Private sales between individuals are a distinct category, I think. Honesty
should be paramount.
Flea markets are something else entirely. They are bazaars, where wheeling,
dealing and trash talking is expected, and part of the fun. When I was hunting
fountain pens, I had a set of rules I played by. Little old ladies who called
me to come look at mamma's old pens generally received either no offer, or as
much, even more, than the pens were worth. I rarely made any money on those
kinds of sales, but the sellers knew their family "heirlooms" were going to
someone who knew how to find them a good home.
With flea markets and antique stores, I asked no quarter and gave none. It is
incumbent upon seller and buyer to know what they are talking about and what
it's potential worth might be. I never misled anyone by saying "This is a
worthless old piece of trash you'll never get $5 for," but I then never told a
seller I was going to repair the pen and sell it for $300 on eBay, either.
About the only thing I did when I came upon a really nice pen at a ridiculously
low price was pay the seller what he was asking.
Buyer and Seller Be Wary!
--Bob
On Apr 17, 2011, at 11:34 AM, Chris Barker wrote:
> I suppose that I might have kept to the "it doesn't work" line in your place,
> but I seem to remember a different case some years ago: someone on the List
> mentioned that he had managed to persuade the inheritor of a camera that it
> was broken and that inheritor was an older person. I didn't pipe up then,
> but I felt uncomfortable at the situation.
--
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