She Promised Her Old Laptop to a Friend, Then Her Parents Objected
A 24-year-old woman bought a new laptop and promised her old one, still in working order, to a friend who is a broke college student. Her parents say it should go to her 16-year-old sister, who has been asking for a laptop for online classes.
She says she is keeping her promise to her friend. The story landed on Reddit’s r/AmItheAsshole, and TwistedSifter reported it on November 10, 2026.
Show Marge’s quick verdict (spoilers)
The Scroll in Brief
- An old laptop was offered free to a friend who needed one for school, and a weekend meetup was set.
- The parents stepped in and said the 16-year-old sister should get it first.
- The poster refused to go back on her word, and the family has been tense since.
The Verdict: Not the villain. She made a promise first, and the sister’s need is real but has other fixes.
The Original Post
The Short Version
According to her own account, the poster is 24 and her sister is 16. The sister had been asking for a laptop for online classes. The poster then bought a new laptop for herself, which left her old one working fine.
She offered the old laptop for free to a friend who is a broke college student and needed a device for school. They arranged to meet that weekend to hand it over.
When her parents heard, they told her the laptop should go to her younger sister and that the friend could find another one. The sister cried and said it was unfair for someone outside the family to get it first. The parents called the poster stubborn and selfish and said she could simply tell her friend she had changed her mind. They also said they could save up and buy the sister a laptop in a few months.
The poster refused to break her promise. As TwistedSifter tells it, the family conflict is still unresolved.
What the Internet Said
Per the TwistedSifter write-up, many commenters felt a promise should be kept and that the poster was right to honor her commitment to her friend. Others saw more nuance and pointed to the sister’s need and the family’s side. Some pushed back on assumptions people were making about the poster. We will not guess at a vote count.
The outlet’s own view is that the poster did nothing wrong, that the sister has other affordable options, and that you can love your family and still keep a commitment to a friend.
Marge’s Ruling
I’m on the poster’s side. The friend was promised the laptop first, a meetup was already on the calendar, and the parents asked her to take it back so the family could be comfortable. A promise like that is a small thing until you break it, and then it is a big thing to the person who was counting on it.
The sister’s need is real, and I would not dismiss it. But the parents named their own fix: they can save up and buy her a laptop in a few months. That is a harder answer for a 16-year-old to hear, not an unfair one. If the poster wants to help, she could chip in or point her sister toward refurbished options. She does not have to give away what she already promised.
Cast Your Vote
Marge has ruled. Now it’s your turn: pick a side below, then see how the Goblin Tavern on Discord voted.
The Tavern Verdict
Our Discord votes on every Goblin’s Verdict with reactions. To vote, open the post in #goblins-verdict and tap one: 😇 Not the villain, 👿 The villain, 🔥 Everyone’s a goblin or 🕊️ No villains. Here’s how the Goblin Tavern is leaning:
Tally: voting just opened. Join the vote in our Discord.
Keep digging: the sister’s-party ultimatum verdict, the borrowed-dress verdict, the removed-bridesmaid verdict and more Reddit drama verdicts.
Sources
- TwistedSifter: A woman promised her old laptop to a struggling college student, but her parents insisted she give it to her younger sister instead (November 10, 2026)
