Subject:
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Re: No really - a rational discussion of people selling via eBay?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.market.theory
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Date:
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Fri, 21 May 1999 02:17:53 GMT
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Reply-To:
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CJC@NEWSGUY.stopspamCOM
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Viewed:
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521 times
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Janet Zorn <lighthouse@bonzai.net> wrote:
> I was kind of surprised by your remark and surprised by the barbs
> sent your way. Having accidently started a brouhahah on lugnet once
> and not wanting to try Todd's patience since he is such a gracious
> host,
> I didn't want to join in. I don't want to be the initiator of
> controversies. But
> this time you brought it up here for a rational discussion. So.....
Oh, I think any discussion here, especially if it remains rational and
doesn't involve making degrading remarks about people, is good.
> Let me start of by saying I'm an economist. It is not just a job or a
> degree.
> It is a weltanshaung.
Mmmmm.... a new word. German?
> In general, to economists, scalper is not a meaningful term./1/ People
> have things that others want more than they do and they want to get as
> much as they can for those things. What they can get is determined by
> how much people want them. Do you have to sell at cost not to be a
> scalper? How much profit can you make before you are labeled a
> scalper?
To me, someone who is most certainly _not_ an economist, I don't
really think the amount of profit is what makes someone a scalper,
especially in this specific "ebay Lego scalper" sense.
> So, your initial comment really didn't make sense to me. To help me
> see
> your side I'd need to hear what makes someone a scalper, not just why
> you are not one.
I'm responding without reading the whole thing first, so I may have to
come back and edit this to make sense.
What makes someone a scalper on eBay? That's a little difficult. I
think it mostly has to do with ... integrity?
Person A lists several of the new Ep1 sets and splashes all over the
title and description, "RARE!, Hard-to-Find!" etc.
Person B lists the same items without all the hype, at least without
all the untrue hype.
To me, one of those is a scalper. One isn't. One's kinda dumb for
selling current sets, maybe, but given the way things sometimes go on
eBay, maybe not.
I could cite many more examples, but I think that one might illustrate
my opinion as clear as any others.
> So I would defend your selling on ebay any item for any amount, just
> like I'd defend anyone's buying on ebay for any amount.
Oh, the amounts sometimes add fuel to the fire, but I don't really
fault anyone for the high amounts. Even someone who describes their
stuff in a misleading way doesn't force someone else to pay a high
price for it, although I guess the seller does bear some blame in that
case.
> I admit to being very amazed at the willingness to pay on ebay. It is
> almost scandalous. When there are people willing to pay such high
> prices then you can be sure there will be people who are happy to
> accept their money if they can trade what they want. Why are the
> sellers
> bad and the bidders only fools? One could just as easily say that the
Not sure, but I don't think I would feel comfortable condemning
someone for spending their own money. If Buyer A decides to spend 5x
as much as any other buyer would spend on an item (technically
impossible on eBay, I know, since Buyer A would only have to pay a
small bit more than the next highest bidder) that's ultimately his
business.
> It is just funny to me that people often castigate scalpers but not
> the
> scalpees. People think the scalpees are crazy, but they impute impure
> motives to the scalpers. Both of these people wanted something
> different than what they had before the transaction (cash or scout
> troupers).
Mmmmmm.... I guess I just see a difference between the two. In some
ways I do get irritated when I see someone driving the price up on
things that I know wouldn't go for such a high price under normal
circumstances, but again, it's his/her money.
> PS I just ordered a single 4552 from S@H for $38.50. I had been
> offered that set for as much as $75.00./2/ I only really want one. I
> know
> that they routinely auction for the high sixties+shipping. Why didn't
> I buy
> all that were left and auction them? I don't know. It didn't occur to
> me
> until I hung up. And I just didn't feel like going into the lego
> business
> enough to call back.
And that's your decision to make. If you'd gone the other way and
you'd simply put them up for auction without describing them in a
dishonest way, I'd say even if they sold for $200 each you wouldn't
qualify as a scalper.
> /1/ There has actually been some scholarly literature on this in
> recent
> years about why "scalping" is and should or should not be illegal. If
> anyone is interested and patient I can try to find the cites.
I'd be interested in seeing it. I hear lots of talk about scalping
UTK football tickets, so it isn't just a Lego-related topic for me.
--
Lego Shop at Home: 800-835-4386 (USA) / 800-267-5346 (Canada)
www.lugnet.com/news/ - A great new resource for LEGO fans worldwide
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