Ethical Buying & Selling on Ebay in Relation to TC - Collecting Tiki

S SugarCaddyDaddy Member Huntington Beach, California Joined: Jun 03, 2002 Posts: 1500	S SugarCaddyDaddy Posted posted on Wed, Jun 11, 2003 4:10 PM I'm re-editing this initial paragraph just so all of you know....a few fellow TC'ers asked me to post the following, since they have had a concern about "ethical buying & selling" in reference to fellow TC'ers buying on ebay, outbidding other TC'ers in quite a few instances, and then turning right around and offering them for sale on ebay for a profit, rather than keeping it in their collection. So here it goes: We all look at ebay items to see what would be a good buy, right? Ok, so let's say that a buyer gets a great buy on ebay and buys it. GREAT! Good for you! Right? Hope you enjoy your new addition to your collection! Right? What if that buyer now turns around and sells that same item for 4 to 5 dollars higher or lets say even DOUBLE the price that they bought it at? Is that considered ethical or not? DON'T ANSWER THIS YET! KEEP READING PLEASE. I understand all those that profess "free enterprise", but now let me put a little twist on it...What if the buyer, now turns around and sells that same item for a profit, is a fellow TC'er? Is it now NOT ethical, since it would be considered "taking advantage of" your fellow TC'ers? I'll use myself as an example, so not to point any fingers... example 1: I find a mug on a "Buy It Now" for $5. I get it, and now turn around and put it back up on ebay for $30. I now also come on TC and "advertise" that I'm selling the mug. example 2: I find a mug and go through the whole bidding process (let's say a 5 day auction). I win the mug for $10. I get it, and now put it back up on ebay for a starting price of $16. I now also come on TC and "advertise" that I'm selling the mug. Is that ethical/fair/proper or whatever word you want to use? Remember, I'm NOT talking about a random person out on ebay buying items and turning around and selling them back on ebay. I am quite aware that that has happened since day one of Ebay's existence. I'm talking about a fellow, non-newby, TC'er. Personally, if I purchased a mug, and didn't quite like it or had a change of heart on keeping it, I would first ask a fellow TC'er locally if they want to buy it for the same price that I bought it at. If there were no takers, then I would post it to TC to ask other fellow TC'ers if they are interested, and would sell it for the price I paid for it (including postage). If no takers, THEN I would post it to ebay. That's my take on the situation. I hope you read all of this thoroughly. If something isn't quite clear, let me know. Again, this is being posted for other TC'ers that wanted to remain anonymous and asked me to post the question/concern to our fellow TC'ers. It is merely to obtain everyone's opinion. SugarCaddyDaddy SugarCaddyDaddy's Schedule of Stuff! [ Edited by: sugarcaddydaddy on 2003-06-12 12:04 ]

I'm re-editing this initial paragraph just so all of you know....a few fellow TC'ers asked me to post the following, since they have had a concern about "ethical buying & selling" in reference to fellow TC'ers buying on ebay, outbidding other TC'ers in quite a few instances, and then turning right around and offering them for sale on ebay for a profit, rather than keeping it in their collection. So here it goes:

We all look at ebay items to see what would be a good buy, right?

Ok, so let's say that a buyer gets a great buy on ebay and buys it. GREAT! Good for you! Right? Hope you enjoy your new addition to your collection! Right? What if that buyer now turns around and sells that same item for 4 to 5 dollars higher or lets say even DOUBLE the price that they bought it at? Is that considered ethical or not?
DON'T ANSWER THIS YET! KEEP READING PLEASE.

I understand all those that profess "free enterprise", but now let me put a little twist on it...What if the buyer, now turns around and sells that same item for a profit, is a fellow TC'er? Is it now NOT ethical, since it would be considered "taking advantage of" your fellow TC'ers?

I'll use myself as an example, so not to point any fingers...
example 1:
I find a mug on a "Buy It Now" for $5.
I get it, and now turn around and put it back up on ebay for $30.
I now also come on TC and "advertise" that I'm selling the mug.

example 2:
I find a mug and go through the whole bidding process (let's say a 5 day auction).
I win the mug for $10.
I get it, and now put it back up on ebay for a starting price of $16.
I now also come on TC and "advertise" that I'm selling the mug.

Is that ethical/fair/proper or whatever word you want to use?

Remember, I'm NOT talking about a random person out on ebay buying items and turning around and selling them back on ebay. I am quite aware that that has happened since day one of Ebay's existence. I'm talking about a fellow, non-newby, TC'er.

Personally, if I purchased a mug, and didn't quite like it or had a change of heart on keeping it, I would first ask a fellow TC'er locally if they want to buy it for the same price that I bought it at. If there were no takers, then I would post it to TC to ask other fellow TC'ers if they are interested, and would sell it for the price I paid for it (including postage). If no takers, THEN I would post it to ebay.

That's my take on the situation. I hope you read all of this thoroughly. If something isn't quite clear, let me know. Again, this is being posted for other TC'ers that wanted to remain anonymous and asked me to post the question/concern to our fellow TC'ers. It is merely to obtain everyone's opinion.

SugarCaddyDaddy

SugarCaddyDaddy's Schedule of Stuff!

[ Edited by: sugarcaddydaddy on 2003-06-12 12:04 ]

Post #38616 by SugarCaddyDaddy on Wed, Jun 11, 2003 4:10 PM