Good guy or chump

[cmccuist]

So the wife and I are running some errands Saturday morning and we come across a big yard sale. It's in a big out-building full of junk - perfect! So I'm poking around and I come across this weird looking gizmo.

Here's a picture of one just like it.



So I asked the guy what it is and he tells me it's a hat stretcher. Well, I don't need that as I don't wear hats, except ball caps and those have adjustments. But it looks interesting so I ask how much. He'll let it go for $25 because it's "collectable."

Well I don't bite so a little later he says "how about $20?" So I think maybe I could resell it on eBay and I buy it. Well we pay him and he says he's going to go inside and look it up on the internet. I thought why would he do that as we've already bought it. So we walk out to the car and we've got the engine running and we're just about to pull away and he comes sprinting up the driveway.

I get out and say what's the matter and he says he's made a huge mistake and could he buy it back from me. Turns out the thing's worth about $300.

Hat Stretcher on eBay

Well I say no problem. I really don't want to give it back, but from the looks of his situation, he could use the money more than me. So he ends up giving me $25 to buy it back. Needless to say, my wife went berzerk! She was yelling at me for a good hour. How could I give away, basically, a couple hundred dollars to a stranger?

Guess I'm a chump. I'm out the money and my wife is mad at me!!

Your thoughts?

[hcariss]

He is unprepared and foolish, and you are well intentioned and more importantly not greedy. You saw he was in a bad way financially so you did the right thing.

[Erakad]

Chump? I wouldn't say that, but maybe enabling his lack of financial skills. Good luck on EBay...I bet you could have got him up to $50.

[cmccuist]

I appreciate that H and Rob.

You know the guy wasn't beligerent or anything like that. He was truly anguished that he sold that weird thing. He said he made a huge mistake and could I please sell it back to him.

I know I could have just drove away when I saw him sprinting up the driveway, but I felt bad for the guy.

But hey, business is business. I wouldn't blame anyone if they thought I was the biggest loser out there.

[Seahawk]

You did what you thought was the right thing...I wouldn't gnash about it at all. Life is entirely too short to fret over an antique hat stretcher.

The bright side is you made a 25% return on your investment

[stomachmonkey]

Nah, not a chump.

[cmccuist]

You're right, I did make a profit! That gave me $5 extra dollars for more junk at the next yard sale! Next time I find something weird, I'm going to run to the car and drive away leaving a trail of tire smoke.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

You definitely did the right thing. The only reason to keep it would be out of greed.

That said, the seller is a douche. He had every opportunity to determine its value. Finding it more valuable after a sale and having the balls to ask to buy it back makes him a loser. It's not like he found out it had some intrinsic personal/emotional importance, he just wanted to make more money. Greedy. Douche.

You have to wonder, if he found out it was only worth $100 after the sale, would he have asked to buy it back. $125?

you did the right thing. let someone else suffer the ills of greed. better to live with a clean heart.

[cmccuist]

I just thought it strange that he would try and determine the value AFTER he closed the deal. That made no sense to me.

[Erakad]

Still no chump, yea...$5 profit (no shame in a $5/5 minute profit!), and yes...his was obviously a soul in agony. Life is short, have fun with this. Makes for great stories at the bar.

[masraum]

not a chump. Seems more like you're a good person to me. My wife would probably have given me hell, and I'm not sure I'd have sold it back to him.

You're not out money, you made $5, right?

"It's worth $300" If you can get that for it. That would require some effort. Hell, he may list it on ebay and only get $30.

[trekkor]

I think things turned out nicely.


KT

[cmccuist]

Yea, something is worth what someone else will pay for it.

I don't know that there's a huge market for hat stretchers! But the supply is also low. Who would buy something like that? Barry Bonds?

[Schrup]

I would have told my wife to STFU. Not a chump.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by cmccuist

Yea, something is worth what someone else will pay for it.

I don't know that there's a huge market for hat stretchers! But the supply is also low. Who would buy something like that? Barry Bonds?

I dunno, I've got a fairly big noggin. I usually wear an "extra large". I think my actual size is about 7 3/4, so not setting any records, but buying a hat can be a pain.

[stomachmonkey]

Hmm, he may have lied, no surprise.

There is one of those up on eBay right now with a Buy It Now price of $595.00 Has two offers on it.

Item number: 380220671374

Couple of cheaper ones but they don't appear to have the electric heater option.

[targa911S]

Seems that doing the right thing is a current theme here. Good people doing the right thing. Man you could found a country based on that idea.

You did good. Asking $300.00 ain't gettin' $300. let him find out how soft the market for collectibles is for himself.

[flatbutt]

Well I would have thought to myself,"is my life really going to be better if I keep it and sell it myself? Or am I better off selling it back to this guy?"

you know what you did was right. sure he's a dope but wouldn't you have felt cheapened by keeping it?

[cmccuist]

Hey, I felt real good about helping this guy out. He seemed like a pretty decent guy. My wife was back to her loving self by Sunday morning, so I'm out of the dog house. As Rob said earlier, it'll be a funny story years down the road.

It always amazes me the strange devices that people will pay money for.

[jhynesrockmtn]

Not a Chump at all, you should never have been in the dog house in the first place. You did a dumb guy a favor and your wife is pissed?