Would you take advantage of an uninformed seller?

[blansky]

Of course. Do you think I'm a cretin?

Sorry.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Of course. Do you think I'm a cretin?

A Miss Cretin or a Mr Cretin for all intensive porpoises?

 

[Jeff Bradford]

I would advise her to take it back in the house because it is worth way too much money to have sitting on her yard-sale table. Then I would glare back at the guy who was about to offer her $5.

 

[removed account4]

this thread is almost as funny as the joke thread

check out the house, her clothes and car, really ???
what if she is homeless, and is wearing donated clothes
and is selling the last of her possessions, including her late husband's camera
the last possession of any value she owns ... and no she doesn't even live at the house
a social worker is allowing her to sell the stuff on her driveway / yard ..
so all your assumptions about the widow are wrong ...

---

i watch the roadshow where some lady and her mom were told to take ( for free ) whatever they wanted out of the roll away dumpster the guy had behind his house.
one of the dumpster treasures was worth a little bit of $$ ( she had like 7 )

should she pay the guy for them ??

it is almost the same question ...


http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/201001A25.html

 

[Old-N-Feeble]

$125,000 - $150,000 is not a piddling sum (for ONE rug) and yes, after I sold those I would give a large portion to the person who gave them to me. Perhaps not as much as if they were selling the rugs vs. pulling them from a dumpster but a very substantial amount none-the-less.

 

[ambaker]

Unfortunately I see myself in the mirror each day. While scoring a valuable piece from an unknowing seller seems like winning the lottery, I know what I did.

I've found, over the years, that if you do the right thing it pays off in the long run. You get a reputation for honesty and fairness, and more good deals seem to come your way.

I was in a store, and the person behind the counter offered me an old Yashica SLR for free, because the back was stuck shut. Having owned a few of these old beasts, I showed him how to get it open. He gave me the Yashica anyway for being honest. And we have become good friends and have traded back and forth a lot. If I hadn't been honest, and somebody else told him later, how to get the back open, I doubt we would have the same relationship.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[moose10101]

The scenario I initially described is a not-uncommon one on eBay, Craigslist, and a plethora of other forums with classified ads.

If someone has the skills to register on eBay, set up a selling account, create a listing, and upload photos, I assume they also have the ability to do some basic research on what they're selling, and I'd have no problem buying an underpriced item. (Note: on two occasions, I bought a Buy It Now listing where the seller had clearly fat-fingered the price or selected the wrong selling format, and when the sellers asked to cancel, I agreed. I did the BIN instead of emailing the seller so I could prevent someone else from buying and forcing the seller to complete the transaction).

In the OP's scenario, I would tell Exa that the gear's actual worth was much higher, but if she insisted on getting rid of it at the stated price, I would buy it.

Unfortunately I see myself in the mirror each day.

Yes, I think many of us dread that daily dose of reality.

 

[RobC]

If you're at a yard sale or car boot (trunk for those stateside) sale then you are in the category of bin diver anyway and are looking for something for nothing. Of course you'll just take it price asked for. The sellers happy and you're happy, its a win win situation.
If you walked into an antique shop (used household goods in real terms) and found an old painting which you thought was an unknown masterpiece and worth tens of thousands but was on sale for 500 would you tell the seller. If you say yes then I'd say you're a liar.

People buying used goods are always looking for a bargain. That's the name of the game. And you don't know what you getting until you get it home and test it out.

 

[removed account4]

what if the widow was unknowingly selling a FAKE Leica .. and you bought it for $20, and you realized
when you tried to flip it on eBay or a local photo show (you were told) it was a fake ...
is the widow responsible for selling you the fake camera ?

 

[BrianShaw]

Clearly, the widow would be responsible for the difference between the value of a real Leica and the price paid for the fake. She should have divulged that it was a fake, or at least admitted to the possibility that it is fake. That would be a moral and ethical conclusion.

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

What a fascinating example of human nature this thread has become. It's truly amazing to see the almost unrecognizable pretzel-like contortions that people can twist the definition of honesty into in order to make sure they get what they want, regardless of the consequences to others.

Remember way back when in the sandbox when mom was telling you that you needed to return the plastic pail and shovel you had just taken away from one of your little friends, who was now crying?

That was a very important moment. She was trying to teach you something...



Ken

 

[jacaquarie]

YES

They put what they think is the fair price and I was willing to pay.
Transaction concluded.

 

[BrianShaw]

... Remember way back when in the sandbox when mom was telling you that you needed to return the plastic pail and shovel you had just taken away from one of your little friends, who was now crying?
...

Who was crying in the original scenario?

 

[MattKing]

What a fascinating example of human nature this thread has become. It's truly amazing to see the almost unrecognizable pretzel-like contortions that people can twist the definition of honesty into in order to make sure they get what they want, regardless of the consequences to others.

Remember way back when in the sandbox when mom was telling you that you needed to return the plastic pail and shovel you had just taken away from one of your little friends, who was now crying?

That was a very important moment. She was trying to teach you something...



Ken

Ken:

I believe you are confusing "honesty" with "generosity" and "looking out for others".

There is nothing dishonest about paying what a seller asks.

It would be dishonest to try to convince the seller to reduce the price, based on a false assertion from you about its real value.

Reaching out to the seller, without request, to help her protect her interests is a generous and laudable action and I would recommend it.

 

[BrianShaw]

The world can be viewed as a big zero-sum game, so going back to Ken's sandbox, since someone will end up crying, it might as well be the other guy, who would likely screw you over anyway if he had the chance. People suck. Get used to it.

Who was crying, or who would be crying if the widow successfully sold the camera for her asking price?

But I totally agree that people suck. I hate people. I sometimes hate being a people.

 

[RobC]

What a fascinating example of human nature this thread has become. It's truly amazing to see the almost unrecognizable pretzel-like contortions that people can twist the definition of honesty into in order to make sure they get what they want, regardless of the consequences to others.

Remember way back when in the sandbox when mom was telling you that you needed to return the plastic pail and shovel you had just taken away from one of your little friends, who was now crying?

That was a very important moment. She was trying to teach you something...



Ken

I think you're correct. You have just demonstrated that you think everyone else is twisted into screwing someone else out of money. In my opinion we all judge others by our own standards and if we are doing it we accuse/expect others to be doing it which is how we justify it to ourselves. So you have just done exactly that which tells me it's what you would do too. Some of us are honest enough to say what we'd do. Others would judge and accuse others without admitting to it themselves.

The real point of the original question is flawed in that it assumes everyone attending the yard sale is morally bound to inform the seller what they think the value of the product is. My bet is that when you buy a house you want to pay less than the seller is selling it for. Where does that put your moral highground. And no don't bother to concoct a twisted response to why it differs from original posters question.
When I attended the Yard Sale I didn't know her old man had just popped his clogs so why would I feel sorry for her. If had known I wouldn't have turned up like a vulture to pick at the bones. If she had asked for advice I would have given it freely and honestly.

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

Who was crying in the original scenario?

Decades later when reading this thread?

Mom...

Ken

 

[BrianShaw]

Decades later when reading this thread?

Mom...

Ken

You are still being obtuse in your response. If you are trying to teach via Socratic method, it's not working on me right now. Who?; please say who.

I have a mom, and I've been told that lesson (decades ago), and I have morals... but I still don't get who is crying if the widow offers something at a price and someone buys it at that price.

I know I've sold plenty of stuff at prices below their "real value" and thanked the buyer for taking the stuff off my hands. I was happy to see someone else get that stuff and use it. Only once did I regret such a decision... when I gave something of value to a kid who portrayed himself as a starving student and then he sold it. But I gave it so that regret didn't last longer than a quick moment of surprise.

 

[RobC]

Oh, and the OP forgot to mention that Exa just received a million in life assurance cos Fred was only 35.

 

[BrianShaw]

Oh, and the OP forgot to mention that Exa just received a million in life assurance cos Fred was only 35.

... so that crying were tears of joy?

 

[removed account4]

Clearly, the widow would be responsible for the difference between the value of a real Leica and the price paid for the fake. She should have divulged that it was a fake, or at least admitted to the possibility that it is fake. That would be a moral and ethical conclusion.

hi brian, thanks for playing along

if the widow didn't know her husband had a fake leica, she doesn't know a leica from a holga,
her late husband's snapshots look fine to her, she is just selling his old camera .. and she is
selling her kodak 126 instamatic next to his camera ... same price.

how is she responsible for selling a fake leica if she didn't even know what it was ? it was just her husband's camera.
is she really responsible for the guy who thought it was real, wanted to rob her blind, resell it for 100 times the price he bought it for
because he was blinded by greed he didn't notice the name plate said lieca not leica ?

john

 

[BrianShaw]

People are the worst.

What's all this about a widow selling cameras? Was that before the sandbox part?

I don't want to be mean, but I questioned the thinly-veiled intent of this thread from the beginning. But I know for sure that the hypothetical transaction had little to do with sandboxes.

Ya, people are the worst... let's make wurst out of them!

 

[blansky]

Decades later when reading this thread?

Mom...

Ken

Hopefully this thread like most other ones will have long ago disappeared into the ether.

So lets talk about the sliding scale of morality. People who profess the godlike levels on this thread, I invite you to go to your subscriber information and see how much money you paid to post here.

The minimum, the maximum.

Who gives homeless people money? How much. A dollar. A hundred dollars. Nothing, because then I'd just be an enabler.

There is very little high ground on morality and everyone has a sliding scale and great opinions to back up their choices.

So lets not get too uppity on the rest of the savages on this site, because we are all savages.

 

[RobC]

... so that crying were tears of joy?

Yeah, she hated him. He had a heart attack and dropped down dead when she told him she wanted a divorce.

 

[pbromaghin]

I took advantage of a very well informed seller yesterday, a trader at the Denver swap meet. He's getting out of the business and gave me some 75%-90% off deals just to get rid of the stuff.