Is It Your Responsibility To Let The Seller Know?

[Leon]

Originally Posted by LEHR

My opinion has always been that it's not my place to price someone else's stuff, nor is it my duty to educate them on what they have. If the price is to high IMO I make an offer or just move on. If the price is ridiculously low I'm going to buy with a clean conscience and still sleep well at night.

Others will I'm sure disagree with this and that's fine, to each their own.

+1. It is the sellers responsibility to know the items they are selling. My education has taken time and money.
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[cfhofer]

It depends on who is selling the item for me. If the individual is in the business of selling and buying memorabilia then completely agree with the previous comments. All is fair.

However, if the seller is completely unfamiliar with the hobby - a collector’s widow or selling a family heirloom for example - then I will educate the seller to the best of my ability and make a fair market value offer, typically more than their original asking price.

[icurnmedic]

Agree with all the above. That’s why when I sell something I am not sure of, well that is what auctions are for.

[mainemule]

I recently purchased a nice Ted W. auto that had a pretty low BIN, much lower than what a Ted W. auto should go for, and a "best offer" option. I was happy with the BIN and did not try and nickle-and-dime my way to a price that could be seen as "highway robbery." I also didn't want to chance someone else hitting the BIN before my offer was resolved.

[SyrNy1960]

Appreciate the responses, which I also agree with.

[NiceDocter]

I’ve had situations where I saw the selling price was too low or maybe rarer items mixed in with commons…. I tell the seller and make him a very fair and higher offer than was asked …. And he gets freaked out thinking he’s sitting on a gold mine and nixes the deal altogether!!!! Based on some bad experiences like this I usually just buy or don’t buy based on the price asked for. I’ve seen it come down like this on TV shows also like Pawn Stars and American Pickers….. where an expert weighs in with a much higher price and then the seller jacks his price through the roof. That always makes me kind of angry when I see that.

[JollyElm]

It's all about context.

• If I'm looking on eBay and run across a horrifically underpriced card (which is basically the only thing I look for), I buy it without giving it a second thought. The seller is responsible for his/her pricing and there is no onus on me to edify.

• If I'm at a garage sale and an elderly widow gives me a price that is criminally low on her husband's card collection (yeah, like I've ever been lucky enough to have that scenario unfold!!), I'd say, "No way! That would be ripping you off," and would up the price accordingly to something that reflects the true value of the cardboard.

• If there was a combo of these two, say an eBayer who had no clue what's going on and truly made a mistake (and is a nice person) listing it for what he/she did, I would contact them afterwards to help right the situation...which would allow me to sleep at night.

[Huck]

Originally Posted by NiceDocter

I’ve had situations where I saw the selling price was too low or maybe rarer items mixed in with commons…. I tell the seller and make him a very fair and higher offer than was asked …. And he gets freaked out thinking he’s sitting on a gold mine and nixes the deal altogether!!!! Based on some bad experiences like this I usually just buy or don’t buy based on the price asked for. I’ve seen it come down like this on TV shows also like Pawn Stars and American Pickers….. where an expert weighs in with a much higher price and then the seller jacks his price through the roof. That always makes me kind of angry when I see that.

+1! When word gets around that you are a collector, neighbors, friends, colleagues and a slew of other folks will start letting you know about collections. They all have visions of hundreds of thousands of dollars coming their way. After you have viewed the cards the first question is always "What are they worth?" or the classic "I had this card and that card but my mother threw all of my cards in the trash."