Real life MMD: My £1 charity shop vase is worth £750 — should I split the profit?

freckled24

It's a shame that the charity shop staff didn't spot it, but then most charities wouldn't have the money or resources to train all their shop volunteers on antique spotting.

I agree with a what a lot of people have said - give a donation to the charity (or one of your choice) of whatever sum you feel you can (£50?) and then if you want to top it up for them, donate some items that you no longer want or need from home.

They'll get money from that and the Gift Aid on top will also help (if you're a tax payer) so no-one misses out.

Good on your daughter for spotting it was signed when she cleaned it up

ffish_2

IF she gets £750 - and no telling she will - yes, she should give the charity a large donation. She should do that even if she doesn't get the full amount. She will still be quids in. I work in a charity shop that supports Hospices - we are always honest if people unknowingly give us items of greater value than they think they have done, or if they have left money in pockets, etc. Yes, the shop concerned should have looked the vase up to see what it was worth - but it's not like winning the lottery. You are doing people out of something. It's amazing the amount of dealers we get coming in for things they will sell on for more, and trying to get us to lower our prices. Go with your conscience - you wouldn't have posed the question if you hadn't had moral doubts.

Talent

Keep Shtum.

tallgirld

Nahhh I wouldn't give them anything.

I would put it all in my ISA. 2 years fixed rate with Lloyds TSB 3.7% whey heyyyyyy!!

st_owly

^ Maybe give the charity the interest? Personally, I'd sell it, see what I got for it, and then give the charity a donation I felt I could afford.

iclayt

I reckon I'd give them about £100. Times are hard, I'm not a charity either. If I found the vase in a skip or at the side of the road, I wouldn't be wondering who to donate some of the money to.

silverswan

Is it because of the word 'charity' as opposed to boot sale or jumble sale that some people are saying 'look to your conscience or give at least half profits? I believe dealers get their pick of books and antiques before the general public get to them, and also donations are often from people getting rid of items from a deceased relatives home. This being the case, the donor got rid of something they didn't want for whatever reason; the shop got the price it did want, and the buyer subsequently got a very good bargain, so what is wrong with keeping the money. It's hardly stealing. I sold a violin to a kid for £120 and within months she took it to London and got £400 and I thought ' good for her. Wish I'd done that! By the same token I bought a book at a fleamarket for 3pence and got £5 for it, and that kept me going for 2 weeks(I was a student at the time) so it's swings and roundabouts.
On the antiques programme a woman bought a little vase with a plant in it for about £1 and it subsequently made £36,000 at auction. No-one mentioned that the original owner had lost out on mega-bucks, so I'd personally be quite proud of myself for finding it but as a goodwill gesture would give the shop about £50.

happyinflorida

Does your daughter need the money? If yes then keep it. If no, then I'd do the right thing and give them as much as you want - personally if it's a charity I know is really good and uses the money they get really well, ie doesn't pay it's CEO over £100K pa, I'd probably give them most of it, if not all of it.

rhobtaylor

This happened a while ago with the band Biffy Clyro, who donated wardrobe to a charity shop and then castigated fans who sold said items on eBay. To be honest I wouldn't.

Once you give the goods over and the shop sells them for their valuation, you have no need to donate. 10% would be more than reasonable if you did choose to, after all, your £1.50 was enough to secure whatever benefit the charity was looking for or they'd have charged more. In today's world (coming from someone who worked in the sector) most charity donations are seemingly spent on staff, pensions and admin rather than the root issues.

If you want to donate, find a small local charity who could really benefit from whatever you give them, perhaps with similar goals. That way you know the money is going where it should.

jewel*queen

I think it would be a bit mean to keep all the money yourself and I'd donate something. I think it would depend on how much it sold for before I'd decide how much to donate. Everyone should remember the good work that many charities do. You may be in a position of looking for help from a charity in the future.