Local lady buying up items from thrift shops and selling them.. oh no!
In my neck of the woods a Single Mother of two boys was called out for buying items from local thrift stores. She was accused of cleaning, repairing and reselling the items on local classified pages.
This caused a bit of debate, which left me scratching my head. We are going to "Shame" this person who has found a way to earn a living and take care of her kids without government support, she is "hoarding candle sticks"..? Oh no!
Actually the complaint was she is buying things that poor people could be using and increasing the value and reselling, thus inflating the prices and making items for difficult for "Poor People". - Yeah, I don't get it either.
Here was my response:
Remember when you were a kid and parents and societal wisdom said...Stay in school, go to college, get a good job, don't do drugs, work hard so you can get ahead and be successful? Nobody said go to school, start a business, work hard so you can give your stuff to the people who didn't.
In this case a mother finds a great way to support herself and her children. We should hold that up and celebrate it. It seems we have lost the idea that part of freedom is being able to support yourself. We have a responsibility to contribute to society. If you are sick, hurt or having a rough time, we have safety nets, they are not meant to be a lifestyle and we can't continue to support them forever. I love stories where people have found a way to make a living.
Who is harmed when 2 or more adults enter into an agreement to trade. That means two adults come together and make a decision to buy and sell. Both parties are considered to be of sound mind and free to engage in business. The concept of Buyer Beware gives the purchaser the responsibility to research the value of the purchase. Stop attacking individuals who have figured out how to do this.
It is getting harder to make a living due to the shrinkage of the middle class, but it is still possible and respectable to get ahead.
Celebrate it. Do it.
I say good job Mom.
What do you think?
Something similar happened here. There was an individual accepting free items (that nobody wanted) and rehabbing them and painting and/or fixing them to resell. The people who were getting rid of their "junk" had no complaint only the busy bodies on social media that feel the need to protect others from free enterprise.
I buy tamales every year from the same 70+ year old hispanic lady. About 4 years ago she was advertising on a social media page that she had tamales for sale. That post got so ugly and vitriolic that they had to shut it down. Racist, mean and no way for any adults to act. I promoted her cooking and got the word out. She ended up selling more than any previous year.
People piss and moan about the NFL, antifa and BLM and then try to actively oppress their own neighbors. Are we free or not? I don't want the government or anyone else "protecting" me from doing any business that I see fit. ITS NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS!!! #firstworldproblems is right.
Get a life people.
OK rant over.
I rather enjoyed your rant, thank you
I was on such a roll typing furiously that I forgot to upvote your post. Lol
I think that mom is awesome. Nobody stopped other people from buying those things from the thrift shops themselves!!! I have a shop and I WELCOME re-sellers. I have determined the price I want, what happens to the goods after they leave my store has nothing to do with me.
Exactly.
She's a good mom, I'd do the same.
I think if there's a demand for the items she's reselling and she's adding value and supporting her family then it's a great thing! There are people who buy, fix and resell all kinds of items ranging from small appliances to cars to houses.
I'm getting in the business of buying, repairing and selling used cars as a way to make extra money (on top of my corporate job that I hope to leave at some point before I completely lose my mind). It's a good fit for me as I'm an engineer and my business partner is a mechanic who can do anything from engine / mechanical repair to body work and paint. It's been slow going at first because we both work at least 40 hrs per week at our regular jobs (if not 50 or more) but we do what we can with the time we have available.
I have a lot of respect for people who find non-traditional ways to earn a living because that's what I aspire to do someday (and hopefully have more time at home to spend with my family).
I love that you are restoring cars and seeking your freedom from the corporation. You are also here! I would say you are likely to achieve your goals.
Yes this is part of my plan! May make me rich or may just be a hobby. But every little bit counts.
Totally agree with you, this woman did not go to steal and rob, but she decided to just make money, even if there is nothing illegal in this way. So I think that she should not be ashamed. Thank you @whatsup
It sounds like the usual story of a small business, do not understand why someone has to judge this woman. Especially if other people are willing to buy her "product".
Following the logic about the poor people, let's complain on corporations like Apple. Why don't they make phones for $100, or $10? Doesn't this prejudice the ability of poor people to purchase apple's products?
We should definitely celebrate ingenuity and self-support over nay-saying good for nothings leaning on welfare. To much are we are supporting people who should and can get a job. Rise up ! Celebrate independence I say.
This mom should keep it up to have a decent way to earn a living... why not? this is a free world. It' s her option what to do with the things she bought. she is in a buy and sell business that would bring her bucks to support her family.
so she found something she could do with limited means and that helped her and her family build a slightly better life for themselves...
this kinda reminds me about the tale of the crabs in the bucket...
put one crab in a bucket and it will crawl out
put more crabs in the bucket and no one will crawl out because if they try the others pull them back down...
such is the same a lot with humans (sadly) but steemit seems to be the other way around... we push the good ones to the top with votes from the bottom so that we can all escape the bucket in the end
I was always under the impression the thrift store was usually the one taking the profits and helping those in need. So now you must be poor to shop at thrift stores? To be fair some people shame the poor for buying things they probably don't need, still its a free country to say and buy what you want (hopefully it stays that way RIP frees speech and thrift store buying privilege).
Haters gonna hate.
@whatsup,
You are absolutely correct! If someone trying to do something without stealing from others to make his/her life better and need to feed his/her family we should support them! Specially, we need to understand we all are struggling to make a better life. If someone trying to make it by his/her own way and by not engaging to crimes that's what we need to respect!
Respect your idea friend!
Cheers~