Ok to sell items received free?

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Theresa1

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Hi everyone,
I received a bunch of used kids clothes a few months ago that no longer fit my child. Some of these are very nice quality and name brand a generous lady on facebook was giving away. My husband and I agreed we would totally reciprocate this to someone else.
Then the thought occurred to me that we can use the extra money from selling some. I was already going to post several items for sale from our home because we could use the money but i definitely don’t want to offend God in any way.
A part of me thought this may have been a blessing in order for us to have a little extra but I don’t trust that reasoning.
thank you very much for your (name removed by moderator)ut.
 
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Its only a sin (to my knowledge) to sell a free gift if that gift was blessed (the sin of simony). If it is just a free material thing that isn’t blessed than you can do what you want with it. Now on the other hand you promised the lady you would reciprocate her generosity by giving it away to someone else. No doing so would be a violation of what you promised her. Yes she will never know that you did that, but you will know.
 
I didn’t promise her that i thought i said me and my husband said (to ourselves) we would reciprocate. I must have stated that poorly. thank you so much for your response!! i don’t think my husband will go for it though but we could use the extra income. thanks again
 
Excellent. Glad that was cleared up. You should be fine than!
 
I don’t think it’s sinful, but depending on your relationship with this person who gave the items to you and whether or not s/he will know what you’re doing, and how they respond to that, it could be in poor taste or cause some ruffled feathers/hurt feelings, even offense. We can’t really speak to that for you, as only you know your relationship; just stating possibilities that came to mind.
 
These are goods (kids clothes) that were given to you. They are your property. You are free to do with your property as you think is best in your circumstances. You also say this would mean you have a little extra. Nothing sinful in that, especially if things are tight anyway, and the money is needed which you say you do “we could use the money”.

Though it may be more meritorious to also give them to another who could use them and perhaps can’t afford to buy them or buy nice quality as these are, and are less well off than you.

I’m not well off, and buy most of the everyday things I need or want from S.V.deP. or from private people on a local online secondhand listing site - and these have to be cheap because that is all I can afford.
 
thank you. She’s a stranger from the facebook marketplace. I do care if it’s in poor taste in my Fathers eyes though.
 
Give with a glad heart! And perhaps with a prayer too asking God to bless the person who receives them.
 
Fair enough. I’ve been in the position of being dependent upon others’ generosity, and made a few faux pas myself, hence my caution. Prayers on your behalf.
 
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Just because something isn’t a sin doesn’t mean it is the right thing to do.

Our Church has a program where we give out diapers to those who are in need. Would it be right for someone to come get free diapers and then turn around and sell them or try to return them to Walmart or someplace to get the cash from them. Once they are given out, they become the property of the donee, correct. Based on some of the comments, it would be perfectly acceptable for them to turn around and sell them.

NOT.

If you were given something for free to help your family, you should not try to sell it and make money off of it. You should pass it on, pay it forward or whatever. Not try to cash in on someone else’s generosity.
 
But we are in great financial need so I thought it was ok, at least in God’s eyes.
 
It is - ok to sell them. If the money is needed for essentials I see no moral problem. If it was just extra to put through the pokies/slot machines, then I do see a great problem.

These were items given to you and which you have used but which now your child has outgrown, therefore you no longer need them.

e.g. Clothes passed down to me by my sister from her own kids, but which now mine had outgrown - then it is within my right as the owner of these goods to sell them be it at a flea market/second hand goods market (the type where lots of people gather to sell their goods or even things they handmake - to make a little extra).

If you are not in true financial hardship, then yes, the more charitable thing to do would be to donate them to a charity for the benefit of those less fortunate than you. But as you say you are in great financial hardship, then this is a resource at your disposal in which you can support your family.
 
If I give something away, I give it away. It is yours to do with as you see fit. I sometimes give away valuable items because I don’t want to go through the trouble of selling it.

It would be ungracious to use something without care because you got it for free, to waste it because you didn’t have to pay anything for it. To use it so that it retains its value and then to re-sell it? There is nothing wrong with that, not unless there was an understanding that you would also give it away for free when you were done with it.

If I knew I gave nice things to someone who enjoyed them and then also relieved a difficult financial situation they were in by taking the trouble to sell that when they no longer needed it, it would actually please me. That is a far better use for the item than to have it in some closet doing no one any good!
CarmeliteKnight said:
Its only a sin (to my knowledge) to sell a free gift if that gift was blessed (the sin of simony).
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It is only a sin to sell a blessed item for more than the value it would have if it were not blessed. If you get something of value as a gift or because someone had no use for it after it was blessed, you may not sell it for more than the value of the same item before it was blessed.
 
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thank you Petra. I appreciate your thoughtful and encouraging response.
 
Theresa1 said:
thank you Petra. I appreciate your thoughtful and encouraging response.
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You are to be commended for taking good care of the things you had to use, so that someone else can use them after you. That is praiseworthy, and accepting money for the value of those things doesn’t diminish that. If I were to purchase things for my children knowing that I was getting something for us and also helping out a family that could use the money, I’d feel good about that, too.
 
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