Is this unethical?

[ChaosTrulyReigns]

Buying stuff from an outlet shop and then selling on ebay?

[HipHopOpotomus]

ah well we disagree.

Personally I think the higher the turnover of goods in a charity shops the better the system works for EVERYONE who shops there, and it's certainly what is best for the charity shop system as a whole.

[ChippingInLovesAutumn]

:) we do seem to, though not entirely - got to run as it's time for the beloved school run!

[PostBellumBugsy]

Oh Chipping - your arguments are complicated to understand because they don't make sense. I wouldn't keep asking if I understood - but I don't.

You keep talking about selfishness, when it comes to buying goods. Buying things from charity shops, when on a 2 for 1 offer or when in any other sale, with the sole purpose of selling it on, to me is selfish and is depriving others of benefitting from the sale price.

In a capitalist, consumer society our economy is driven by buying & selling items.

Do you think that buying a property to rent to someone else is selfish? Is that only if you are a private individual or if you are a housing association or local authority?

Is it selfish for companies or individuals to buy goods cheaply and then sell them for more money in their shop? This is afterall what all consumer goods businesses do - be they individuals or companies.

In this capitalist society, how can you isolate some individuals as being selfish because they buy and sell - but not others? Either the whole system is wrong (which it would be perfectly acceptable to argue) or it isn't.

I disagree that people rely on charity shops to get better quality clothing. there are plenty of people who rely on charity shops to get better quality clothing than they can't afford to pay full price for. Not everyone wants to waste money on primark crap. You can buy perfectly decent clothing at low prices from retailers like Primark, Asda, Matalan & Peacocks. It is all very well for you to dismiss items purchased at Primark, as "crap" but I think you will find that a great many people would disagree with you & would be offended that you refer to their clothes as crap. Also, why is someone wasting money buying clothes in Primark, rather than a charity shop?

[SolidGoldYESBROKEMYSPACEBAR]

It's the sort of 'economics' you get from whiny teenagers, really: 'Oh Nooooo, maan, making money out of anything is like really wrooooong!'

[MorrisZapp]

Chipping, you're talking nonsense .

I don't get how it is possible to 'strip' a shop - charity or otherwise.

They don't want the stock there to look at and play with. It's there for one reason - to be sold. If it all gets sold in one massive transaction to one wealthy oil baron who wants to use the stuff to throw on his kids' bonfire then it's job done for the shop.

They have no interest in what happens to the stuff once it's paid for.

And if it's selfish to buy stuff to sell on becuase that means the needy miss out, then it must logically be selfish to buy stuff you don't need, becuase the needy miss out equally on that stuff.

Have you ever seen the back shop in a charity shop? They are clothing mountains. The needy will always have access to second hand clothing.

[ChaosTrulyReigns]

Woash.

[naturalbaby]

There was a mum on MN the other day complaining that Tesco had no Mr Tumble toys left in their toy sale, yet low and behold there were loads of them on ebay priced well above the Tesco price.

I wouldn't have the guts to buy a load of stuff to sell on at a higher price because I wouldn't want to be stuck with a load of stuff I don't want and can't sell. If you have enough know how to be able to do it then good luck to you.

[ChippingInLovesAutumn]

There was a mum on MN the other day complaining that Tesco had no Mr Tumble toys left in their toy sale, yet low and behold there were loads of them on ebay priced well above the Tesco price

My point, exactly. Selfish people deprive others of 'a good deal' it is incredibly selfish and I don't understand why people on this thread think it's 'OK'?

[ChippingInLovesAutumn]

Chaos - you're a bloody trouble maker!!

[ChippingInLovesAutumn]

PBB

Oh Chipping - your arguments are complicated to understand because they don't make sense. I wouldn't keep asking if I understood - but I don't Just because you don't understand doesn't mean they don't make sense I'm sorry, I'm not sure how to make it any clearer to you.

In a capitalist, consumer society our economy is driven by buying & selling items - Yes, from suppliers to retailers to consumers - not consumers to consumers.

Do you think that buying a property to rent to someone else is selfish? Is that only if you are a private individual or if you are a housing association or local authority? If someone with LOTS of money swooped in and bought all of the houses in an area, so that no-one else could buy - only rent from them - then yes.

Is it selfish for companies or individuals to buy goods cheaply and then sell them for more money in their shop? This is afterall what all consumer goods businesses do - be they individuals or companies Not if they are buying them from suppliers. If individuals are buying from retails and re-selling (as in Tesco above) then yes.

In this capitalist society, how can you isolate some individuals as being selfish because they buy and sell - but not others? Either the whole system is wrong (which it would be perfectly acceptable to argue) or it isn't No, not at all. See above.

I disagree that people rely on charity shops to get better quality clothing Fine, you are entitled to your opinion as I am mine.

You can buy perfectly decent clothing at low prices from retailers like Primark, Asda, Matalan & Peacocks. It is all very well for you to dismiss items purchased at Primark, as "crap" but I think you will find that a great many people would disagree with you & would be offended that you refer to their clothes as crap. Also, why is someone wasting money buying clothes in Primark, rather than a charity shop? People can be as offended as they like, I defy anyone to say - with a straight face - that Primark is quality clothing. It is low quality clothing, at a low price. Nothing wrong with that (well, there's lots wrong with it actually - but not in the context of this discussion). My jeans & my coat are from Matalan - I don't expect either to last as long as I would expect quality clothing to last - it is pretty 'crap' quality. Fact not judgement.

[naturalbaby]

The world is full of selfish people - they see an opportunity to make money and they take it. In part they are enterprising but it's hardly a crime to buy and sell - obviously there are limits but there are always grey areas. How can you stop them buying discount goods and selling them at an inflated price when the demand is higher? You can't.

If someone more savvy and organised than you buys the last Lego special edition whatever then how is that a crime? Toys sell out, tickets sell out, ....... we're all shortchanged in dozens of ways every day.

[ChippingInLovesAutumn]

Morris

Chipping, you're talking nonsense OK - as long as you also snort and fall to the ground!

I don't get how it is possible to 'strip' a shop - charity or otherwise Really - see the Tesco example above.

They don't want the stock there to look at and play with. It's there for one reason - to be sold. If it all gets sold in one massive transaction to one wealthy oil baron who wants to use the stuff to throw on his kids' bonfire then it's job done for the shop No, it's not. The shop doesn't want this (see how Tesco/Sainsburys is trying to stop it) they want the good will of LOTS of their customers getting a bargain not one selfish git and other consumers don't want that as they want a bargain as well.

They have no interest in what happens to the stuff once it's paid for Yes they do, see above.

And if it's selfish to buy stuff to sell on becuase that means the needy miss out, then it must logically be selfish to buy stuff you don't need, becuase the needy miss out equally on that stuff If the stuff is 'on sale' or in a charity shop, if you buy it and don't use it - then of course it's pretty selfish. Why would you stockpile something with no intention of using it?

Have you ever seen the back shop in a charity shop? They are clothing mountains. The needy will always have access to second hand clothing There's lots of clothing, but maybe not in the size/colour (or whatever) that the next person needs. Buying it to sell on, to me, is just ripping off both the charity and the person that needs it at a good price.

However, we have very much gone off track. My main point was that I don't think it's right to buy things that are on sale, depriving others of them at sale price - simply to sell on and Tesco & Sainsbury's agree with me, even if you lot don't ahem, not sure that's a good thing, but hey ho

[ChippingInLovesAutumn]

NB

If someone more savvy and organised than you buys the last Lego special edition whatever then how is that a crime? Toys sell out, tickets sell out, ....... we're all shortchanged in dozens of ways every day

To me, it has nothing to do with being savvy and organised - nothing at all. Any of us (with a little cash) could go into T or S in the half price sales and get trolley loads of lego etc... nothing at all clever about that, just bloody selfish. Toys sell out, tickets sell out - because selfish people want to make profit from it instead of just buying what they need for their own use. Just because something happens a lot, it doesn't make it right.

[naturalbaby]

People want to make money and make a profit - we all do! They just see opportunities where others don't. Of course it's not right but you can't really stop them buying toys. Although Sainsburys did have a limit on their sale toys when we bought them.

[MummyBarrow]

What do you think people with market stalls are doing? Buying from the cash and carry and selling it on.

Of course you can do the same via eBay but you will need to declare your earnings.

As for Freecycle, that should not be used for profit

[ChippingInLovesAutumn]

NB - They just see opportunities where others don't Not true. Many of us see the 'opportunity' we just have morals. Of course it's not right No, it's not.

MB - Cash & Carry is entirely different. It is a supplier - it's what they DO.

[naturalbaby]

we have morals. Well there you are! Of course we have morals, we all have different limits and some obviously see nothing wrong with buying extra of something they know will make them a profit on places like ebay.

I'm sure it's not all plain sailing and good profits - they take the risks as well as the added income.

[FurryDogMother]

Speaking as a Freecycle moderator, I have no problem with people taking stuff and then selling it on - the aim of Freecycle is to keep items out of landfill, and so long as they're not burying it in their back garden, taking an offered item for whatever reason is fine with me.

[PiedWagtail]

The only problem with that is from a tax point of view - if you are selling your own personal usd items then that's fine. if you are deliberately buying itemsd to sell on then you need to keep track of what you buy and sell, your profit etc, and fill in a tax return! HMRC can give you more info.