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?

YBU

You've done nothing wrong legally but I'd feel very uncomfortable and couldn't do it myself.

It's one thing to buy something at auction, on eBay, in a junk shop or in an antique shop and then sell it for a higher price; it's a different thing altogether to profit from a charity.

The people who work there are trying to raise money for a cause that they believe in. Most are volunteers and are unlikely to have the expertise to identify and correctly price any particularly valuable items. It seems a bit off to me to take advantage of that.

@honehmooh

Charity shops are helpful for those who can't afford new and pushing their prices up makes it harder for them to afford it.

That handbag could've been a nice accessory for someones job interview, for example.

I've always thought that the reason why charity shops have pushed their prices up so much is because of those coming in and selling things for a profit.

legally you've done nothing wrong. However, morally I would argue otherwiswe

The second paragraph of this really made me laugh.

Your friend sounds a bit precious. Now, if you had bargained them down on the price, I'd have certainly suggested that you donate the difference between the asking price and the actual price, however, you did not. Nor would I have considered you "stealing" if you did not.

The people who work there are trying to raise money for a cause that they believe in. Most are volunteers and are unlikely to have the expertise to identify and correctly price any particularly valuable items. It seems a bit off to me to take advantage of that.

Why are people still saying things like this when several of us who work in a charity shop have stated that
a) We don't care what people do with items after they've bought them (as long as they don't try to haggle with us)
b) We are perfectly able to use eBay/amazon/google to check the prices of things
c) We are generally a lot more aware of the local market and know what does and does not sell in our shop
d) We would rather sell 6 bags at £20 each than price one of them at £50 and have it sit in the cabinet for a fortnight.

Tryingtryingandtrying

<strong>*@doomscrolling</strong>* People donate to charity shops hoping they will sell their things and get the best price to support the charity.

@icedcoffees
But nobody goes into a charity shop (or any shop) and offers to pay more than the asking price!

If the charity wanted to make more money, they could have priced the item higher.

But they also have a donation box on the counter and if you want to pay more you just stick the difference in the box!

If your going to look at it from that point of view what is best for the Charity some of the staff work at Charity shops for various reasons paid or not.
My mother knew someone’s daughter who was a manager of a charity shop and she had a sideline selling vintage because she got first dibs . I wonder if that still goes on. Often I have seen workers saving items for friends or relatives or collectors and people that price items for the shops are often collectors. I would say its rare for things to fall under the radar as we have search engines like Ebay these days .
My favourite are the Hospice shops as the largest percentage goes to the actual charity. They do not print fancy price tickets or bags and recycle customer donated bags and their shops look just as boutique as the others. I donate most to them . Books I donate to Amnesty or Oxfam bookshops as they will get the best price.
I just love the recycling aspect and they are doing a service recycling the overflow of consumerism.
I have more issue with the quality of stock they have to recycle . Apparently all the fast fashion is not so profitable for them and they get heaps of it where it gets sent to the rag man as another polyester cloth worn once enmasse is not going to make their shop desirable. They have to strike a balance.
I wish better quality items with more natural fibres were in circulation secondhand and that young people could learn about fabrics composition through being able to afford quality secondhand clothes that are not made in sweatshops that to me is doing the shops that are engaged in recycling a dis service as they need decent quality stock to hold its value.

Haggling in a charity shop is more dubious

MissM2912, genuine question: what is your response to the various posters who have experience of charity shop work and have given their views on pricing? e.g. slashlover, ellyeth, BroccoliFloret?

My mother knew someone’s daughter who was a manager of a charity shop and she had a sideline selling vintage because she got first dibs . I wonder if that still goes on

Of course it still goes on! I used to go into a local charity shop twice a week and sort out their ethnic clothing, unpack it, put it onto racks and so on. I would always go away with half a dozen outfits and pay for them whatever the manageress asked. Usually about £5-10 for a batch. I subsequently sold many of them on Ebay and Etsy either as garments or just for the beautiful fabric and embroidery. The fact that I made a profit is just business.

The charity shop got the money they wanted for the item, what happens beyond that doesn't really matter. Anyone who wanted to donate something and be certain it is going to someone who really needs it is better of giving stuff to local charities than work with refuges or with refugees etc.

IntermittentParps It is irrelevant that they think it is ok- my personal opinion is it is in bad taste to profit personally out of charity shop finds.
I work in charity senior management, so also have experience of the sector.

If it was one of my staff doing it I wouldn’t be happy about it.

It would be like working in a for profit shop, getting something at cost, and then selling on at profit privately. Pretty sure wouldn’t be ok.

In OP's case, isn't this just like Bargain Hunt on the TV?

Two teams trawl a local car boot sale or antiques fair, buy a few items then try to sell them for a profit at auction.

Nowt wrong with that! Which is what the OP has done.

Now, the people who are actually taking the best bits from the charity shops they work in- I find that pretty sneaky. I would not be happy if I donated items only to find out the staff had got first dibs and paid a nominal Amount to then sell on for personal profit. Surely that goes against the company guidelines.

Make no mistake, many charities have an online presence and sell decent items on places such as eBay or their own site.

2700 people on this poll (17%) have said it was unreasonable to do this. That is a significant number and illustrates that many do give to charity with the intention of all money going to that charity and not for personal financial gain.

@MissM2912

IntermittentParps It is irrelevant that they think it is ok- my personal opinion is it is in bad taste to profit personally out of charity shop finds. I work in charity senior management, so also have experience of the sector.

Why though, really? Does it make any odds what anyone does once it leaves the shop? As you well know the price something sells at online, which has a reach of potentially the world if not just the UK when someone can specifically search for an item they want is different to the price paid a charity shop is likely to make. If they choose to use ebay etc themselves then fab, they can benefit from making more instead of just popping it in the shop.

I don't agree with staff taking first dibs on all the good stuff though, I know they work for free but that's the general idea of volunteering.

No. You brought them for the price they asked for.
If you feel guilty give the charity 10%, but by no means should you have to.

@MissM2912

2700 people on this poll (17%) have said it was unreasonable to do this. That is a significant number and illustrates that many do give to charity with the intention of all money going to that charity and not for personal financial gain.

In that case, they could sell their stuff on eBay and donate the profit to charity.

@Booknooks

I don't agree with staff taking first dibs on all the good stuff though, I know they work for free but that's the general idea of volunteering.

Most of the big, chain charities will have some sort of of process for recording purchases which staff/volunteers make. My friend volunteers in one chain which offers staff discount, and everything gets rung through the till on a special code. We don't get staff discount where I volunteer, but everything is recorded in a book. So when I buy something it will say - for example - "Broccoli, 25th August, 2 dresses, 2 books, £24.96". When the auditor comes in they look at the book, and if they saw a pattern of the same person buying vast quantities each month, they would be asking why. We also have rules that you don't price anything you want to buy, and don't put it through the till yourself either.

We also have a "valuables book" where any single item over a certain amount, think it's £50, is written and logged.

Nothing's foolproof but there are systems in place in most chain charity shops to stop the scenario of volunteers buying a brand new Hobbs dress for 50p and selling it on Ebay for £50.

However, the general concept of volunteers getting first dibs on buying thing at a fair price isn't something I have any problem with.

Thanks @slashlover, your response was much nicer than my initial one! My earlier comment about charity shops bringing in a relatively small amount of money but keeping the charity visible and offering work experience sounds snide but was meant genuinely - I volunteer at Mind and I think the way they help volunteers moving towards independence is fantastic.

Tartanjumper- they may not be in the position to do that. They may be elderly, ill, digitally excluded. They donate in good faith that everything they give is going to the charity for charitable purposes.
If staff buy stuff and sell on themselves for profit they potentially are knowingly not following the intentions of the donor and I think that is dubious and could bring the organisation in to disrepute.
If a member of the public hands me say £100 with the instruction it is spent on buying toys for children at Christmas, I as recipient of that can’t spend on something else, in the same way as if someone donates bed sheets with the view they will be sold on at low cost to help someone set up home, I can’t take them myself at a very low cost and sell them on, as the intention was they would help someone on low income, who is in need.

Should say I have no issue with staff buying things at fair price- it is the selling on for personal profit I think is an issue.

@MissM2912 - I get what you are saying but you are wrong in one key respect.

If you donate a jumper to MIND, then you are donating it to raise money for mental health. If you donate it to a hospice shop, then it's going to raise money for the hospice and so on. The job of the charity shop is to raise as much money as they can for their "cause", whatever that happens to be.

Helping people on low incomes has nothing to do with it.