Ethics Question ???

[hbo_boxingfan]

Yes, please let us know what books you will be selling

Mostly some GA Subbies in low grade. Six random issues from # 5 to # 23 in the 2.0 range.

[shadroch]

These arguments are seriously stupid and a joke whenever they're brought up. You were quoted a price. You negotiated. The price came down. You bought it.

 

Oh wait, we aren't, this is comicbookland, where we're supposed to make sure we pay the absolute top dollar for everything because it is "ethically the right thing to do."

Donut, it's not an argument, it's a discussion. Thanks for bringing your point of view.

 

However, I don't think there's one right answer here. I think there are different strokes for different folks. You've found a way that works for you. I know what works for me. And at least in this instance, what worked for me was to do better by the seller.

 

Like every other collector/dealer, I don't want to "pay the absolute top dollar for everything because it is ethically the right thing to do." I want a good deal like everyone else does. But after realizing how well this deal worked out for me, coupled with the information I had from the boardie who assisted me with the transaction about the seller's apparent limited means, I knew I'd feel better about the deal if I kicked in something more for her.

 

I know the lynch mob might come after me for saying this on a board full of collectors, but in 50 years, what's gonna matter most to me isn't how many rare comics I have in my collection. It's gonna be the relationships I have or had with other people.

 

 

Sending the woman more money than she asked for might make her think you have a guilty conscious and cause more trouble than its worth. If she thinks she was ripped off, she might investigate, get a price guide and see what the books are worth. Of course, she'll look at the NM prices and become convinced you are a complete thief. Then its a small step to contacting an ambulance chaser and more headaches.

If you really think she needs money, send her something anonymously.

No good deed goes unpunished.

[KEY ISSUES Comics]

I think it's kind of anyone to pay MORE than the asking price, but it's not an ethical thing. Unless you got a $1K book for $1. Even then, it's the seller's responsibility to have some idea of the item's value.

 

It becomes an ethical issue IMHO if you came across a book lets say you knew had a value of $1K and YOU MADE AN OFFER OF $1.00. That's unethical. Shame on anyone who does that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Offer at LEAST $2.00!!!

[comicalgems]

These arguments are seriously stupid and a joke whenever they're brought up. You were quoted a price. You negotiated. The price came down. You bought it.

 

Oh wait, we aren't, this is comicbookland, where we're supposed to make sure we pay the absolute top dollar for everything because it is "ethically the right thing to do."

Donut, it's not an argument, it's a discussion. Thanks for bringing your point of view.

 

However, I don't think there's one right answer here. I think there are different strokes for different folks. You've found a way that works for you. I know what works for me. And at least in this instance, what worked for me was to do better by the seller.

 

Like every other collector/dealer, I don't want to "pay the absolute top dollar for everything because it is ethically the right thing to do." I want a good deal like everyone else does. But after realizing how well this deal worked out for me, coupled with the information I had from the boardie who assisted me with the transaction about the seller's apparent limited means, I knew I'd feel better about the deal if I kicked in something more for her.

 

I know the lynch mob might come after me for saying this on a board full of collectors, but in 50 years, what's gonna matter most to me isn't how many rare comics I have in my collection. It's gonna be the relationships I have or had with other people.

 

 

 

Oh errr...I meant uh...

 

[Boozad]

One thing I'm struggling with here, and that's the 'if you buy a $1k book for $1 that's different'. People always say that if an uneducated buyer drastically overpays for a book it's their own fault for not researching it beforehand, and that the seller can price it however they like. All well and good.

 

So if an uneducated seller drastically underprices a book and a buyer snaps it up, how is that unethical on the buyer's part when the overpriced seller isn't? The buyer has met the seller's askng price. How can selling an overpriced book to someone who doesn't know be ethical, yet buying a bargain from someone who doesn't know be unethical?

[lizards2]

This isn't directed at anyone in particular, but let your conscience be your guide, and follow the golden rule.

 

You'll probably be a happier person in the long run by leaving some $ on the table, rather than squeezing every last dime out of every transaction.

[Mr. Zipper]

So if an uneducated seller drastically underprices a book and a buyer snaps it up, how is that unethical on the buyer's part when the overpriced seller isn't? The buyer has met the seller's askng price. How can selling an overpriced book to someone who doesn't know be ethical, yet buying a bargain from someone who doesn't know be unethical?

 

Ditto.

 

If the buyer wanted to throw the lady a few extra dollars as a nice gesture, that's all well and good. But the buyer should be under no ethical obligation to do so.

 

The seller holds the books and thus all the power. He or she has the responsibility to conduct their due diligence and research the value of the items they are selling. If they don't or can't be bothered, why is it incumbent on the buyer to educate the seller as to the value of what they possess? (Unless the seller is approaching the buyer in the capacity of a professional appraiser/dealer.)

 

I sold a ton of old LPs at a garage sale last year. I knew some of them were probably worth a few bucks. But I couldn't be bothered, so I marked them $1 each... and within the first hour a guy I knew was a dealer bought them all. Did he have a ethical obligation to let me know they were worth more than $1 each? Did I feel cheated? Nope.

[arexcrooke]

I agree fully Zipper :thumbsup:

[fantastic_four]

I sold a ton of old LPs at a garage sale last year. I knew some of them were probably worth a few bucks. But I couldn't be bothered, so I marked them $1 each... and within the first hour a guy I knew was a dealer bought them all. Did he have a ethical obligation to let me know they were worth more than $1 each? Did I feel cheated? Nope.

 

I agree with this until the discrepancy becomes a life-changing amount of money for the seller, and at that point, it becomes at MINIMUM immoral to fleece them...I'm on the fence about whether it's ethical or not if the buyer is a professional and was neither consulted by nor did he mislead the seller. If the buyer and seller are both non-pros then ethics isn't in play, it's all morals.

 

So if we're talking about the situation the original poster set up, it's fine to buy them for $200. If the actual value had been $100K and you paid $200, then that's something else entirely.

[shadroch]

To paraphrase Winston Churchill " We've already determined what you are, now we negotiate the price"

 

If I saw a guy in a Flea Market selling $100,000 book for $1, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. If I responded to an ad and some mother was selling her husbands books, I'd offer her double, perhaps triple.

[ComicConnoisseur]

First obligation should be only to one`s family and one`s self.

[skypinkblu]

We are a board full of collectors, we know where to look things up, or who to ask.

 

When I came to this board, I had a few books from a friend that were apparently quite rare. He had asked me to sell them for him.

 

I did try to look them up, but the only places I knew to look was on Ebay or in an Overstreet guide and- Google, never realized there were other venues, I just was not that sophisticated. The prices were way under the true value in the Overstreet Guide, and there were no sales on Ebay, no hits on Google. I asked a few people, but they had no experience with the titles.

 

I'm not exactly stupid, but I was not that educated in obscure titles and it just didn't click that there were no comparisons because the items were so rare. I had no experience with rare comics.

 

I sold them to a "collector" who told me what they were "worth". I accepted their assessment. I found later that the prices I got for my friend, were most probably way under what the true value was.

 

I if I had a clue, I would have started a thread asking, of course I had no clue, .

 

In my case, the money did not really affect me, but I felt badly after because my friend could have used the extra cash.

 

I at least I had SOME clue...I knew a little bit where to look. I've since learned about Heritage, C Link, the human encyclopedias on the board...etc.

 

A few of you are assuming that the person was lazy. I am looking at it from the viewpoint (and I might be wrong) that this other woman had no clue where to look...and she DID need the money. Taking advantage of her, in my opinion would be unkind.

 

It might be great for Capitalism, but it would be unkind.

 

Personally, I probably would have given her $300 and if I sold the books for a lot more, I would have sent her a bonus....but that's just me.

 

[sborock]

We are a board full of collectors, we know where to look things up, or who to ask.

 

When I came to this board, I had a few books from a friend that were apparently quite rare. He had asked me to sell them for him.

 

I did try to look them up, but the only places I knew to look was on Ebay or in an Overstreet guide and- Google, never realized there were other venues, I just was not that sophisticated. The prices were way under the true value in the Overstreet Guide, and there were no sales on Ebay, no hits on Google. I asked a few people, but they had no experience with the titles.

 

I'm not exactly stupid, but I was not that educated in obscure titles and it just didn't click that there were no comparisons because the items were so rare. I had no experience with rare comics.

 

I sold them to a "collector" who told me what they were "worth". I accepted their assessment. I found later that the prices I got for my friend, were most probably way under what the true value was.

 

I if I had a clue, I would have started a thread asking, of course I had no clue, .

 

In my case, the money did not really affect me, but I felt badly after because my friend could have used the extra cash.

 

I at least I had SOME clue...I knew a little bit where to look. I've since learned about Heritage, C Link, the human encyclopedias on the board...etc.

 

A few of you are assuming that the person was lazy. I am looking at it from the viewpoint (and I might be wrong) that this other woman had no clue where to look...and she DID need the money. Taking advantage of her, in my opinion would be unkind.

 

It might be great for Capitalism, but it would be unkind.

 

Personally, I probably would have given her $300 and if I sold the books for a lot more, I would have sent her a bonus....but that's just me.

 

 

And that's why we love ya!

[Mr. Zipper]

The angle these discussions seem to take are from the perspective of a re-seller. For instance, the books are being purchased for resale. They are "inventory." And because the books are being viewed as a commodity in that respect, I think it's easier to say, "well throw the lady a few extra bucks because you'll make a nice profit anyway."

 

So, is it any different if the buyer is not a re-seller... and the book would be for the buyers own collection with no intent for resale anytime soon?

 

If you saw a grail you could never otherwise afford at a garage sale for $5, and you had zero intent to resell -- it would sit in your collection for decades -- would you inform the seller how much the book is worth and therefore forever lose any chance you ever had of adding the book to your collection?

 

 

 

 

[lizards2]

The angle these discussions seem to take are from the perspective of a re-seller. For instance, the books are being purchased for resale. They are "inventory." And because the books are being viewed as a commodity in that respect, I think it's easier to say, "well throw the lady a few extra bucks because you'll make a nice profit anyway."

 

So, is it any different if the buyer is not a re-seller... and the book would be for the buyers own collection with no intent for resale anytime soon?

 

If you saw a grail you could never otherwise afford at a garage sale for $5, and you had zero intent to resell -- it would sit in your collection for decades -- would you inform the seller how much the book is worth and therefore forever lose any chance you ever had of adding the book to your collection?

 

 

 

 

It depends on the value of the book. If it was a $1000 book, I would sure as heck give her more than $5. But that's just me.

[That Ron Dude]

There are many factors that could be involved that I am unaware of. What is his mental state? How broke is he? How did he get the books? What are you going to do with them after? What is your profit going to be? Negotiating price is OK in almost all cases but if a mentally handicapped person is going to be thrown out of the rooming house because someone wouldn't fork over an extra $200 and there is an Action #1 in there, that someone is truly a son-of-a-spoon.

[RockMyAmadeus]

This has probably been discussed on the boards before, but I'm too lazy to go look for previous threads right now. So here's the scenario:

 

Seller is asking $400 for some comics.

Before seeing the books, in an email I ask, "What's the best price you can do on these?"

Seller says, "$200 for all of them."

So, upon traveling out to see the books, I realize $200 is a great deal and I'm ready to buy the comics.

 

What would you do? Pay the $200? Pay the original $400 asking price? Split the difference and pay $300?

 

I fail to see how ethics are relevant to this question :shrug:

 

The seller set a price. You haggled & received a lower price. You pay the lower price. End of story.

 

This is correct. There is nothing unethical about this unless you have deceived her in some way.

 

If you were getting 100K worth of books, that would be a different story.

 

That's situational ethics. If it's ethical at $400, why would it be unethical at $100K?

[lizards2]

This has probably been discussed on the boards before, but I'm too lazy to go look for previous threads right now. So here's the scenario:

 

Seller is asking $400 for some comics.

Before seeing the books, in an email I ask, "What's the best price you can do on these?"

Seller says, "$200 for all of them."

So, upon traveling out to see the books, I realize $200 is a great deal and I'm ready to buy the comics.

 

What would you do? Pay the $200? Pay the original $400 asking price? Split the difference and pay $300?

 

I fail to see how ethics are relevant to this question :shrug:

 

The seller set a price. You haggled & received a lower price. You pay the lower price. End of story.

 

This is correct. There is nothing unethical about this unless you have deceived her in some way.

 

If you were getting 100K worth of books, that would be a different story.

 

That's situational ethics. If it's ethical at $400, why would it be unethical at $100K?

 

Because few around here appear to have any ethics?

 

They'll rag on Chuckles all day long for asking triple GPA, but if they can Sal someone down (sight unseen) for a group of books then that is OKEEDOKEE :Thumbsup:

[RockMyAmadeus]

This has probably been discussed on the boards before, but I'm too lazy to go look for previous threads right now. So here's the scenario:

 

Seller is asking $400 for some comics.

Before seeing the books, in an email I ask, "What's the best price you can do on these?"

Seller says, "$200 for all of them."

So, upon traveling out to see the books, I realize $200 is a great deal and I'm ready to buy the comics.

 

What would you do? Pay the $200? Pay the original $400 asking price? Split the difference and pay $300?

 

I fail to see how ethics are relevant to this question :shrug:

 

The seller set a price. You haggled & received a lower price. You pay the lower price. End of story.

 

This is correct. There is nothing unethical about this unless you have deceived her in some way.

 

If you were getting 100K worth of books, that would be a different story.

 

That's situational ethics. If it's ethical at $400, why would it be unethical at $100K?

 

Because few around here appear to have any ethics?

 

They'll rag on Chuckles all day long for asking triple GPA, but if they can Sal someone down (sight unseen) for a group of books then that is OKEEDOKEE :Thumbsup:

 

That didn't answer my absolutely rhetorical question at all.

 

(thumbs u

[Dale Roberts]

This has probably been discussed on the boards before, but I'm too lazy to go look for previous threads right now. So here's the scenario:

 

Seller is asking $400 for some comics.

Before seeing the books, in an email I ask, "What's the best price you can do on these?"

Seller says, "$200 for all of them."

So, upon traveling out to see the books, I realize $200 is a great deal and I'm ready to buy the comics.

 

What would you do? Pay the $200? Pay the original $400 asking price? Split the difference and pay $300?

 

I fail to see how ethics are relevant to this question :shrug:

 

The seller set a price. You haggled & received a lower price. You pay the lower price. End of story.

 

This is correct. There is nothing unethical about this unless you have deceived her in some way.

 

If you were getting 100K worth of books, that would be a different story.

 

That's situational ethics. If it's ethical at $400, why would it be unethical at $100K?

 

Because few around here appear to have any ethics?

 

They'll rag on Chuckles all day long for asking triple GPA, but if they can Sal someone down (sight unseen) for a group of books then that is OKEEDOKEE :Thumbsup:

 

That didn't answer my absolutely rhetorical question at all.

 

(thumbs u

 

Its not situational ethics at all. You twisted words to make it fit what you want.

 

What I said, is that there is nothing wrong with negotiating with someone. $200.00 is fair for a few hundred dollars worth of books. If it were 100K worth of books, then the situation is different, and you should not purchase them for $200 or $400.