I don't know why, but I've been given this a lot of thought. What would you do, if somebody you met at a flea-market, or a family member found this, or family friends gave you this item or whatever. Doesn't matter how it became in their position, but it's being handed down to you as a gift. I know, I know, it'll never happen to me a million years. But, it's still a fun thing to think about it.
Lets say, your doing some hard work for your neighbors yard, and in their old kids room they have a perfect MISB Fortress Maximus. An item you know they can fetch over $1,000 dollars for it.
Your a good hearted person, so obviously, your not going to right our steel it from them. So forget that idea. You want to earn your trust so you can continue working for them.
But lets just say, they don't have cash at the moment, their sons gone off to tin-buck-two and left his childhood toys with the parents. The parents have no clue who's who, and what's the value worth on anything.
Lets say my brothers neighborhood friends had a box of toys and one of those toys was same said figure. And lets just say, they gave them to your brother who has no interest in them, has no clue to their value or whatever.
Lets say, that there is an opportunity to receive as a gift, a highly expensive, and very rare toy. You know in your heart it's worth a shit load.
What would you do? Would you graciously accept it, and "laugh behind their back." uncontrollably but without being rude about it. Would you insist on them keeping it because it's too valuable for me. Would you tell them the truth about Fortress Maximu's real value and tell them to keep it. What if they refuse to keep it and are one of those that insists on giving it to you either as a gift, or as payment for your hard work.
What would you do? We all should know the "honest" and best thing to do, but temptation maybe overwhelming here.
Now shit like this just never happens to me at all. I doubt it ever will.
However, I was just talking to one of my Dad's friends who's child has a bunch of Transformers that they want to get rid of. They dont' know what's what, or if it's in the series that I'm interested in.
I also have the opportunity to work for an elderly couple near my area for some yard work and snow-removal work during the winter.
I have no clue what either parties have, but lets just say this is the scenario. And it doesn't even have to be a $1,0000 dollar FM because that's just not going to happen. But what if it's something worth $200, or worth more than the work you've done for them.
I've been up most of last night pondering this idea. Don't get me wrong, 99.99% of this is all wishfull thinking. But hey, who's to say it won't happen! Still, what would you do if your offered something out of good will, you earned it, they know you collect this sort of stuff, but you know it's worth way more than you can ever afford. What would you do?
Please advice, discuss, but be polite.
And if this has happened to you before, please feel free to share your stories and post pictures of gifts you have received.

 

Well, you can tell yourself that their happiness at not having to pay you cash is worth more than a thousand dollars.
Nothing ever happens to me like that, though.

 

Your ruminations are almost Seinfeldian in their convolutedness.

Sorry, I just listened to a David Brin interview and I think my IQ has been raised to a point where I'm incapable of communicating in words of less than four syllables. Uh... just say no?

 

I can't believe you're even pondering the issue. Just accept the damn toys already.

 

Exactly. Accept it and say "thank you very much, I appreciate it" and be done with it. That don't make you a bad person

 

But what if you know they can make far more use out of the money be selling it? There are several points here to consider.
One, you've earned it by doing hard work for them.
Two, you know in your heart that if they sell the item, they can make a lot of money that the people probably need more than you do.
Three, that old adage of just smile and accept the gift graciously.
Four, I'm not a crook, and I don't want to steal from anybody. But graciously receiving a toy that I know is worth a grand for say a $200 dollar job, that feels like stealing to me.
Five. Is honesty ALWAYS the best policy?
Six. Shit like this just ain't going to happen, but what if it did?

Or lets say your at a flea market and somebody is selling a MIB Complete Fortress Maximus for say, $250 or something. You've got the money, and you want it, but you know deep in your heart it's worth far more than that. Do you tell your flea-market seller that "Hey sir/mam, do you know this toy is worth nearly $1,000 dollars on ebay or any Transformer fan-based websites?"
Do you just pay the flea-market price and snag the toy and go home in complete bliss?


Do any of you have any stores that fit this scenario?

 

No, it's WORTH more than that. THEY can't get that much for it because they don't have the connections to the fanbase or the knowledge of where to go to get that for it. We do so it's worth a lot to us, but worthless to them.

 

So would you just graciously buy it and walk off?

 

Just buy the damn thing.

 

Yes.

 

Even though you know it's worth far more than what they sold it/gave it to you was?

 

I'd sell my granny for a Fort Max.

 

I couldn't read that whole page 'o' text. But from what I got from it I'll offer my two cents. At a flea market/yard sale, it's fair game, even if it's only 10 bucks. But a family member or a neighbor giving it to you and you spot it and ask about it, you need to speak up. Just my two cents. I couldn't sleep.

 

Well, I'm sure it'll never happen to me, but one never knows what the future holds for yea. Just if it ever did happened, I'm not sure what I'd do! I know what I want to do, take it, say thank you, say nothing of it's true value, and graciously accept it and leave it. I'd never, ever sell it and I'd enjoy it till the end of time.
Just something kind of fun to ponder the what if scenario's once in a while. You know it'll never happen, like winning the lottery. But just suppose you get lucky some day and your handed such a fine piece of FM.
Anyway, thank's for your tips guys. This thread can either close, or keep going.

 

ditto..........

 

People who aren't fans are just happy to make whatever money off of it. I'm sure if they really cared they would look up approx. values on the interbutts.

 

Yes I hear you. But I'd just feel like I'd be ripping somebody off if I knew it was worth way more than what they were selling it/giving it away for.

 

Yes. That's what flea markets are for, looking for deals, so if I saw one there for $250 I would buy it. If I saw one on Ebay that was for some reason ignored and was able to buy it cheap, I'd buy it. If a board member decided to give me one, I'd take it. *coughs*

 

I would explain what it is and whats its worth and let them decided...who am I kidding id accept it and run like hell.

Unless it was family or someone who i was close as family to then i would fully explain what it is and what the value is and let them decide what to so with it , if then they still wished me to have it , I would accept ti graciously and cherish it always.

 

i swear there is no better thread for me to chime in at haha i got the PERFECT answer

in the art of flea market, you got to just not say a word about worth, you must act like a dummy, it is the art of the game. People selling stuff at flea markets are just trying to make a buck, for example:

a year ago (i believe, has it been that long?) i went to a flea market, for years i found nothing, well i see this booth and i literally almost shit my pants, there under a table, in an half ass city mode was fortress maximus, me, about to go into a seizure, do nothing, my dad, asked me what it was, i told him quietly, "fortress maximus!", here comes the good part, he walked to the booth and looked at stuff, and asked "how much for this" and then goes, "how much for the plastic toy under the table" and she said, "$7", my dad, payed her, then i, drooling like a newborn baby, swoop it up and the lady goes"i just sold that", and my dad was like, "yeah that is my son" and all was good, the booth next to her had some transformers, including a broken-tailfin g1 silverbolt (i got fort max, so i was too overwhelmed to buy it haha) the lady asked "is that a transformer?" i just say, "yes it is", now i did not tell her who or how much it was worth, cause i did not want to make her upset for not grabbing it. i then almost literally skipped to the truck to go put it up

now you see, these people just see it as a toy, not some collector plaything, they give the price they think it is worth and try to get it, here the lady thought this hunk of plastic was worth $7, to her it was, but to me, a collector, it is worth WAY more, so don't feel bad if you make a deal, both parties are happy, that is all that matters