Thread: c-mon razor question

Originally Posted by gugi

I can't escape the feeling of somehow being old and out of place.

Inside every old guy is a young guy wondering what the hell happened!

It is one thing to be honorable and another to be a chump.

The time for those considerations was before placing the bid. Once he won then it is a matter of honor. Mistakes like this are a good learning experience.

Originally Posted by mparker762

The time for those considerations was before placing the bid. Once he won then it is a matter of honor. Mistakes like this are a good learning experience.

Very true but OTOH ..... if the seller was an honorable man he wouldn't have been asking $95 for the decrepit thing to start with. It doesn't excuse the buyer's poor judgment in hitting the buy it now before he knew that he was buying a pig in a poke as it were but to forfeit $95 for that thing would have been cruel and unusual punishment.

In this particular instance at least, the seller is in no way obligated to the buyer. If he found a square headed muffler bearing in his basement, didnt know what it was, or what it was worth, and put it up for sale for 200 dollars, and somebody thought it was worth buying, its NOT the sellers responsibility to be more educated than the buyer. As a matter of fact its the exact opposite. If somebody told the seller it was a muffler bearing, then thats all he knows. And since you cant find an exact duplicate of said muffler bearing to compare prices to, he can only guess and list accordingly.

when an item is overpriced, nobody bidding or buying is usually a strong indicator that is the case, and the seller will lower his price next time around.
Perhaps that seller is a stand up guy, and will help make it right, but he certainly doesnt have to. and I myself would think no less of him if he said no to canceling the sale.
I myself turned down a pumaduck, because I thought it was a frankenrazor, just my own bad luck, and lack of knowlege. You win some, you lose some!
By the way, I have some NOS muffler bearings in my garage. If anybody would like to buy one, they are on sale cheap! I will even wrap them in stock certificates for share of Brooklyn Bridge Inc.

My thinking is that from the listing I cannot infer any malice or attempt to mislead on the seller's part. I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and consider it a misspelling, not attempt to cheat.
I don't know how he has decided on the $95 value, but he has the right to put any value he desires, and when a buyer clicks that button it means he is agreeing with the seller's valuation. Up until that point he can do research and figure out if it's worth the asking price or not, not after.

And just as a food for further thought, if a clearly ignorant seller lists a mint C-Mon for $10 buy-it-now would it be wrong to buy that razor, since it's vastly undervalued? Would you feel it's the seller's right to not complete a transaction when the bidding on a razor for whatever reason ends up at a small fraction of what the razor is worth? To me this is no different, just the other way. The fact that the buyer is a member of this forum and the seller may or may not be, doesn't absolve them from the responsibility to honor their contracts, even if they made them in poor judgment. I can feel bad for them, and hope they learn from their mistakes, but what is right is right.
We have more than enough resources to help people be successful. I personally get questions all the time and I always try to provide as honest and objective feedback as I can. [/SIZE][/FONT]I'm confident that any senior member would've provided good guidance had they been asked questions about this razor.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Ebay has tied a seller's hands by not allowing the seller to leave any feedback unless it is positive.

I've seen this idea a few times on SRP lately, but when I had a dispute with a seller I had him threaten to "report me to ebay for nonpayment," with the threat that that (presumably would need to happen more than once) could lead to revocation of my account. Is he making that up?

And

Originally Posted by Magpie

In this particular instance at least, the seller is in no way obligated to the buyer. Perhaps that seller is a stand up guy, and will help make it right, but he certainly doesnt have to. and I myself would think no less of him if he said no to canceling the sale.
.

Well, I wasnt arguing that the seller was *obligated*, just that the buyer had the right to request a cancellation of the sale. But I think its important to mention the logic by which I've seen sellers agree to cancel sales: they havent really lost anything. They put the item back up where it was before, just like if the buyer hadn't bid, and more people will come along soon enough. If no one comes along to buy it at that buy-it-now price, well, then, that probably means it IS overpriced.

(Note: I have seen some confusion over the issue of ebay listing fees. Does ebay charge the seller the listing fees even if a cancellation of sale is submitted through the system? I would like to know, but even if they do, A) buyer can paypal a few bucks over to cover that, or B) especially on an item of this value, a couple dollars is a small price to pay to keep everyone happy.

The ebay rules are pretty clear, placing a bid is a contract and failing to honor that contract can eventually lead to suspension of the account. I don't think ebay does it on first offense, but they do keep track.

IMHO...

If a seller knowingly posts an item at an outrageous price in hopes of seducing a buyer it is dishonest...

If a buyer purposely backs out of a purchase simply because he changed his mind, it is dishonorable...

If a buyer and a seller renegotiate a price/situation because of unintentional errors - because either one or the other was under-educated about the item - it is both civil and acceptable.

Just think how much more difficult and unfriendly capitalism would be if Home Depot didn't let you return a furnace filter after you misunderstood the package instructions and got the wrong type... or Macy's didn't let your wife return a dress when she misread the tag and bought the wrong size...

In other words, I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to work out a more mutually beneficial outcome with the seller.

However, if the seller won't budge -- I say honor your agreement, swallow the expense, learn from the experience, and move on.

Just my two cents.

Originally Posted by Malacoda

IMHO...

If a seller knowingly posts an item at an outrageous price in hopes of seducing a buyer it is dishonest...

How is this dishonest ? A person can ask whatever price they see fit , for whatever they're selling . There's nothing dishonest about it . An outrageous price should repel buyers , not seduce them .

Originally Posted by dave5225

How is this dishonest ? A person can ask whatever price they see fit , for whatever they're selling . There's nothing dishonest about it . An outrageous price should repel buyers , not seduce them .

I think it is unscrupulous. FWIW, the razor was relisted this morning with the identical description and pricing. (Item number:230448095084) If the seller didn't know it is a rescale and not worth the price the first go round he knew it when he relisted it.

I have been on ebay for more than 10 years and have 1,500 transactions. Three hundred or so have been as a seller. I have 100% positive feedback and have never misrepresented an item. As a seller I feel I have a responsibility to know a little something about what it is I am offering and to list and price it accordingly. YMMV.

AFAIC this seller, with over 1,500 transactions, is knowingly baiting the hook with a $20.00 item and hoping that an inexperienced buyer will jump on it. He did it the first time and, proving that he is unscrupulous, he is doing it again.

If one of us listed this in the classifieds for $95.00 the mods would be on the seller like stink on doo doo or they would be in dereliction of duty. If I agree to a transaction with an honorable man I will stand by it. If I find that I am being bamboozled that changes the game. I don't need to have the last word. I've stated my case and I think I am right. We are all entitled to our opinions and this is mine. Smooth shaving.