Showerthought: Is it fair to trade a broken item if you tell someone upfront?

Last month at the Austin swap meet, a lady offered me her old lamp with a cracked base, said it was an easy fix, and when I got it home I realized the wiring was shot too, so does honesty about one flaw cover the rest or should you disclose everything?

2 comments

2 Comments

parker18325d ago

Back in 2021 I bought a vintage turntable off Facebook Marketplace from a guy in Round Rock. He told me the belt was loose but everything else worked fine. I got it home and the whole thing needed rewiring, the speed control was shot, and the needle was bent. I messaged him about it and he said well I told you about the belt. That rubbed me the wrong way honestly. When I sell stuff now I always go over every issue I know about even the small ones. It just saves the back and forth later and keeps people from feeling cheated. So yeah I think if you know about extra problems you should mention them even if you already mentioned one.

the_william25d ago

Sold a car once and listed every dent and weird noise upfront, no surprises later.