“Thrifting Has Gotten out of Hand” — Woman Learns FB Marketplace Seller Jacked up Painting Price
"It's worth whatever you are willing to pay."
By Mustafa GatollariPublished Aug. 3 2024, 3:00 a.m. ET
A Facebook Marketplace buyer was stunned to discover that someone had sold them a painting for the exact price they paid for it, but not after highballing the cost of the piece first.
Emma Klein (@imemmaklein) said that she only discovered what the Facebook Marketplace seller originally paid for the item because the Ross Dress for Less price tag was still on the back.
"To the couple that just sold me this painting on Facebook Marketplace, this morning, when you posted it for $80, I hit you up and was like, 'Hey, I know this is a total shot in the dark would you be willing to do $30?' And you were like, 'We could only do $50 as the lowest.'"
Emma told them that she couldn't afford to pay $50 for the painting, however, because she needed to "ball on a budget," she still tried to leave the door open for the possibility of them selling it to her for a lower price down the line.
Every day im blown away #fbmarketplace #storytime #crazy
♬ original sound - Emma Klein ! Source: TikTok | @imemmaklein"And I was like, 'Cool, I'm gonna have to pass because I'm balling on a budget right now ... anything that changes, you let me know.' Well, you let me know that you would be down for $30. I met you. Picked it up. Brought it home. And I'm like, going to hang it up, and a tiny little bug crawls out from it," the TikToker notices.
Emma continues, "Which was weird, that is kind of an isolated circumstance that grossed me out, but, I don't think it's an actual issue. Anyways, I turned the painting over and inside of it was a tiny tag that I squinted, I'm like, 'What is that?' It was from Ross for $30," she says deflated into the camera.
Upset that the Facebook user ended up making their money back from the Ross purchase and that she agreed to pay the same amount for the painting that the Marketplace user shelled out, Emma asked "What are y'all doing on marketplace?"
She must not be familiar with the concept of re-sellers, who usually go to discount stores and pick up anything that they think they could flip online for a profit. In this instance, it seemed like the Facebook Marketplace seller was trying to get at least $20 out of the painting they took home.
There are a number of folks who recommend Facebook Marketplace as a great spot to resell items, like the folks who responded to this Reddit post on the site's r/flipping sub: "Know what to sell. You’re not gonna get market value for some niche collectible like you will on eBay. The best items to sell locally are tools, sports gear, furniture, Pokémon cards, housewares, electronics, video games, and sneakers. Records/tapes/cds, clothing, and jewelry sell very poorly there. High-end items sell poorly. Source items that you see selling well in your area," OP recommended.
They also added their own advice for selling with this rule of thumb: "Always price a little higher than what you want, but not too high as to turn off potential non-haggling buyers. The buyers all want deals there, they won’t pay more like they will on eBay, they will always want it for less. Make them think you are giving them a deal when you’re really not."
However, there were some people who noticed that there were, indeed, folks who tried selling items for way more than people could get them in other stores for: "I pissed a woman off one time that was trying to sell a 10-inch sliding miter saw from Harbor Freight for $250. I pointed out to her with a link to the site you could buy them all day long new on sale for $90."
And while some folks on social media chronicle their biggest reselling wins and how they're able to make it a full-time job, some folks in another Reddit thread share the "realistic" figures they usually get annually from reselling.
One person replied that because they treat it more as a fun hobby rather than a life's calling, they earn around $12,000 per year purchasing items and then reselling them online: "Net profit after all expenses is about $12k a year. It’s a fun side hobby for me as I work a regular, full-time job otherwise."
Someone else couldn't believe that there were other folks who are able to even earn a profit of just $100 per day from reselling: "I don't really make much more than $12K a year either. Probably only like $16K a year between eBay and Amazon. And I'm at a thrift store on a near daily basis.
I don't really know how people are making that much money by going thrift stores and garage sales. A wage of $36,500 means that you make $100 a day. And there is no way I can find and sell $100 worth of merchandise every single day."
However, there was another person who was able to pump up their sales growth through reselling after years of toiling in the space: "$180K sales annually, looking to push to $200k. Roughly 40 percent margins, slightly lower with increased overhead the past year but looking to get margins back up a bit going into next year."
Several TikTokers who responded to Emma's video had a bunch of different opinions. Some said that she should just be happy that the painting wasn't filled with bugs, while someone else wrote that the price was whatever she was willing to pay for it.
What do you think? Was it grimy of the Facebook Marketplace seller to effectively get their money back on their Ross purchase? Or is it Emma's fault for just not doing her homework?
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