Seller sues dealer/buyer for a high flip

[G1911]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I do like you though. I just think you aren't in a position to call me a liar when I speak the truth about my personal morals, or to paint everyone in the hobby with the broad brush you did.

If men’s actions were as good as their words, we would all of us be angels. One is either a man of exceptional virtue to turn down the proffered scenario, or dishonest. I do not see a real third option.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by G1911

If men’s actions were as good as their words, we would all of us be angels. One is either a man of exceptional virtue to turn down the proffered scenario, or dishonest. I do not see a real third option.

I would turn it down but I don't claim to have exceptional virtue, nor do I judge anyone who would take the offer. I think there are a lot more like me out there than you may believe.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I would turn it down but I don't claim to have exceptional virtue, nor do I judge anyone who would take the offer. I think there are a lot more like me out there than you may believe.

It would not be very reasonable of me to believe there are a great or significant number of people who will turn down hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars offered to them on a silver platter. Experience suggests people do far worse for far less with great frequency. One who would decline such an example as the one I offered (without using any coercion, with it being directly offered to them, and without any illegalities making the buyer have to do nothing more than say “okay” as a nearly passive participant) is clearly in a minority. I might agree if the variables had been different, people generally do good things when their is incentive to do so or no incentive at all, but it is very hard to postulate many people will sincerely trade retirement and financial security for a relatively minor moral point. Nothing in human history suggests to me this is how anything remotely approaching how a majority actually works.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Well you're now down to talking about a majority and a minority. I might agree with you there, but before you were suggesting no one would turn it down. I believe a very sizeable minority would.

I don't know what your experience of the world has been, but mine apparently is otherwise.

[Snapolit1]

My mom has a condo down in Vero Beach. I thought it would be really cool to take out some classified ads in the local papers (see them all the time) about how I am buying cards, sports memorablia, Dodgers stuff, etc. Would be fun to pop into people's homes and check stuff out. But ultimately I don't run an auction house, and the business model would basically be premised on me fleecing ignorant widows of what they have. No. Not how I see my life playing out.

If Rick Probstein misprices something, that's one thing. If Mary O'Ryan, age 90 does, that's a totally different story.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

My mom has a condo down in Vero Beach. I thought it would be really cool to take out some classified ads in the local papers (see them all the time) about how I am buying cards, sports memorablia, Dodgers stuff, etc. Would be fun to pop into people's homes and check stuff out. But ultimately I don't run an auction house, and the business model would basically be premised on me fleecing ignorant widows of what they have. No. Not how I see my life playing out.

If Rick Probstein misprices something, that's one thing. If Mary O'Ryan, age 90 does, that's a totally different story.

Is there some profit margin where you would still make enough to justify your effort, but not so much that you felt like you were shearing the sheep?

70%? 50%? 30%? 10%?

Seems like somewhere in that range you probably find you can sleep at night. But maybe the margins would drift down to the point where it no longer made sense.

[Snapolit1]

Good question.

I guess my answer to a friend or family member would be "It depends. Speak to Al at Love of the Game Auctions." And if I didn't say that to someone else it would probably be a little disengenous at best.

Originally Posted by raulus

Is there some profit margin where you would still make enough to justify your effort, but not so much that you felt like you were shearing the sheep?

70%? 50%? 30%? 10%?

Seems like somewhere in that range you probably find you can sleep at night. But maybe the margins would drift down to the point where it no longer made sense.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Well you're now down to talking about a majority and a minority. I might agree with you there, but before you were suggesting no one would turn it down. I believe a very sizeable minority would.

I don't know what your experience of the world has been, but mine apparently is otherwise.

I stated in favor of "very few" (40), that it would be "exceptional" (52), that there are not a "great or sizable number" (58), "in a minority (58), and against "many people" (58) or "anything even approaching a majority" (58), since you so strongly objected to it being "exceptional"; which would necessitate a large number of people.

Perhaps one day I will find this idyllic Utopia where a great many people reject instant wealth to make a point not to benefit from a stupid seller, but I think we all must know deep down that the odds of that are about 0%.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by G1911

I stated in favor of "very few" (40), that it would be "exceptional" (52), that there are not a "great or sizable number" (58), "in a minority (58), and against "many people" (58) or "anything even approaching a majority" (58), since you so strongly objected to it being "exceptional"; which would necessitate a large number of people.

Perhaps one day I will find this idyllic Utopia where a great many people reject instant wealth to make a point not to benefit from a stupid seller, but I think we all must know deep down that the odds of that are about 0%.

I am sorry you have such a jaded view. I suspect you're already in that utopia, as I believe a great many of us would feel it was the right thing not to buy a Wagner for a hundred bucks.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I am sorry you have such a jaded view. I suspect you're already in that utopia, as I believe a great many of us would feel it was the right thing not to buy a Wagner for a hundred bucks.

A great many of you certainly will feel this way. I would probably agree even. But not many of you will pass up a free million bucks if offered on a silver platter. People lie, cheat and steal for $1,000 or less frequently; when offered a cool million plus without having to even lie, cheat or steal almost all of us will take it.

I find it exceedingly difficult to believe any collector in the hobby for a significant amount of time has not gotten a bargain in their favor at some point and benefited from a sellers lack of knowledge.

If I list $100 card for $1 in the BST it will be gone in 1 minute. People will take this offer for a few bucks; there is no way many are turning it down for instant wealth. I'm sorry, but this utopia is pretty obviously not how the world works.