In a message dated 11/3/01 8:40:16 PM Eastern Standard Time, freddybenjamin@hotmail.com writes:
<< Someone asked why these "professional traders" still contributed answers to questions posed by list members. The answer to that is so obvious that it doesn't require an explanation-or am I just an old cynic?
Anyway, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em was what I was always told so I'll enter into the spirit, have a clear out of some goodies I've picked up at the going rate at cycle jumbles in the UK, double or triple the price (I kid you not) and share them with you-assuming that anyone will want to buy from me now. Alternatively, I might just pick something up at a fair price on Ebay, add a good whack to it and share it with you all... >>
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!)