3.99 vase sells for $100,000

[Fred]

I feel sorry for the thrifter's significant other because now that thrifter is now armed with 10's of thousands of dollars that can be spent on thrift store "stuff". In a matter of months, their house will be filled with useless crap that will probably be donated to the thrift store from which it was purchased when the thrifter's life ticket finally gets punched.

The way I see it, if someone has an item for sale and is asking for guidance for the sale of the item and someone knowingly misrepresents their knowledge about an item they know is very valuable (hides the information in an effort to obtain the item), then I think there should be an avenue for legal recourse.

On the flip side, if something's for sale and the seller has a set price on it, then it is what it is. You would hope that if someone buys the item knowing they were going to flip it quick for a great profit, then the person buying the item could return and share some of the windfall. Call it good karma. I wouldn't look at it as obligatory.

Honestly, how many of you would inform the seller of the actual value of a box of T206's (that haven't seen the light of day for decades) if someone was selling them at a yard sale for a "steal" of a price?

[drcy]

If you're an expert and give false or deceptive information to a non-expert/average Joe in setting the sale price, you can get in trouble.

If someone puts a price sticker on something at a store or sale and you buy it at that price, there's no crime.

I volunteer at a cancer charity thrift shop where all the items are donated. We know that some items are bought for resale. Not only is that a win-win, but one of these resellers is our best customer.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by drcy

If you're an expert and give false or deceptive information to a non-expert/average Joe in setting the sale price, you can get in trouble.

If someone puts a price sticker on something at a store or sale and you buy it at that price, there's no crime.

I volunteer at a cancer charity thrift shop where all the items are donated. We know that some items are bought for resale. Not only is that a win-win, but one of these resellers is our best customer.

I agree, but the African Mask story, at least my reading of it, didn't seem like deception.

[CTDean]

Goodwill should be OK with this. You can't buy this much National exposure in the news and on TV for $107,000.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Nobody should be able to sue in such an instance when the "fault" rests squarely on the shoulders of their own ignorance.

Goodwill isn't about to outsource for expert appraisals on every potential item of value that comes their way. That's laughable. Just think of how many incredible thrift store finds we've read about over the years. For every one of these, there are millions of items of almost zero value that get sold by thrift stores. It's the constant turning over of that "junk" that keeps their operations more than viable.

[Yoda]

Moral failure, probably. Legal remedy, highly unlikely.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by CTDean

Goodwill should be OK with this. You can't buy this much National exposure in the news and on TV for $107,000.

This.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Fred

I feel sorry for the thrifter's significant other because now that thrifter is now armed with 10's of thousands of dollars that can be spent on thrift store "stuff". In a matter of months, their house will be filled with useless crap that will probably be donated to the thrift store from which it was purchased when the thrifter's life ticket finally gets punched.

The way I see it, if someone has an item for sale and is asking for guidance for the sale of the item and someone knowingly misrepresents their knowledge about an item they know is very valuable (hides the information in an effort to obtain the item), then I think there should be an avenue for legal recourse.

On the flip side, if something's for sale and the seller has a set price on it, then it is what it is. You would hope that if someone buys the item knowing they were going to flip it quick for a great profit, then the person buying the item could return and share some of the windfall. Call it good karma. I wouldn't look at it as obligatory.

Honestly, how many of you would inform the seller of the actual value of a box of T206's (that haven't seen the light of day for decades) if someone was selling them at a yard sale for a "steal" of a price?

You said if there was already a price then so be it. I am guessing not a lot of people would tell.