question on ethics

[qbertandernie]

i have a job that takes me into peoples homes into the darkest corners of storage. i frequently see ataris or NES systems, but dont usually ask if they are for sale because i feel like a jerk. the only time i will ask is if the stuff is fairly rare(like i saw a 6 game switcher with tapper and laser gates for 2600, an in box kids controller and three boxed kids games and a new in box 2600 jr. in the back of a closet once..not for sale though)....

even though the results may be a bit skewed due to the people who frequent this site, the question is:

if you had someone come into your house(that you said could come in) who offer to buy an old game that you probably havent looked at in 10 years(or something else for that matter) thats sitting in the back of a closet, would you be offended?

obvoiusly the people here might have big game collections and may be offended at an offer on their stuff, but imagine something you maybe dont care about...like if someone offered to buy your GI joes or something that you never look at. would you take offense to that?

keep in mind i dont go digging through boxes, i just soemtimes see an old system on the top of a box or a box of old games in an attic...i could probabaly get soem good stuff, i just feel funny asking.

another variable...every house i go into people are moving out of. so my offer may be helping them not have to move something, and more importantly may be keeping some rare gem out of the trash(or a yard sale).

feedback would be appreciated.....

[crashdummycow01]

i more than likely wouldnt care...

but that depends on if items are where you can see them or if you dug through stuff to find it..

say i had a NES in a box in my closet and some guy was supposed to be doing something that required him looking in my closet... now if he went through boxes of my stuff and then asked if i was selling it, i'd probably be mad that he went through my crap, but if the NES was just sitting out in the open in the closet, and he asked, i wouldnt care...

[whoisKeel]

yeah, i think you're safe. it may have never even crossed their minds that someone would want that old junk anyways. never hurts to ask :)

[Aussie2B]

If you're polite and not violating their privacy in any way, then they got no reason to be huffy about it. Just try to judge the individual situation a little. I've had people around my games and set-up when we need someone to come over about the phone line or cable or whatever, and I'd think the guy would have some nerve (I wouldn't be offended, though) if he asked about purchasing any of my collection. If you get the feeling that there's a serious gamer in the house that still uses it (it could just be in storage), then I wouldn't bother asking.

[-hellvin-]

I would do it. Just don't go digging through their stuff and you should be fine. If you see an old atari sitting on a box just ask em if they're looking to sell it or any games for it. I don't think they're gonna dropkick you in the face or anything for asking...

[Flack]

I think what I would do is bring it up in casual conversation. If you see the customer, I would say, "hey, I saw that boxed Atari you had in the attic, that's great!" Then if they say something like they don't remember even having it, then I'd bring up the fact that you collect stuff like that. I wouldn't be like "OMG THAt'S RARE D00D!" or you might end up paying a lot more for it. But if you just bring up the fact that you collect that stuff, you might end up getting a good deal!

[Jasoco]

Doesn't hurt to ask. I say go for it. Easily. Don't seem too interested. Try to bring it up. Comment on it first. Maybe they'll reveal that they had been meaning to dump em. If they say, it'll be easier to take it off their hands. If not, you may need to try one other approach. But don't pry. If they don't seem interested in selling/getting rid of them, don't dig deeper to make them sell.

[jdc]

The last two answers pretty much nailed it. Casually mention it. You never know.....they may just invite you take the old "junk" for free.

[Quickclaw]

The worst they can say is "not for sale." Go for it.

[FlufflePuff]

I wouldn't be offended if you asked me to buy something I had in storage. Then again, all I have in storage are some old textbooks and an ancient PC.

Just make sure whoever you work for doesn't have a policy about on-the-job transactions. It would suck to get that one pissed off person who gets you fired because you offered to buy his/her stuff.

[punkoffgirl]

I don't think you're out of line at all. As long as you're not digging into places you shouldn't be just to see if they have anything you might be interested in, they really shouldn't feel like you're invading their privacy.

[Ed Oscuro]

I have to mention a cheesy little conversation from a 1960s Hardy Boys type book. Anyhow, the situation is that the fat, greedy little brother is trying to pay for some stamps with this Confederate quarter (or half-dollar, can't remember) he found, being the stupid kid he is. After the laughter in the store dies down (hey, Confederate coins are worthless!) A guy casually tells the kid hey, he'd pay for the stamps if the kid hands over the coin. Grandpa gets suspicious, seeing how this guy's interested in something that's not supposed to be worth anything. Would the guy pay a few dollars? Sure. Well, at that price it's not worth it. Slowly the guy starts offering more and more money, and pretty soon we're up to a thousand dollars. Grandpa points out that if it's worth that much to the guy right now it'll be worth that much later, and he's obviously trying to take the coin for less than it's worth. Grandpa makes the turkey wait a minute while he phones a coin dealer, who offers five thousand off the bat.

Grandpa asks the fellow if he'd pay that much, but then tells the guy they won't sell it to him - just because he's a heartless bastard who tried to rip the kid off. They won't take his higher offer either, because they'd rather deal with the fellow who was honest right away.

Of course there's ethics when going after any sort of collectable. I do view this as an issue of ethics to some degree, but I have to think with my wallet as well - it's rare that I'm carrying enough money to make a high ticket purchase. I always ask what somebody wants for an item; that helps avoid pissing off Grandpa. I might offer some advice as to what I think an item's worth, but so far I haven't found myself in that situation.

Really the key is to avoid coming off as being the sort who will let the seller sell themself short by a bunch. If I saw a TG-16 with some games I'd be quick to offer $50+ if it was for sale; if it wasn't I'd probably say that was a nice games console. I like getting ahold of all the stuff I can, but that doesn't mean I have to buy everything, either.

Another key is to be respectful of those who have something that they treasure and just will not sell, no matter what. A lady who I work with has a big (huge) collection of old school Post cereal stuff and a fellow offered ever increasing amounts of money for a certain box - he made the statement "well, everything has a price so I know you'll sell it." LOL - wrong line, dude! I didn't get the feeling she was really offended but it certainly didn't make him look good.

I always find it helps to be really thankful for stuff you get free. I got a Mac Classic II from a teacher once - that's a really good classic computer, by the way, and I'm lucky I got one of those instead of an original Mac Classic or a Color Classic - and what's even better is that if I see her and she mentions it I can rightfully say that I haven't sold stuff. I think that when you're going and reselling stuff you get for free, that's not good. There are some exceptions (like the recent thread which turned sour for a while when people thought one of our forumers ripped off his friend for a ton of Neo Geo games and other stuff for $10...) but unless they know what you're planning on doing at the time you get it, it's not really ethical. That's not the sort of news one would want finding its way through the community, after all, and stuff DOES get out there, sometimes.

Anyhow, them's my two Confederate Cents. Enjoy :P

[christianscott27]

i've often found that people are "tickled" by my hobby and will gladly give me stuff just to see that it gets a good home. the one thing to bear in mind of course is that the games maybe owned by a child who is out of the home (away at college, first apt. and so on). if thats the case that kid is gonna come home someday looking to get his retrogaming fix and have one of those awful "mom i cant believe you sold it!!" moments.

[Jasoco]

Well, in that case, don't let the person know where you live so you don't answer the door one day to find someone ready to take your collection back. ;)

[qbertandernie]

thanks for the opinions guys...takes some of the questionability out of it..

ive asked a few people here and there, usually for stuff like the mini pacman arcades(which ive seen several times) and the people seemed cool in the past, but i wouldnt show i was offended to the person either. the few times ive asked the people have had a good story about their games or told me all the great stuff they 'used to have'.

the only time i actually bought something from someone i did get a top loader and about 20 games for $20...guy was ahppy to be rid of it, but wed been shooting the breeze for about an hour after i noticed it, so it was a little different story.

as for getting fired, i work for my parents company, and my dad has said 'it never hurts to ask' when ive lamented about this great stuff i saw in an attic that i didnt have..

anyway, thanks for the feedback, ill post if i ever get a good find this way!