Dead horse beating society, list test

From: Mike Ford <mikeford_at_socal.rr.com>
Date: Fri Oct 15 04:09:05 1999

>I have to say that I agree with everything you said, to my mind it's a simple
>case of good manners. Once you've made a deal with someone you simply don't
>back out just because you got a better offer etc - it's just NOT done! :-(

I disagree. Lots of times the transaction is just not that simple, or
clean. Mistakes happen, I make them, the other person makes them. The
ethical thing in a friendly transaction is that when it is discovered that
a "mistake" was made, the transaction stops and goes back to square one.

While I am pleased to know the ethical standards and practices of the rest
of the list, the standards and practices I have to live with are my own. I
am more concerned with how I "feel" about my actions, than how well I
followed some set of rules.

Two examples;

One of the first things I offered to this list were some adapter cables for
a token amount of $5. I felt pretty stupid when I found out what a fair
market price was, and still think about it when I am about to offer
something else cheap.

Getting me up and out to a swapmeet at 7 am requires about all the
willpower I have. The reason I do it is that that is the time many good
items sell. So I walk up to a space, and kind of dumped in the back is a
box of cables etc. I poke through it, pick up a couple items, but also take
a good mental inventory, and start thinking about buying the whole box.
When the seller comes over I ask him the price of the cables, and I respond
to his price by dropping about 2/3 of what I have in my hand back in the
box. How much for the whole box goes back and forth between us. Several
things kind of happen at the same time, he quotes me a price for the box, I
continue to dicker with him, another guy comes up and starts going through
the box, I offer to pay the price he quoted me including letting the
present person take a few of the cables. Now he tells me its too early to
sell the whole box, and after some back and forth, not too heated, but
making it clear I don't like having purchase terms changed, I leave. The
box is immediately sold to the other guy for 2 1/2 times what it was
offered to me for.

This last one is especially bitter since it includes all the essential
bitter ingredients, me being stupid and greedy, as well as someone else.
All of us did things wrong, all of us were greedy, but I like to think that
I am a "bit" cleaner than the other two since I didn't end up with either
money or goods. The buyer still doesn't have a clue about swapmeet manners,
rule number one, don't jump in the middle of another persons deal. The
seller at least I think was aware of crossing a ethical line. Me, I haven't
learned a thing. ;)
Received on Fri Oct 15 1999 - 04:09:05 BST