I see a lot of posts on the "worst trick I have ever bought" and "worst video I have ever bought". We all lament about having bought these items and what a piece of cra* they are, how we felt taken or even defrauded and how they are in the back of our drawer.

Just got me wondering about the ethics of passing on a dud to an unsuspecting fellow Café member by just listing the item and trying to get our money back and let the "other" (next?) guy end up holding the bag. (Reminds me of the observation that there is really only 10 fruitcakes in existence in the USA at any one time and that they just get passed around from one person to the next each holiday season.)

I am really struggling with this issue because I have a number of dogs I want to sell but I just can't screw over another person because I got screwed.

My options?

1. Do nothing. Leave them in the drawer and don't buy from that jerk (generic term) again.

2. Make a full disclosure and sell at a heavily discounted price.

3. Sell the dog as part of a "bundled" sale where maybe 4 or 5 items are offered for sale. Think of it as selling 4 items for top price and throwing in the dog for free.

Your thoughts on this subject would be appreciated.

Mike

P.S. Howabout a new FORMAL topic created by Steve Brooks and the gang: "Dogs for Trade". No cash sales allowed; just straight trades. In that way, no one loses any more money and, who knows, one man's trash is another man's treasure (or so I've been told). This might eventually work out as a combination quickie product review/"dog" item for trade thread that might prove as popular and worthwhile as the "Howie Diddits" thread.

I don't know.

Those kinds of assessments are pretty subjective in many cases. One man's dog is sometimes another's gem. Moreover, the threads you've mentioned are readily available, and folks can read them and decide for themselves whether they want to take the risk.

I think as long as you clearly state the name and manufacturer of the effect (as well as whether your particular item is defective in any way) and as long as you don't oversell it, you've done all that can be expected. The decision to purchase then rests with them.

Ultimately, although in your mind you may be pawning off a dud, the reality is that you may be giving someone a great deal on something they were planning to buy at full price anyway.

Even if they end up hating it, they'd already been warned by the threads you mentioned, and they didn't have to pay full price to find out.

All in all, I'd say that's a pretty good result for all concerned.

Lagrange,

Yes, you are correct on one level (One man's trash is another man's treasure) but what about items that are universally panned (such as Killer Red Caps and the Bocxxi Ball, etc.)

I guess I have less a problem with items that have been universally panned in open forums. My real concern involves some items that might be publically praised as good by a creator's groupies but which, in private conversations, knowlegable macigcians pan. If you are such a person ("in the know") do you feel O.K. with selling such a dud to an unsuspecting "newbie"?

I just feel uncomfortable about doing that. Perhaps, I'm just being too sensitive. Oh well, that's why I raised the question.

Thanks for your comments.

Mike

One man's junk is another's treasure...

Well, here is how I think of it. If it is just something I don't like, I will sell it. If it is just a piece of trash, that is where it goes. It all depends on my perception. Deep discounts only happen when the item is well used. Period. If the item is like new but just did not fit; the discount will be small if at all, depending on the item in question.

I I dislike some video or dvd or what ever I never sell it, if some one asks if I own such an effect I will give it to them..
that's me
vinny

I totally agree with Vinny.

If I find something bad, that usually means that it doesn’t work for me, but I can say is not going to work for others. I can’t decide that.

Works the opposite too: sometimes someone say to me: “Don’t get that piece of...” and he is wrong, because maybe that POC is precicely what I need to solve an idea I’m working on.

So, I’m up for just pass what I can’t use in a proper way.

I have on occasion passed on an effect and said, "Pay me what you think it's worth." If they don't want to pay me, then no worries, and I let them know that. If it fits their style, and they want to reimburse me for my investment, that's okay too.

The other think that works is just leave the effect lying in your shelf. Sometimes you are strugling to solve an idea and BAM! you remember that horrible thing you have had there for years, and it ends up being the solution.

I've purchased a few dogs from members of this Café. These dogs were so bad they wouldn't bark even if you threw them a bone.

My feeling is that people should not sell their dogs.

The thing is, nobody is forcing anyone to buy a trick.
I feel the prices here in the Café are great.

If the price is too high, I won't buy it. If I want an effect, and can get a good postage rate, I will.

I have purchased many tricks that people praised highly, but I didn't like.

Lots of people didn't like Silver shifter, I love it.
It's not magic though, its a strength stunt.

Killer red caps, I love it, just takes practice.

Stars and hexes, I hated it. Bad angles, too much set up. Too much crowd control needed. Strong smell. This effect got great reviews though.

It's all about opinions. If you don't like something, pass it on at a good price. Ahhhhh, capitalism.
Cheers,
James

The late Herb Morrissey once pointed out to me that EVERY trick was done well at least once by somebody, somewhere.

It would have to be, to end up being manufactured.

Therefore, it only takes some thought to make it work again.

The general theme here is one that I agree with: One man's trash is another's treasure.

Just because someone is selling something doesn't mean someone else is going to buy it.

I don't buy ANYTHING not known without checking for reviews here on the Café. Because of that, I don't think I've ever bought a dud. I'm amazed people still buy duds with the amount of information available out there.

It really is in the court of the buyers to do their research so it's not the fault of the sellers unless the sellers make promises or unfair claims about the material.

If you do have a dud, then you can't note that it's pure gold. Now that's where the ethics come in.

I'm absolutely intrigued with this product. There was a time I seriously considered the possibility that it was actually all an inside joke, a hoax, that someone said, "Hey, let's 'invent' the most lame effect imaginable and hype the h*ll out of it, including by using some of the greatest living magicians lavishing more praise on it than they ever have before in regard to any other new effect."

Now I just don't know.