To think I've done nothing wrong by making money on a charity

[Thealarmhasgoneoffagain]

I bought a dress for £60 in a charity shop. I didn't think many people would recognise the brand as it's locally made but it would have cost about £300 I think and would probably be a ooak. I'm asuming the charity shop knew this though because of the high price.

I bought the dress for me but it doesn't fit. I didn't want to get a refund from a charity shop but at that price I can't redonate it either. So I put it on my local FB page askimg for offers. I said it was from the charity shop but I didn't put how much I paid. If anyone asked I would have told them.

Someone offered me £100 and I accepted. They collected it and messaged me afterwards to say how happy they were.

Before I could remove the post someone commented that they worked in the shop and it cost £50. Now I'm getting lots of abuse about being greedy and ripping off the charity. The lady who bought it has put angry faces on it. I also have a couple of things on there for free and people have made nasty comments on those. I've removed all my posts now.

I don't feel bad about making money on the dress as that was never my intention. £60 was much, much more than I would normally spend in a charity shop and tbh I don't want to donate the £40. It was a proper charity shop, not one run by little old ladies who price everything at 50p because they don't know any better.

The lady who bought it, offered £100 and never asked how much I paid and was happy until she found out I paid less. I do feel bad that she won't enjoy the dress though as it's a beautiful dress.

AIBU for keeping the £40?

If anything the charity shop should review their pricing.

We had to sign something GDPR related for working on online purchases. All sorts of people buy from our online shop, including people well-known or in the public eye. So we had to agree that if we sell a second-hand dress to Adele or a vase to David Beckham, we're not going to tweet about that or disclose the address. That's GDPR.

But if David Beckham came into my shop and bought a couple of paperbacks, there's nothing to stop me telling the world about that. Just like all those shops and restaurants which have photos of all their famous clients on the wall.

You have done nothing wrong but FB does seem to attract a lot of issues. The only buying selling thing I have done on FB was give away for free a three seater sofa a few weeks ago to a young couple setting up home. Charity shop couldn’t take it as the bloody cat had damaged the fire safety label.

Neither of those things are a breach of GDPR

I don't see how it can be a breach of GDPR, but it's deeply unprofessional and vexatious, not to mention extremely unwise. The staff member clearly doesn't understand the business model, nor what it does to business to attempt to publicly humiliate customers.

There may be reasons for this lack of understanding so I wouldn't be baying for blood, but I would most certainly be contacting the shop, and the charity's head office if the shop doesn't take appropriate action. I'm not saying heads must roll, but the staff member does need to have it explained to them in clear terms that they can understand... and if they can't be trusted not to do this again, it may be that they are not a fit for the role and need to work either in a different capacity or elsewhere. This is absolutely not in the charity's interests.

The fact you would never usually spend that sort of money in a charity shop and didn't want to get a refund or donate your profit seems rather opportunistic and all points to the fact you fully intended to try your luck I'm afraid. Is it wrong? Perhaps morally yes especially as you made use of the charity shop but don't want them to profit like you did. Are they right to lambast you on social media? I'm not sure, but I can understand why they are doing so. I bought a coat for £10 last week at scope which I then saw at a high end fashion retailer for £65 but I'm not going to sell it because I like it. I knew straight away it was worth a lot more than I paid but I bought it with the intention of wearing it, not selling it on for profit.

It's yours to do what you want with it legally and morally . If the charity wanted $100 they would have sold it for that but they didn't. End of story.

If not GDPR I'd still report her for her unprofessional behaviour.

Yeah, someone needs to have a word.

Neither can most people who rely on charity shops for clothing 😉

YANBU

You’ve definitely not done anything wrong.
the charity shop should have charged higher then if they wanted.

Some people have actual businesses doing this! I work in vintage clothing and almost the whole rag trade works like this.

Dont feel any guilt. The charity shop chose their price. You do what you want you’re under zero obligation to the charity shop. X

What are you on about? If she'd taken it back for a refund, the charity's lost its £60 profit and has to find another buyer, while using up shelf space that is now unavailable for more stock. Of course she "made use of the charity shop". What do you think would happen to it if nobody "made use" of it?

She got a better price because she sold online. That's a much wider market where people are ready to pay more. It also uses more time and hassle, which is why the shop didn't do it. It gets more money spending that time on the shop floor shifting stock.

You "understand" why a shop worker would publicly humiliate a customer online? You don't don't think that's bad for business, or just plain shitty?

And what's your £10 coat got to do with it? The charity has a tenner whether you wear it, sell it or rip it up for kindling. What on earth makes you think you're morally superior for wearing it?

for those here suggesting there’s any moral high ground whatsoever in buying new (overpriced) items from retailers are very very mistaken. Almost all of our clothing retailers have supply chain ethics issues, pay staff minimum wage and keep profits for private equity. So actually you are good for going to the charity shop in the first place AND reselling again so the dress doesn’t go to landfill. There’s no glory in 2022 in buying new clothes from retailers at stupid prices!!!!

Some people have actual businesses doing this! I work in vintage clothing and almost the whole rag trade works like this.

And I'm glad you do. I can never find anything decent in my local charity shops so I'm thrilled when I go on eBay or Vinted and find a lovely one-off that I'd never get otherwise, at a second hand price. Thank you for doing the legwork in finding and preparing it. You deserve a finder's fee that I'm happy to pay. Why would I expect you to work for free?

@FamilyTreeBuilder
maybe you don't, but the people I know who work in a charity shop, including my dd who helped out for a while, absolutely get first dibs on what comes in the shop.

My cousin used to buy stuff in a charity shop that she felt was under priced, then she would sell it on at a higher price. It was her way of making money when she was skint.

i think the thing you did wrong was mentioning it was from a charity shop, I personally would have just said it doesn’t fit me.

YABU. I think it’s immoral.

That's because you don't understand how the business works.

So many people just can't grasp that charity shops cannot sell at online prices. Their market is people who wander in, in person, looking for dirt cheap stuff. These people aren't going to pay online prices. The resellers won't pay online prices, because then they get no profit. The charity shop would go bust if it did this. Resellers keep the stock moving and keep the income flowing.

There is nothing immoral about a business model based on cheap, fast moving stock, or paying someone for their time in locating, acquiring, listing, selling, packing and posting goods. If you think there is, then at best you are merely ignorant about business and at worst you think people should work for free or not earn a completely honest living.

Why? The charity wanted £60, the charity got £60. They could have priced it at £100 and it’s likely it would have taken longer to sell/not sold. In that time the charity could have sold even more things in the place the dress was in.

Should OP have returned for a refund in which case the charity would get £0? Not many of us can afford to just donate £60 to a charity.

I read a story on here once about a woman who had successfully run a shop full of second hand goods for many years, with many loyal customers. Then she partnered up with some bloke, a car salesman or something, who started interfering and insisting she price everything at the very highest point she might possibly get and never relent. Sales slumped, shop closed.

The poster used the phrase "art in retail" and she was right, there's an art. It's not about squeezing every last penny out of every piece of stock. Yes, you have to make a profit, but you also have to make customers happy and keep them coming back and recommending you to others.

It's not like The Apprentice where it all hinges on how much you can make on one random day. It's a long-term, sustainable model. And if you're a charity shop running on a shoestring, you probably don't have the resources necessary to get online profits. So you sell at the right prices to people who can, and they keep you going, and they sell on while charging for their time.

I knew straight away it was worth a lot more than I paid but I bought it with the intention of wearing it, not selling it on for profit.

Using your own logic you ripped off the charity shop.

Your intention doesn't matter - you recognised that the coat was worth much more and kept quiet about it. From the shop's perspective it doesn't matter whether you wanted to wear it, sell it or put it in the dog's bed. They have (under)priced it and you saw and grabbed an opportunity. Why didn't you say"Gosh - this is worth £20 - take another ten quid?" You didn't because the shop had priced it at a tenner!.

OP bought the dress to wear, but it didn't fit. Why shouldn't she sell it on?

What if your coat hadn't fit, and you'd taken it back and got your money back: would you have said "BTW, if I were you I'd charge more for that, it's worth it". Of course you wouldn't! Because the shop has priced it at a tenner.

The sanctimonious mealy-mouthedness of some people on here is appalling.

I can confirm this, and also that while most of them are honest about pricing items they buy, there is always the odd one who will sell themselves stuff for pennies which should have gone for a few pounds. "Oh - there's a mark on the inside of the sleeve where no-one can see it on this Vivienne Westwood cardigan. We can't ask more than 50p for that."

And they take the very best donations for
themselves (with minimal if any donation) Hypocrites. Fuck em and remove your post

This is the post I took issue with - minimal if any donation, the poster says. So we're all thieving scumbags who take a brand new Radley bag and stick 5p in the till. I have never ever seen that happening.

What I DO see happening is lots of my fellow volunteers buying stuff in the shop at the price it goes out at. No staff discount. And yes, we get first dibs and I don't have a problem with that.

People always trot out this phrase about "best stuff" - what is that? My youngest child is 14, I have no interest in baby stuff, toddler stuff, toys, kids books. Or shoes which aren't a size 6 for me. Or nick nacky plates with cats on them. Or clothes which wouldn't fit me. Or vinyl records. Or crystal glasses.

My "best stuff" is Hornsea storage jars, knitting yarn and history books. My colleague Kathy's "best stuff" is hiking boots, outdoor clothing and anything dog -related.

This idea that we're all hoarding stuff, just because it was expensive is such a load of nonsense.

Why should she?