MW A woman bought coasters at my garage sale for $2 and is now reselling them for $29. Have I been bamboozled?

By Aditi Shrikant

'They were a birthday gift from a friend about six years ago'

"She emailed me a link to her store and said, 'You might recognize something.'" (Photo subjects are models.)

Dear Dollar Signs,

I wrote to you earlier about hosting a garage sale. The sale was a success. One woman who attended told us she owned a secondhand shop. She bought two coasters I was selling for $1 each and asked for my email address so she could add me to the store's mailing list.

A few days later, she emailed me a link to her store and said, "You might recognize something." Sure enough, I saw the coasters listed for $29 total. I have no hard feelings about the price she is selling them for, but I found it odd that she felt the need to tell me about it.

They were a birthday gift from a friend about six years ago. That friend had told me she had purchased them on Etsy. They simply weren't my taste anymore, and I didn't like how the resin had yellowed over time.

Did she assume I knew all along that she intended to resell them? The whole thing struck me as a little strange.

Feeling Bamboozled

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Dear Bamboozled,

I understand why you feel bamboozled. You're also right that this woman's behavior was a bit strange. It's one thing to resell an item for more than you paid for it. It's another to seemingly rub it in the face of the person from whom you purchased it.

I would view this as a learning opportunity and consider pricing your items a bit higher next time. For future garage sales, ask yourself: "Do I want this item to sell quickly, or do I want to get the best possible price?"

Sometimes, we simply want things out of our house, and accepting a lower price is worth the convenience of being rid of them. Other times, it may be worthwhile to hold on to an item and see what offers materialize.

You could even view this woman as a resource. She asked for your email, which suggests she might be willing to help you price items in the future. If she thinks she can sell two old coasters for $29, perhaps she knows something about the housewares resale market that you don't.

A quick look at eBay $(EBAY)$ and Etsy $(ETSY)$ shows that many people resell a set of four resin coasters for at least $15, which suggests you may have underpriced yours. Of course, don't feel obligated to overcharge shoppers at a garage sale. But you may be able to sell some items for a bit more.

However, tread carefully with this woman. Email back saying you saw the coasters and you hope they sell, as to establish a positive rapport. Then, add a line alluding to the price she set and perhaps ask if she'd be willing to chat about how she goes about running her resale business. Take everything she says with a grain of salt. She doesn't seem to be the most straightforward person.

Garage-sale shoppers are typically not afraid to haggle, so you could try pricing items a little higher and see where negotiations lead. Some may not be random passersby. They could even be antique dealers looking for a bargain.

A common quandary

You are not alone in having mixed feelings about this scenario. A recent Reddit discussion on Facebook Marketplace (META) posed the question: "Would you be offended if someone bought your item and sold it for more?"

Most people said they wouldn't be offended, though some offered situations in which they would also feel confused.

"I don't mind. But a couple of times, people gave me a sob story about how it was for their kid or some other solemn lie (they paid my asking price, which was cheap anyway, so it's not like I needed to hear it), and then put it up for sale that same day. I thought it was weird to go through all that for $30," one response read.

Another person said they would be more upset with themselves than with the buyer.

"I think it would piss me off a little to see the item sell for a bit more than what I sold it for. It means I didn't price it correctly," they wrote.

As someone who grew up participating in many garage sales, I do think there is value in purging, even if you're not selling items for as much as you potentially could. Coming home without that unused tortilla press or those ill-fitting shorts does provide a certain sense of satisfaction. But if you could be making a bit more money, why not?

Write to Dollar Signs at dollarsigns@marketwatch.com.

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-Aditi Shrikant

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June 16, 2026 16:27 ET (20:27 GMT)

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