Hi Dale,
One of the regular CR "traders" bought hubs on Ebay for a song trebled the price and sold them to someone on the list.
You seem to think this kind of thing is perfectly acceptable. I think it stinks. If someone who was a member of the same "club" as I did that I would not consider him a friend any longer.
I would not take kindly to an American on the list picking up bits and pieces cheaply and selling them to UK members at treble the price. I would call that being ripped off. It's the kind of thing you would expect of businesses which is why I would like to see full-time, business traders peddling their wares elsewhere.
I've absolutely nothing against individuals trading on the list but we're all supposed to be "friends" and friends don't rip each other off. That's why I think we should differentiate between people who have some surplus stock they want to sell or swap and others who see the list as a cash cow.
Being blunt, I can't say I see your acceptance of this behaviour as a surprise. One would have to be very naive to think you set up the list-a recognised form of marketing for businesses-without thinking that it would serve to boost your own trade. Yes, you may have been inviting people to a party at your house but you weren't serving the drinks for free.
I suppose what I should do is stop looking at people on the list as potential friends and just start seeing them as customers and people from whom I can make a quick buck.
Perhaps, at a time when many perfectly reasonable people are questioning America's role in world affairs, Americans should start looking at a culture that sees ripping off friends as "OK".
Fred
>From: OROBOYZ@aol.com
>To: freddybenjamin@hotmail.com, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>Subject: Re: [CR]FS: One ego (slightly battered and bruised)
>Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2001 00:04:26 EST
>
>We may be experiencing a (or another!) cultural difference (I find these so
>fascinating!)
>
>I have no problem at all will you, Freddy, finding good deals on things at
>cycle Jumbles (swap meets over here) in the UK and then reselling them for
>the real world market price! That's called "profit" and it is totally
>legitimate and acceptable to me. How else would I even have access to those
>items over here in the States where there most often are simply none of
>those
>items you take for granted!
>
>If you see an eBay "sleeper", something others have not noticed or cared
>about, and buy it for a song and then resell it for a goodly sum, that
>called
>"capitalism" which, believe it or not, we have no problem with either!
>
>This phenomenon happens over here too to some degree... I have heard Chuck
>Schmidt and Ted Williams, two super good guys & charter CR list members ,
>make some statements to the effect of, "Geez, why do you guys get so
>excited
>about some old scroungy Legnano? (substitute here any old parts, etc.) ...
>Geez, they are a dime a dozen at swap meets on any weekend in
>California..."
>
>The reality is that in North Carolina, for instance, there are only two
>swap
>meets all year and rarely any Legnanos at all much less for cheap! This is
>true for most of this huge country, with only Boston/New York and
>California
>having seemingly frequent opportunities to find old bits..
>
>So, while you seem to think it somehow objectionable that a certain few
>fellows scramble around to find old goodies to resell to us stupid yanks,
>we
>in fact are perfectly happy that they are working in our behalf!
>
>Strange these cultural diffs, eh?
>
>Cheers,
>
>Dale Brown
>Greensboro, North Carolina (Po Dunk!)