To be amazed at the entitlement?

[80Dodgeballs]

I advertised a toy on FB. In pristine condition for £1 (would normally sell new for £8).

Someone living in a very wealthy area has asked me to deliver the toy to them when they know it's a 15 mile round trip. They don't want to know now that I've suggested a few pounds delivery charge for petrol and my time. It would still make the toy half of what it would cost in the shops.

AIBU to be flabbergasted at how some people expect the world to owe them something when they're already getting an amazing deal?

They seem really miffed at my suggestion of a delivery charge. Why on earth would I deliver something for £1 when it would cost me more than that in petrol let alone my time? CF!!! I can't believe the gall of some people.

I used to sell my kids old stuff on EBay until I read something very wise (from the FlyLady I think).

It was to the effect that it’s much better just to give things away (to friends or charity shops or Freecycle) than mess about trying to extract a pound or two from mean or greedy people.

So I stopped, and have never regretted it. Has saved so much time and much better karma all round.

These are hilarious- I love a good CF story!

[quote LokiDoki75]@Not2daySatan You could ask your DS’s school if they’d like them if you’re giving them away. Often the SENCO will know if there are any families that need a bit of help with uniforms. I used to do it a lot at my DS’s primary school.[/quote]
That's a good idea. My ds is in the seniors but is tiny (due to ADHD and is really slim)
So the trousers are age 10. I'm unsure if they would have use for them but I will ask. Failing that I could ask the primary school he went to.

My friend had several CFs when she was selling her sons switch. One person all agreed, price, date etc and he asked for her phone number. She said no and he said "how will you know when I get there" and she replied because you'll ring the doorbell...... but no, he couldn't compute that and refused to buy it without her phone number.

@Chimley

People on here who don't think it's worth their time, what do they do with the stuff? Our charity shops permanently have 'not accepting donations for the time being' signs and this stuff takes up room. I try and give to charity but if they are accepting they pick through the bag and take about 10% of stuff and I have to cart the rest back to the car!

I advertise for two months on a free selling site. Usually FBMP or Preloved. For £5 minimum. If it doesn't sell for £5 in that time, I consider it's not something people really want so charity shops probably won't want it either.

If I do take a bag of things into the charity shop I don't make a special trip to do so, I do it eg if I'm going to the shop next door anyway. They don't get to pick through it, they're asked if they want it and if they say yes and take the bag I leave the shop. Same with those bags that come through the door asking for donations. If they're taking everything, they can have whatever I've got hanging around, if the bag says eg "only this or that" or "no bric-a-brac" then they get nothing.

Clothes I sell in bundles unless something really special that's worth £5 on its own even though it's 2nd hand. If unsold they usually go into a clothing bank.

I live in a town so collection isn't difficult for local people or even those in the surrounding towns. If it's expensive, ie over £100 and will fit in a box I have lying around, then I'll also offer to post, but only accept bank transfer.

Anything that doesn't sell is offered free to friends and family. I can't be bothered organising things with strangers and giving them my address and waiting around for them to maybe turn up, unless I'm getting at least £5 for it. If nobody I know wants it free, it'll be recycled or occasionally if it's not recyclable it'll go in the general rubbish bin for landfill. Most things have recyclable parts though so very little goes to landfill.

To those who think that makes me privileged, I'm really not. I've been totally broke before but it still isn't worth the hassle of selling stuff for £1. It's too stressful. The time I spend answering messages from fuckwits and CFs who mostly don't end up buying would be better spent throwing the stuff away and figuring out some other way to either obtain money or save myself expense.

Quite often you can bundle up all the stuff that hasn't sold and sell the lot for £5. I also put the items with price on my profile page, send a friend invite to the inquirer and invite them to check out my other items since they're coming to collect anyway. Quite often sell an extra thing that way.

It surprises me sometimes what sells and what doesn't.

I’ve had a brand new duvet cover on FBMP. It’s a single, it says so. It’s pink with unicorns.
The number of messages I’ve had asking if its a double, if it fits a cot bed… is friggin ridiculous.

I keep editing the advert in case it’s not clear, people are stupid though

I also keep everything that's for sale by the front door, so people can see and I can say yes to those asking if they can have xyz too.

And although I won't reduce the £5 price, if I have something else similar or complementary I'll offer to throw that in too. They feel like they got a bargain, I get my £5 which makes the whole thing worthwhile and if I give away a second something I don't want, effectively for free, then so what.

@Larryyourwaiter it's because they're too lazy to read the darn ad. I'll be in discussion about collecting and I'll get asked to send pics. I tell them to click on the ad and scroll through, where there's a pic from every available angle.

@Larryyourwaiter

I’ve had a brand new duvet cover on FBMP. It’s a single, it says so. It’s pink with unicorns. The number of messages I’ve had asking if its a double, if it fits a cot bed… is friggin ridiculous.

I keep editing the advert in case it’s not clear, people are stupid though

Also where do you live? I want pink unicorns.

i bought an air walker brand new for £90, i advertised it and said i just want the money i paid for it

Eh? You sold it second-hand but still expected to get the new shop price for it? The price charged by a shop that would have been able to deliver it easily themselves without all the hassle of the buyer having to arrange their own transport? Or have I misunderstood?

A couple of people mentioned car boot sales earlier: can there be any more joyless ways of shifting on old stuff?

Would-be sellers are always urged to go and earn themselves a decent bit of cash, whilst a great many of the entitled 'buyers' there are expecting the stuff for nothing or for literally pennies (price something at 5p and they'll still ask if you'll take 2p).

There are some good people there, who are after a fair bargain - and you can make yourself a few quid if you're thick-skinned and hard-nosed enough to shoo away the chancers and you have stuff that people want; but it's far from a pleasant experience most of the time.

Especially considering that you have to pay upfront for your pitch fee (£5-10 last time I did one, many years ago) with no guarantee, before you've made anything, so that's an awful lot of insulting 2p offers you need to accept just to break even.

As has basically been pointed out numerous times upthread, I don't think those suggesting 'just' do a car boot sale quite understand how unrealistic a proposition it is to a poor person who is desperately needing every pound they can get, and simply does not have the upfront pitch fee at their disposal - and very probably can't afford to run a car in the first place anyway.

Vinted is good as no fees so you can still sell stuff for a £1 and get a pound back

I hated the “do a good turn” local FB groups
I stuck a load of books on there

In line in line in line
Awwww can I have deez moi teddy es neva ad a book in is Loife e asnt got ne xmas presys never cn u delivuh to Dartford

No

I sell on FBMP a lot so I have toooo many of these kind of stories. I have too noticed that it's usually the more 'well-off' which are the biggest cheapskates!

One more memorable example when I was selling our pushchair. I don't want to stereotype, but the lady who came to collect it was clearly quite well-off. She was about 20 years older than me and could probably tell we were a working class family by our house and the area we live in. The pushchair was in immaculate condition, barely used as it was a second pushchair. I had set the price low as I needed it gone quickly. The woman proceeded to carefully examine each part closely until she found a tiny mark at the bottom of the carrycot and asked to bring down the price. I agreed as I wanted it to go, but I found it kind of sad (and funny) at the same time.

If you sell on ebay, do you tell HMRC in self assessment of tax? I would have thought it is income and do needs to be declared for tax purposes. Just sayin'.

When helping on a toy stall at school fair, I was astounded to have well off parents bartering ( well trying to). The money raised was going to their own children’s school. The deal means a lot to some folk! Told her to come back at the end and see if it was still available. In the meantime we would see if we could get the full pound for what was a quality item. She probably thought I was BU.
YANBU

@Mirw

If you sell on ebay, do you tell HMRC in self assessment of tax? I would have thought it is income and do needs to be declared for tax purposes. Just sayin'.

Wrong moron. Selling stuff you've bought to sell in or made to sell is business. Selling your personal possessions to raise funds or avoid landfill is not taxable. Stop shit stirring.

I sold an IKEA day bed, listed it with mattress and also advised could buy without for £20 less, spoke to lady and she said she had her own mattress but I told her that IKEA mattress was slightly different size to a uk single, she sends her dad round to collect and I helped him put it in the car, half hour later get a message “my mattress doesn’t fit, can I get a refund”?Didn’t want to pay the extra £20 for a practically new mattress , the answer was no!

It always astonishes me how tight people with money can be - perhaps that’s why they hold on to their cash

@IsDaveThere

I've voted YABU because you could just say NO!

Yes this. Strange post. Surely you quoted the delivery charge in original deal?

@mirw business are only taxed on their profits. If you sell something secondhand on eBay for less than you paid for it, you are not making a profit.

@Ionlydomassiveones

Just out of interest - do any of you take issue with the CFs? Just for entertainment purposes? I don’t sell things through FB but would love to poke a stick at the mentality that would text ‘drop 2 me 2mro at 2, wat els u got. Needz be perfect'..,

My DH was selling a small item on eBay and some guy wanted it but kept trying to barter and being a d**k about it. DH blocked him or something. Guy gets his mate to start doing the same. DH changed the price to something ridiculous and wrote ‘all proceeds to charity’ just to make a point to this bloke.

@IsDaveThere I used to sell clothes my children had outgrown for £1 or even 50p. I kept the change in a pot and used it to buy their next clothes from Facebook.

I am so glad people sold and bought things for an amount you deem not worth bothering with. It enabled me to keep my children clothed and not get into debt at a time I had escaped my abusive ex and had a mortgage (and childcare that cost the same as the mortgage ) to pay all on my own.

To be frank it is also far better for the environment than everyone trotting out and buying new as well.

What I find absolutely annoying about gumtree, Facebook selling and the like is that they wouldn't expect a store to accept less. Then they are happy to offer less. In a store they will pay extortionate prices. I keep all my things pristine so when I sell its almost as good as new. Then I get offered half of what I'm advertising it as. People are really skanky.

@Clov3119

What I find absolutely annoying about gumtree, Facebook selling and the like is that they wouldn't expect a store to accept less. Then they are happy to offer less. In a store they will pay extortionate prices. I keep all my things pristine so when I sell its almost as good as new. Then I get offered half of what I'm advertising it as. People are really skanky.

Actually I get quite a few people in my shop asking "if that's your best price".

I just say yes it is :)

@Larryyourwaiter

I’ve had a brand new duvet cover on FBMP. It’s a single, it says so. It’s pink with unicorns. The number of messages I’ve had asking if its a double, if it fits a cot bed… is friggin ridiculous.

I keep editing the advert in case it’s not clear, people are stupid though

I get messages like that too. I think there must be pop ups that only show a portion of the ad bc every single person asks the same questions. Where is pick up. What size is it. 😂