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?

But then I find it distasteful how many people seem to see everything as a money making opportunity these days. I recently donated something on a local fbook page intended to help people in need, only to see it sold on immediately for cash. I found it depressing as there had been other people on that group who were really in need of it and I was wanting to help someone who couldnt afford it.

How do you know that person wasn't in need? Maybe that money was the difference between them eating or not, or was used to put £10 in the electric meter before it was cut off?

sometimes it seems like lots of people are fine with big businesses making profits, no matter how, but if an ordinary person does, then its unethical or a rip off.

I found out that it was the uncle of a neighbour and they are very well off. Neighbour told me, she saw me handing over the item and assumed he had paid me, and was unimpressed he'd taken it from a donation on this local page.

There are regular antiques dealers who trawl the charity shops who do this. Same with car boot sales.
The shop should have a facility to sell high end and valuable items online on an auction site but due to the faff and time, it is simpler to sell in the shop.
These items are advertised at a higher price, the drawback being they take longer to sell and are at the risk of theft and of course the argument from customers of that it is given for free anyway.
As long as you don't haggle down the price, I would say your conscience should be clear.

Seems completely fine to me. You paid the charity what they wanted for the items that were donated to them. If you have gone to the effort to re sell them, they are your items to dispose of however you want. If a friend has said that to you, they can’t be much of a friend tbh.

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

ManifestDestinee People like you completely put me off ever trying to do something nice. Is it only EVER ok to donate cash? Or else I'm fucking "Lady Bountiful".

The group in question doesnt allow cash donations because those have been heavily exploited/abused.

People like me? People who think its not ok for people trying to offload their crap to make judgements on the recipients to decide who is worthy and who is not? I think you'll find that is most people, actually. If you want to do something nice, don't be so judgy.

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

I found out that it was the uncle of a neighbour and they are very well off. Neighbour told me, she saw me handing over the item and assumed he had paid me, and was unimpressed he'd taken it from a donation on this local page.

You’re right to be aggrieved that was genuinely a CF …

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

You wanted to play Lady Bountiful and get all the feels by being benevolent to the poor.

Excuse me?

No, I'm lucky enough that I didnt need to sell the item (it was worth a lot), and thought there might be someone who would really appreciate it, and didn't want it to go to waste. It's called kindness, you might want to try it?

But hey, or I could just never fucking give anything away ever again

What I mean is the person in question actually turned out to be essentially a dealer for the furniture item I offered, was not in need at all.

To the pp who asked yes I did report but these people often hide behind multiple profiles to avoid getting blacklisted.

There's someone on a local FB selling site being absolute ripped to shreds for doing this

He doesn't need the money.

@Branleuse

sometimes it seems like lots of people are fine with big businesses making profits, no matter how, but if an ordinary person does, then its unethical or a rip off.

I don't think it's that someone has made money thats the issue, it's more that the charity and its beneficiaries have not made as much money as they could have. Which I think most people would see as a shame.

Your friend is being unreasonable. I'd thank her to mind her own business, then be mindful of what I shared with her from now on.

You paid what they asked. If someone had bought the items and kept them for 50 years or if someone had bought them and made a much bigger profit than you did, it wouldn't make one iota of difference to the charity.

@Lockheart

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

Not necessarily. The bag might not have sold for £75 in the shop - a shops audience is limited to those who physically go into the shop.

Putting it online opens it up to thousands more potential buyers, including those who are prepared to pay £75 who may never have gone into the shop.

It's another factor charity shops have to consider - they get a lot of donations so they need to move stock quickly. There is fuck all point having a bag taking up space for months because it's priced at e.g £100 (which yes, it may get be worth online but not on the high street in your specific town) when you can sell it for £25 and have done with it.

This. All points are exactly why what happened happened.

They set a price they were happy with, it's not like it sold for loads more, and even if so, meh. Some people make a living out of it which is quite sad, but that's different from selling on a few items.

Given that the guy sold it on for £200 I wasnt "offloading my crap" Manifest.

Are you seriously trying to cast me as a bad person for giving away a nice item?

Spend it all on a treat for yourself, people do this everyday of the week

@BlackberrySky

Your friend is bonkers. You bought them legitimately and paid the price that was asked for. What you do with your purchases afterwards is none of their business.

I'm a charity shop volunteer and I agree with this. We price items at what we think we can get for them, at that time of year, in our particular shop.

We simply do not have the manpower to list things on Ebay, deal with the queries, packaging, posting, returns. Our volunteer time is better spent pricing things competitively and keeping stock moving.

You have given the charity shop £25 that they didn’t have previously. If you feel bad, why not donate another £10 or take part in a sponsored event? I believe you earned the money fair and square. Lots of people do this.

to make judgements on the recipients to decide who is worthy and who is not?

Theres nothing wrong with wanting to focus help on those who need it most.
If I had £100 to give away I wouldnt just offer up to anyone in the pub on a Friday night, I would donate it to the local food bank or womens refuge etc in the hope that it would go to those for whom it might make the biggest difference.

Bet your friend is fun at parties...

@essentialhealing

Strange post

You bought them then put them on eBay and are now acting all shocked that you made a profit

Why would you buy them and put them on eBay if you didn't think you would profit?

You seem to have misunderstood. The OP's FRIEND was shocked that she put them on eBay.

Na, you paid the fair amount the shop wanted. Your friend is bonkers.

I recently bought some brand new jeans with tags on from Vinted (4months pp and no idea what suits me anymore) they looked hideous. I sold them on again for 50% more than what I paid.
Do I feel guilty? Absolutely not. I paid for them fair and square so they were mine to do with what I wished.

I see things undervalued in a charity shop and I let them know, backing it up with online evidence on one occasion so I think it's a bit off tbh. I think buying intentionally to sell on is morally dubious but if you're skint and struggling I'd give you a pass. Comfortable financially and using your knowledge to mug off a charity would make me judge you. It's definitely a spectrum.

The charity is happy as they sold them both and made money, you are happy as you bought them, sold them again and made money, and the people who bought them from you are happy also.

Everyone wins.

You’ve done nothing wrong. You did extra ‘work’ to reach the target market. The charity shop put the items in the locked cabinet and charged a price that they thought was reasonable and achievable. They might have known that such items had sold for more online, but reasoned that customers willing to pay those prices were unlikely to pass
by their shop, and that price stickers of £75 could be off putting to their usual customers.

If you'd bought something for a few quid which turned out to be a valuable antique which you then sold for £££££, then yes, it would be nice to go back to the charity with some money, but this isn't in that league.

It’s the way of the world! Buying at one price and selling at another! It’s how the big guys do it, so why not the little guys? The charity shop got their asking price and you got yours! Someone else got an item they may not have had access to locally. Everyone’s a winner!