Flippers are annoying (so maybe I’m annoying?)
PET PEEVE | Earlier this year I sold a mid century style dresser for $250 to what I thought was a local couple shopping for personal use. But … flippers are annoying. Really effing annoying.
The dresser as I listed it.
Within a couple of weeks they’d relisted it on Facebook Marketplace for $500. They’d done no work on it. They’d simply photographed it in better light and styled it up a little. And it sold. It sold quickly.
And, sure, I probably have no right to be bothered, but I admit it … I’m bothered.
Flippers are annoying!
Here’s the thing: This dresser was not a special piece. I found it sitting in a puddle (literally) at an outdoor thrift vendor. It had no legs.
I hauled it home (not easy since I drive a 12-year-old Mazda 3, my husband doesn’t drive, and I have a toddler!), dried it out with a hairdryer (yes, really), assessed the damage, cleaned it out (there were a lot of small toys, stickers, and random objects stuffed behind the drawers), did some work on the dings and hit the whole thing with Howard brand Restor-a-Finish followed by Feed-n-Wax.
Then I bought four Waddell tapered table legs from Lowes in a mid century style, stained them to match, attached them, and finally, I lived with the piece, and used it, for more than a year before deciding to sell once I found something new and had to make space.
I don’t have a physical store space, warehouse or storage unit, so when I do sell furniture or larger items, it’s usually because I am rotating out something like this (which is to say something I bought for myself and used in my own space).
Still, it’s not like I did a true restoration. It’s not like what I did was super duper special. But I did invest some time, and more than a little effort. So the fact that this couple flipped it galls me a little.
This is probably very much a pot-calling-the-kettle-black type situation, because I myself resell things all the time and I do buy certain things just to resell them. I generally do a little work on each piece, sure, but it’s not like I’m not a flipper myself, in some ways. But … I’m still mad about it.
Why? Why does this bother me so much?
Partly, I think, it’s because I felt like the new owners misrepresented themselves when they bought the piece from me in the first place. I’d listed it at $350, and given them a deal by chopping $100 from the price because I thought they wanted it for personal use. (I don’t love giving deals to other resellers. I can’t say if that’s “fair” or not.)
Also, it’s because I felt they were misrepresenting the piece in their resale ad, implying that it was Danish modern, when really, if you were to look carefully inside, you’d find a stamp indicating that the dresser was made in Asia, and probably in the 70s-80s.
The dresser as they listed it.
Still, in the end, I think my irritation is largely irrational and about my own self-judgement and frustration more than anything else.
I have internalized a lot of the rudeness that comes at resellers and I think on some level, I have learned to feel vaguely guilty about what I do.
Intellectually, I know this is nonsense. What I do is difficult! I have amassed a huge amount of skill and knowledge over of the years, and I draw on this while picking and thrifting to find pieces that are truly valuable. There’s expertise at work here.
Beyond that, I have always tried to price things fairly, and have undervalued so many things in the past in order to give folks deals and help great things find their way to good homes. So this kind of flip feels ungrateful, I guess?
Anyway, flippers are annoying, but I invest a tonne of time, effort (and skill!) into my work as a reseller and there’s nothing wrong with that.
On some level, I think I worry that other people think I’m just doing something predatory by reselling though, and so I’m embarrassed by it.
This must be (partly) because I’m a woman. I have to admit, none of the men resellers I’ve come across seem to suffer from anything other than inflated egos (oh, the endless endless mansplaining) whereas I have a tendency to talk down my accomplishments and to want to apologize for being good at my job. This is something I’m working on.
Anyway! This tale of the flipped dresser perhaps explains to some extent why prices on Will & Bequeath have gone up a bit since the relaunch. I’m trying to price things at market value these days, and struggling to not feel awkward about that when prices get (relatively) high.
But I will say that I’m still always willing to make a deal, particularly if you’re local, and able to pick up promptly, so never hesitate to ask. (Just don’t do the mansplaining thing. And don’t neg! I hate that.)
And you know what? Maybe don’t immediately relist something I’ve sold you for double the price. It’s just kinda rude.
As I work to get products up for sale on my own site, interested buyers should feel free to shop Will and Bequeath on Etsy and Will and Bequeath on Poshmark. These platforms take a large percentage of the sale price, and charge various other feels to sellers as well. In the future, I hope to have all my stock available on my own site, but until then…