so i was just speaking with some colleagues and i was telling them that i collect pokemon cards. so one of my colleagues said he has one of these cool charizards. later that day i checked it out and i couldnt believe what i saw. a shadowless first edition charizard. he smiled at me and said: haha you cant trick me i know what this card worth. it worth about 30 bucks. as you guys can guess i bought the card for 30 bucks.
i feel bad for that guy, but i couldnt give him more because that would be a bit suspicious isnt it?
did anyone had an opportunity like this? would you guys have done the same? or am i just ch**ky b*stard?
also card is not for sale and sorry for the bad english, i still suck at writing correct english stories
If I just wanted to keep it for my collection then I probably would have, maybe Iâd have just said something like âyou know what, as were friends why donât you take 50â. If you say âItâs actually worth quite a bit so Iâll give you 100?â you run the risk of them researching it and possibly wanting full value or being greedy about it.
If you just wanted to resell it then you did a bad thing imo
Ignorance is not an excuse. If they asked you for that price, I donât believe youâre morally obligated to counter at all. Obvious exceptions for children, elderly, and disabled.
But a fully competent adult asking less than something is worth? Youâre lucky, not morally debase.
No, youâre not. It is the sellerâs responsibility to determine what amount they will accept for what theyâre selling. Since your friend decided he wanted $30 for it, there isnât a problem with you paying that. The buyer isnât obligated to let the seller know that their item is considerably underpriced.
I actually disagree (not calling OP a bad person at all though)! While I understand itâs different adding this card to your personal collection - if thatâs what youâre planning to do - let me give an alternative scenarioâŚ
I work with my father at our coin and hobby shop. If someone were to walk into our shop with a 1st Ed. Base Set Charizard and asked us for $30.00 Iâd actually inform that person that this specific card is actually worth a lot more than theyâre asking. Letâs say this specific card is worth $500.00, Iâd offer that person around $175.00 to $200.00 - I normally like to pay 40% of retail on cards.
there are two main reasons why I find this better in the long run:
1.) That individual may be âtesting the marketâ and actually have more items that theyâre looking to sell in the near future.
2.) Offering that individual more than he/she is actually looking for will most likely give us free publicity. That individual will surely tell friends/family which might end up driving in more sales and/or purchases.
While this situation has never happened with Pokemon, it has occurred with coins (our main focus).
It should be noted that the two reasons you gave are business, not ethical, concerns. You did them both as a gamble on potential returns greater than your original investment.
So do you disagree with the ethical claim, or are you suggesting an alternative method for maximizing personal gain?
The highest moral standard and such would be to tell them that itâs worth more and pay them more. However, it is their fault for not realizing what they had. It happens all the time, people sell things for less than theyâre worth. These things are called âdeals,â and we all love them
I meant to address that as well, canât believe I forgot too! Haha
Personally, itâs 40% : 60% for me⌠40% is ethical and 60% is just business. I would feel bad buying the card for $30.00 (especially if it were for re-sale) and offering more for the card would certainly make me feel a lot better about myself. However, at the same time âitâs just businessâ (quote from one of my professors lol) and like you said, a gamble, to make more profit in the long run.
Like I said in my original post, it hasnât ever happened with Pokemon; however, this kind of situation has occurred with coins - on multiple occasions. Someone comes into the shop seeking $X and I actually educate that person as to what he/she has and offer them a fair market-valued price.
In the end, we still make a good profit so we still come out ahead
However, this is strictly talking about re-sale and someone walking into our businessâŚ
I will go out on a limb here and offer a dissenting view.
No, I donât think youâre a bad person. Your action though was not right. Itâs taking advantage of someoneâs lack of awareness of the value of the card. The fact that you posted this question tells me that you donât feel right about the âtransactionâ and that you are in fact a good person. But you hope to affirm that it was the right thing to do. Most of the responses so far have supported your action which, whilst totally legal, is not exactly moral. Will you still be able to look your colleague in the eyes every time you see him/her without feeling a bit guilty? You can justify your action by saying that you wonât sell the card and will only go to your collection, but you have already profited from it. You just havenât realised that profit because you havenât sold the card yet. Eventually, the card will be sold in the future either by yourself or by your children.
A lot of posters will be annoyed by this post but please do remember that Iâm just offering my opinion and more importantly, never forget that Karma is such a bitch,
You did well mate! Donât feel bad I would have done the same thing! Its so easy for him to just go on the internet and research the card lol. You saw an opportunity and you swooped down like a furious eagle!
100% unethical.
Plus you robbed yourself of an opportunity to do something truly special that would have lived on in several different ways for far longer than the money will last.
I can tell you donât feel good about the deal so you know itâs wrong.
Fortunately, itâs not too late to make it right. Put it up for auction on eBay and give him the link. Tell him you hope to get much more through your auction abilities and you want to split it with him. If it sells for 400.00 you still make 200.00 and youâll feel so good about yourself for doing the right thing.
I promise you, you will gain tons more in the long run for this one little act of honesty:)
and sorry for the bad english, i still suck at writing correct english stories
