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?

You've done nothing wrong. People like to go on moral crusades from time to time, it makes them feel good about themselves. Just ignore them. It will soon be forgotten.

I don't think it's comparable to buying up concert tickets online that everyone has equal access to. I'm actually quite grateful that people have time to scour charity shops for gems to resell. It means I can buy them on Vinted or ebay by searching for my favourite brands and size. I don't begrudge paying a finder's fee for that. Keeps clothes out of landfill and charities get money (plus I get cheaper clothes!) It's a win all round.

You've done absolutely nothing wrong
The charity got the money they asked for and if your buyer was happy to offer £100, then I would've accepted that with a clear conscience
Do not feel guilty and enjoy your £40

I don't think you did anything wrong. The charity shop got what they asked for the dress and the woman who bought it from you was happy to pay £100 for it, until she found out that you'd paid less for it that is.

YABU

It is people like you who push up prices in charity shops for everyone else.

Imo they should have a joint purpose of raising money for their own cause and secondly to provide reduced cost items for local people who can't afford to shop in 'real' shops.

I've bought lots from charity shops I could resell for more but I couldn't live with myself if I did that.

It's so unethical.

What's OOAK?

100%

How does selling stuff on push up prices?

If you had seen the £60 tag in the shop, put on your big sad eyes and haggled them down to £50, knowing you could likely get £100 for it elsewhere- which seems the entire premise of those cheaply produced midday auction programmes - then I think that's a bit morally suspect.

But you paid what the charity asked and you sold it on, that's how it works.

I would say the charity volunteer was on shaky grounds in terms of GDPR by sharing that information anyway..

Right, so then the charity shop is £60 down and has to hope that someone else comes in, recognises the brand and also thinks it's worth £60. Otherwise the dress sits there on the rail, gets reduced a couple of times and they end up shifting it for a tenner or throwing it away.

You haven’t done anything wrong - it’s a win all round. Charity shop made £60 with little outlay, you made £40 and your buyer got a a dress they wanted. Delete the post and it will blow over

If the charity wanted to make that type of money from it, they should have listed it at that price. You paid what they asked for, it's not yours to do what you want with.

What did they expect you to do? Offer them more money than they asked for? Take it back to the shop and tell them they could make more money from it?

Explain how resellers push up prices in charity shops?

It is also unethical to buy stuff from charity shops that will never leave your wardrobe? Or buy larger sizes to make into a smaller one? Maybe buying up loads of wool jumpers to make into a big fairly type coat (I have always wanted to do that).

Charity shops don't care what happens when you leave the shop. They get the money for the items, and they have room on the shop floor to put more items out. A high turnover of items means people keep visiting and spending money.

If you'd paid a fiver for something you knew was valuable and then resold it then you'd have been on morally shaky ground. But a relatively high price of sixty quid shows they've made an informed decision about what to charge.

This ⬆

The charity shop obviously knew it was an expensive item otherwise they wouldn't have priced it at £60.

They also have access to the internet - they could have photographed it, posted it and invited offers, just as OP did - but they chose to sell it in store for what they regarded as a good price.

OP owes then nothing, particularly after the volunteer's snide post. What an unpleasant thing to do. As a PP said, it's not as though OP has found a Feberge egg, beaten the chop down from a quid to 50p, and then auctioned it for £1,000,000.

OP could just as easily have been offered £20 and had to accept that - she was lucky in that she was offered more than she paid. Charity shops aren't keen on giving refunds - as far as they are concerned, you bought it, you keep it. And not all of them have a fitting room for you to try stuff on.

*Faberge egg

**shop, not chop

So would I!

I would be speaking to the shop about the worker, how unprofessional to comment in the way she did.

Because it is not important where the dress came from. Also as the OP found out it attracts comments from moral crusaders ...what a headache!

I agree @StressedToTheMaxxx - I know that they're volunteers, but there is still an expectation of confidentiality, surely?

It tastes of sour grapes to me - I know a number of charity shop volunteers, and they get first pick of the stuff (obviously they pay for it). Maybe she's annoyed that she missed an opportunity.

Same. Very unprofessional.

I don't understand how the charity shop worker knew how much you got for it. Surely the offers were via messenger? I use local FB sites a lot and have never seen offers made public.

Hmmm, not sure someone visiting a charity shop and looking to clothe their family is really going to buy a £60 dress are they? And how is anything the op did going to push prices up?!

Imo they should have a joint purpose of raising money for their own cause

So high prices?

secondly to provide reduced cost items for local people who can't afford to shop in 'real' shops.

So low prices?

Which do you want?

It is people like you who push up prices in charity shops for everyone else.

By paying the asking price and keeping the shop going by moving stock? How does that work?

Surely it's unethical of you not to inform them that they could get much more for these items.

How can you live with yourself knowing that you have knowingly underpaid for an item?

When you die, will your family give the stuff back to the charity shop, or will they sell the good stuff and benefit from your savvy shopping?