Charity Auction Issue - What Do I Do?

Xenawarriorprincess on 19/11/2022 - 21:27
Last edited 19/11/2022 - 21:51

TLDR online charity auction sold goods not as described. Wwyd?

Recently there was a charity auction and everything was described as new and listed the RRP of the items. I decided what a wonderful opportunity to support a charity and get my Christmas shopping done.

I purchased 2 hampers one with kids toys and one with cosmetics/hand creams etc. spent $160 so they were big hampers with RRP described as $650. I planned to share these across a number of family and friends for Christmas.

I pick up the packs and get them home.
Cosmetics hamper
4 items have an expiry of 2012, 1 is almost empty, 2 have no seal so they’ve been used and presumably open. 3 items seem okay.

Kids pack
Books in the kids pack are ripped, and I know what kind of tantrum hell that will cause so decide not to gift them.

I reached out because it seems everything hasn’t been checked and thought they’d like to know, I am not in a fantastic financial position so had really relied on having my Christmas shopping done (and was so pleased to have done good in the process). I don’t know what I was expecting their response to be.

The organiser told me the RRP of the two packs was $1000 and since I paid $160 I can have $20 back if i want but she can’t do it through the system.

My partner says I should learn my lesson and not partake in charity auctions which I am vehemently against making that the lesson. I have done lots of volunteer work in the past and absolutely hate that response when so many work so hard for good causes.

Wwyd?

Poll Options

  • 1
    Decide never to buy from a charity auction again
  • 87
    Return the items and request a refund to purchase other Christmas gifts
  • 0
    Take the $20 and never buy from this charity again
  • 5
    Chalk it up to a mistake and do nothing
Financial

Comments

  • mskeggs on 19/11/2022 - 21:38
    +1

    Charity auctions receive the goods as donations, and rely on what they are told.
    Like all auctions, you must make your own judgement on the value when you bid.
    A shame you bought a poor lot, but I think it would be bad form to seek a refund.

    A bad outcome, unfortunately, and a good idea to look closely when bidding in future.

    • Xenawarriorprincess on 19/11/2022 - 21:42
      +4

      Yeah for sure - how disappointing. It was online and in the pictures all looked okay so not sure what else I could have done.

  • AustriaBargain on 19/11/2022 - 21:46
    +16

    I'd ask for a refund. I'd also wash my hands thoroughly after touching the 10+ year old contents of someone's vanity. Let the charity guilt the donor into making up for this.

    This charity needs to be aware that they have to inspect their donations better or else it'll hurt their reputation and ability to earn money in the long run.

    • Xenawarriorprincess on 19/11/2022 - 21:50
      +2

      This makes me feel better. I do feel it damages their reputation and other charities will suffer because of their complacency.

  • brendanm on 19/11/2022 - 21:49

    Your partner is spot on.

    • Xenawarriorprincess on 19/11/2022 - 21:51
      +1

      Nathan is that you?

      • brendanm on 19/11/2022 - 21:52

        Yes. Seriously though, auctions are a shit show, only bid if you understand this.

      • Elegant Giant on 19/11/2022 - 21:53

        No, that's Brendan

        • 2jzzzz on 19/11/2022 - 23:06
          -6

          Let's go Brandon

  • jimbler on 19/11/2022 - 22:00
    +1

    Can't you resell the 2012 items on Ebay as antiques?

  • cookie2 on 19/11/2022 - 23:33
    +2

    Following option #2 , i would then also never purchase through that business again.

  • loropy9 on 20/11/2022 - 00:19

    You are not in a fantastical financial position, yet you intended to pass around gifts of perceived value of $1000? Maybe keep volunteering if you like helping charities, but do your shopping at bigw or kmart where you pay $160 for items that cost $160. Brand new.

    • Xenawarriorprincess on 20/11/2022 - 08:23

      I thought it was a great opportunity to get something nice and help those in need. I’m on a committee who’s running a charity auction next year so it sucks to hear this is people’s view on them.

      • Xenawarriorprincess on 20/11/2022 - 12:27

        Also, I assumed it’s an inflated rrp, because cosmetics/personal hygiene. I’ve since looked them up for pricing and most of the products were discontinued in 2014 or so

  • YTW on 20/11/2022 - 02:24
    +7

    The cosmetics should have been checked before being auctioned, they're a health hazard. I would be firmly asking for a refund on that one.

    I wouldn't let it put me off helping charities, but there's a good lesson in this experience to beware of buying things like this online.

    • Xenawarriorprincess on 20/11/2022 - 08:35

      Yeah the more I think about it the grosser I feel about it. Imagine if I didn’t check before wrapping them. Yuck.

  • garetz on 20/11/2022 - 02:52
    +5

    The charity auction should check all items before auctioning them off, the fact that they said its your problem is the most scummy thing ive seen in a while.

    Return the stuff and ask for a full refund.

    Next time you should know if you are not in a financial position to spend the money then do not do it, your partner seems to be the smart one here.

    • Xenawarriorprincess on 20/11/2022 - 08:19
      +2

      Not that I can’t spend what I spent, but our budget across the family is $250 so having spent $160 on gifts I can’t give means some people are going to miss out or i just buy everyone something super cheap which I don’t love from a sustainability perspective.

  • morse on 20/11/2022 - 04:06
    +6

    Return for full refund.

    How reputable is the charity? This kind of sounds like a scam to me. There’s definitely some sham charities going around, even registered ones.

    It was a fundraising auction not a donation on your behalf so you should get what thought you were bidding on. If it was a raffle that would be a different story, but then you would have spend a lot less. The items are not worth $1000 if they are not as described. The fact that the organiser is arguing with you about this makes me more suspicious that this is a scam. Since the items were most likely donated they won’t make a loss by returning, they would just have a decrease in revenue.

    • Xenawarriorprincess on 20/11/2022 - 07:15
      +1

      Yeah look, it’s since crossed my mind. Her response put a really bad taste in my mouth. My partner said she seemed scammy when we picked them up but I didn’t notice anything off.

  • Master Bates on 20/11/2022 - 08:16
    +1

    Chargeback?

  • thatonethere on 20/11/2022 - 08:18

    If they only went for $160 sounds like everyone was in the game but you…

  • jjjaar on 20/11/2022 - 10:13
    +2

    Regardless of whether they are a charity / how they get their goods, and how thorough they are in checking them, you still paid for something that was not provided as described, and that is illegal. They falsely told you it was all brand new.

    Ignoring that, selling second hand makeup could have serious health consequences. There’s a reason normal charity shops don’t sell these kinds of products. I’d bet there’s actually a legal regulation preventing the sale of second hand cosmetics, but I don’t know off the top of my head so I’m not going to claim there is.

  • AndyC1 on 20/11/2022 - 10:13
    -1

    When you contacted the charity auction company about it before posting on OZ bargain, what did they respond with?

  • ThithLord on 20/11/2022 - 10:32

    Is there a Charities regulator? Maybe touch base with them and see what they think?

  • ihbh on 20/11/2022 - 21:54

    Is any information provided on the net amount that goes to those in need. E.g. you spend $160 and $20 gets to the needy? Only proceed if it's high and don't expect anything back.

    If not, look for something that provides the information so you can make an informed decision.

    Perhaps a more effective way with what you're doing is to find a particular op shop (it happens to bet the Red Cross shop in my area) that gets donation of new clothing, gear, or books which they mark down significantly because it's last season's stock but is still very functional and looks great.

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 21/11/2022 - 13:59

    Bikies?

  • jay9 on 27/11/2022 - 23:03

    The key here is the "online" portion of the detail.

    If this was in person, Id say you just have to cop it.

    But since it was online, I'd go for the refund option since it was misleading / deceptive.

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