Outrage at extortionate poppy sales
Internet wheeler-dealers are reportedly making incredible profits for themselves by selling on special edition poppies.
In news that is bound to enrage both war heroes and their families, gold Buckley Poppy Broches released by the Royal British Legion and sold for under £10 are then being sold on eBay and similar sites for upwards of £175.
Midweek, the Legion had entirely sold out of the special edition commemorative flower, which comes in laid with Swarovski crystals. However, on the world’s largest auction site, at least 20 were up for grabs and part of bidding wars between buyers eager to get their hands on one.
In response to the situation, officials from the UK’s main military welfare charity directly appealed to successful sellers while asking them to kindly donate some of the profits they had made to help veterans and their relatives. More specifically, a spokeswoman from the group commented that everyone that sells on a poppy, and not just those with accounts on auction sites, should think about passing on some of the money they had generated.
However, not everyone is as accommodation to the re-sellers, with Alistair Galloway, the current chief exec of the similar Household Cavalry Operational Casualties Fund deeming the situation as being shocking and particularly surprising when considered the cause the money goes to, while also citing that ever penny or pound made in profit was escaping those that need it the most, as well as those that poppies are sold for in the first place.