A surprise in the mail today and a guilt trip

Let's go with that analogy.

I was in south-central PA during one of the worst snow winters on record. There was huge demand for snow shovels, and all the local stores sold out. I had business in VA, where shovels were plentiful. I didn't actually buy a bunch to resell, but I did think about it. If I had, I would've charged about enough to cover my cost, because I saw it as helping with an emergency, not a profit opportunity. But I didn't do it, and so the snow-shovel shortage continued.

On the other hand, if I had thought in terms of "hey, I can buy a hundred shovels, flip them at a $10 profit on each, and make a quick thousand bucks", I might have felt dirty -- but a hundred people would've gotten their shovels the next Monday, instead of waiting a couple of weeks for the stores to restock.

Now, imagine this instead: the forecast says a big snowstorm is coming. A few people spend the next few hours running from store to store, buying ALL the shovels at each store. When everybody else gets off work, they're confronted with empty hardware-store shelves, and a bunch of Craigslist ads and street-corner sellers offering shovels for $50 each. Hey, that's the market rate! The stores shouldn't have under-priced their shovel offerings.

I think that summarizes at least a couple variants on "flipping" behavior, and maybe illustrates why some people think flipping is evil and others think it's good.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Some probably do think that way, but they shouldn't. A snow shovel is somewhat of a necessity in a storm, much like gas and bottle water shouldn't be gouged either. A coin is a luxury. No one is going to be trapped in their house or run out of water/gas from flipping coins. Big difference between emergency preparedness items and a coin from the mint.

 

If you have a product, just sell it at market rates. You are not a profiteer unless you try to manipulate the market by limiting their availability to others at the same price you are paying. You aren't out to corner the supply and create an artificial shortage like the profiteers.

So rest easy as you increase the supply.