Character is the thing you do when no one else is looking. You chose to let this go for all the right reasons. You can buy and sell a hat stretcher (or a porsche or a spoon), but good character cannot be bought or sold. It is priceless.

You sir, are a gentleman.

angela

i had a guy buy my triumph cafe bike. he rode it home. he called about two hours later, nearly in tears. he couldn't start it. it was a kick start with 10:1 compression (at least), bored .20 over, and a 750 twin. it took about all i have to kick it over and i weigh about 200 lbs. this guy was recovering from cancer and weighed about 110, maybe.

i said, no problem. drove up to his place, gave him his money back. i feel like i did the right thing. i think you did the right thing. is it really worth creating misery over a couple of hundred dollars?

Thanks for that Angela!! My wife knows too, deep down. Maybe that's why I'm 31 years into this marriage and she still thinks I'm special!

That was a very commendable act on your part! You were under no obligation to do that. Like you said, money comes and goes, that guy would probably be bitter for a long time.

You guys are 100% correct about character. Your example, nynor, is exactly what I would have done. I don't care how bad I need the $$, I cannot sell something using deception, (not saying that you did either), and to go a step further, I want to know that the person buying my widget really wants it or needs it.

I just watched "Wall Street" last night for the first time. (Believe it or not). There is a great line in the special features of the DVD when an honest trader w/ a seat on the NYSE says, "your character/good name is something that you spend your whole life building and you can lose it in an instant..." So true.

It's just that with free-market capitalism and trade, (which I'm all for FWIW), sometimes things are not cut and dry if you have character. If you don't, anything goes and it's easy. If you do have it, some situations require a lot of thought and introspection. A huge part of making a profit is knowing something that someone else does not know. :cool:

And pointed out the fact that he probably needed the money more than you.
You did a good turn for your fellow man.

Well said.

I left a note on a windshield the other day for a bumper I scraped. I had a rental so I could have just left. But the Great God of Karma screamed at me & I did the right thing. The owner called & I am mailing him a check for $313.57.

OP - you did the right thing.

Ian (another chump)

I bumped into the back of a MB in a parking lot,when I first got my truck left a note notified the insurance and it took the Armenain lady a full week to read the note....before I left Inoted the little dent in her bumper that I cause and some other damage to the trunk area of her car that i did not cause..Well guess what my insurance company took care of it ALL the damage for her...

I think I commented about this on this Board about that back in the day...

x1000. Those shows where they say something is "worth" XX....maybe you have to hold on to i forever to get that price. That's teh issue. Holding on to it (carrying costs) until you sell it. Unless it's your business, you need it gone and need the $$ more. We have a whole forum here chock full of folks convinced there stuff is worth $$xx and not a penny less. It's the Porsche for sale forum. LOL

No Way!! You tellin' me my 81 SC ain't worth $15,500? Say it aint so, Joe..........

I am late to the party, but here is my 2 cents. It was a truly reasonable thing that you did. Really all that you were out was a bit of time. In order to make a profit on the thing you would have had to have to do the work to sell it anyway. The guy at least threw another $5 your way -- What is the harm?

I hate doing deals where one party loses.