Woman Claims She Got Called a ‘Scammer’ After Selling Items She Got for Free – and Redditors Have Thoughts
The majority of commenters disagreed with the mom of two's decision
Alistair Berg/Getty
Stock image of a person using their phoneA Reddit user claims her neighbor called her a “scammer” for selling items she obtained for free.
The user — who goes by the username Angioj — alleged in a post that she was recently called out by one of her neighbors, who saw the Redditor selling an item on Facebook marketplace that the neighbor had previously given to her for free.
The woman, who identifies herself as a 28-year-old mom of two, says she will pick up “free clothes, shoes, and toys” through a neighborhood Facebook group where people regularly “sell and giveaway items,” and later sell them once her children have outgrown them.
The Redditor claimed her neighbor called her a scammer and said the mom’s actions weren’t “very neighborly” of her. “She said I should have posted the item in our neighborhood group for free first before trying to sell it,” the mom added.
But many of the commenters who responded to the post disagreed with the mom. One person noted that, while what the Redditor did is not illegal, it still makes them seem “selfish.”
Related: Bride's Sister Leaves Wedding in Tears After Maid-of-Honor Humiliated Her During Speech
“There's an implied (and often explicit) culture in buy nothing / free groups that expects people not to take advantage of each other,” the commenter explained.
Another commenter wrote, “You’ve benefited from other peoples generosity and instead of putting that generosity forward you’ve decide to make a profit.”
In an edit, the original Redditor claimed she “never picked anything up with the intention of selling,” and would only pick up items that she needed at the time. She also said the group where she got the items was not solely a “buy nothing” group.
“I didn’t see anything wrong with making a few dollars here and there,” she wrote, noting that she had used the item “for several months” before putting it up for sale.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The Redditor also shared, “if someone gives away something for free, it’s out of their hands once someone picks it up.”
“I have given away several things to our neighbors that I didn’t want to go through the effort of selling and I honestly don’t care what they do with them,” she continued. “I understand that it may be the “neighborly” thing to try and find someone that can use them first before selling but I don’t think I’m an a------.”
Still, commenters did not side with the mom. One person suggested the Redditor “should at the very least see if someone in that group wants the item” before thinking about selling. “You're making money out of other people's good will,” they added.
Many commenters claimed that, if they were in the neighbors’ shoes, they would no longer trust the Redditor. “Selling things you got for free isn’t going to endear you to anyone,” one wrote.
Another commenter said, “Frankly, I’d never give you anything again and would encourage others to give their items to someone who will pass on the kindness, not capitalize on it.”
Though some commenters did not agree with the Redditor being called a “scammer,” the majority agreed she was in the wrong — calling her decision “sleazy,” “trashy” and “scummy.”
“The unspoken rule of situations like this is you either pass it on to the next person for free, or return it to whoever gave it to you,” a commenter said.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
