A seller on ebay is offering the Bushfire edition of Who magazine for sale for $12.95 plus $2.90 postage. They are charging close to three times the cover price. There is no mention that they are doing this to raise funds for the Bushfire Appeal.
While it could be said that newsagents profited from the sale of this magazine, there was no price gouging. Further, many newsagents collected donations from customers and added to these from their own pockets.
This is starting to happen in our area now, hotels are putting on functions but only donate the profits from say food not all profits, so are making a killing on beer sales. Its sad but a fact of life, like having to tie down donation boxes.
All we can hope is that the good work far outways the small group of low lives.
This reflects poorly on EBay as well.
Brett,
Im not sure how this reflects poorly on Ebay … ?
Social responsibility Jarryd.
You will argue free enterprise, but you dont run a brothel, which has better margins, so I guess you have a social responsibilty gene as well.
Brett,
In your response to Jarryd, I think you’re confusing social responsibility with some kind of middle-class morality.
Brothels are flush with social responsibility. Their profiting from sex (a moral dilemma for you perhaps) is offset by an arguable decrease in unregulated and illegal street prostitution, STDs, and possibly violence and rape (which is indeed social responsibility and the primary reason there are legal brothels).
Brett,
Jason is right (I couldn’t have put it so eloquently, if that is the right word when using a brothel analogy).
How would Ebay refusing to sell the magazine be socially responsible? How would such regulation on its users ability to buy and sell benefit society?
And I would have absolutely no moral dilemma in owning a brothel.
BRETT,
just curious to know, what is the margin on running a brothel?
Gosh you blokes talk some crap sometimes, the bushfires have and are still an emotional issue for many people and that is where Brett is coming from, it could be said its the wrong time to be listing something on Ebay at such a time.
Jarryd that comment about you having no moral dilemma owning a brothel. Why would you want everyone to know that!
That comment denegrades this site in my opinion.
Derek
Derek,
We weren’t talking about the person listing something on ebay, we were talking about ebay censoring buyers and sellers based on their own version of morality. The exact same argument can be made for newsagents and censoring what magazines they sell.
And I don’t have a problem with people knowing my moral boundaries. Its ok – I have no desire to own a brothel, I just wouldn’t have a problem if one came into my posession.
Ebay has no problem stopping people from selling their bodies on their site so they do set limits, its just a question now as to where that limit is set.
Given the time and the circumstance I think that Ebay would be better served not only stopping that sale but letting everyone know that they did.
Brett,
Ebay bans the sale of body parts becasue of legal issues.
Not parts Jarred!
You cracked me up Jarryd!
Brett mean’t by the saying, not literally.
This has spun out a bit with the morals and what’s wrong or right in peoples eyes.
LOL. I just assumed body ‘parts’ because there were some big discussions/articles about it a while ago.
The same still applies though. There are no doubt legal issues with selling services of a sexual nature. I dare say it would also be to counteract the potential for such service providers to infiltrate ebay as they do other sites.
Does anyone here, as a newsagent, monitor the content of the magazines and subsequantly refuse to sell them because they don’t agree with something? It is effectively censorship.
I do Jarryd, I get plastic wrapped magazines (you know what I mean), I’ve told the rep I want nothing illegal, ie children in the content.
I think I’d be liable if I sold that content so I refuse.
Michael,
I can’t recall ever receiving any illegal content. But, as you say, you refuse to sell it for legal reasoning – not moral.
Reply to NSW No Name
I would assume that the actual margin on the sale of the product
would be by negotiation between the owner of the brothel and the owner of
the actual product. The advantage of this system would be that the brothel
owner would have neither stock losses nor outlay for stock other than the
negotiated price on a consignment basis. However, the owner of the stock
also has the ability to on sell this product to other retailers of the same
product or to cut out the middle man altogether. This could also be called
multi level marketing where the same product is sold many times over.
Servicing varying age demographics is no problem because as the clientele
ages so does the product all though you may have to rely older sources of
the product from time to time.
I am lead to believe that the product it self has no effective use by
date although this can vary from supplier to supplier. The product itself
rarely deteriorates although it is a known fact that the supplier of the
product does, so the Brothel owner may have to find fresh suppliers from
time to time. What cost is involved in this I have no idea.
The added beauty of this product is that around 50% of the population
has one and the other 50% want it, so it is an in demand product.
So for a product, that has an extended shelf life, is sold on
consignment, and can be sold many times over I would think that it would be
an excellent margin depending on the negotiated price so long as you covered
the rent of the premises and fixtures and fittings.
I don’t know what all the fuss is about i am sure just about every one sold more copies than normal with the mags covering this disaster so we all made more profit from it but how many sold them at cost after they reached there normal amount sold ? that would be zero…
It’s official, I am definately from another planet!
Well handled guys, ! Graeme, what happens if delivery is late?
Derek,
I thought in that situation late delivery was not a problem, only when delivery is too early.