A request for a gift???

Today I received a reply to a Discovering BTS newsletter sent earlier this week. 

Hi Marion

Can you please gift me an armybomb , I really love to own one but I can’t afford to buy it

It will be my very first BTS merch to own , I’m so sorry for bothering you like this but I really want an armybomb

Regards

(Name withheld for privacy)

Sadly, this is not the first time I’ve had strangers ask me to buy something/or to share my Weverse account. I know, right? When did it ever become acceptable for strangers (or anyone for that matter) to ask for gifts? Is this the new protocol?

At first I didn’t know whether to laugh or be miffed (I did both), and secondly, I wasn’t going to dignify the email with a reply. However, after thinking about it for a few hours, I decided that it was a great learning opportunity for a young person, so I sent the following…

Dear xxxxx:

While I was very pleased to hear from you, I was quite distressed by your request for merchandise. I want you to understand that it is never acceptable to ask another individual for a gift of any kind, and in this case, a very expensive gift from a stranger!

Even though I’m an employed adult, I work very hard for everything I buy. Most of the time I must save money to do so. Like many others I know, we live off “adult allowances”. In my case, my husband and I get a monthly one based on our income and budget. That is considered our “play” money, and if we spend too much within 30 days, then that’s it – there is no extra cash.

While we all yearn for things in life, sometimes we simply can’t afford what we desire. It can be aggravating, but that is life, and we all must live within our means. For instance, I’ve been ARMY for almost three years, but it wasn’t until very recently that I could afford my own ARMY bomb. It seemed that everyone around me had theirs, but it was something I had to save for. And of course, there’s BTS merch that I would love to have, but I will never be able to afford due to my income. Therefore, I have to decide what’s most important to me (BTS and other non-related items), and then plan wisely for the future.

In closing, I just wanted to share some advice with you and wish you all the best. Good things will happen, but you need to be patient. I know it’s hard, but it’s a lesson well learned early in life.

Borahae,
Marion