Selling an item higher than the shops price
Assalamu alaykum Mufti,
The guy working for me sold an item that was for R10 , he sold it at R30 and took the R20 for himself , what is the ruling regarding this?
Answer
Wa’alaykum as Salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,
In principle, it is not permissible to sell something which one does not own. Likewise, a buyer should not be decieved.
However, Islam does accept a commission/royalty structure.
In light of the above, this deal will only be permissible if the following conditions are met:
1) The seller agreed that the employee can put his own mark up,
2) The customer is not fooled into thinking that he is buying from a particular franchise/brand at the price of that franchise. For example, if its a Checkers; the customer should not think that this is the price of Checkers.
If these two conditions are fulfilled, it will be permissible for the employee to accept the additional funds.