo58 · 17/09/2020 14:49

I wouldn't have a problem with it. If influencers kept all the crap that they were gifted, then their home would start looking like a horder's house.

wheresmymojo · 17/09/2020 14:50

I mean this is their business so I don't see a problem with it.

Rachel Riley has another job. For a lot of influencers, being an influencer is their job.

If they get gifted a lot of stuff they'd run out of room eventually wouldn't they?

I don't see a problem with it...

katy1213 · 17/09/2020 14:59

They're not gifts. Goods were sent as a business transaction, either by arrangement in exchange for publicity or on spec in an attempt to drum up publicity. This is standard practice. It's up to her how she chooses to get rid of this influx of stuff, most of which she will have no earthly use for, and if it puts other people's noses out of joint, then that's tough.

Haenow · 17/09/2020 15:00

Technically, I don’t see it as wrong but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

neverenoughchelseaboots · 17/09/2020 15:24

I think it's fine. If they got lots of press samples why should they have to store a load of stuff they don't want any more?

Who was it?

ElspethFlashman · 17/09/2020 15:24

I dont know if its the same one but one I follow has been caught doing this in the past few weeks.

I can't condemn it that much tbh. The main reason is because they get sent large arrays of stuff. So like, not just one item to review, but 6 items. Maybe 4 pairs of leggings with slightly different features etc.

If they kept everything it would just be hoarding. Especially if they try on several things, its clear that 3 of them dont suit them, and they're never going to rewear them ever again.

And tbh the companies dont want the product back, and would probably dump it if you did send it back (as apparently these companies routinely dump a large % of returns).

So then what do you do with it? Charity shops or sell, to be realistic. And if these are items you could get a fair bit of money from, 99% of people would sell.

I do think the pearl clutching is a bit disingenuous. Could they honestly say hand on heart they would donate hundreds of quids worth of items with the tags still on? Really????

EmbarrassingAdmissions · 17/09/2020 15:30

Amazon's recently had a clear-out of influencer reviewers who've been selling the gifted review items on eBay and similar.

I don't see how the influencers could keep them all and I suppose they're looking at them as some (mostly minor) recompense for the 100s of reviews that they do.

Terrace58 · 17/09/2020 15:37

I don’t see a problem with it as long as they are declaring that part of the business on taxes. As the sale is pure profit, I imagine that could add up quite quickly.

I’d be surprised if an influencer was declaring any of it though. Perhaps someone will tip off the proper authorities.

FuckHim · 17/09/2020 15:43

It's up to her, but in honesty it might affect whether businesses want to give her things in the future. I suppose it depends on how much she enthuses over the product and how she words it.

A lot of influencers just run giveaways which I always like. I've won £1000s worth of goods from Instagram.

Pogmella · 17/09/2020 15:45

It would depend how old it was. Maybe a year+ seems like a normal clear out. Raving about how amazing the product is and then hawking it off a month later obviously shatters the illusion entirely

ElspethFlashman · 17/09/2020 15:50

Oh no, we're talking people who put it up for sale the very next day!

But I suppose they don't want it cluttering up the place. A lot of these people don't have very big houses and live with 3 or 4 kids. Its not like they have loads of storage space.

NurseButtercup · 17/09/2020 15:56

I'm unclear why this is an issue?

Coughsyrupsucks · 17/09/2020 15:59

Used to be in that line of ‘work’ had so much stuff sent to me it was ridiculous. I tended to give it away but I can understand selling it if you needed the money. Don’t see it’s a problem?

TheBeesKnee · 17/09/2020 16:08

I don't mind and I don't think it's a problem. It's a business and "gifted" is a very sanitised term which isn't used in the way we common folk take it.

They can't possibly keep everything and if you buy an item because an influencer says they love it then that's on you. I've definitely bought things promoted by influencers before, but not without doing my own research.

Sonders · 17/09/2020 16:10

I can see why it would feel kinda wrong to sell gifts, but these aren't gifts in the traditional, sentimental sense. They're just press samples which have been gifted, which basically means given for free or sponsored.

In my experience, an influencer with 50k followers probably doesn't make much, if anything, from brand partnerships. They might just be making content in exchange for the products, or to boost their status.

In which case, they still have bills to pay and food to buy - so let them sell stuff that might otherwise end up in a landfill 🤷‍♀️

Original poster

mum2b2017 · 17/09/2020 16:19

See now if it was just small trinkets, candles/wax melts etc i could get it
But when your gifted a whole bed then its a bit different. Especially when you sell it and then post an #ad for another bed you were gifted to replace the one you sold

OP posts:

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