Ethical or not?

[rennigade]

So...we keep hearing about shortages of certain foods, tp, medical supplies...but one thing no one saw coming, is shortages of workout equipment. With all the gyms closed for the next month, everyone is buying equipment for home use. All the inventory of new equipment is sold out online, and the used equipment prices have skyrocketed.

I just sold a set of weights that before the pandemic, on a really really good day, would have sold for $250. The price now was $425. Around 1 year ago I actually paid less than $40 for the weights/bar (which was a steal.) The person drove over 2.5 hours, just because where he lives (philly) there is no inventory to be had.

I have a few other items listed and someone coming tonight to buy a larger ticket item, again, this one is around 2.5x the going rate any other time.

So...since this isnt life sustaining supplies, is it still ethical? I actually had someone chew me out on marketplace. He said "in his opinion, something is only worth what its really worth. People shouldnt jack the price up on something especially during times like these." I just said I understand and sorry we couldnt make a deal. I never engage with people who start to get angry. Is he right? Meaning, shouldnt I have jacked it up? I know he's wrong when he said "something is only worth what its really worth. I wasnt touching that with a 10' pole.

Also, for those who are looking for workout equipment, wait it out. Do body weight exercises, pull ups if you can. When all this blows over and all gyms reopen, there is going to be a flood of used equipment to be had, at insanely cheap prices. I cant wait.

[disneysteve]

I would not intentionally jack up the price but if I was selling something at an auction, like on ebay, I'd happily take whatever amount it resulted in.

[cypher1]

So...since this isnt life sustaining supplies, is it still ethical?

If the item is not life sustaining, and you can make a profit of the sale, I'd still say its ethical. I'm firmly of the mind set that an item is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. So if you can find a person willing to spend 2x or 3x your asking price, it's fair game. You can argue its greed (I don't disagree), but I personally don't feel it's unethical. If a potential buyer wants to lecture or argue why its overpriced, then let them waste their breath on it. You don't have to agree with their opinion, and can move on to the next potential buyer.

[bjl584]

My gym is closed and it's killing me, but I wouldn't pay that much for home equipment.
But, if someone is willing to pay that price, then I see no harm in listing it for sale for whatever price you want.
You aren't putting a gun to their head and making them buy it from you.

[~bs]

if it's not life sustaining, i wouldn't worry about it. It's like a set of game of thrones dvds suddenly becoming more valuable since people are now indoors all the time.

[mo0n]

if it's not life sustaining, i wouldn't worry about it. It's like a set of game of thrones dvds suddenly becoming more valuable since people are now indoors all the time.

That's funny you say that because I ordered the GoT DVD collection the week before the poopy started to hit the fans over here in the US. And when I was threatened with a 14 day quarantine (there was a fear of a possible exposure from someone from work) that same week, I fell back on "...least I have GoT coming, that'll keep me busy." Thankfully, said "infected" person came back negative and I did not have to lock myself in a room for 2 weeks.

Maybe this pandemic will force people to start using their imagination for stuff, i.e. making butter and bread at home, or using yard work as a workout, or hell, buy a bag of concrete and fill old trashable jugs with the mix and use for weightlifting. Something that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Get creative!

[Jluke]

Would you apply the same logic to your house if it appreciated a whole lot but felt you shouldn’t get that much more than what you paid for it?

I think the same applies to collectibles, antique cars, etc.

now if a grocery store were selling toilet paper for $50 a roll, that would be price gouging.

[rennigade]

Just a final update. Sold everything I wanted to. Made a profit of $1,770 (this is after factoring in what I had in the equipment, hence the profit part.) Best part of it, it was all stuff I really didnt use. It was taking up space in my gym.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I would say ethical. People don't have to buy. If they are smart they will offer to rent or buy from gym. My neighbor's parents did just that. They rented an elliptical from their gym. And stuck it in their front office. Smart people come up with creative ideas.

[Petunia 100]

So...we keep hearing about shortages of certain foods, tp, medical supplies...but one thing no one saw coming, is shortages of workout equipment. With all the gyms closed for the next month, everyone is buying equipment for home use. All the inventory of new equipment is sold out online, and the used equipment prices have skyrocketed.

I just sold a set of weights that before the pandemic, on a really really good day, would have sold for $250. The price now was $425. Around 1 year ago I actually paid less than $40 for the weights/bar (which was a steal.) The person drove over 2.5 hours, just because where he lives (philly) there is no inventory to be had.

I have a few other items listed and someone coming tonight to buy a larger ticket item, again, this one is around 2.5x the going rate any other time.

So...since this isnt life sustaining supplies, is it still ethical? I actually had someone chew me out on marketplace. He said "in his opinion, something is only worth what its really worth. People shouldnt jack the price up on something especially during times like these." I just said I understand and sorry we couldnt make a deal. I never engage with people who start to get angry. Is he right? Meaning, shouldnt I have jacked it up? I know he's wrong when he said "something is only worth what its really worth. I wasnt touching that with a 10' pole.

Also, for those who are looking for workout equipment, wait it out. Do body weight exercises, pull ups if you can. When all this blows over and all gyms reopen, there is going to be a flood of used equipment to be had, at insanely cheap prices. I cant wait.

He is not right. It is all supply and demand. If there were little demand and you had to drop the price to $50 to sell, would you berate the buyer? Would you demand they should pay more as they were being unethical? Of course not.

[Snicks]

I think it's supply and demand basics. Who is to say what something is "worth" ? Prices are ever changing. Why is my house worth X where i live but would be worth 10X in Silicon Valley? It's relative. And, there is a school of thought that Price gouging is GOOD in that it discourages hoarding and those buying feel it is far greater need for them and willing to pay the price.

[myrdale]

there is a school of thought that Price gouging is GOOD in that it discourages hoarding and those buying feel it is far greater need for them and willing to pay the price.

I have a gut feeling that it is probably BAD for a gas station to charge $20 per gallon for gas because of a pending hurricane.

I don't have the same feeling about Acme Hardware doubling the price for a generator.

I have absolutely no reservations about a private sale of property.

You can sale anything for any price given long enough.

That guy isn't paying $425 for a weight set, he is paying that for the convenience of buying it from you. And keep in mind, he may turn a profit on the equipment in a private sale of his own.

As long as you are not misrepresenting the equipment, sleep well and enjoy the sale.

[disneysteve]

I have a gut feeling that it is probably BAD for a gas station to charge $20 per gallon for gas because of a pending hurricane.

I don't have the same feeling about Acme Hardware doubling the price for a generator.

I have absolutely no reservations about a private sale of property.

I do think there is a big difference between established businesses and individuals. You're right. The local supermarket should start charging $20 for a pack of toilet paper. That would be wrong and probably illegal. I disagree about the generator. That is price gouging too.

But an individual selling something to another individual - that's fair game. If someone is willing to pay what you're asking, you're not wrong to take it. I wouldn't personally jack the price up like that but I wouldn't fault someone else for doing so.

My wife and I are bourbon aficionados. There is a big issue with liquor stores jacking up the prices on hard to find bottles. They're basically acting as their own secondary market. Rather than selling near MSRP like they should knowing full well that some of the buyers are probably turning around and reselling the bottles, they're just charging those black market prices themselves. I have a problem with that. When a bottle with a $30 list price is on the shelf at the store for $199, something's wrong.

[~bs]

I do think there is a big difference between established businesses and individuals. You're right. The local supermarket should start charging $20 for a pack of toilet paper. That would be wrong and probably illegal. I disagree about the generator. That is price gouging too.

But an individual selling something to another individual - that's fair game. If someone is willing to pay what you're asking, you're not wrong to take it. I wouldn't personally jack the price up like that but I wouldn't fault someone else for doing so.

My wife and I are bourbon aficionados. There is a big issue with liquor stores jacking up the prices on hard to find bottles. They're basically acting as their own secondary market. Rather than selling near MSRP like they should knowing full well that some of the buyers are probably turning around and reselling the bottles, they're just charging those black market prices themselves. I have a problem with that. When a bottle with a $30 list price is on the shelf at the store for $199, something's wrong.

In a state of emergency, I'd disagree and say that products that are part of the gouging restrictions for stores are also applicable to private individuals. I really disagree with the "enterprising" brothers that drove around buying up hand sanitizer and N95 masks and attempting to sell them for profit.

If the product is purely discretionary, then a retailer can charge whatever they want, as long as they don't break any pricing rules from the manufacturer. For alcohol, some manufacturers set limits on the price a retailer can sell at because they know the demand is higher than supply for msrp.

[disneysteve]

In a state of emergency, I'd disagree and say that products that are part of the gouging restrictions for stores are also applicable to private individuals. I really disagree with the "enterprising" brothers that drove around buying up hand sanitizer and N95 masks and attempting to sell them for profit.

Yes, I disagree with them doing that, too. I wasn't thinking of that sort of thing. No, I shouldn't grab up as much of the available supply as possible and then charge people a fortune to get it from me.