eh - General Tiki - Tiki Central

M ModMana Tiki Socialite San Diego, CA Joined: Sep 05, 2002 Posts: 263	M ModMana Posted posted on Fri, May 16, 2003 2:11 AM Yea, I know what you mean Monkeyman, I see this kind of thing all the time on eBay and something about it doesn't feel right...it just seems a little sleezy. At first I wasn't sure why I felt that way. Sure, the seller got the item legitimately and has every right to resell it for a profit. However, for me the problem lies in the lack of respect it shows for Munktiki, or for Shag, or for Bosko, or for whomever's high demand product they decide to flip over for a profit on eBay (not to mention the lack of respect it shows for fellow collectors). These artists are part of the current tiki community and in my opinion deserve mucho respect for their contributions. They should be encouraged to do more instead of being taken advantage of. For example, if you buy an item for say $10, then immediately resell it for $60, to me it feels like you're stealing $50 from the artist. If I were the artist, I would be pissed about that. Or if Shag signs something for you, he's not just handing you back a piece of paper with his signature, he's handing something with value (see link below). So if you turn around and sell that piece of paper you are, in a sense, stealing money from him. Arguably these artists could charge much more money for their products (yes, even Shag) but most keep it reasonable. On one hand, this kind of eBay opportunism allows the item to end up in the hands of the true collectors (as long as they have deep pockets). But on the other hand it drives the prices up across the board for everyone in the end. I'm not sure why I even bother to comment on this as I know the ruthless profiteering will never stop. With these ridiculous profits I see being made on eBay I admit that it is tempting to just say "screw it, everyone else is doing it, I might as well make some money too"...ah, the ethical delima. Sorry about the rant, but you struck a nerve... Here's another (among many) that's been bugging me: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3520834278&category=20148 ModMana :drink::

Yea, I know what you mean Monkeyman, I see this kind of thing all the time on eBay and something about it doesn't feel right...it just seems a little sleezy. At first I wasn't sure why I felt that way. Sure, the seller got the item legitimately and has every right to resell it for a profit. However, for me the problem lies in the lack of respect it shows for Munktiki, or for Shag, or for Bosko, or for whomever's high demand product they decide to flip over for a profit on eBay (not to mention the lack of respect it shows for fellow collectors). These artists are part of the current tiki community and in my opinion deserve mucho respect for their contributions. They should be encouraged to do more instead of being taken advantage of. For example, if you buy an item for say $10, then immediately resell it for $60, to me it feels like you're stealing $50 from the artist. If I were the artist, I would be pissed about that. Or if Shag signs something for you, he's not just handing you back a piece of paper with his signature, he's handing something with value (see link below). So if you turn around and sell that piece of paper you are, in a sense, stealing money from him. Arguably these artists could charge much more money for their products (yes, even Shag) but most keep it reasonable. On one hand, this kind of eBay opportunism allows the item to end up in the hands of the true collectors (as long as they have deep pockets). But on the other hand it drives the prices up across the board for everyone in the end. I'm not sure why I even bother to comment on this as I know the ruthless profiteering will never stop. With these ridiculous profits I see being made on eBay I admit that it is tempting to just say "screw it, everyone else is doing it, I might as well make some money too"...ah, the ethical delima. Sorry about the rant, but you struck a nerve...

Here's another (among many) that's been bugging me:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3520834278&category=20148

ModMana :drink::

Post #34435 by ModMana on Fri, May 16, 2003 2:11 AM