Is it a sin to sell a thing for more than its worth, or to buy it for less than its worth?

[mikekle]

It has been so way before St Thomas Aquinas.

Deut 25:13-16 13 “You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. 14 You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. 15 A full and just weight you shall have, a full and just measure you shall have; that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 16 For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the Lord your God.

Prov 11:1 A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
but a just weight is his delight.

Prov 20:23 Diverse weights are an abomination to the Lord,
and false scales are not good.

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Who determines what is considered ‘honest/ fair’ though? I mean, would Christ have a problem with a huge corporation having an item made in another country, (go to GREAT lengths to pay the least possible price to make the item), and then mark up the item 300% for sale to the public? IMO, this would definitely be a form a stealing, I dont believe Jesus would justify a 300% or more mark up on something, no matter what it is.

However if I started making a product, I can honestly say I would NOT mark it up 300%, not even close, I would base it on how much time it took me to make, and the cost of materials, I would not want to take advantage of anyone by price gouging or over pricing.

If this IS a sin, then all these big companies are sinning 100s of 1000s times each day!! I wonder if God is keeping track?

 

[Tomdstone]

Who determines what is considered ‘honest/ fair’ though? I mean, would Christ have a problem with a huge corporation having an item made in another country, (go to GREAT lengths to pay the least possible price to make the item), and then mark up the item 300% for sale to the public? IMO, this would definitely be a form a stealing, I dont believe Jesus would justify a 300% or more mark up on something, no matter what it is.

However if I started making a product, I can honestly say I would NOT mark it up 300%, not even close, I would base it on how much time it took me to make, and the cost of materials, I would not want to take advantage of anyone by price gouging or over pricing.

If this IS a sin, then all these big companies are sinning 100s of 1000s times each day!! I wonder if God is keeping track?

I noticed that it was reported that after the Amtrak crash, a few airlines had raised the price of their tickets over the route covered by the crashed train by 5 times what they sold for before the crash. Would this be out of line and considered to be gouging in a time of emergency or is this just business as usual?

 

[styrgwillidar]

Who decides what something is worth?

If you have a house and sell it, do you sell it to the highest bidder or do you tell them you’ll only take what you paid for it plus perhaps interest? If folks are willing to bid on it, isn’t it worth what they’re willing to pay? Or same with selling your used car, can you only sell it for what Kelly Blue Book says it’s worth, or would you take more if someone was willing and happy to pay more?

What about name brands? Say things like Apple products-- they have a far higher markup than competitors, quite a bit more than what they cost to produce. If the consumer is willing to pay that price for the name-- is it wrong? Those companies have investors, many who put their retirement or their kids college funds in these companies. They count on the companies to be well run and make a profit. Should those companies deliberately sell for less than they could, undercut their own value and hence the value of their investors stock? Or, is maintaining a brand image/reputation such that folks will pay more a valid and honest business strategy? No one forces the Apple fans to stand in-line to pay the mark-up on those things. Ultimately, Apple is risking the value of it’s stockholder’s investments in the company.

Annoyed once that I got a class-action lawsuit notification against Microsoft regarding Office. They were suing claiming Office was over-priced. Now, I bought the product at the price it was offered, used it quite happily, was willing to pay that price when I bought it and looked at the features compared to competitors. I made an adult decision. And really-- whether they were making a 300% profit(after all their investment which went bust on other pursuits perhaps) or 2% profit-- what does it matter to me? Who am I to say what level of profit made it worthwhile for them to pursue? My decision is- something is offered for sale that I have some requirement or desire for, am I willing to pay what the seller is asking. If no, ok I don’t buy it.

I’ve known a few entrepreneurs who had their families living on beans and rice for years as they developed their ideas/product/company. As well as risking everything they owned. Isn’t it just that they charge some kind of markup as recompense for the lean living and sacrifice they made. Sorry, some efforts are very risky with the only thing justifying them is the possibility of a high return in the end.

I think what St. Thomas is referring to really comes down to fraud. Misrepresenting the value of something, or hiding something from the buyer which would affect the value. I sold a car during the summer with a by-passed heater core. Something a buyer probably wouldn’t think to check but which certainly lowered the value-- and be a hazard in the winter when a defroster would be necessary. I disclosed that to the potential buyers. Misrepresenting something as a name brand when it isn’t would fall into that, or falsifying the provenance of a collectable.

I passed on buying a used car because the dealer couldn’t tell me whether the timing belt had been replaced. Now, was it immoral for them to ask the price they were? No idea, but they were completely honest, and just because I didn’t think it was a fair price given the circumstances doesn’t mean they were immoral in trying to find someone willing to pay more. They didn’t lie about the vehicle- we couldn’t agree on what it was worth.