ive always been of the opinion that while it is the buyers responsibility to go over what theyre buying with as fine-tooth a comb as possible, and to ask questions about everything, it is *my* obligation as a seller to provide the buyer with everything i know about the item, in an attempt to answer those questions before they even get asked.
i think that its just as fraudulent to deliberately omit details as it is to misrepresent those selfsame details - willful omission is a form of misrepresentation - and what can be said about a seller whose hope is that the buyer wont notice a blem or other important detail?
its deceptive in principle, even if it turns out to be mostly harmless in reality.
if im selling something, i feel it is my responsibility to the buyer to describe the item as accurately and completely as possible. make, model, condition, and if not perfect, exactly how shopworn or otherwise worn or damaged.
that being said, i also feel that if a seller chooses to describe something as sold "as is" - i think this absolves the seller of some of that descriptive responsibility, and places the burden of careful examination in the buyers hands.
as for ebay - just try to get the largest most detailed pictures you can of the item youre selling, and give as specific a verbal description as possible.
in something like 13 years of buying and selling items over the internet, ebay and otherwise, with and without detailed photos, ive very rarely ended up with something bunk - and 9 times out of 10 when i did, it was because i either didnt read the description or look at the pictures carefully enough, or didnt ask questions of the seller that i should have asked.
whoa. that was wordy.
-joel
>Previous discussions about replicas etc. got me to thinking about what's
>involved and expected as appropriate disclosure when buying and selling
>vintage bikes. I operate under the idea that as a buyer, it's my
>responsiblity to check, inspect, ask appropriate questions, etc. about a
>bike before I buy it. If I miss something, mismatched parts, dings, etc. it
>seems that I can't blame the seller. If I ask a specific question I expect
>an honest answer. I'm pretty clear about what it takes from a buyer's
>perspective.
>The seller's position is not as clear to me. Throwing this question around
>some old timers at my LBS this was the final wrap up. Let's say I know a
>frame is slightly bent. As a seller what is my reponsibility to a buyer? The
>conclusion was that if it's a $500 bike you tell the seller. If it's a $5
>bike you don't. I get the point here, but it's still not very clear. E-bay
>compounds the problem because you really can't see what you're buying and
>have to trust, at times blindly, the seller. So what do you think. Is it
>buyer beware? If there is a structural problem to you offer that info...on
>e-bay and at live sales like swaps? Do you tell the buyer if the parts
>aren't original whether you're asked or not? I'm curious.
>I've sold stuff in person and felt comfortable about it, but have avoided
>e-bay because I haven't felt like I could verbally describe a bike in the
>same way a potential buyer could inspect it. Especially if it is high
>dollar. Any horror stories either way on this subject?
>
>Art Smith
>Thinking about a fixed gear/track bike and open to any opinions off line
>Phoenix
>
>_______________________________________________
--
joel metz : magpie@messengers.org : http://www.blackbirdsf.org/
bike messengers worldwide : ifbma : http://www.messengers.org/
po box 191443 san francisco ca 94119-1443 usa
==
i know what innocence looks like - and it wasn't there,
after she got that bicycle...