cklammer
Member
Hi, all.
I just saw this listing for a Yashica Minister D on a local auction site here in the United Arab Emirates.
The initial bid requested by the seller is 20,000 UAE dirhams which translates to ~ 5400 US$ - WTF !?! And to top it off the reserve price is not even met ....
Just plain old extortion - good for a laugh, though.
cklammer
P.S.: I have reported the auction to the site master.
I just saw this listing for a Yashica Minister D on a local auction site here in the United Arab Emirates.
The initial bid requested by the seller is 20,000 UAE dirhams which translates to ~ 5400 US$ - WTF !?! And to top it off the reserve price is not even met ....
Just plain old extortion - good for a laugh, though.
cklammer
P.S.: I have reported the auction to the site master.
btgc
Veteran
If camera is great, why not ask right price for it?
I think it's also buyers responsibility to read on what they are bidding and how much it will cost, isn't it?
I think it's also buyers responsibility to read on what they are bidding and how much it will cost, isn't it?
cklammer
Member
Ethics ?
Ethics ?
The right one - yes. But an amount that is 1200 - 1300 percent over the high end price level of the market would only be justified by factors limiting item availability extremely. Like if the cam where the last cam on Earth or the only cam on the moon. Or there is a war on. Or you need a camera RIGHT NOW - like when you see the 50-meter-tsunami coming at you ....
In all other cases, it is unethical IMHO - and that makes it profiteering (and not extortion as I stated incorrectly at first). Of course, profiteering is mainly about ethics or the lack thereof which leaves a wide field for discussion indeed.
Yes, definitely that is so - especially in the Google millennium.
BTW, I have an offer for exclusively for you: My old Olympus Trip 35 for US$1000 plus shipping ..... now that's a right price!
cklammer
Ethics ?
If camera is great, why not ask right price for it?
The right one - yes. But an amount that is 1200 - 1300 percent over the high end price level of the market would only be justified by factors limiting item availability extremely. Like if the cam where the last cam on Earth or the only cam on the moon. Or there is a war on. Or you need a camera RIGHT NOW - like when you see the 50-meter-tsunami coming at you ....
In all other cases, it is unethical IMHO - and that makes it profiteering (and not extortion as I stated incorrectly at first). Of course, profiteering is mainly about ethics or the lack thereof which leaves a wide field for discussion indeed.
Yes, definitely that is so - especially in the Google millennium.
BTW, I have an offer for exclusively for you:
My old Olympus Trip 35 for US$1000 plus shipping ..... now that's a right price! cklammer
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Bill58
Native Texan
Why not? They have plenty of oil money from all over the world. I'll be happy when we find a cheap alternative, they are poor again and we can stop kissing their .........
btgc
Veteran
First I had exactly same thought - probably they operate money I can't think about. Though cklammer is from same region and sound reasonable, so I skipped this.
BTW, I have an offer for exclusively for you:
Hummm...I'd go for deal - after you purchase my 35RC for US$2000 shipping included(!!!). And I have very good reasons for price:
- It's recently reviewed by Ken Rockwell
- It has RF instead of Trip
- Recently ebay prices rised a lot, so I'm catching wave
- It woud give opportunity to get your Trip and offer free shipping for 35RC to you
You know tale - man is selling a cow for million. Why so expensive? Just need money, he replays.
ruby.monkey
Veteran
Exhorbitant yes - but hardly extortion. After all, nobody is being forced to buy the camera. And why did you report the auction? Is setting a high price against the rules of the site? The seller seems guilty of nothing more than a little hyperbole in the title.Hi, all.
I just saw this listing for a Yashica Minister D on a local auction site here in the United Arab Emirates.
The initial bid requested by the seller is 20,000 UAE dirhams which translates to ~ 5400 US$ - WTF !?! And to top it off the reserve price is not even met ....
Just plain old extortion - good for a laugh, though.
cklammer
P.S.: I have reported the auction to the site master.
cklammer
Member
Not extortion but profiteering
Not extortion but profiteering
You are right - extortion it is not as I said in an earlier post since there certainly is no coercion. What it is actually is profiteering and as such only ethically reprehensible instead of being a felony.
I had got that mixed up - English is not my native language. Thanks for pointing that out.
As to reporting the auction: there are limits. Profiteering is OK in real estate and mobiles here because everybody knows everything about real estate (bubbles)and mobiles here. As for rangefinder cameras: this is the first auction of a rangefinder camera in more than a year on souq.com. People here generally don't know about old cameras (and not everybody here can google) - there is a very real danger that somebody gets sucked in by the hyperbole.
Maybe I am too civic minded but quite frankly I can say that something like trying to take advantage of people's ignorance in such a blatant way personally upsets me. A little over-charging is OK - but this is way beyond a little (or even a lot).
Lastly: Thank you all for replying to my OP,
cklammer
Not extortion but profiteering
You are right - extortion it is not as I said in an earlier post since there certainly is no coercion. What it is actually is profiteering and as such only ethically reprehensible instead of being a felony.
I had got that mixed up - English is not my native language. Thanks for pointing that out.
As to reporting the auction: there are limits. Profiteering is OK in real estate and mobiles here because everybody knows everything about real estate (bubbles)and mobiles here. As for rangefinder cameras: this is the first auction of a rangefinder camera in more than a year on souq.com. People here generally don't know about old cameras (and not everybody here can google) - there is a very real danger that somebody gets sucked in by the hyperbole.
Maybe I am too civic minded but quite frankly I can say that something like trying to take advantage of people's ignorance in such a blatant way personally upsets me. A little over-charging is OK - but this is way beyond a little (or even a lot).
Lastly: Thank you all for replying to my OP,
cklammer
ruby.monkey
Veteran
Profiteering? How? It's not as if the seller controls the supply of rangefinder cameras, or information about same, nor is it the case that people are forced to buy the camera. Surely the price alone would be enough to drive potential buyers to educate themselves about said camera, or pass up on it if they can't (or won't)? What unethical behaviour is the seller showing?
The seller is free to ask whatever he likes for an item. The buyers are free to offer whatever they think it's worth to them, or pass on it altogether and look elsewhere. They don't have to buy it at the seller's price, or even at all.
(Quite aside from questions about the morality of this sale, I would say that anyone who pays this much for a camera without bothering even to find out the going price is either too flush with cash for it to matter, or so stupid that he deserves to lose his money)
The seller is free to ask whatever he likes for an item. The buyers are free to offer whatever they think it's worth to them, or pass on it altogether and look elsewhere. They don't have to buy it at the seller's price, or even at all.
(Quite aside from questions about the morality of this sale, I would say that anyone who pays this much for a camera without bothering even to find out the going price is either too flush with cash for it to matter, or so stupid that he deserves to lose his money)
sevo
Fokutorendaburando
The seller otherwise is trading a lot of accurately and modestly priced items - and enough electronics that we can assume that he will have some sort of basic understanding of camera brands and prices. That price probably is a plain typing error.
FallisPhoto
Veteran
Oh, that must be the special solid platinum Minister D.
And this surprises you?