[Fwd: Re: [Boatanchors] skits-matic]

[Glen Zook]

50 cents on the dollar is not an improper amount to
pay for equipment that is resold.  3 cents on the
dollar is!  When you are in business, you have to
"make" money to stay in business.  However, I still
believe that it is immoral (not illegal) to go around
and "take" the grieving families by offering only a
small fraction of what the equipment is worth.

Also, repairing, restoring, etc. of equipment
definitely adds to the value and one needs to be
compensated for that.  I am in the business of doing
that as well as manufacturing various reproduction
assemblies for boat anchor equipment as well as
repairs, etc.

Running up astronomical repair bills on equipment that
the owner cannot pay is another "ploy" used by a few
persons to gain ownership of equipment that is later
sold.  I was called as an "expert" witness last summer
in a court case where the "estimated" cost of doing a
simple alignment to a receiver was $50 - $75.  When
the owner tried to regain custody, he was told that
the "repair" bill was almost $1200 and that things
were still not finished.  No repairs were to have been
done.  In fact, this particular company/individual had
not even looked at the equipment but had spent over 21
hours "contemplating" what was to be done.  Supposedly
the paper capacitors were to be replace with "mil
spec" orange drops at a minimum cost of $12 apiece
(others were to cost over $20 each).  The person had
not even looked at the equipment so he did not know
that the paper capacitors had been previously replaced
by a very well-known operation!

The case was definitely decided in favor of the
amateur who owned the equipment, not the repair
facility.  This particular facility is fairly well
known and has gained a very bad reputation in some
circles.  Their ads were "pulled" from one boat anchor
publication and have recently disappeared from a major
amateur radio magazine.

Anyway, I did not intend on "hitting a nerve".  If
your operations are as you state, then I have no
problems at all with them!  Frankly, I did not even
know that you were in any particular business.  In
fact, I really don't even know who you are!

Glen, K9STH


--- Bob <wolfbob@csnsys.com> wrote:

I take almost total exception. I am in business of
buying and selling equipment. 

I did nothing but buy locally and sell through eBay to
those in the midwest who were willing to pay about
twice what I paid for the gear. I did nothing wrong or
immoral. I cheated no one.

I went to repairing the stuff I bought before I sold
it. I sold it as fully functional and again I had a
market niche and hung for another year or so. 

=====
Glen, K9STH

Web sites

http://home.attbi.com/~k9sth
http://home.attbi.com/~zcomco

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