The Ethics Thread

Use tax?

 

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http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Use Tax

Essentially, it's a substitute for sales tax when you buy something out of state and use it in your home state.It will vary from state to state. In PA you report this on your tax return.

 

I feel so used ... or is that taxed?

 

Great thread!

I've seen unscrupulous seller's use the phrase "caveat emptor" "Let the buyer beware" as an excuse to get over on customers.
"Hey, if the buyer gets ripped off it's his fault." "If I can can screw the customer over and he doesn't catch it that's the customer's own fault."
Yes, buyers have a respondsibility to know what they're buying. But a seller has a respondsibility too. At least the sellers that I will continue to buy from and recommend to others.

Ultimately it comes down to the seller's own personal character and ethics. A seller will conduct business according to what kind of person he or she already is.

Great saying!

 

The thing about ethics is it's based on your personal beliefs for the most part. Which is how you've been raised and what your parents (or other elders) and peers have imparted to you while growing up. It also is based on what you perceive is fair or fair game in a world that isn't particularly fair. So ethics will always be a question, and in most scenarios you will find people who think that it's perfectly ethical and not questionable to take advantage of every opportunity they are given, even at the expense of others. And you can't just take the majority rules opinion to say 'this is what is ethical'. Unless you believe it is the ethical thing to do in a world of disparate opinions to seek the most common or intermediate solution.

 

Collect89 said: ↑​

Also, I've always liked the line:​

​

"Ethical conduct is doing the right thing even when nobody's watching"​

I also likethe words of Shakespere, written below.​

 

come on don't be so negative at least give us your ethics

 

In regards to auctions, I think if you live up to your word and sell what you advertise you're all good. Many sellers will start things out at low and they'll go pretty high before the end of the auction period. I think starting it higher than what's it worth and leaving out background information as well as photos is wrong though.

 

If quite certain that this guy actually needed the money to feed CHILDREN (as opposed to giving a sob story and really wanting to buy a rock) offering $10 for a $30 flip may not be completely unethical, but is a very lowlife move. While it may not be your responsibility, how long do you think that $10 is going to feed these kids, and would it kill you to at least hand the guy a twenty spot (or even $25)? While there is generally nothing wrong with making a tidy profit, would preying on a desperate father make you feel like a big shot? To anyone with a conscience or a backbone, a $5-$10 profit would have been fine; especially knowing that they were able to help someone in need and at the same time put a little money in your pocket. I’ve found that most people in this position genuinely appreciate buyers who are compassionate, and are more likely to return the next time they need to sell, or at the very least recommend you to others. In the long run, it is possible that the extra $10-$15 you just had to have would cost you much more in lost business, or at least one can hope.

You know what they say about karma, so let’s hope that you’re never in a similar position. Sorry, but it is people like you who give the rest of us a bad name.

 

Misrepresentations and intentionally misleading people are unethical. The listings for "german silver" are insanely misleading.

If you put a common genuine Morgan on ebay and sell it for $60, more power to you.

 

There is a list of ethical things a dealer should and should not do in the ANA code of ethics. They pretty much cover the bases, but I have found from personal experience membership doesn't mean they follow that code.

 

Sometimes I believe that ethics and the coin hobby do not really mix - look at the whole grading, counterfeiting, cleaning etc.

 

Actually, coin collecting and ethics should be a marriage made in heaven. I would love to see a website listing coin dealers with customer ratings and personal experiences; kind of like the rating system Amazon uses. I recently viewed a site one particular person created and made test purchases of many popular and well known dealers. Not a lot of positive feedback. I suspect he made purchases of commonly overgraded, cleaned, or misrepresented items.

 

Actually quarter - we have a "forumite" that takes it upon himself to be the consumer watch mutt that posts stuff that might invite him a libel suit someday. The problem with consumer ratings is that like anything, they can be skewed and are pretty one sided. I know of reputable and always above board coin dealers but there are just as many that are shysters like every other form of capitalist or socialist business.

 

I can't disagree with you one bit, Scottish. My own situation is maybe what is provoking my train of thought. A few weeks ago, I stopped in at my local coin dealer whom I have been going to pretty much since I have started collecting coins. Well, he is retiring at the end of the year, so the most honest and trustworthy dealer I know will need to be replaced.