View Full Version : Truth in Emporium ads. What do you think....
Assume that someone has posted an ad selling a new Zendrive for $350.
He mentions that there is currently a two month wait for the pedal, and that $350 is a bargain.
Do you reply (post) that the sellers statement is false and that the pedal can be bought right away for less $?
Report the ad to a mod?
Sit back and let watch an uninformed buyer pay $350 for the pedal based on the claim that there is a two month wait?
Thoughts?
pickaguitar
05-10-2010, 01:18 PM
I think you have to sit back...makes ya upset though
travisvwright
05-10-2010, 01:19 PM
Interesting tactic. I wonder if I can try that with a MIM 95 strat.
ETA: My answer would be to PM the seller. I like to assume the best of people. He probably actually believes what he wrote.
Yep, you can't comment within the ad itself. If you think it's straight out fraud, like "Buy my EJ Strat! Brand new it costs $5000, for you I'll drop it to $4000!" then report it. But don't post!
as in the recent paypal/gift discussion, there is a 'buyer beware' policy. In this case I would expect that a possible buyer has investigated current waiting time and pricing.
Guitar Josh
05-10-2010, 01:31 PM
You cannot comment on pricing in an emporium ad.
You can however PM anyone who posts "PM'ed" or "I'll take it in the thread itself".
loudboy
05-10-2010, 01:31 PM
If it's strictly price, I would just move on - who cares, I'm not going to buy it.
If it was a deliberate misrepresentation, I would discuss it w/the poster first?
I ran into a 2 situations a few weeks ago where someone was trying to sell an item (700Hz wireless unit) which would be technically/legally unusable after 6/12/2010, due to changes in federal bandwidth allocations.
In one case, the seller was unaware and pulled the ad.
In the other, he felt that no one was going to comply anyway, which may be true, but I did PM a mod and asked for a sticky about the change in regulations.
I haven't seen/heard anything back, so I guess it's a non-issue...
fretnot
05-10-2010, 01:34 PM
Caveat Emptor, unless you think there is fraud involved, or if you think the seller is legitimately misinformed, perhaps even by the guy who sold it to him. It happens.
bigdaddy
05-10-2010, 01:53 PM
Caveat Emptor, unless you think there is fraud involved, or if you think the seller is legitimately misinformed, perhaps even by the guy who sold it to him. It happens.
Wouldn't knowingly misrepresenting the wait for a new one constitute fraud?
travisvwright
05-10-2010, 02:01 PM
Knowingly <-key. Hence the suggestion a few times here that PM to the seller is the best option. Again assume the best of people till they prove you wrong.
ACfixer
05-10-2010, 02:25 PM
Life is too short to play emporium cop.
dewey decibel
05-10-2010, 02:30 PM
Life is too short to play emporium cop.
Especially if you're not getting paid to do so
Doug's Tubes
05-10-2010, 02:35 PM
Wouldn't knowingly misrepresenting the wait for a new one constitute fraud?
I think that would be classified as sellers "puff", like the promiscuous use of the term "rare".
Now if it were used and advertised as new, that would be fraud.
bkd_guitarist
05-10-2010, 02:38 PM
Annoying, but not something that should be policed. I'd ignore it. It's the way of the world for smart buyers to do their homework and suckers to get suckered. For someone with a more interventionist attitude than I have, PM'ing the seller would be appropriate, but that's as far as it should go.
Bryan T
05-10-2010, 02:47 PM
Life is too short to play emporium cop.
Exactly. Caveat emptor.
Brain2Me2
05-10-2010, 02:49 PM
I think if you're not looking to buy a Zendrive at the moment, then why bother even asking, just move on.
If you were, I'm positive it wasn't the only Zen available on TGP.
oldschoolguy
05-10-2010, 04:04 PM
I agree that live is way to short to be playing Emporium cop. Life is too short period. But really, in some way shouldn't we be looking out for others in this "community" somehow. I would hate to see some unsuspecting newbie guitar player get cheated--err---I mean pay too much for something whatever it might be. People put a lot of faith in this forum as there are so many people with good advice and a collective knowlege base which is just immense--lots of people know far more than the average joe blow hobbyist or newbie. This has been an amazingly cool place for me to snoop around in and somehow I just think that collectively those who do know should have some venue to inform the less knowegable. Anyway, I'd hate to hear a story of some kid who has mowed lawns all summer and then spend his wages on some widget that he's gassing for at a price that we all know is too much-especially when he could get it new from the maker, say, and just as fast. Many of us have disposable income but not to forget that many others don't. And shame on the sellers who might be misrepresenting a sale in such manner; shouldn't happen here. Isn't there a line where we should speak up? Just wondering out loud here. As cool as this place is, it could be even better if we could be sort of "protective" of those who honestly for whatever reason don't know any better?
Anyone can go to ebay to check completed auctions to get a feel for value. Some people are too lazy to do any research and they wind up paying more as a result, whether that be in the scenario described or anywhere else. WalMart is not always the cheapest, but many people believe WalMart is ALWAYS the cheapest on everything. Same idea IMO.
Mr. New Dilemma
05-10-2010, 04:48 PM
^^Agreed. There comes a time in life when a person has to grow up and not expect to have their hand held any longer. If this is the hobby/ lifestyle/ job you want, then you are going to have to learn to research the tools of the trade. Trust me, most people only get burned a couple of times before they become wiser shoppers.
As far as the opportunistic sellers, capatilism at it's finest. How much does a hot dog cost at a baseball game? I think we all know how much it cost at the store, and last time I checked nobody was downing the hot dog vendor.
T.Wesley
05-10-2010, 05:48 PM
Assume that someone has posted an ad selling a new Zendrive for $350.
He mentions that there is currently a two month wait for the pedal, and that $350 is a bargain.
Do you reply (post) that the sellers statement is false and that the pedal can be bought right away for less $?
Report the ad to a mod?
Sit back and let watch an uninformed buyer pay $350 for the pedal based on the claim that there is a two month wait?
Thoughts?
Posting to that effect in the guy's FS thread is what we call "threadcrapping" & it'll get you an infraction - so don't do that :)
IMO anybody that buys the hype pays the price. If somebody says "there's a 2 month waitlist for this pedal", I'm certainly going to check it out before I buy. I do my due diligence before buying, and I expect my buyers to as well. If I don't, that's really MY problem, not yours. "Caveat emptor", after all. I'm just as happy to sell a pedal/amp/guitar to a guy that doesn't ask any questions as I am to sell one to a guy that never stops sending e-mails until the day he gets the box.
--chiba
stevieboy
05-10-2010, 06:10 PM
Anyone who goes into TGP emporium looking for a Zendrive has a computer, and presumably has at least a notch above zero sophistication when it comes to buying gear. And presumably can use Google, and has three minutes to spare.
There are a lot of people in this world that could use and deserve a helping hand. The buyer in this scenario isn't one of them.
Roadeye
05-10-2010, 06:24 PM
I wouldn't sabotage someone's for sale thread, but I do notice a crapload of overpriced guitars on there. I see people charging ridiculous prices followed by lines like
"now sit back and drool"
or
"once you get your jaw off the floor"
Come on people. Who's kidding who? If it was "the best guitar I ever played" why the hell are you sellin' it?
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