Tesco shopper branded 'sad' for 'clearing' supermarket shelves to make £1,000 profit

Tesco shoppers are up in arms over a 'sad' entrepreneur who nearly emptied the shelves to turn a £1,000 profit, sparking quite the debate. Sam, a TikTok user with a hefty following of 95,000, has been documenting his journey as he snaps up bargains in bulk from various UK retailers, aiming to flip them online for a tidy sum using Amazon FBA.

The savvy shopper's exploits have caught the eye of many, as he seeks out deals that he can resell at a higher price on the e-commerce giant's platform. Amazon FBA, which stands for Fulfilment by Amazon, is a service that allows sellers to store their products in Amazon's fulfilment centres.

The company then handles the listing, storage, packing, and shipping of these items. However, this practice has come under fire for potentially leading to 'inflated' prices, much to the dismay of regular consumers.

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It's important to remember that if your side hustle brings in over £1,000 within a tax year, you're obliged to register as self-employed with HMRC and file a self-assessment tax return. And, as Sam's recent venture shows, you might also attract some public ire.

In one of his latest videos, Sam's Journey came across a goldmine: a shelf brimming with Sistema lunch boxes priced at just 88p each. He excitedly shared, "Oh my god these are 88p [but] they sell for £7 on Amazon - they sell over 100 times a month," before declaring, "Mate, we're going to get a trolley and take the lot... We'll leave a few of them but I'll take a f***ing 100 at least.", reports the Mirror.

Sam snapped up a whopping 81 units and even returned the next day to grab more lunchboxes, boasting about a tidy £1,000 profit in the comments section with the words: "I've sold them all..." Amazon FBA, which charges sellers £25 (excluding VAT) per month plus additional selling fees, pays out every two weeks based on the sales from that period.

Supermarkets often impose limits on bulk purchases of identical items, particularly during times of national shortages. Certain bulk products like cans of soda might also bear 'do not re-sell' warnings on their packaging.

While Sam was quite pleased with his entrepreneurial venture, the online community had mixed feelings. One frustrated commenter shared, "What's sad is I tried to get these for the kids in my additional special needs class [but] couldn't cos there was someone loading a trolley with them in Tesco,".

Another sarcastically commented, "Thanks for telling me where I can buy it cheaper."

A third questioned the logic, asking, "Why would people buy for that price when they could go to Tesco themselves? " And a fourth bluntly called him a "B*** end."

However, others have praised the man's savvy approach, suggesting he's working 'smarter not harder'. "Good luck to you, I hope you make lots of money."

One supporter said, while another chimed in with: "Admire what you're doing mate! Should've taken all the units."

A third person joined in the encouragement, saying: "Good lad, he's out there trying to earn some money, how can anyone knock him? ".