Harry P.

No fair. You're a Palmer Pro!

Rich, for all the hassles you're going through now, believe me... you will be glad you dropped those gold wheels and went with something else. You might not believe me now... but you will.

Bill, I'd love to have a few beers with you one day and just see where the conversation goes. I think it would be a blast.

Now there's an example of immoral selling! Passing off a gizmo that melts plastic as some sort of precision cutting device!

I agree with both of those points! But seriously... of course we can agree to disagree. Differing opinions are the lifeblood of a forum. Everyone who has been part of this topic is doing exactly what they're supposed to do on an online forum... offer up their opinion. I still see absolutely nothing immoral about what this guy is doing, but I'm not going to try to out-debate you. The reason I got involved in this discussion in the first place was to offer an "opposing viewpoint" to all the guys that were calling this guy every name in the book. I don't see it that way at all, not even close. But that's my opinion. And you have yours. All is good.

The world is more complicated than you think it is (or are willing to admit).

Now you're getting into really deep water. The price of gas isn't simply determined by the oil companies. There is way more to it than that. In fact, the oil companies themselves have very little, if any, control over oil (and gas) prices, because oil is a commodity that is traded worldwide. The price of a barrel of oil on any given day depends on a lot of factors, some legitimate and some not so much, but believe me, it's not set by a roomful of evil Exxon/Mobil execs twirling their mustaches. It just doesn't work that way. Prescription drugs are a different story, and here I would tend to agree with you that the big pharmaceutical companies are taking advantage of the situation. If they make a popularly prescribed drug, they own the patent to that drug and they can charge just about whatever they want. Of course, if you have prescription drug coverage the insurance company picks up most of the cost, but then they just turn around and raise their rates, and around it goes. But yeah, charging crazy prices for drugs that can help sick people does seem a little immoral. But neither of those things can be compared to a guy selling model parts online. He's one man, independent of any other sellers. Nobody needs what he's selling to stay alive or get to work every day, nobody's health or well being rides on what he's selling. He puts up the stuff, he describes (accurately) what you're getting, and he and he alone decides the price that he wants to sell it for. Whether you buy from him is totally your decision. He isn't forcing you to buy from him, he isn't threatening you if you don't buy from him, and he's not trying to trick you into buying from him Absolutely nothing immoral in that scenario.

If NASCAR ran true "stock" cars (with a very few safety items like racing tires and roll cages thrown in), I would think the whole thing would be way more interesting. As it is, I have zero interest in it. All the cars are exactly the same. But if they were "real" cars from different manufacturers racing each other like they did in the 50s, now that would be something that I might tend to watch every so often. Who knows what the manufacturers might come up with if "Stock car" racing actually meant stock car racing, and the manufacturers were trying to "one up" the other manufacturers? It could have been very interesting.

You can't blame the seller if the buyer is uninformed.

Dennis Miller has a line that I agree with... "I'm perfectly willing to help the helpless, but not the clueless."

Regarding this guy "preying" on uninformed newbies... Do you really think that a person who goes online looking for a specific model part or parts is totally unaware of kit and/or part prices? Wouldn't it be safe to assume that a person looking for specific parts to specific kits is probably already immersed in the hobby, probably has bought more than one kit, probably knows the typical going rate for kits and such? In other words, I doubt that people who are completely unaware of the hobby or hobby-related pricing would be going online looking to buy a specific part for a specific kit in the first place. Why would they??? And further, anyone who is familiar with ebay would also realize that this guy is not the only source for most of the stuff he has on sale, and that a few mouse clicks would probably find others who have the same stuff for sale.

That is if you agree that he is intentionally exploiting others–which is not a given, but an opinion.

What about the fact that they are producing kits of "Dodges" and "Chevies" and "Fords," etc? Are they too small... too much a "mom and pop" operation for the 1/1 carmakers to even bother with?

Let me make it clear that I have no idea what, if any, relationship Modelhaus has with kit manufacturers. But now that the subject has been brought up, I sure would like to know how an aftermarket company can afford all the various licensing fees to produce so many different models. Assuming they actually do pay licensing fees. And if they don't... how are they getting away with that? Not bashing them. I have absolutely no issue with them. Just very curious.

In general, I define something as "immoral" if the intent is to deceive or take advantage of someone by misrepresenting oneself or misrepresenting the product or service you sell as something other than what it is. Selling a ratty old '85 Cutlass for $20,000 after turning back the odometer and claiming the car is a "low mileage creampuff" when the buyer asks about the mileage is immoral. Selling a ratty old '85 Cutlass for $20,000 without lying about anything and answering all the buyer's questions honestly is perfectly moral. Is the car "worth" the price it sold for? Of course not. But that's on the buyer, not the seller.

Good question! Anyone have an answer?

I assume you're being sarcastic. Obviously that statement isn't true. As far as the ebay seller's morals, you and I will have to agree to disagree.

Question for Bill, then I'll let it go. If I read you correctly, what this guy is doing is "immoral" based strictly on his asking price, correct? He's not misrepresenting anything, he's not trying to fool or con anyone, he's up front and honest in his descriptions...right? It's about his prices. So when did he cross from honest seller to immorality? If he sells a bumper for 5 bucks, it that "immoral?" What if he sells it for 3 bucks? Still "immoral?" Or is he ok at 3? Who decides at what price level "immorality" sets in? And how is that price level determined? See what I mean? How can you tie the concept of morality to an asking price?

I have to disagree. He's doing absolutely nothing that can be honestly defined as shady or immoral. I could agree that it would be "shady" if he was trying to pass off his stuff as "rare" or if he tried to misrepresent his stuff in any way... but he's not doing that. Like I said, he seems to go out of his way to make it very clear what he's selling, so how you see him as "preying" on anyone is a mystery to me. To deem a man "immoral" because you think the prices he charges are too high doesn't make sense to me. Is Prada "immoral" because they sell handbags with a designer label on them for $500? Is Starbucks "immoral" because they charge five bucks for a cup of coffee? Are they "preying" on boobs who don't know that a cup of coffee can be had at McDonalds for a buck? Of course not. They sell a product at whatever price they want to set, and everyone is free to buy their product or not. Morality plays no part in it. It's simple free-market capitalism. As long as you don't misrepresent what you're selling as something it's not, price alone is not a "moral" issue, it's a question of what you think the market will bear.

I don't get why so many of you guys characterize this guy as "immoral" or "slimy" or whatever. He's not trying to fool anyone, he's not trying to con anyone, he's not trying to pretend the stuff he has for sale is anything other than what it is. He's not saying the stuff is "rare" or "hard to find" or anything. He lists his parts, he lists his price. In his descriptions he goes out of his way to make it very clear what exactly he is selling. Very open and honest. There isn't even a bit of con going on here. You as the potential buyer are completely free to either buy from him or not. But how is it that if you decide you don't want to pay his asking price, that makes him "immoral" or "slimy?" I don't know the guy, never have dealt with him, but I just don't see how you can fairly label the guy as immoral or whatever. It's called the free market. How is what he is doing in any way "immoral?"

Do what to people??? Who is forcing anyone to buy from him??? I don't think you understand how the free market works. A seller can sell anything for any price he wants to sell it for. It's up to the buyer to decide whether or not to buy. Whether the seller sells anything is up to the buyer, not the seller. Blame the people who buy the overpriced stuff, not the seller. They are the ones who are ripping themselves off.

So if he offers up parts for sale at prices that are "insane," who is the idiot? The seller... or the buyer? A seller is under no obligation to offer "fair" prices. He has every right to sell whatever he wants to sell for whatever price he wants to sell it for. It's up to the buyer to decide whether or not it's a good deal, and whether or not to buy. As far as I know, nobody was ever forced to buy anything from him.

You form an opinion of the guy without any actual evidence? And you think that's legitimate?

What do you base that evaluation on? I'm curious. I don't know the guy, never heard of him... but since 2004 he has almost 800 positive feedbacks and 5 negatives. I don't get it. How is he a guy with no morals or ethics?

Victoria's Secret commercials don't need any audio.