Aibu to make money from a charity shop purchase?

[Partnerprobs]

Recently went to a charity shop and found a couple of items for sale that I liked and were in very good condition. A handbag and a book. Both were in a locked cabinet. I bought them for £25 in total and have sold them on eBay for £75 and £34 pounds, so I’ve made about £84 (less eBay fees which I haven’t seen yet)

My best friend was really shocked and said it’s like stealing and I should donate the money to the charity - this has surprised and unnerved me as I thought it was fine (as they were in the cabinet so had been picked as higher end items, and also they were more expensive than normal items)

I thought it was a lucky break and was looking forward to treating myself.

Aibu?

Are you comfortable with your actions?

Whilst you haven’t done anything wrong it’s not really within the spirit of charity fund-raising.

What would your feelings be if a volunteer at the charity shop did the same thing?

Try a little harder to think outside the box Tryingtryingandtrying, loads of people do this and I’m pretty sure a large % of people spend their ‘Ill gotten gains’ of charitable causes!!! 🤬🤬

@HalzTangz, I agree wrt online selling by charity shops - I think there are a lot of very amateurish practices and attitudes afoot.

Fair dos. The charity got £25 and you've made some money as well. The charity don't care what you do with it once they've had your money.

That handbag could've been a nice accessory for someone's job interview

Was it the only handbag available in that town?

If the OP spends the money in a local cafe/ hairdresser/ supermarket/ garden centre does she help businesses stay in a position to interview people for jobs they need to fill?

Jobs are not just opportunities created by established employers. Some people create their own businesses reselling charity shop items.

There is a strange attitude toward opportunity evident on this thread.

Legally fine but you are on dubious ethical and moral ground here. I wouldn’t do this. I’d donate at the very least, some to the charity - I would feel OK about keeping some for my time and energy.

@IsisWalnut
The volunteer who has preferential access to the donations is a different case.

In the OP's case, the items were equally available for everyone crossing the threshold of the shop to spot and buy.

A lot of charities sell their better items on Ebay so you ANBU if they misjudged the value. Good luck to you!

Those saying it's morally wrong... nope. It really isn't. (What's morally wrong is director's of these charities raking in 6 figure salaries but I digress)
Unless, of course you haggled to get the £25 price in the first place knowing full well they were worth more so that you could sell them on.

There is a strange attitude toward opportunity evident on this thread.

And an equally strange attitude towards the very people who would know best about this. Several people with charity shop management experience have said how more than fine they are with this, and the moralisers are just ignoring them.

My friend works as a volunteer in a charity shop. She told me that every week there are certain people who search through all the items and pick some out. It is quite clear to her that they are putting them on e-bay. She says good luck to them - if they want to spend the time searching out bargains and re-selling them there is nothing illegal - or even, in her opinion (and mine), unethical about doing that. The charity shop is given the goods and marks up the prices - presumably at "bargain basement" level in order to move the stock along. Charity shops can get a lot of donations and they don't want stuff hanging around for weeks on end.

Frankly, I don't think it is very nice of your friend to compare what you have done to stealing - it is nothing of the sort.

It's fine.

My SIL does this as a 'job' and makes quite a bit of money from selling on her charity shop finds but I have always felt it was a bit morally wrong.

I work in a charity shop and usually google the price of interesting things before pricing them but things naturally slip through.
You paid the asking price and that’s all we want.
However, everyone reading this please don’t haggle, the stock may have been donated but we are a charity raising money for good causes.

I’ve done it before. I found a Burberry handbag for £8 and sold it for £60. They knew it was worth more because the ordinary bags were around £3. I always rummage for designer stuff. Sometimes I’ve bought fakes but I just give them back. I kept a £3 genuine Gucci bag for myself though

@Tigger1895

I work in a charity shop and usually google the price of interesting things before pricing them but things naturally slip through. You paid the asking price and that’s all we want. However, everyone reading this please don’t haggle, the stock may have been donated but we are a charity raising money for good causes.

I agree with don't haggle, especially if you persist after being told no.

Also, please treat the stock as you would in an ordinary shop - don't let your kids wreck the toy section, don't open items new in packets, if you drop something then pick it up and don't just leave it on the floor.

www.gosimpletax.com/blog/ebay-tax-guidance/

You have bought them and donated to charity and now you’ve passed them on to a wanting home and it’s helped you out to so everyone’s a winner don’t stress about it op 🤪😘

*too

The charity got given the items so up to them to price accordingly. They haven't made a loss, just haven't made as much as they could

They got what they asked for, made a profit on them. Definitely no wrong doing here. YANBU

That handbag could've been a nice accessory for someone's job interview

Bizarre comment. May as well avoid buying anything at all incase you are depriving someone you deem more worthy of the item.

Good for you.

@insidenumber5

What do you mean 'there are no nice things left'?

That's ridiculous. Get to the shop earlier.

As a charity shop manager, this is fine with me. Most have their own company eBay pages and will research items before pricing them. For us, our eBay minimum is £20 but sometimes if I see things selling for £30ish on ebay I try them in the store first.
They obviously knew it was worth more due to it being in a cabinet and you getting more for it online is just a bonus for you, you still paid the asking price in store and the charity benefits from it.

Lots of the younger generation buy "vintage" Puma, Adidas tops etc and sell on depop and the likes for more money.

😊