Is this ethical?

[kingjammy24]

a couple of hypothetical questions regarding ethnical behavior:

1) let's say i find a yankees jersey at an estate sale or yard sale. the jersey has no documentation and the seller has no clue what it is or how they came to acquire it. they just found it in the attic. they're just selling it as a "baseball jersey - $30". after doing a considerable amount of research, i conclude that the specs of the jersey match perfectly to, let's say, 1990 yankees pro game jerseys. the jersey has the number 23 on the back. everything appears original and unaltered. to my eyes, the jersey shows signs of wear. ethically speaking, would it be proper to sell the jersey as a "don mattingly game worn jersey"? (please don't email me asking how much for the mattingly. i don't have one, this is all hypothetical). would it be wrong to sell it as a "don mattingly game worn jersey"? what should it be sold as?

2) let's say, in this example, i purchase a jersey as "game issued" from a team or dealer. upon examining the jersey, i find obvious signs of wear. is it wrong to then turn around and sell the jersey as "game used" in light of this wear? is it wrong to assume the seller made an error?

interested in people's responses.

rudy.

[jon_8_us]

Get it authenticated.Easy as that.If it comes back no good then you have a 30$ Yankees jersey.If it comes back good you have a steal of a lifetime!
jon

[staindsox]

I would suggest getting it authenticated. I would personally find it to be unethical BUYING it from a yard sale for $30 and then SELLING it as game used. I wouldn't know if I would say anything if you were going to just keep it. It's turning a large PROFIT on it that I would think to be unethical... and that's for the yard sale scenario. I'm not sure what I think about it if you were to buy it from a dealer.

Chris

[trsent]

A former commissioner of baseball lived in my hometown of Lake Forest, IL at the time of his passing. When I opened my retail store in Lake Forest in 1990 people would come in and tell me about the garage sale they had after his death in the 1970s.

You would buy a grab bag baseball for around $20.00 and get a Babe Ruth autographed baseball or a Ty Cobb autographed baseball. I wish I remembered more details, but that would have been a fun sale to attend.

[both-teams-played-hard]

It is very likely to buy a real game used jersey on the second hand market (thrift store, flea market, yard sale). It doesn't matter who authenticates it, A legit jersey authenticates itself. The source does not matter. There are many game used treasures on eBay that are found at thrift stores and not advertised as such. I see the items sell and end up at the auction houses(tons).
To all y'all who say "get it authenticated": by who? I think Rudy could authenticate his own jersey.

[otismalibu]

To all y'all who say "get it authenticated": by who? I think Rudy could authenticate his own jersey.

Ah...but he's missing the "impeccable source".

[kingjammy24]

some interesting comments so far.

jon: if, through my own analysis, i've already determined that all the specs on the jersey match up properly, then i'm unsure what use there would be for an authenticator?
if i've determined they match up, would it be ethical to make the leap in calling it "game used"?

chris: i'm curious why you find turning a large profit to be unethical? or why it's unethical to find something at a yard sale for $30, realize it's a gamer, and then sell it for $4k?

lets say you came across an ebay listing where some guy posted a bat and said "i found this old piece of wood in my deceased uncle's attic. i have no clue what it is" and it had a buy it now of $10. after considerable research, john taube and mike specht told you they were positive that it was a 1956 mantle game used bat. would it be unethical of you to buy it for $10 and resell it for $10k?

warren: bingo. if you can fix cars, you have no need for a mechanic and if you understand jerseys, you have no need for an authenticator. so i'm assuming you feel the first scenario is ethical? what about the second one of buying a "game issued", finding use on it, and reselling it as "game used"?


rudy.

[staindsox]

I consider it unethical to turn a profit in the case of the yard sale because I believe it is taking advantage of a person's ignorance. I am still unsure what I would do if I bought the item from a dealer, because sports would be his area of expertise. I can offer you an example. I used to collect Honus Wagner cards. I once purchased a Wagner supplement for $16, similar to the yard sale scenario. It turns out that the premium was an original worth in excess of $500. If I had bought it at a card show, it would be one thing, but taking it from an older woman who did not know any better was a completely different scenario. I thought it would have been taking advantage, so I returned the photo and explained its value to the owner. I am sure some on this board think I'm crazy. I felt so too at the time. But I felt it would have been wrong to keep the photo. For me, just because I could have legally kept the photo does not necessarily mean it is morally right. Those are my values. I'm not questioning anyone else, I'm not going to argue with anyone, but from my point of view, I could not turn a profit and feel I had been honest. Just my experience and opinion.

Chris

[trsent]

I consider it unethical to turn a profit in the case of the yard sale because I believe it is taking advantage of a person's ignorance. I am still unsure what I would do if I bought the item from a dealer, because sports would be his area of expertise. I can offer you an example. I used to collect Honus Wagner cards. I once purchased a Wagner supplement for $16, similar to the yard sale scenario. It turns out that the premium was an original worth in excess of $500. If I had bought it at a card show, it would be one thing, but taking it from an older woman who did not know any better was a completely different scenario. I thought it would have been taking advantage, so I returned the photo and explained its value to the owner. I am sure some on this board think I'm crazy. I felt so too at the time. But I felt it would have been wrong to keep the photo. For me, just because I could have legally kept the photo does not necessarily mean it is morally right. Those are my values. I'm not questioning anyone else, I'm not going to argue with anyone, but from my point of view, I could not turn a profit and feel I had been honest. Just my experience and opinion.

Chris

Chris, I understand your concern, but at the same time, if they set a price they are asking, it doesn't matter if the item is worth 5 times, 50 times or 1000 times more because if you bought them item and it was worth 10 times less than you paid would the seller offer you a refund?

It is a gamble when you buy it, so you take the risk and then can reap the rewards. That is how fair trade works in our society.

[staindsox]

Joel, I think you missed the point of my reply. It has nothing to do with what our society's rules are. My moral and ethical standards would not allow me to keep something when I felt it was wrongly obtained. It is a personal belief. Laws have nothing to do with personal ethics.