Is it OK to sell hotel toiletries on eBay?

Sawyer_Latte

lazer wrote: »

The person could sell them in bulk maybe just a few times a year.
£65 seems like a nice wee profit to me.


You must be part of the generation that can't be bothered to put in any work and expect money to be easily made.


I have been to 4 car boot sales in the last month, and have probably made about £50 in total, but that £50 is better in my pocket than not in it!

Not sure why you felt the need to take a dig at whatever 'generation' you're talking about.

I think the point was that anyone taking enough business trips to obtain a significant number of toiletries, is probably not someone who is underemployed. Business trips are very rarely boozy fun; they involve working late into the night, early mornings, long travel away from family for zero extra pay, but people do it because their job demands it and they want to earn a decent living. Pulling the 'lazy' card is ridiculous.

We can all argue about the time it takes to list on ebay, package things and go to the post office, but there is another finite thing in life besides money. I'm travelling for work in the new year, and quite frankly, the time with my family & friends when I get back will be worth a lot more than what I make spending that time to flog the hotel toiletries.

I have done car boot sales myself from time to time, but there's an aspect of enjoyment beyond the money made. I can't say the same about ebay.

AmyTurtle

My OH stays in a well known hotel chain once or twice a week for work. They give a complimentary high end mini toiletry item. He brings them home from every stay and I sell them on eBay. We use the money to go out for a meal or a drink every now and then. I don't see why it matters, if he uses it and takes the remainder or just takes it unused it makes no odds to said hotel. Presumably they factor the cost of these into the room.
By some of your logic I should feel guilty for using the hotel shampoo instead of bringing my own.

AmyTurtle

Having now read the thread, I'd like to point out my OH a) isn't particularly well paid but still works away and b) some weeks is away from home for days and works 17-19 hour days inc travel. For example, he left at 5am this morning and I now won't see him until Tuesday night. We don't have a lot of spare cash so this provides maybe £20-30 a month which means that when he is home we can go for a cheap meal or a drink together. To be clear, this is a mini high end item, not your usual cheap hotel shampoo. I stayed in a Travelodge last week and took absolutely nothing home with me, not even the complimentary soap, because it is of no value or use to me.

gaving7095

IMO it's by no means "immoral" but I can't imagine you ever making much money.
Staying away from home sucks, even if you live alone. If you can find any way to "benefit" from that situation then more power to you :-)

It's sad that things have come to this for you (no patronisation intended), but the economy being what it is currently I totally get it.

Here's you you having a great Christmas, and 2015 being a happy and very prosperous year for you & your family.

purpleweasel

steve.brown wrote: »

small B&B owners ... suffer the loss of light bulbs, toilet rolls, towels, cups, plates, spoons etc.

Can afford to stay in a B&B but cheap enough to steal the lightbulbs? Next time i go to a restaurant i'm taking the tablecloth home

justjohn

purpleweasel wrote: »

Can afford to stay in a B&B but cheap enough to steal the lightbulbs? Next time i go to a restaurant i'm taking the tablecloth home

tablecloth (unless its a paper one)is not a consumable, but the condiments are lol


I can't see any difference in nicking the sauce, salt and pepper.

Hedgehog99

There could be problems if the hotel re-fills small bottles - maybe not necessarily with what it says on the label.

If you then sold it on eBay as a stated brand & it turned out not to be, your customer could have cause for complaint or could suffer an allergic reaction to an ingredient they weren't expecting to be in there.

I have sold un-used free samples from make-up/beauty counters at car boots, but I'd only take part-used hotel toiletries for my own use, not to sell.

JeannieMac

As frequent travellers spending 40-50 nights a year my husband and I gather lots of "complementary" toiletries during a year and we donate them to charity. As others have said they are already charged for, you just might not need them all. Hospices and care homes often admit patients in emergency and they arrive without any toiletries. They are very grateful for shampoo, soaps, shower gels, combs, toothbrushes and shaving kits. Nurses often have to spend time and money obtaining some for their patients.
We also send soaps. combs, toothbrushes and shampoos and pens to children in the Christmas Box appeal. Our local group sent 200 boxes this Christmas. Once you have used soap it is just thrown away, so we always bring them with us for future use. We do not however remove towels, bathrobes etc. I think everyone knows when they are stealing and when they are not. A new hotel in Birmingham many years ago lost 100 tvs as they had a car park leading straight from the bedrooms!

CazGreg

Seriously, save yourself a relatively large amount of hassle for a relatively small return and just give them to a women's refuge.


(The hassle will include writing endless strictly accurate Ebay listings, taking good photographs, going to the Post Office to post each time with potential travel costs there....)


There are plenty of other ways to earn way more per hour doing 'top up' activities than this...

meknowalot-51

In answer to your question,it's ok to sell the toiletries from your hotel room as they are yours to do with as you please.We always take ours and soon use them,sometimes at home and other times on our weekends away camping.The wife sometimes even takes the loo roll which peeves me off a bit and as she rightly says there bought and payed for by us,so why not?To sell these on ebay or anywhere else has left us a bit baffled,how much do you get for each one?Maybe 5 or 10 pence,is it worth all the effort for such a small amount,are people really that desperate?