Milsub Moral Dilema What Would You Do???

[ROGERB]

I have had 2 similiar things occur. About 2 years ago dealing with a guy who notices my Sub date and tells me he has an old one like mine that he doesn't wear at home in a drawer. He had showed it to his neighbor and he was amazed how much his neighbor had offered him for it, something like 2 grand! He had owned it from new and since it did have scratched all over the "plastic crystal" thought it was too much dough. Oh the difference between mine besides the saphire crystal ( mine's a 16610) is his has the word Submariner in RED. I told him why he may want to not sell it to his neighbour....

A year ago another guy again notices my watch(wearing an Omega GMT white) and he's wearing a Rolex he bought new ... Explorer II but the orange arm had faded and the paint was gone from the bezel numbers. Had taken it to the jeweller who services Rolex (not an ad) who said he could service it but it may be (over 500.00) better to Trade it for a new Citizen and he'd give him 200.00 on trade...
I again pointed out why thAT WAS NOT A GOOD IDEA.... just the way my Mother raised me....
R

[Nicko]

I know of members here who bought watches from unsuspecting elderly customers who had no problem paying pennies to the dollar for their watch. I wouldn't do this, I do believe in karma and doing unto others. It's bad business in every sense of the word. I would never take advantage of someone like that.

[mfer]

If it is a private party like a person or the original owner, I'd tell them without a doubt.

If it was a pawn shop or some other reseller of items, I'd take the cheap offer.

[Casey VP-26]

I would tell him the true value and if would still sell to you at a fair price agreeable to the both of you I would then buy it. Good Luck

[wantonebad]

I'm not judging anyone, to each their own, but for me, i couldn't live with myself if I didn't disclose what i thought it was worth. Plus who knows, its a double edged sword, i haven't seen enough MilSub pictures (never saw one in person) to be able to determine if its real or not. If dealers can get fooled I certainly could.

Its a slippery slope, if I were knowledgable enough to be able to tell if it were real or not I would feel obligated to share my expertise. If that means I'm letting thousands of dollars slip through my fingers so be it, its not my money to begin with. JMHO

Originally Posted by Volant997

The hypothetical situation is not a dilemma if you are a moral person.

AGREED!!
The Law and a Morals are seperate and exclusive of each other, we all have a compass that directs us, what can we live with? what is ethical? Its for each of us to decide, I'd share my info and be happy to have helped the rightful owner get top dollar for a valuable asset

[seedgun]

Ok here is my somewhat similar example. A few years ago an older woman callen me and said she heard that i collected old Lionel trains. I told her I did and that I'd love to look at them.
I went to her house and she had one pristeen colectors item that I knew was valuable. I asked her what she wanted and she said she had no idea, her husband had paid $180 so if I would be willing to pay that much she'd be happy. I knew the value was somewhere between $2000 and $5000 and so I told her I couldn't do that as I would feel terrible for taking advantage of her lack of knowlege on the subject.
I told her the value and she was a bit surprised but said since I was honest I could still have it for $180. I told her I couldn't and we negotiated the price up to $1800. it was strange as I was the buyer and I was the one that was trying to raise the price.
We eventually agreed and I gave her the cash and felt pretty good about it, untill the next year when she called again and said she had found some more trains in the attic that her husband had hidden away.
Again I went, again they were very valuable and again I was having to negotiate to pay more. I finally had to agree to give her Church a donation to get her to accept closer to true value.
Moral of the story, I feel good that I was honest, and I really feel good that she agreed and still gave me a great deal. It can work well for both.
ANdy

[Casey VP-26]

Great Story Andy.

[jeangtd]

I would try to work out a deal with him, where I sells it, buy him a new sub and the rest of the profit we spilt 50/50

all those hours spent on the net educating myself and reading post's on trf better pay off

[mpkRolex]

I would ask where and how did he get it in the first place. The guy may lie but the reason why I would ask is - if he got it used from another naive person who sold it to him for less and this guy is selling it again the make a few more bucks I would not tell him the real value of the watch. My intent here is not to screw the person you are buying from. In this case it would be no loss to him even if you have a steal bargain.

On the other hand if it turns out that this guy was indeed the original owner and has pampered the watch but does not know the current market value I would tell him the truth and let him make a decision if he wants to still sell it for that low.

Hope this makes sense.

[rad87gn]

Tell the truth. Anything less is a thief.

[Nicko]

Originally Posted by ParisDakarBmw

I would keep it simple. If that watch is worth $3k to them, and they are happy with the deal, so be it. If you aproach someone, and make them a silly offer, that's wrong. I think that once it's open for purchase, and the public has a fair chance, pick it up. Of course don't pay the man, and do a dance in front of him. Maybe give him $250 more and let that be the end of it. Do you think the people that purchase a Picaso at a yard sale, run up to the seller, and tell them it may be worth millions. No. Simply pay the person the asking price, and let it go.

You'd be a punk to ask him if he would take less!!!!!!!!

Just pay the open public price.....

Sorry, I couldn't disagree more.