Real hot potato, this one. Is it morally wrong to sell on charity bought items for a modest profit?

[5129frederick]

I have a charity doner card where the charity in question receives an extra 25% for items I donate.  I patronise the store and a lot of the stuff that I buy from auctions ends up there if I buy a pig in a poke and nobody on ebay wants it.  However one or two of the items from the charity shop end up on my ebay site.  The thing is, I have not defrauded anybody, and the charity is happy to take my items, and even happier to take my money  Surely what I do with it afterwards is up to me.  The thing is, I don't work for the charity shop although I have volunteered my services.  I'm not doing anything illegal.  They're getting a lot more out of me than I am of them.

[dark_castle1]

I can see nothing morally wrong with you buying the occassional item from a charity shop and selling it on for a modest profit ! In my eyes you have paid what the charity shop asked for it and believed was all they would get for it.

Also as you say you go to auctions and if you cannot sell those items on they end up being donated to the charity shop so in my eyes that absolves you entirely.

You go for it Frederick because from the profits you make you buy more goods that may well end up in the charity shop.

[5129frederick]

Thank you.  The thing is, Cancer Research or any other major charitable concern for that matter are no longer being run as "charities" in that respect.  They are hard-nosed, multimillion pound businesseswwith professional accountants at the top end.  The word "charity"  ceases to exist three steps higher than the volunteers who run the centres.  It's a straight business.  I wonder whether the person fronting the "Remember us in your will" actually puts his money where his mouth is! 

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I would agree also, once the item is yours you do what you like with it and if you make money on it then IMHO that is fine.

I ceretainly wouldn't feel guilty if I did the same.

[bankhaunter]

 They are hard-nosed, multimillion pound businesses with professional accountants at the top end. 

Exactly and their job is to maximise income, if you can make a bit more after they have done their best, I see no obligation moral or otherwise not to do so.

It might be different with items from a jumble sale run by supporters for a small local charity.

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It might be different with items from a jumble sale run by supporters for a small local charity.

Legally or morally I see no difference TBH, it would then just be down to your own personal conscience.

If you would feel bad don't, if you feel you want to because you could do with the cash then go ahead it wouldn't be wrong.

[5129frederick]

God has helped me in more ways than I could ever repay him so My conscience is clear.  Over the years, my little bit has certainly mounted up.  Nothing like what clelebrities give, buy do they give with their heart, or do they make sure the camera team is in full operation first to record the event so thatthey can claim it back in tax expenses as has happened in the past with high profile MP's, claiming taxi fares to attend Remembrance Sunday services?  Madonna is no better.

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@5129frederick wrote:

God has helped me in more ways than I could ever repay him so My conscience is clear.  Over the years, my little bit has certainly mounted up.  Nothing like what clelebrities give, buy do they give with their heart, or do they make sure the camera team is in full operation first to record the event so thatthey can claim it back in tax expenses as has happened in the past with high profile MP's, claiming taxi fares to attend Remembrance Sunday services?  Madonna is no better.

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Sadly there are those types around.

[5129frederick]

As the saying goes: cold as charity.  And yet my late father, brought up in the merchant navy in the Far East many, many years ago spoke favourably of how the"Social Undesirables" in Shanghai would give every penny they had to help out a fellow seaman in distress, even if they knew it would be many months, if ever he passed thaat way again.  It is often the dregs of society who stand head and shoulders above the pious, because their hearts are in the right places.  As Our Saviour said:"Go, and sin no more."

[mr-expresso]

My dear frederick... If you enter a charity shop with the intention of buying something to sell on ebay... You must register as a business..

I know I know... harsh... but thems the rules....... You are an entrepreneur.......

[dark_castle1]

Frederick, I was brought up in a mining village where no one had much but everyone would help the other in any way they could. As I grew up my parents moved onto the coast and I joined the Merchant Navy and was in it for twelve years until an accident put me ashore for good.

I was brought up to always help in any way you can and believe to this day it is always the people that do not have much give the most to help their fellow human being. Maybe it is because they know what the actual pain and suffering of not having that makes them more sympathetic to the plight of others.

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Acts 20:35

[bankhaunter]

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@golden*nugget28 wrote:

It might be different with items from a jumble sale run by supporters for a small local charity.

Legally or morally I see no difference TBH, it would then just be down to your own personal conscience.

If you would feel bad don't, if you feel you want to because you could do with the cash then go ahead it wouldn't be wrong.

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The difference would be that a large charity employ people to ensure they get the best prices and are coldly commercial in their actions whereas local people trying to support a small charity won't necessarily have the expertise but do need all they can get.

Would it be perfectly moral to take advantage of their ignorance of an item's value where that was apparent to you no matter they were in need of the money?

Some might think so, I don't.

[5129frederick]

Yeehaw!  Man, I've always wanted to rival Richard Branson.  I'd better get hold of my solicitor, my accountant, the VAT man, register my home as a business address  ....  

[lhasa.two]

I'm surprised you can find something in a charity shop to sell on lol, as it seems to me that not only do they employ proper chief execs/finance people these days (quite right) but also marketing people who cherry pick the good stuff and sell it on ebay themselves or other auction outlets.

If you give money to a charity you can claim tax relief on your contribution and if you're a higher rate tax payer you can claim the difference back through your tax return. So of course it's good for celebs particularly if they make a large donation.

[5129frederick]

The only way you can "Cherry pick" is by being there when the stuff first arrives.  In other words by offering your services as a helper.  The trouble is there is a glut of general hands who, like me, would be happy starting off on the very bottom rung, sorting out the clothes, making the tea, pricing stuff up, and taking your turn on the till and slowly getting on to the accounts and accompanying somebody to the bank at the end of the day.  Every item is numbered and has to tally with the till at the end of the day - there's a heck of a lot involved.  It's not about little old ladies buying the odd ornament.  On a good day, depending on location, it could be anything up to £300.00 a day, which is where the organisers have the choice.  If they want a volunteer qualified in accounts, they'll advertise it,  -  and get it!.  I've put my name forward - the only thing in my favour wouuld be I have no police record and have just retired after having worked for the same company for forty-one years.  If I'm selected, I would be very much on probation for the first four months so I'd have to be on my best behaviour and keep my nose very clean.  

In answer to your "Cherry Picking"  top staff, you have tens of thousands of items passing through their fingers.  Nobody's an expert in everything.  Use volunteering as an apprenticeship, because even if it isn't you, you've got something up your sleeve when branching out into other fields -  experience  

[5129frederick]

Point taken - not just in deeds, but WORDS.  a vain man LOVES being praised  it is far better to give in secret, so that NOBODY knows who or how it was donated and just carry on walking, although the original thread wasn't intentional on self-praise.  I'll try to remember that.  

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@bankhaunter wrote:

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@golden*nugget28 wrote:

It might be different with items from a jumble sale run by supporters for a small local charity.

Legally or morally I see no difference TBH, it would then just be down to your own personal conscience.

If you would feel bad don't, if you feel you want to because you could do with the cash then go ahead it wouldn't be wrong.

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The difference would be that a large charity employ people to ensure they get the best prices and are coldly commercial in their actions whereas local people trying to support a small charity won't necessarily have the expertise but do need all they can get.

Would it be perfectly moral to take advantage of their ignorance of an item's value where that was apparent to you no matter they were in need of the money?

Some might think so, I don't.

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As I said bank, it is down to the individual and their conscience, I really think it depends on each set of circunstances too. ie item and value involved. But it certainly isn't unlawful to do it and I don't think it right for anyone of us to judge another for doing it.