Making a profit on eBay

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PeteZaHut

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Tell me if you think there is anything wrong with doing this.

The Nintendo Wii is a video game system that is somewhat hard to find. A circuit city near my house has them in stock for $250. The going price on eBay for a Wii is about $350. My idea was to buy a Wii and list it on eBay. I wouldn’t think there is anything wrong in that by itself, but…

Gamestop.com sells a Wii Bundle where the buyer can buy it with a few extra perks for $350.

My dilemma is whether or not it is wrong for me to try to make a profit when I would probably sell a Wii for about $350 to a person who could buy the Wii Bundle for the same price and get more items.
 
PeteZaHut said:
My dilemma is whether or not it is wrong for me to try to make a profit when I would probably sell a Wii for about $350 to a person who could buy the Wii Bundle for the same price and get more items.
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You would only be doing what every middle man since the beginning of time has done. On ebay people bid on things so you aren’t tricking them into paying the going rate. I sell on ebay all the time but usually things I already own and want to get rid of. I have taken a beating on some things and I have come out way ahead on other things. I don’t think I am doing anything wrong.
 
PeteZaHut said:
My dilemma is whether or not it is wrong for me to try to make a profit when I would probably sell a Wii for about $350 to a person who could buy the Wii Bundle for the same price and get more items.
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“A sucker is born every minute” 😉

If people are willing to pay $350, and they know they are paying $350 upfront, then there is nothing wrong.
 
PeteZaHut said:
Tell me if you think there is anything wrong with doing this.

The Nintendo Wii is a video game system that is somewhat hard to find. A circuit city near my house has them in stock for $250. The going price on eBay for a Wii is about $350. My idea was to buy a Wii and list it on eBay. I wouldn’t think there is anything wrong in that by itself, but…

Gamestop.com sells a Wii Bundle where the buyer can buy it with a few extra perks for $350.

My dilemma is whether or not it is wrong for me to try to make a profit when I would probably sell a Wii for about $350 to a person who could buy the Wii Bundle for the same price and get more items.
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Maybe it would be better to just find something you could make a fair profit on. That way the purchase is win-win and both buyer and seller walk away happy.
 
thomfra said:
Maybe it would be better to just find something you could make a fair profit on. That way the purchase is win-win and both buyer and seller walk away happy.
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Who’s to say that the Wii buyer who pays him $350 isn’t happy? Nope - nothing sinful at all about making a profit. If someone wants to buy it for whatever price that is totally their choice.
 
yellowbird said:
Who’s to say that the Wii buyer who pays him $350 isn’t happy? Nope - nothing sinful at all about making a profit. If someone wants to buy it for whatever price that is totally their choice.
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I would say that this is especially the case on ebay. After all, the only time I buy stuff on ebay is when I can get it cheaper there than I can anywhere else.
 
My brother and his buddy made quite a bit of money doing this very thing last year. He did wrestle with the question of whether this is morally OK or not.

It comes down to the fact that value is determined by what someone is willing to pay. Some people will pay $350 for a Wii, some people wouldn’t pay $50. You’re not forcing anyone to do business with you. Sell in good conscience!
 
I personally think it is inconsiderate and unfair to have a business like this since I think of how I feel when I am stuck paying a scalper who buys out all the tickets so I don’t get one. Of course I have also gotten good deals off scalpers when they can’t sell the tickets.

However, while I despise the business I don’t think there is anything immoral about it.
 
wjp984 said:
I personally think it is inconsiderate and unfair to have a business like this since I think of how I feel when I am stuck paying a scalper who buys out all the tickets so I don’t get one. Of course I have also gotten good deals off scalpers when they can’t sell the tickets.

However, while I despise the business I don’t think there is anything immoral about it.
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Well put it this way. If some kid who saved up all his pocket money went and paid 2000 dollars for it because he didn’t know any better - would it still be moral to take that money from him?
 
wjp984 said:
I personally think it is inconsiderate and unfair to have a business like this since I think of how I feel when I am stuck paying a scalper who buys out all the tickets so I don’t get one. Of course I have also gotten good deals off scalpers when they can’t sell the tickets.

However, while I despise the business I don’t think there is anything immoral about it.
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i would say ticket scalping is immoral because it’s usually illegal.
 
I’m not struggling with the morality of buying low and selling high. I am struggling with it because people will be buying from me, not knowing they can get a better deal somewhere else.
 
thomfra said:
Well put it this way. If some kid who saved up all his pocket money went and paid 2000 dollars for it because he didn’t know any better - would it still be moral to take that money from him?
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Of course not since the law would entitle him to recover against you anyways for his money back since he is a minor and can not enter into that kind of arrangement without parental permission.

Even if he were not a minor, if you fradulently sold him something claiming it to be worth 2 grand then you would still be in violation of the law.
 
PeteZaHut said:
I’m not struggling with the morality of buying low and selling high. I am struggling with it because people will be buying from me, not knowing they can get a better deal somewhere else.
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Not to sound harsh, but that’s their problem. A consumer is only as informed as he/she wants to be. If someone doesn’t want to take the time to research a high-ticket item like a Wii, that’s their concern. You put the product out there, you set your price. People buy from you or they don’t.
 
No problem, either legally or morally. Just make sure you pay the appropriate taxes on your profit.

(Aurora77, check the spelling in your sig; I believe it’s “multi,” not “mutli.”)

DaveBj
 
Ya, think of it this way. You have one wi and there are two potential buyers. One offers you the market price of 250 and another says they will give you 350 if you sell it to him instead. What is so immoral about that?

If you think of it in opportinity costs, perhaps buyer number one has a middle class 40 hour a week job with some time available to shop around for the best price. Maybe he spends a few extra hours to find a better deal and he is happy.

Then you have buyer number two who is a high paid attorney working 70 hours a week at a few hundred bucks an hour who wants to buy one for his kid. This high paid attorney is willing to pay your 350 dollar price since he does not have time to spend a few hours searching for a better deal since then he just lost perhaps a potential grand in income but would only save a couple hundred bucks if that by searching for a better deal.
 
PeteZaHut said:
Tell me if you think there is anything wrong with doing this.

The Nintendo Wii is a video game system that is somewhat hard to find. A circuit city near my house has them in stock for $250. The going price on eBay for a Wii is about $350. My idea was to buy a Wii and list it on eBay. I wouldn’t think there is anything wrong in that by itself, but…

Gamestop.com sells a Wii Bundle where the buyer can buy it with a few extra perks for $350.

My dilemma is whether or not it is wrong for me to try to make a profit when I would probably sell a Wii for about $350 to a person who could buy the Wii Bundle for the same price and get more items.
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Perfectly OK. Keep in mind that a Wii is not an essential item like food or gasoline. If someone is willing to pay $350 for one, who are you to stop them? Hey, it may be someone that has more money than they know what to do with. 🤷

If you were selling something that someone NEEDED, that may be a different story.

Let’s say someone gave you a Wii, and you then had one extra that you didn’t need or want. Should you then give it away for free? Of course not. You’d sell it on eBay for $350, and put an extra $100 in the collection plate. 😉
PeteZaHut said:
I’m not struggling with the morality of buying low and selling high. I am struggling with it because people will be buying from me, not knowing they can get a better deal somewhere else.
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You’re making an assumption that may not be valid. I’d bet that many if not most shoppers on Ebay that are looking for such items know the market price in the stores around them. They may very well have a Circuit City near them that has them for $250. Who knows? 🤷

Besides…it’s possible that it might not sell at that price. Go ahead and do it. It’s neither illegal nor immoral.
 
whoa whoa, ticket scalping, so I’ve been told, is wrong to do morally, whether on the premises or not. I would know, I could’ve sold a football ticket for about 350 bucks last year…but I think I read here that it was immoral…so it’s interesting all the people who claim jacking up a price on ebay is ok…
 
JesusSaves17 said:
whoa whoa, ticket scalping, so I’ve been told, is wrong to do morally, whether on the premises or not. I would know, I could’ve sold a football ticket for about 350 bucks last year…but I think I read here that it was immoral…so it’s interesting all the people who claim jacking up a price on ebay is ok…
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The seller is not necessarily jacking up the price. He could start the bidding at $1 with no reserve. The bidders are the ones jacking up the price as they compete against each other to win the auction.
 
The Catechism says:

2409 Even if it does not contradict the provisions of civil law, any form of unjustly taking and keeping the property of others is against the seventh commandment: thus, deliberate retention of goods lent or of objects lost; business fraud; paying unjust wages; forcing up prices by taking advantage of the ignorance or hardship of another.191

The following are also morally illicit: speculation in which one contrives to manipulate the price of goods artificially in order to gain an advantage to the detriment of others; corruption in which one influences the judgment of those who must make decisions according to law; appropriation and use for private purposes of the common goods of an enterprise; work poorly done; tax evasion; forgery of checks and invoices; excessive expenses and waste. Willfully damaging private or public property is contrary to the moral law and requires reparation.
 
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