Dealers: What's the deal?

@ Richtag

I don't think your experience with the knife maker is representable for the bigger part of the transactions on bladeforums.
Sometimes the sort of exchanges you describe happen in private by email or pm.
 
Neo said:
Yes I understand sellers will keep deleting their prices after sale if this isn't a rule everyone needs to follow.
But the argumentation they use is weak.

Of course those who sell a lot know the market, those who sell a knife by circumstance have tough luck
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from the perspective of a seller it could be said that there are plenty of sellers who leave their prices up, by doing research a base market value can be had regardless of a few sellers' choice to remove their prices. you could say that the argument for leaving prices up is essentially 'make things easier for me', which is the same basis for many of the reasons I posted above for removing prices.

You've said that it doesn't really make it that much easier for the seller, I could say that it doesn't make it that much easier for the buyer, it just means you'll have to spend a few more minutes searching for past prices.
 
Last Visible Canary (I added numbers to the list for easy reference) said:
see this post - http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...Dealers-What-s-the-deal?p=9513601#post9513601

-personal preference
1. if the person wishes to charge more and doesn't want his original prices referenced
2. if the person doesn't want an active record of the sales progression of prices so that his prices aren't questioned against them
3. if the person wants to have his sale prices kept non-public from anyone in his life that might be checking for sale prices/monies earned (at least, a non-bank/government entity since paypal would have record of it, unless they dealt only in money orders)
4. If the person had issues with personal information being online and felt that money earned through sales was part of that personal information
5. If the person was covering for the buyer who wished to potentially sell it at a higher price later on and not have the sale reference (buyer seller confidentiality)
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Note, when using the following terms, I am referring to the economic definition of greed, public good, private good, and spillover

1,2, and 5 are pretty much the same thing. Hide the prices to charge more while minimizing resistance.

1. for non-assertive and greedy people. GREED IS NOT NECESSARILY BAD! Making money is good for them and doesn't inherently hurt anyone (you don't like the new price, don't buy it). Hiding the price does so at the cost of the rest of the readers being able to reference that price to more accurately gauge what prices are. Less accuracy = more probability for profit for dealers and flippers. However, since the rest of the readers didn't pay the OP's membership, and aren't part of the buyer-seller purchase agreement, its not their prerogative. Bladeforums Exchange is a private good that happens to have some public good spillover.
2. see #1
3. Hiding is lying, and I see that as MORALLY wrong, ESPECIALLY when hiding from one's spouse (unless it's a present for her). But, it doesn't affect me or my rights and isn't illegal, so that is THEIR PREROGATIVE.
4. I respect privacy. Anyone that concerned with privacy should have taken other, more inclusive steps so this shouldn't be an issue. (including a 2nd BF account just for purchasing- I'M NO BF RULE GURU, BUT AS FAR AS I CAN TELL it's not against the rules just don't shill with it, use it for gimmick or trolling.)If you are illegally trying to avoid paying taxes, I hope they catch you and you goto prison.
5. see #1

That said, would I prefer other people leave their asking and sold prices up on their blades? Sure, as I can benefit with a more accurate perception of what prices are.

Also, as a buyer, you can post "ill take the knife for $XXX.xx" in the thread, thereby leaving a record of the price.
 
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I would guess that Jerry pays extra for the busse exchange sub-forum.
And by doing so, he can make some of the rules, and I would think given his marketing strategy, he would opt to allow dealers to post in his exchange sub-forum.
 
tobotech said:
3. Hiding is lying, and I see that as MORALLY wrong, ESPECIALLY when hiding from one's spouse (unless it's a present for her). But, it doesn't affect me or my rights and isn't illegal, so that is THEIR PREROGATIVE.
4. I respect privacy. Anyone that concerned with privacy should have taken other, more inclusive steps so this shouldn't be an issue. (including a 2nd BF account just for purchasing- I'M NO BF RULE GURU, BUT AS FAR AS I CAN TELL it's not against the rules just don't shill with it, use it for gimmick or trolling.)If you are illegally trying to avoid paying taxes, I hope they catch you and you goto prison.
5. see #1.
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Hiding isn't lying in the idea that lying has an immediate negative connotation attached to it. In this case I don't think a seller has the obligation to tell the buyer where he got the knife, how much he paid for it, or any other information beyond 'this is the knife, this is it's condition, this is price I am placing on it'. It's up to the buyer whether he wants to even leave the text of his sale up, let alone the price. Because there is no obligation to leave anything regarding the existence of the sale, or any information about where the knife came from beyond a reasonable description of it's condition, I wouldn't describe it as lying unless he gives you false information when you request specific information. If you asked "how much did you buy this for?" and he gave you a false number, that's certainly lying.

Thats how I perceive the use of the word, though the definition in webster's doesn't contradict what I've said. without a falsehood being presented, it's not a lie.

Privacy can be a concept free from any real world potential repercussions, if someone just doesn't like the idea of extra info being online then for them it's a privacy issue, even though there is no one looking in on their lives that could use the information. Even if the person was hiding the sales from a spouse, it's not my place to apply judgement on their actions (especially with no knowledge of the social interactions that lead to their decisions or the people involved), they are under no obligation to leave any evidence of the sales existence on this forum.

I'm absolutely for leaving sale prices up. It does help reduce the time necessary to look for current market values, and for rare peices it may be the only sale price available beyond the original Busse sale price. However, I'm playing the devils advocate by trying to explain why removing the sales price is done and why it's 'okay' (though not ideal) because of the negative emotional responses that are directed at it. If you want the prices kept up for utilitarian reasons then yeah, they absolutely should be, but if you are angry, pissed off, feel used/taken advantage of, or any number of negative emotional responses because of there not being sale prices on the exchange - it's not worth that.
 
LVC, you took that "hiding" out of context. it was in reference to
3. if the person wants to have his sale prices kept non-public from anyone in his life that might be checking for sale prices/monies earned (at least, a non-bank/government entity since paypal would have record of it, unless they dealt only in money orders)
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thats why it had a 3. in front of it.
And perhaps I was taking the original 3. out of context, as I was relating it to hiding from people involved involved in the buyers' or sellers' personal lives. For example, a spouse is a reason that someone some people hide prices.
 
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tobotech said:
LVC, you took that "hiding" out of context. it was in reference to


thats why it had a 3. in front of it.
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I was assuming that it was directed at either the intent to deceive buyers by not supplying past prices, or the intent to deceive a loved one. The second part of the post responds to what you said about hiding from a spouse:

Last Visible Canary said:
Privacy can be a concept free from any real world potential repercussions, if someone just doesn't like the idea of extra info being online then for them it's a privacy issue, even though there is no one looking in on their lives that could use the information. Even if the person was hiding the sales from a spouse, it's not my place to apply judgement on their actions (especially with no knowledge of the social interactions that lead to their decisions or the people involved), they are under no obligation to leave any evidence of the sales existence on this forum.
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Regardless of whether the person is hiding from a spouse or not, in discussing whether people should or should not keep prices up on the forum after the sale is done you kind of have to come back to the utilitarian arguments. None of us has enough information (if it's even possible to do so in first place regardless of information) to pass any kind of thorough judgement on a persons morality where their out-of-forum relationships are concerned.
 
guy's i gotta give it to ya, this is a very good discussion.

you both have very valid point's, and interesting post's. i really enjoying reading each of these.
 
oge14 said:
guy's i gotta give it to ya, this is a very good discussion.

you both have very valid point's, and interesting post's. i really enjoying reading each of these.
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Yeah, it's good to see civil people having a debate and sharing perspectives. :)
 
Wow...sounds like buying a Bussee can be pretty complicated. So much to research but Im glad I read this thread. Alot of great information for a Bussee begginner.
I think Chris Reeve does a great job with pricing his knives. All dealers are obliagted to sell at the msrp price. So theres no questions on what one should pay for a new CRK.
 
Removing of prices is annoying. Several forums I'm on prohibit this practice.

Profiteering and free enterprise? I've gotten a CS FBM, TTKZ #867 and a DSSF off this forum for great prices. If dealers want to suck up everything and charge extra for it, let them find a place to store the knives I'm not going to buy from them.

At some point, you can't have every Porsche made in the last ten years, and besides, you only have two hands...
 
Buck_110 said:
......People that purchased houses in the past few years had full knowledge of market prices. They are now learning the difference between value and worth. It pays to know the value of an item, not the price it was worth to the last buyer. The alternative of course, is to overpay.
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Excellent point Buckie! :thumbup: Those past prices do not mean anything.
Last year I came within $5 of purchasing a Busse from the exchange, at what would have been a very good buy (a big “thank you” to the seller for not giving in), had I done that, I'd be about $100 (25%) under on the price by now.
 
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