Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aibu to make money from a charity shop purchase?

479 replies

Partnerprobs · 27/08/2021 11:29

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?

OP posts:
Original poster
Partnerprobs · 27/08/2021 15:19

Thanks for all the opinions, very interesting to read!

I didn’t think I was being unreasonable, my friend did. I don’t have the time or energy to make a business out of it (or even have the ‘eye’ for it, so it was really a lucky one off)

I do like the idea of donating some nice stuff to the shop in return so I’ve got a couple of nice handbags I never use, a Hobbs skirt with tags on I’ve accepted I’ll never fit in to and I’m dropping them to the same shop for someone else to enjoy (even if that means eBaying it for cash! Wink)

OP posts:
hesterstanhope · 27/08/2021 15:22

Other issues for your friend:

: isn’t it morally wrong for people to use their spare funds to buy things they don’t need,

: if people have unwanted goods, shouldn’t they sell them them and donate funds to charity instead of expecting charity shop volunteers to do it for them,

: is it morally wrong for people to volunteer to work in charity shops when they don’t have the skills to EBay the stock and get maximum prices,

: what about those who don’t go round the charity shops buying to make a profit and then have to rely on state support in old age.

Assuming she lives on lentils and wears knitted plastic bags and donates every last cent she doesn’t need.

Egghead68 · 27/08/2021 15:22

I think it would be nice to donate part of the profit back to charity.

Blueskyrainshowers · 27/08/2021 15:26

@Partnerprobs

Thanks for all the opinions, very interesting to read!

I didn’t think I was being unreasonable, my friend did. I don’t have the time or energy to make a business out of it (or even have the ‘eye’ for it, so it was really a lucky one off)

I do like the idea of donating some nice stuff to the shop in return so I’ve got a couple of nice handbags I never use, a Hobbs skirt with tags on I’ve accepted I’ll never fit in to and I’m dropping them to the same shop for someone else to enjoy (even if that means eBaying it for cash! Wink)

Tbh I think buying stuff from charity shops is way more altruistic than donating it. Loads of people do exactly what you did OP. It's not a crime, it's not selfish. The charity shop got their money and you made a little profit.
Blueskyrainshowers · 27/08/2021 15:28

You might as well ebay your bags and clothes as well.
If donating to charity is important to you, you could support one of your choosing with a monthly donation or something. Please don't let people guilt you over this Flowers

icedcoffees · 27/08/2021 15:32

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

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.
But once you've given it away, it's no longer yours.

It seems bonkers to me to give something away and then get pissed off because that person has decided to sell it instead of keeping it, lol.

Sheerheight · 27/08/2021 15:34

I'm sure a lot of the contents of antique shops were found in charity shops.

I've sold a jacket on ebay that was bought buy someone who had a shop , the jacket was bought for £9 to be sold on for 60 - as vintage which it really was not. .. I'm sure some would rather it went to a deserving teenager , but c'est la vie.

simitra · 27/08/2021 15:39

I sell vintage items on Ebay (plus other platforms) and often acquire them at charity shops, jumbles, car boots, and on Ebay itself. One you have paid the seller's price the item is yours to do with as you wish.

I once bought an item for 15 euros on Ebay and sold it at auction for £1800 because I knew what it was and the seller did not. Knowledge is power.

Fontella · 27/08/2021 15:39

I do it all the time OP.

I love Charity Shops and virtually everything I own comes from them. At the moment I am laying on a gorgeous bedspread that I got for a tenner. Beside my bed is a little wicker chair I paid eight quid for, with a cushion I paid two quid for. Other side of the bed is a fishing trug I got in a charity shop on holiday with a lamp from another local place on top of it!

These are all things I have kept but if I see something I don't want or need but think I could make a few quid with on eBay then I'll buy it.

I've sold loads of things over the years and don't feel remotely guilty. Why should I? I've paid what the Charity Shop was asking and the purchased items are mine to do with what I like.

ifIwerenotanandroid · 27/08/2021 15:56

@simitra

I sell vintage items on Ebay (plus other platforms) and often acquire them at charity shops, jumbles, car boots, and on Ebay itself. One you have paid the seller's price the item is yours to do with as you wish.

I once bought an item for 15 euros on Ebay and sold it at auction for £1800 because I knew what it was and the seller did not. Knowledge is power.

C'mon, what was it?
KaycePollard · 27/08/2021 16:02

My best friend was really shocked and said it’s like stealing and I should donate the money to the charity

I'm with your friend.

I think you've acted totally immorally. It might be legal, but you've not acted ethically.

PercyPiginaWig · 27/08/2021 16:04

I agree with your friend, I'd be shocked if one of my friends admitted to something like that.

PopcornMuncher · 27/08/2021 16:05

If you had picked them up and gone off without paying for them that would be stealing. Your friend is overthinking it

StoneofDestiny · 27/08/2021 16:22

You've done nothing wrong. You paid what was asked and then sold to someone else who paid what you asked. Absolutely common practice. It's not like you stole something from charity - you e just contributed to charity by your purchase.

Slothkin · 27/08/2021 16:22

Charity shops aren’t special magical places where your contribution by buying something immediately houses a family in need. They raise relatively tiny amounts for the charity but keep it on the radar and provide work experience.

StoneofDestiny · 27/08/2021 16:23

I'm sure a lot of the contents of antique shops were found in charity shops

Absolutely.

BroccoliFloret · 27/08/2021 16:29

Makes a change that we're 215 posts into a thread about charity shops and the only person who's been accused of "stealing" is the OP.

Usually it only takes about 20 posts for the volunteers to be accused of taking all the good stuff.

DrSbaitso · 27/08/2021 16:31

@KaycePollard

My best friend was really shocked and said it’s like stealing and I should donate the money to the charity

I'm with your friend.

I think you've acted totally immorally. It might be legal, but you've not acted ethically.

It would have been more ethical to leave it on the shelf so that someone else could pay the exact same price for it?
Tossblanket · 27/08/2021 16:33

If you liked them why then sell them at profit?

Sounds a bit jack.

DrSbaitso · 27/08/2021 16:43

@Tossblanket

If you liked them why then sell them at profit?

Sounds a bit jack.

Why sell anything at a profit? Surely it's worse to sell stuff you think is shit?

I've sold loads of stuff that I liked. I just didn't want to keep it for whatever reason. Doesn't fit, taking up space I'd rather use for something else, fulfilled its purpose for me, would rather have the money. People can sell only stuff they hate?

KaycePollard · 27/08/2021 16:44

It would have been more ethical to leave it on the shelf so that someone else could pay the exact same price for it?

The ethical thing would have been to donate the profit to charity, or to have told the shop manager of the market price possible for the items. The OP clearly bought things to make a profit, rather than use them herself.

I think that's pretty mean - profiting from a charity. If it were an ordinary shop, fair enough, that's their look out. But a charity?

If you were my friend, I'd be distancing myself.

Boredmotherofone · 27/08/2021 16:49

YABVVVVVVVVVVVVVU, selfish & unscrupulous. Not illegal though.

To me, it's no different than people who buy up 80% of the latest great deal in the shops, like an Aldi special buy and then sells them on for 3 times the price.

My daughter desperately wanted a Kevin the Carrot when they first came out and we went down at 7:30am before school, only to find some eBay scalpers had been in at 7am on the dot and bought the LOT! Told the cashier he was selling on eBay for 4 times the price each and was going to make a fortune! Not illegal of course, but there was a LOT of very upset children as this man had bought EVERYTHING that had the Kevin the Carrot branding. To me, this is exactly the same thing. What you're doing is not illegal but it shows what kind of person you are......

BroccoliFloret · 27/08/2021 16:49

The ethical thing would have been to donate the profit to charity, or to have told the shop manager of the market price possible for the items

That's more than a little patronising.

Managers in charity shops are, by and large, clued up about what things sell for. They know what they can get for an item in their particular shop. They know what they can get for it on Ebay. They have made the decision, based on dozens of factors which nobody here knows about, that it's better to sell it for £25 in the shop than £70 or whatever online.

Managers really don't need well meaning customers pointing out their "mistakes", many of which probably aren't mistakes.

DrSbaitso · 27/08/2021 16:49

@KaycePollard

It would have been more ethical to leave it on the shelf so that someone else could pay the exact same price for it?

The ethical thing would have been to donate the profit to charity, or to have told the shop manager of the market price possible for the items. The OP clearly bought things to make a profit, rather than use them herself.

I think that's pretty mean - profiting from a charity. If it were an ordinary shop, fair enough, that's their look out. But a charity?

If you were my friend, I'd be distancing myself.

She isn't profiting from a charity. She's profiting from something she bought and the charity got the £25 it wanted and expected to get from selling in store rather than online. As PPs have said, they want stock to move quickly.

Have you ever spent money on something you didn't need, rather than donating it to charity? What's the difference? Should your friends shun you for it?

Someone else might have bought it and not sold it on, the charity's in exactly the same position of £25 up and space made for new stock.

You're seeking moral superiority where there isn't any.

Boredmotherofone · 27/08/2021 16:52

@TheWoleb

Totally fine to do what you did. Its business.

But it isnt fine to lie, and you lied in your OP. You said you bought them because you liked them. You didn't. You bought them because you knew they were worth more and planned to sell them on. Totally fine, but dont lie to people.

THIS!!!! ^^
Swipe left for the next trending thread