Subject:
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A moral dilemma
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.loc.au
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Date:
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Wed, 31 May 2000 06:43:02 GMT
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Viewed:
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523 times
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I have something of a moral dilemma.
Some months ago, I embarked on a crusade to buy myself an 8XXX, a large
Technics set, no longer in production. To cut a very long story short, I
ended up with two (which wasn't part of my plan), one from Germany and one
from France. One arrived a few weeks back and I've built it. The other
arrived last night, and it's still unopened.
My dilemma ...
I buy my Lego for my own pleasure; I don't buy it for resale purposes. While
I didn't particularly like having to pay for 2 8XXXs when I only really
wanted one, I'm not going to starve because of it. Nor do I especially want
the hassles involved in selling the thing (negotiations, postage, etc). So,
the lazy side of me says, chalk the whole thing up to experience, and treat
it as a great addition to my spare parts collection.
However, I remember how desperate I was to get hold of the 8XXX in the first
place, so desperate that I overcame my dislike of auctions, buying from
overseas, paying enormous postage costs etc, in order to buy the 8XXX in the
first place (and, for that matter, in the second place :-)) If I had heard
that there was someone nearby who had a spare unwanted 8XXX and was too lazy
to sell it, I'd have cried myself to sleep at nights over it. Actually, I'd
probably been cursing and swearing at them, and the whole
capitalist-consumeristic-monopolistic system that didn't provide for basic
social justice in the form of equitable distribution of 8XXXs.
So, my question is this. Do I have a moral obligation to other Lego
enthusiasts (especially those here in Australia since I've already done the
import) to offer to sell this 8XXX?
Comments, opinions, etc welcomed.
In case you are wondering, I chose to anonymise the set by calling it the
8XXX out of deference to the charter, which prohibits the posting of sales
notices to this group. If I had used the set's name, it might have looked
like a "8XXX for sale" message. However, I felt it was important to say that
the set is large and out-of-production to explain why I think it might be
doing the wrong thing by others if I don't offer it for sale. At this stage,
the set is not for sale, so don't ask what it is or what it costs. If I do
decide to sell it, I will do so openly.
Kerry
--
===========================================================================
Dr Kerry Raymond, Distinguished Research Fellow kerry@dstc.edu.au
CRC for Enterprise Distributed Systems Technology Ph: +61 7 3365 4310
University of Queensland 4072 Australia Fax: +61 7 3365 4311
===================================================== www.dstc.edu.au/kerry
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Message has 4 Replies:
 | | Re: A moral dilemma
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| (...) Kerry, This is an admirable attitude to take, and one which encourages the growth of the LEGO experience in all people. But do understand, no one would begrudge you for offering the set for sale if you truely do not want or need it. I can't (...) (24 years ago, 31-May-00, to lugnet.loc.au)
| | | Re: A moral dilemma
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| Kerry Raymond wrote in message ... (...) I seem to recall you mentioned having to buy an 8480 on eBay..... D'ohhh! I posted here in loc.au about the TRU special (8480 at $149) twice in the last few months..... TRU's in Melbourne seem to have run (...) (24 years ago, 31-May-00, to lugnet.loc.au)
| | | Re: A moral dilemma
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| "Kerry Raymond" <kerry@dstc.edu.au> wrote in message news:FvEvzw.F27@lugnet.com... (...) the (...) Hmm, where's a Jesuit when you want one? Basically, I see it like this; If you can see yourself using the set for parts, then keep it. If you are (...) (24 years ago, 1-Jun-00, to lugnet.loc.au)
| | | Re: A moral dilemma
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| (...) If you can use it for spares, and you sound pretty inventive, you should incorporate the bits into various inventions of your own. After taking such effort to get something, it's probably best that you benefit from the effort you took. Just (...) (24 years ago, 1-Jun-00, to lugnet.loc.au)
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