Anger as Woman Sells Gift From Friend's Dad Because Her Partner 'Hated It'

They say that friends are the family you choose, so be careful whom you call "friend" if you want to avoid big disappointments sometimes. Recently, online commenters slammed a woman who accepted an expensive gift from her friend's father and then sold it for profit.

In a post shared this month on the U.K.-based forum Mumsnet, the woman's friend, under the username Welsh, said the last time her friend was at her place she was admiring an antique object. The poster's father was "very fond of her" and offered it as a gift without thinking twice.

A few days later, the poster received a text from her friend, completely out of the blue, saying that she felt bad but had sold the item.

Unsurprisingly, money can and does ruin friendships, and it doesn't even take very much. A 2017 Bank of America survey found that one in three people said their breaking point would be $100 or less in unpaid funds, with 4 percent saying that $10 or less would be sufficient.

The Mumsnet poster said that the item her dad selflessly gave to her friend was worth over £2,000 ($2,442) and that her father could have benefited from having that money since he's "very cash poor" although "reasonably asset rich."

She wrote: "I guess he gave it to her but that was because he thought she genuinely liked it and he is very fond of her, having known her so long. (Not to mention he is very daft when it comes to finances.) I'm feeling a bit peeved about it, to be honest and haven't responded. I think it's quite rude."

Florence Ann Romano, author of Build Your Village: A Guide to Finding Joy and Community in Every Stage of Life, told Newsweek you could argue that the friend was free to do what she wanted with the item after it became hers.

But it still looks as if the friend took advantage of the father's kindness, according to Romano, and the poster should ask for the sale money. "If this woman respected the father and the friendship, she would have kept it as a memento, not acquired the item to make a quick buck," she said.

According to a recent update of the post, the friend told the poster she actually wasn't keen on the item but didn't want to offend the father when he insisted on her taking it. The friend said she sold it for only £25 ($30) because her partner hated it and complained it was taking up too much space.

"She had no idea it was valuable. It's an acquired taste for sure but it sold within an hour of her listing it so someone saw it was worth something," the poster wrote.

The item was sold on Facebook Marketplace, and despite contacting the buyer, the poster has little hope she'll get it back.

Most of the 1,898 users who voted on Mumsnet's Am I Being Unreasonable poll, 86 percent, agreed the poster was not being unreasonable. One user, forgetfulbrain, commented: "I'd say to her exactly what you've said on here. What an awful thing for her to do." Hoipolloih added: "Yes, why did she even tell you! Bizarre."

NuffSaidSam, on the other hand, wrote: "It was hers to sell. I understand why you're annoyed but it's a waste of an emotion. She sold something that belonged to her, no need for you to be upset."

And Winniewonka said: "I would have to ask them if they didn't really want it, then why did they accept it and if they feel bad then perhaps they could give your father the money they received for it."

Newsweek was not able to verify the details of the case.

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