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?

I had a very small business years ago, where I would search charity shops for decent label clothing and accessories in good condition and sell them on Ebay. However, there is a particular charity that is very dear to my heart and anything I have bought from there and made a profit on, I would deduct the price I originally paid, and given them the profit.

So I am in two minds about this.

@MissM2912

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.

So you would take issue with someone who buys a wedding dress who goes to cover it in fake blood and shred it for a Halloween costume? Or someone who buys a skirt in a nice fabric, and cuts it up to make into a notebook cover? Or someone who buys dolls, and turns them into Halloween decorations?

People use charity shops for things like that all the time. At the end of the day, the shop got the money they asked for. I don't donate bed sheets with the stipulation they are sold to someone who is setting up home.

Xeno- it is the selling on for profit I have the particular issue with. Most reasonable people would assume that when someone donates to a charity shop they intend for the item to one raise money for the charity, and two, where possible be used in a useful way (be that as a costume or to help someone in need). They don’t donate with the intention that someone will come in, bag a bargain and then sell it on for profit.
The fact that the poster above mentions charity auditors checking for staff doing this indicates it is not generally well looked upon!

Staff/volunteers is different though isn't it, as if you are considering buying to sell on for profit, then the temptation is to price artificially low.

Customers is a different matter.

I wouldn't mind if this happened to stuff I'd donated to a charity shop. I'm clearing out a lot of stuff at the moment, and some I am selling on EBay, some good condition stuff is going to charity shop and some is going on Olio/Freecycle.

eBaying stuff (or FB Marketplace) is a bit of a pain - FB ends up with various questions, most of which the person never comes back to you, Ebay you have to package up and post it. There's a certain amount of time involved in listing accurately and taking some decent photos. I can't imagine charity shops have the resources for that for too many items.

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.

Care to explain why approx 70% of donations are complete tat? Balled up used socks, used tights, items with a layer of dirt (shoes with literal shit still on the sole), used underwear, items stinking of smoke.

as the intention was they would help someone on low income, who is in need.

The intention in donating something to a charity shop is to raise money for that charity.

I don’t think the intention is always just to raise money for a charity! I know when I have donated furniture for example my intention has been to help someone on low income buy stuff that they need- I would have given it to the shop regardless of charitable purpose if I thought they could pass on to someone in need.

it is the selling on for profit I have the particular issue with.

If OP had bought the stuff and not sold it on, the charity would be in the exact same position. It literally makes no difference.

@MissM2912

I don’t think the intention is always just to raise money for a charity! I know when I have donated furniture for example my intention has been to help someone on low income buy stuff that they need- I would have given it to the shop regardless of charitable purpose if I thought they could pass on to someone in need.

Well do you want people on low incomes to be able to afford stuff, or do you want charities to get as much for the stuff as resellers do? Because those are conflicting objectives.

@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.

That's 17% that don't understand how charity shops work then. That's all it's significant for.

DrSbaitso When I donate to a charity shop I would like the items used ethically! Not bought and sold on for profit.
Many charity shops also have links with other local organisations to provide furniture at discounted costs for those referred to them- for example a house starter pack for £25. So that those who can afford more pay the normal rate and those in need get what they need at what they can afford.

DrSbaitso When I donate to a charity shop I would like the items used ethically! Not bought and sold on for profit

What you seem unable to grasp is that it does not matter what you would like! When you donate to a charity shop, your stuff belongs to them. They can sell it to raise money for charity. They can bin it. They can sell it for recycling. And when they sell it, they don't ask if the person buying it needs it, or if they are poor. They just sell it. They don't care what happens to it afterwards.

If you only want the shit you don't want anymore to go to the worthy and needy, please don't give it to charity shops. They don't agree with you. Go out and find some people you decide are worth your cast offs.

I doubt anyone would buy large furniture like a sofa or wardrobe from a charity to stick on eBay, it would be more trouble than it's worth

ManifestDestinee I suggest you go and read up on the history of charity shops and why they were set up!! It is actually you that is being quite ignorant.

@MissM2912

ManifestDestinee I suggest you go and read up on the history of charity shops and why they were set up!! It is actually you that is being quite ignorant.

I suggest you bite me, and go and volunteer in one. Your arrogance is breathtaking.

@MissM2912

DrSbaitso When I donate to a charity shop I would like the items used ethically! Not bought and sold on for profit. Many charity shops also have links with other local organisations to provide furniture at discounted costs for those referred to them- for example a house starter pack for £25. So that those who can afford more pay the normal rate and those in need get what they need at what they can afford.

Ok, so against the testimony of every charity shop worker on this thread, you say that it is unethical to sell on a charity shop item for more than you paid for it.

This can be the case only if the charity somehow suffers from people doing it. So I ask again: if OP had kept the items, how would the charity have benefited?

A lot of the senior executives get large salaries so some do alright out of them

DrSbaitso You are deliberately misinterpreting me. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I personally believe it is morally wrong to buy from a charity shop cheaply with the intention of making a personal profit later on. It is irrelevant that the charity shop doesn’t know you no longer have the item. It just isn’t a nice thing to do.
I also refute that I am arrogant as I have a differing opinion to someone that works in a charity shop- I don’t work in a shop, I manage services. But it is irrelevant who works where- both can have their own opinion. I meet with donors all the time and I know that many would not like the idea of physical donations being used in this way. Some people have a different opinion and that’s grand but I don’t agree with it.

It just isn’t a nice thing to do

You know what's not a nice thing to do? Give your old shite away and think you should get to decide who is poor or worthy enough to be in reciept of your cast offs. Hell, that's less not a nice thing to do, and more not a nice way to be. I mean, who actually acts like that? You're not some victorian lady giving your old dress to the workhouse you know. Cop yourself on.

ManifestDestinee Wise up. Sorry I have hit a nerve.
You know perfectly well what my point is.
Charity shops were originally set up to help those in need, the remit has expanded to allow CHARITIES to make money, but at no point is it in any charities charitable purpose to sell stuff on cheaply so members of the public can sell on for profit. The fact that people do do this does not in anyway make me think it is ethically ok.

@MissM2912

ManifestDestinee Wise up. Sorry I have hit a nerve. You know perfectly well what my point is. Charity shops were originally set up to help those in need, the remit has expanded to allow CHARITIES to make money, but at no point is it in any charities charitable purpose to sell stuff on cheaply so members of the public can sell on for profit. The fact that people do do this does not in anyway make me think it is ethically ok.

You're still missing the point. I know what your point is, and it's idiotic.

The charity does not care if someone buys from them and sells on for profit. They. Do. Not. Care. They know people do it, nobody cares. Because charity shops, like anywhere else, know it is not their business what anyone does with their good after they have sold them. They don't care.
You care. But then you don't understand how charity or charity shops work. So, who cares that you care?

@MissM2912

DrSbaitso You are deliberately misinterpreting me. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I personally believe it is morally wrong to buy from a charity shop cheaply with the intention of making a personal profit later on. It is irrelevant that the charity shop doesn’t know you no longer have the item. It just isn’t a nice thing to do. I also refute that I am arrogant as I have a differing opinion to someone that works in a charity shop- I don’t work in a shop, I manage services. But it is irrelevant who works where- both can have their own opinion. I meet with donors all the time and I know that many would not like the idea of physical donations being used in this way. Some people have a different opinion and that’s grand but I don’t agree with it.

Nobody has suggested that you aren't entitled to your opinion. But when all you've got to support it is that you've got the right to hold it, that's a sign that it needs reviewing. And I haven't called you arrogant, although I don't think ignoring all the experts is a sign of humility.

And I'm not misinterpreting anything. I've simply asked you: if reselling is so unethical, how does it harm the charity? And how do you square both wanting the goods to go to impoverished people on low budgets, and wanting the charities to profit like resellers do? They are directly opposing outcomes, so how do you suggest doing both?

Your only response so far has been to complain that you've been misinterpreted, tell us it isn't nice and tell us you're entitled to your opinion. Can you see why target-driven, volunteer-staffed charity shops, or the people you are deeming to be so amoral, might need something a bit more reasoned?

@MissM2912

DrSbaitso When I donate to a charity shop I would like the items used ethically! Not bought and sold on for profit. Many charity shops also have links with other local organisations to provide furniture at discounted costs for those referred to them- for example a house starter pack for £25. So that those who can afford more pay the normal rate and those in need get what they need at what they can afford.

They are used ethically. Items which are donated which are fit for sale are priced at a level which we know our customers are prepared to buy and sold for the cause the charity supports.

We do not interrogate customers to ascertain their financial situation before they make a purchase.

We do not quiz customers about what they intend to do with a product before we sell it to them.

As has been explained a dozen times upthread, there are many reasons why something is priced to sell rather than priced at the maximum sum ever sold for on Ebay, but you are choosing to ignore that.

Why would a charity supporting cancer care, the local donkey sanctuary or a hospice have a links with other organisations? The charity shop is there to raise money for their cause - end of story. Yes there are some volunteers who may independently take things which would otherwise be binned - we put aside odd pencils and pens for a volunteer whose church collects for a school in Malawi, for example.

Charity shops don't have the manpower, or the space, to keep odd bits and pieces which are donated and don't sell or can't be sold to accumulate for some other charity somewhere which might or might not be making up starter packs. If we're not putting things up for sale it's because they are only fit for the bin/recycling.

You have some exceptionally peculiar ideas about what charity shops are actually FOR.

@MissM2912

ManifestDestinee Wise up. Sorry I have hit a nerve. You know perfectly well what my point is. Charity shops were originally set up to help those in need, the remit has expanded to allow CHARITIES to make money, but at no point is it in any charities charitable purpose to sell stuff on cheaply so members of the public can sell on for profit. The fact that people do do this does not in anyway make me think it is ethically ok.

So what? Lots of organisations have changed their objectives to move with the times and what's needed now rather than however many years ago. That's how you do the most good.

It's just not very nice somehow. Yes it's technically fine but charity shops find it hard and so buying something you know to be significantly under-priced so you can make a profit it just a bit grubby.

People who rely on charity shops because they can't afford new might like these items to use. They won't be able to afford the marked up eBay price.

Do what you think is right but I would just you.