Subject:
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Re: Honest Capitalism (Was Re: DYA -> eBay 8880 money-making scheme)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general, lugnet.market.theory
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Date:
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Tue, 7 Sep 1999 15:53:01 GMT
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Viewed:
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19 times
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> > The market for rare sets cannot be made more efficient in the long run
> > because each set is its own market, and it doesn't have enough traffic to
> > shape it sensibly.
>
> In that regard, there is no "money making scheme" because rare OOP sets are
> not readily available. The supercar is not a rare set. The sealed 8090 I
> sold on eBay was.
The "money making scheme" works on the 'Hard-to-find Lego Set Market', of which
each rare set is a subset. I agree though that the supercar isn't as rare as it
once was!
> Arbitrage works to bring two markets into sync with one another.
> ...
> Rare or unique items are not what arbitrage regulates. It regulates
> markets in different areas.
I think that was my point really - that until DYA finds 3 dozen more
Metroliners that they had in storage and forgot about (or whatever rare set),
then selling that for a high mark-up is profiteering and not providing a
service to Lego Fans. The latter sounds more justification that reason. But if
you are a firm believer in Capitalism, then that isn't something to be ashamed
about :)
> > The individual can't take advantage of non-rare sets because the market will
> > compensate, but for rare sets we need to take more responsibility.
>
> How do we do that? The only way to do that is to create shortage.
> Metroliners are too expensive! Make them $200. Larry and I will probably buy
> more than the entire amount the world will sell at that price!
Well... in an/my ideal world(tm), everyone would get a fair share for each set,
at or near its retail value. Theoretically we could do this using a
Lugnet-based selling system that would favour a person who didn't already have
that set. And in an ideal world that person wouldn't turn around and sell it
for a huge markup on EBay.
You could get around that by making Lugnet members enter into a legal
obligation not to resell Lugnet-sold sets, use Lugnet as a hub, and ID the box
somehow. There are lots of issues with this, feasibility, personal rights etc,
but it would mean that I could afford that 6277 I've always dreampt of,
mutilated box or not :) Oh - and it would be fair!
> And what do you mean "take responsibility" for rare sets? I set the opening
> bid at $1 and let the buyers hash it out. If anyone is to blame, it is those
> who will pay large amounts of money for something.
You still had responsibility because you knew that the prices would go to a
similarly high level, otherwise you would have started the bids at cost. As a
Lego Fan, by "take responsibility" I mean to make sure that the sets go to the
people that want them, at cost, adding 5-10% profit if you wish. You can do
this by randomly picking x people that responded within a certain time limit.
Note that this isn't a moral judgement - I'm not saying that you should do
that, or that you are wrong by not doing it. Personally I'd rather just make
someone happy - it'd stop being such a fun hobby if I was trying to make money
out of it. That's just my decision though and I awknowledge that yours is just
as valid.
> It is actually those high prices that make people think about selling their
> sets, which again brings down prices.
Of the fans I know, they wouldn't sell their treasured items anyway. Greed and
economics have created fans who collect things they don't really want to make
money from. Ie people sell things for high prices, which encourages more people
to do the same which brings down prices - the market creates the market.
> > > Wow, isn't Capitalism cool. Actually, Capitalism is a big ol' pile of donkey
> > > doo[3].
> > > ...
>
> Anybody who thinks Capitalism is donkey doo just doesn't understand it
Sometimes I fear I understand it too much.
> or simply refuses to believe the data.
What data is this? Unsustainable resource consumption, poverty, free trade
areas, exploitation? I believe all that data. :)
Richard
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