Sorry....but I just have to gloat

Amba_Gambla

In the past I've made my mum donate half the profits from stuff she bought at charity shops and sold on ebay back to the charity...

It's alright saying that the charity has already had a donation, but don't forget that it's just that..... a charity....

rosieprimrose

I bought a blouse from ebay for a tenner or so and the seller kindly threw in another one that she thought I would like. It was very nice and I wore it a few times and then decided to 'recycle it the ebay way' a few months later. Someone bid £84 for it - I was utterly gobsmacked! I even contacted the buyer to ask if she had made an error in her bidding as it felt so wrong to sell such a thing for so much, but she came back to me stating that she had intended to go that high as she 'just had to have it'!

I did feel odd about it as it had cost me nothing to start with, but I suppose it was just one of those ebay blips that can sometimes happen - I sell plenty of items for 99p that are worth a whole lot more - quite regularly!

C'est La Vie!!

Morty_007

Doesn't/shouldn't charity begin at home?? The only difference between any charity shop and my family is that at least if I sell something (and I don't try and buy for profit, only sell stuff that we have used and no longer need) ALL the proceeds go to my family instead of some to administrators, some to shop assistants and some to the shop premesis before the people the charity is supposeed to help even get a look in!! And besides...who says i'm not "Helping the aged" or "stomping out child poverty" I have parents...and very soon will have a child. IF I was to make a profit however large or small I can assure you that a large donation WOULD be made to a charity...ME and MY Family!

OP, DON'T feel guilty and send the handbag as well out of guilt....the buyer was quite happy to pay what she paid, you didn't twist her arm. Whilst it might be nice to send something extra what if she only wants the item of clothing and doesn't like the handbag or use handbags? I can assure you if she then goes on to resell it on ebay and makes a profit (and lets face it if she tries, she will profit because it was a freebie) she won't be ringing you up and saying...I made a profit...here's your share!!

JMHO
Morty
xx

Fella

I saw a documentary about one of the biggest Charity shops awhile ago (can't remember which one). They said they sell all the best stuff on eBay themselves - only the not so good stuff actually makes it into the shops.

Also, charity shops refuse a surprising amount of stuff - I tried to give (fully working) PC CRT monitors to one & they wouldn't take them.

Isn't the accepted wisdom that if you want a bargain from a charity shop, go to one in a rich area where the locals dump off there mink stoles as soon as they've worn them once I.e. if you want a bargain, the one in Belgravia is more likely to have one than the one in Hackney....

cheers
Fella

demonicangel

Also a lot of the charity shops keep the best things for themselves....

jasmineswhiskers

Fella wrote:

Isn't the accepted wisdom that if you want a bargain from a charity shop, go to one in a rich area where the locals dump off there mink stoles as soon as they've worn them once I.e. if you want a bargain, the one in Belgravia is more likely to have one than the one in Hackney....

cheers
Fella

Yes and no. The trouble is that EVERONE comes to these thinking they're going to find the Holy Grail. Also bumps the prices up.

smashed

Everybody has different views.. you just have to accept it.
For instance, if I paid £3.50 for a cheap jumper, and it sold for over £26.. I would not be gloating. And certainly wouldnt be posting a new thread on here.
I would feel sorry for the buyer tbh. (Thats why I couldnt do sales, hate people being overcharged). Yet others have no such troubles when they overcharge people for stuff (tho the OP didnt set the price obviously).

smartcat04

Overheard an interesting conversation in my local charity shop yesterday. A lady had brought in a bag of clothes and the SA told the other SA that she was going to throw the clothes away as she knew "what kind of house they had come from". They were commenting that the clothes were M+S but that they couldn't have them out on the shop floor because they knew where they had come from and implied that the lady who had donated them was unclean.
A car drew up outside and a man started getting bags and boxes out to bring in- donations. They both groaned and complained that it was more things for them to sort. All this was in full view of customers and they definetly weren't trying to keep their voices down.

Contains_Mild_Peril

Fella wrote:

I saw a documentary about one of the biggest Charity shops awhile ago (can't remember which one). They said they sell all the best stuff on eBay themselves - only the not so good stuff actually makes it into the shops.

Also, charity shops refuse a surprising amount of stuff - I tried to give (fully working) PC CRT monitors to one & they wouldn't take them.

Some charity shops don't take electrical items at all, since they're not actually allowed to sell them unless they're properly safety checked by qualified personnel, and in the case of a low value item like a CRT monitor, unless their electrician is a volunteer the safety check would be likely to cost more than the item is worth. Some shops bend the rules slightly by asking for a "donation" for electrical items rather than "selling" them. I got the PC monitor I'm using right now from a charity shop for a "suggested donation" of £5 (and spent another 75p on a bus journey of less than a mile because the blooming thing's too heavy to carry all the way home!)
I don't have a problem with charity shops putting a few of their best items on eBay, but I think it's a mistake to do so with all their really good stuff. If there's never anything especially good in the shop, many customers will tend to favour other charity shops which do sell collectables, designer labels etc.

Nyla1979

I think the handbag idea is lovely bella, it will be a really nice surprise for the buyer, as it was for you when the item sold for more than you were expecting! What goes around comes around, so as long as it doesn't cost too much extra to post, I would go for it!