While that definitely happens in some situations I really disagree with the idea that it’s the norm. I was in a large buy nothing group in Brooklyn and many things were just small immediate use items and baby gear. there were expensive items given away in some cases, but the people receiving them almost always ended up giving away something size-able in the coming months to give back with something they no longer needed but meant the world to someone. There were instances where people were caught reselling but they were banned when it was realized. There were way more instances of people posting a month later about how much an item meant to them and how they were using it, with pictures in their home.

In my buy nothing group since I’ve moved to ct certain home and baby goods are snatched up quickly and sad when missed, but Ive seen about 2k worth of audio equipment(pa, monitor etc) go more than a day before someone with actual use for it snagged it up (not me) when it could have easily been flipped in a day for at least a few hundred bucks and a short drive.

Excuse the rant, I just saw this after playing my synthesizer for a bit and wanted to give people a different view on it. I got the synth from my buy nothing group in bk when I started messing around with piano. It’s an awesome old Roland workstation that I would never have been willing to spend the money on a new hobby. Almost a grand in music gear from a stranger when I lived in Brooklyn and didn’t have money to spend. I play it every day and I make sure to spread some smiles in my new buy nothing group when I have something I don’t need and someone who wants it. The bad cases don’t have to spoil the chance to spread joy in your own community.