Am I wrong for telling my fiance to pay me $700 for my lost coat when I bought it for $100?
Last year, I was at the mall with my fiance when I saw this awesome cashmere/wool coat. It was perfect in every way and there was only 1 left in my size. The best news was that it was on clearance for $100 so I bought it without a second thought. I have worn it several times last year but it hasn’t been cold enough this year for me to break out the coat.
Last week when I saw the news about the upcoming cold front, I decided it was time to take it to the dry cleaners so that I can wear it this week.
After tearing all my closets apart without seeing it, I asked my fiance if she had seen it. She told me that she haven’t seen me wear it in awhile so she lent it to her brother to wear to a wedding. I was annoyed at hearing this but decided not to make a big deal so I simply told her to tell her brother to bring it back so I could get it dry cleaned.
Thursday rolls around and he hasn’t brought it back so I asked her about it again, nothing. Come Friday, and i haven’t heard anything so I called him. He said that he told my wife on Tuesday that he got drunk at the wedding and lost my coat. I was super annoyed at this so I told him he owes that exact coat from that exact brand.
Last night, my fiance came home from work in a mood and handed me $100. She said that her brother dropped off the money and I shouldn’t have made her brother pay for the coat since I knew he doesn’t make very much and I haven’t worn it but a handful of times. I looked at the $100 and told her I wanted a replacement coat or the amount it currently cost so that I can buy a new one and that $100 won’t cover it.
She said he went to the store and it cost $700 now but she knew I only paid $100 for it so she told him $100 would cover the cost. I argued that $100 doesn’t buy me a new coat. We went back and forth but couldn’t find any common ground. She offered to throw in an extra $100 of her own money and said sarcastically that I’m coming out ahead. I argued that I’m still out a coat and nothing will satisfy my lost except for a replacement coat. She argued that I don’t have to have the exact coat and that I can buy a similar one with $200.
She thought I was being ridiculous and called her parents on speaker phone. Of course they sided with their children and her dad tried to say that a man shouldn’t be so hung up on a coat. I told him that a man replaces what he loses. So now they’re all mad at me for wanting to make a profit from their son and intimating that he’s not a man.
Let’s check the comments from redditors and see what was they talking about this case:
NTA, she didn’t hand her brother $100, she handed him a coat. He didn’t need $100 for the wedding, he needed a coat.
I do a lot a bargain hunting and thrifting. I buy things for a low cost that have a higher value, because I invest time and expertise into knowing what to buy.
In this case your financial investment was $100, but you also were in the right place at the right time to find a coat at a deep discount. You stored it and kept it in good condition. You had enough knowledge to see the value you in it. A value that your brother in law appreciated because he decided that it was nice enough to wear to a wedding. When your BIL took the coat, he valued it at more than $700. They owe you a similar coat. Now, if he can find one for $100 sure and it needs to be the same materials and quality as the one he lost. That is work he needs to put in, not you.
You are dumping the girlfriend, right?