Posted By:
warshawlawI'd pay him what he wants and take all the cards. Frankly, it is a no-brainer given the arms-length sale scenario proposed. I wouldn't feel bad about it because he named the price and if I reject the deal he is going to sell for what he can get right then and there regardless of whether you buy them or someone else buys them. Hal is also right about your taking the risk that the cards are genuine, unaltered, not stolen, etc. This guy is never going to return your money if the carsd are bad.
The issue at the heart of the hypothetical is whether superior knowledge has to be shared. My superior knowledge is not something that I have to gratuitously offer to a person in an arms-length transaction as described. Now, if I was asked not to buy the cards but to consult as to the value or best way to market the cards, I would be under a duty not to mislead if I agreed to undertake that responsibility to the seller. Several years ago I was approached by a person selling a bunch of very high grade 1950s cards. He had a Beckett and wanted 50% of the high column (near mint prices). One look at the cards and I knew that many of them were nm-mt or even better (in fact, all of the cards I ended up buying were slabbed by PSA--at the time the only game in town-- with most getting 8s and 9s, and a few hitting only 7s) so 50% of high Beckett was a hell of a deal, especially if I could cherry pick, which he was willing to let me do. Now, was I supposed to use my expertise to grade the cards for him and in effect bid against myself? For all you know the seller in the hypothetical has already reviewed a price guide and decided on a price.