Posted by Mark (leave feedback to contact me) on July 08, 2003 at 18:20:25:
In Reply to: The Right Thing? posted by The Shot Glas Guy on June 09, 2003 at 20:55:24:
If they were "happy" to sell the glass for $3.00 then you did not "rip them off."
I guess the real question is, where is the line between "getting a good deal" and "ripping someone off" It is not a crime to sell something for less than it's "value" but is there a moral obligation to let the seller know they might be making a mistake?
I haven't thought of this before, but my first reaction is that it is a matter of "scale." Buying a $30 object for $3 is a good deal. Buying a $300,000 object for $3 is ripping somebody off (unless of course they know what the "value" is and are still willing to sell for less). Where is the actual line -- I am not sure...
Buying one glass for $3 was a good deal, going back and buying the rest would have been taking advantage of somebody. If you explained that you thought that they might be worth $30, and they were still willing to sell them for $3 each, then you got an even better deal. I know a couple of people who would still sell them for the $3 price, either to "make someone's day" or because they got them for $1 each.
Who is to say that the seller did not know the "book value" of the item, and had not been able to sell them for that much? Some items go down in value because of changes in the supply -- Soviet memorabilia used to get big bucks before the fall of communism, because it was hard to find "in the west." Vaseline glass was previously only made prior to World War 2. It is now being made again, and some people no longer collect it because it is no longer "rare"
But it might be that they may have known what they were selling, and they were selling reproductions, which are only worth $3.00 (many expensive items, including shotglasses, have been reproduced)
Mark
: So I see 10 of the same shot glass at the flea market. I buy one of their duplicates for $3. I get home and research and find out my purchase is worth $35. What do I do? A)Go back and give the vendor $32 more ?
: B)Go back and buy evey one he has at the $3 price? C) Go back and tell him how I ripped him off?
: This really hapened.