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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think people are taking the P1$$

133 replies

AliceMcK · 27/10/2020 09:16

Buying up stock from shops and selling it online at a huge markup?

Yesterday I saw Poundland’s LOL cushions being sold for £20 on fb marketplace. This person had a huge supply. So they have gone into Poundland bought a huge supply of £1 cushions and selling them for £20 each.

It really annoys be, especially when it’s things people want to buy their children.

I see it all the time when shops put things on sale, they get sold out quickly and the next thing you know it’s on eBay or marketplace at a ridiculous price parents are either forced to pay or have to disappoint their child because they can’t get what they have asked for.

OP posts:
TeamLucille · 27/10/2020 13:58

you're complaining someone bought it and is selling it for 50 quid.....but you've never said a word about Primark buying it in Bangladesh for 50p?

that.

Noitjustwontdo · 27/10/2020 14:00

It happens every Christmas. Remember the Kevin the carrot craze? Aldi sold them for like £3 and people were selling them on eBay for £20-30. I don’t know why everyone was quite so desperate to have a carrot soft toy but there you go.

It’s happened for years, people prey on parents desperation.

CornflakeMum · 27/10/2020 14:01

I know someone who does this kind of stuff - she sees something that has the potential to look more expensive than it is (in Wilko/Poundland/IKEA etc) then buys loads up and 'stages' them in shabby chic settings and sells them online for 10x the original price.

People are daft, but it's not illegal.

Eckhart · 27/10/2020 14:03

@MintyMabel

It is actually profiteering, and it is actually illegal

It's not profiteering, so it's not illegal. It would be both, if it was creating a cushion shortage during a time of great cushion demand, and people were having to suffer by living cushionless because of it.

As it is, it's called 'capitalism'. If people don't like it, they should make their own. But then, they've still got to buy the materials...

AdditionalCharacter · 27/10/2020 14:05

@DTIsOnlyForNow

Primark have a calender for 16 quid, and you're complaining someone bought it and is selling it for 50 quid.....but you've never said a word about Primark buying it in Bangladesh for 50p? So one person making a few quid is abhorrent and taking the piss, but a multibillion quid conglomerate making vast amounts of money is just life?

WTF are you people wittering about? Hmm

And how much do you think the £1 pillows were originally bought for?
butterpuffed · 27/10/2020 14:13

@Whammyyammy

My OH done similar about 12 years ago when you could not get a Wii anywhere one Christmas. He went into argos on the off chance, as our son really wanted one and they had 2 in stock, about £110 each. He bought both.

He advertised the other one on gumtree for offers around £750, a guy phoned immediately and came round within the hour, didn't haggle and paid the £750.

We didn't force him to buy it, he was happy with the price, his children got a Wii and we had a lot of extra £££ for Christmas.

Its called supply and demand

It's called not being a very nice person.
NotImpossible · 27/10/2020 14:15

They're doing exactly what shops do. Buying something and selling it for a profit. It's hardly an uncommon business model but people seem to think it's ok for shops (like Poundland) but terrible when individuals do it. I've never been able to get my head around what the problem is.

grenlei · 27/10/2020 14:15

Also anyone doing this on the regular (buying discounted or cheap stuff and selling it on) is essentially running a business so should be declaring that income; I suspect they don't.

That said, lots of social media influencers all do a variation on this - albeit they might actually pay tax on it. Their angle is buy a load of cheap shit from Ali Express and the like, rebadge it with their own label or packaging and then sell it on for 10x the price.

bridgetreilly · 27/10/2020 14:22

YABU not to spell the word piss with actual letters.

Wheresthepostie · 27/10/2020 14:23

Cheap tat from Poundland, I don't give two fucks about. That stuff is readily available. Just go to Poundland and buy it before others do.

Sneakers though? Don't get me fucking started. Arseholes using bots to buy up latest drops then selling them for ridiculous prices on eBay and genuine customers don't even get a chance to buy one pair for themselves. Now THAT is taking the piss.

Eckhart · 27/10/2020 14:25

using bots to buy up latest drops then selling them for ridiculous prices on eBay and genuine customers don't even get a chance to buy one pair for themselves

That's profiteering, because it's making it impossible for customers to choose another seller.

AtTheWinchester · 27/10/2020 14:29

YABU to write P1$$.

DTIsOnlyForNow · 27/10/2020 14:32

It's called not being a very nice person

No, its called capitalism.

Why don't people understand this?

JinglingHellsBells · 27/10/2020 14:34

The fools are the people buying them, surely?

JinglingHellsBells · 27/10/2020 14:35

the next thing you know it’s on eBay or marketplace at a ridiculous price parents are either forced to pay or have to disappoint their child because they can’t get what they have asked for.

You need to get to the shops faster and buy them cheaply!

A fool and his money are soon parted.

never was this so apt .

Byllis · 27/10/2020 14:52

Yanbu. The reason this doesn’t feel right is that these sellers aren’t adding any value, but precisely the reverse. People either pay more for something they could otherwise have purchased themselves or they go without.

It’s not the same as supermarkets. They add value by sourcing items that either wouldn’t be available to individual consumers or would be time-consuming or more expensive to purchase direct.

It’s not the same as someone browsing charity shops and jumble sales and reselling online. These tend to be one-off items and the seller is putting in the legwork of sourcing them and uniting them with owners who wouldn’t have found them otherwise. Much easier for me to browse eg antique lamps online and see what there is than tramp around jumble car boots on the off chance I may find what I want.

It’s not the same as primark selling an advent calendar made for buttons abroad. How are you possibly going to buy that calendar for 50p yourself? Impossible. Someone needs to purchase them in bulk, export, distribute, etc., so that individual consumers can buy them.

In each of these cases, the seller is performing a service. What the op is describing is only similar to Tesco if Tesco hoover up something that would be cheaply and easily available to you without their Intervention and charge you 200% for the privilege!

librarydiscard · 27/10/2020 14:56

It might not be illegal but its not right. I've been in the position to do this at times and never would. If its a popular item then don't be greedy. If its an essential item, well hell mend you!

ViciousJackdaw · 27/10/2020 14:59

@jessstan1

Whammyyammy: "My OH done similar" ...... Why does that not surprise me?
Care to elaborate?
SonjaMorgan · 27/10/2020 15:00

@DTIsOnlyForNow

It's called capitalism. You're fine with it on a large scale, so why make a fuss when the little people do it too?
^this.

Most of the utter shite you buy in shops is marked up massively. People are exploited and enviromental damage is caused for the production of most products and no one cares as it is out of sight, out of mind.

I doubt they are paying tax and this is the only real issue here.

Eckhart · 27/10/2020 15:05

@Byllis

What the op is describing is only similar to Tesco if Tesco hoover up something that would be cheaply and easily available to you without their Intervention and charge you 200% for the privilege

Have Poundland run out of these cushions, then? Or do people have the option of buying them there for the original price?

Byllis · 27/10/2020 15:14

@Eckhart - no idea. I don’t even know what these cushions are. If there is a ceaseless supply of them at Poundland but someone unaccountably wants to pay twenty times the resale price, then fair play to all involved. However, normally these situations come about because there is a limited supply of desirable items and they are all cynically purchased for onward sale. See ticket reselling.

I think people are getting hung up on this being cheap rubbish. Imagine if it happened more widely and you couldn’t access everyday products without paying many times their value (value taking into account the costs in actually getting them to the market).

Whoooootaminute · 27/10/2020 15:20

@jessstan1

Whammyyammy: "My OH done similar" ...... Why does that not surprise me?
Oooof! Grin

I agree though.

ButtWormHole · 27/10/2020 15:25

But you’re happy for Poundland to pay 20p for something and sell it for £1? It’s business and you just sound really bitter. Something is worth that someone will pay for it.

Devilesko · 27/10/2020 15:27

Do you think they pay tax on their profits or advise the benefits agency of their money making schemes?

Who said they were claiming benefits? Bit of a jump there.

DTIsOnlyForNow · 27/10/2020 15:29

Amazon don't pay much tax on their profits either