Money Moral Dilemma: Should I sell a dress back to the seller for the same price I paid?

MSE_Kelvin

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

I bought a second-hand dress online for £25. After it arrived, the seller messaged me saying she missed the dress and that she'd buy it back if I didn't like it. After wearing it a few times, I've now decided to sell it, but I've seen this dress can fetch up to £120. I've listed it back on the same site I got it from for that price, but the original seller has now messaged, asking if it's "her" dress and saying she wants it back, and if I'd do it for the £25 that I paid her.

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NBLondon

Depends if you think it will make more than £25...

If you wanted to be nice, you could have offered it back to the previous owner for £25 before putting it up for sale again.  But now, you have a chance to make more - or a chance of it only making £12.50.  Do you want a guaranteed £25 or let it run and take the chance?

Pollycat

It's really not 'her dress'.
'Wanting it back' is not an option she has.
It's yours, bought and paid for.
Sell it for whatever you can get to whoever you want to.
No MMD here.

_nate

Tell her she needs to get out more.

tacpot12

I would sell it back to her at the price I bought it for. There is more to life than making money. (I assume that you earn enough to cover all your bills and don't need the money that selling the dress would make you.)

MalMonroe

It's your dress.

You can do as you please with it. If it doesn't sell at £120 then you could maybe consider doing a deal with her because I've found, to my great disappointment, that sometimes even though people list items at high prices on various sites, the items don't always sell for those high prices. If they do that's great and I would always try that first.

But I wouldn't feel guilty, I don't think it's fair of the original seller of the dress to keep contacting you and if I were you, I'd block her. Sounds harsh but she obviously didn't really want the dress because she sold it.  

CapeTown

I see what is going on here. She has realised that she undersold the dress and wants it back to sell it herself again at a higher price. She is emotionally blackmailing you. It isn't her dress anymore. It is yours. If you sell it at the higher price then donate a little bit to charity.

Murphybear

I would just put it on eBay or other auction site and let her bid.  

This reminds me of one of the posts on the House Buying and Selling thread.  Someone had spent a lot of time finding the right house to buy and not long after they had moved in the seller contacted them to say they missed “their” house and wanted to buy it back at less money.  There’s a few hundred entertaining responses on it

GrubbyGirl_2

Put it on eBay with a starting price of £25.  She can bid on it and if she's lucky she'll get it back for £25 but if others want it for more then she may not get it back.  Might be nice to make a charity donation of you make more

dysucker

Well, you bought the dress so it's yours to do with it what you please.

Clarity2

There's no moral obligation to sell her back the dress for the same price. But it may not sell for your higher price, especially if you're basing that on research into items for sale rather than sold. 

Since it worries you enough to ask the question, I agree with others that a good option would be to sell it by auction with a low-ish starting price and give her the details so she can bid for it - then you're sure to get a sale at a fair price and she gets a fair chance to be reunited with the dress.