Thursday, October 13, 2011

A question of morals.

You attend a garage sale in your neighbourhood. Looking around on the various tables at the items for sale you see a beautiful necklace priced at $1.

You immediately recognise it as a very valuable antique. You know you can sell it to a dealer for at least $500 if not more.

What do you do?

Do you buy it for $1 and re-sell it to an antique dealer or at an auction and make some much needed money for your family, especially in these difficult economic times when every penny counts?

Or do you tell the sellers the true value of the item?

You think for a while. Isn't this what antique dealings all about? You search for cheap items and using your knowledge sell them at a higher price elsewhere?

What would an antique dealer do if he were at this garage sale?

What would Jesus do?

What would YOU do?

8 comments:

  1. Interesting question Victor. I would tell them that they had a valuable item and be honest about it. I don't think I could walk away paying $1 knowing it's true value.

    Antique dealers would keep it to themselves,w ould be my guess.

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  2. Interesting question Victor! I would have to ask them if they knew what the item was worth myself.

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  3. Victor, good question. If I in all honesty knew the value, I would bring it to the owner's attention. I once read in a magazine....maybe Martha Stewart??? That we are under no obligation to say anything. I don't know if I agree with that.

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  4. Good points Noreen, Daily Grace and Esther.

    I often wonder, isn't an antique's dealer's job to do just that? Buy cheap and sell dear?

    There are many programs on our UK TV showing the public how to recognise and buy throwaway junk in garage and car boot sales and re-sell it at antiques' auctions.

    Only this week, on TV, a lady bought an old metal box in a market sale for a few pennies and when she got it home it contained mainly junk and a 24ct gold necklace worth a small fortune.

    God bless.

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  5. I would definitely tell the owner the worth of their item...and then, maybe...secretly hope that they'd share a little of their profits with me when they rolled in? hee hee

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  6. Hi Judy,

    I share you views.

    I can't help thinking that in the example in my comment above, it was morally wrong for the lady who bought the old metal box in a market to keep the gold necklace in it.

    God bless.

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  7. I would probably open my big mouth and blab to the seller what I knew because I couldn't live with myself otherwise. Then I would mourn the money I didn't get that I could have used for some needs.

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