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Money Moral Dilemma: I resold a dress I bought in a charity shop - should I my profits with them?

MSE_Laura_F
MSE_Laura_F Posts: 1,610 MSE Staff
Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

I bought three dresses from a charity shop for £30 each - they're all from a trendy high-street brand, each retailing at £80 to £100. I later decided the colour of one of them wasn't right on me, so I listed it on a clothes marketplace app. I was delighted to get £60 for it - a whopping £30 profit. Now I'm wondering whether I should give some of the money I made back to the shop I got the dress from? Or is it enough to make sure I shop there again in future to help them out?

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Comments

  • norsefox
    norsefox Posts: 210 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 13 August 2024 pm31 1:05PM
    In the grand scheme of 'flipping' from charity shops, and Goodwill etc, doubling your money (minus costs) is rather small fry.

    I don't see much of a moral quandary here.  The charity shop put it up for sale (£30 is a reasonable price, so it's not like it's been cast into a bargain pile for £3) and you paid what they wanted.  If you (or anyone else) is able to make a profit from a purchase, and then had an arguable moral duty to return something, are you not just doing part of the job they should have done in the first instance?  What if they over-charged you for something?

    There are no doubt some more debatable examples (someone buying an artifact worth tens of thousands from a charity shop; or from a yard sale), but I don't sense this is one.

    Besides, the number of apps now available to immediately price check items donated makes it particularly difficult to find 'bargains' in comparison to how it used to be.  British Heart Foundation now seems to sell all of its Lego on ebay - so good luck getting anything in one of its shops now.

    Your final points seem reasonable if you have a little discomfort, even given the above context.  Shop there again, and keep them supported - it seems a perfectly reasonable solution.
  • There may be an ethical debate to be had if you'd bought it specifically to resell, but you didn't.

    I doubt anyone would genuinely feel you should donate any of your profit.  But ultimately you have to follow your conscience.
  • Obird63
    Obird63 Posts: 11 Forumite
    Second Anniversary 10 Posts
    I think if you were genuinely concerned about the charity, you would simply have donated the dress back to them rather than listing it for sale in the first place... Not rocket science and probably not a real dilemma... 



  • Definitely not. The charity shop had £30 profit from what would have a donated dress
  • Ed264
    Ed264 Posts: 127 Forumite
    100 Posts Second Anniversary
    No rights or wrongs with this one. Simple answer it to continue supporting the charity shop.
  • Id give them a fiver, for the small amount of money it will make you feel you are helping a charity. Do it do it. Or go and buy more stuff from the same charity shop. I love charity shops..
  • The Charity shop received £90 profit from the dresses you bought, as they were donated for nothing, as is all clothing usually. I would not worry about the fact you sold it again, you did not buy them to make a profit in the first place, and you sound as if you support them by buying there anyway. Charity shops usually know what items to sell at a higher price and if they had put the dresses at £60 each they would probably not have sold them, and they would not want stock hanging around for too long. A lot of people would have probably tried to get a deal if they were purchasing 3 dresses @ £30 each so don't feel guilty, you have done your bit to support them.
  • I worked with someone who  had a side hustle of buying items from charity shops, preferably BNWT, and then selling them on Ebay.
    Used to make a decent profit out of it.
    As you intended to wear the dress but decided the colour was not to your liking, then you don't need to worry about the profit.
    Depending on whether Gift Aid was involved the charity made £90 to £112 profit
  • Once upon a time... I personally in your situation would have given all profit I made on such an item to the charity. BUT.... now I would not contribute to the charities  new mercedes for the boss. You may think I'm cynical, I am; and older AND wiser :-)
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