Arc Gouging

[nerdgineer]

Agree with 357. There are other close enough choices which - to your wife probably (sorry for any sexist implications - is the case with my wife) - would be about as good. Longbows, QIII's and such lights, $40 to $80...

 

[BC0311]

This place reeks of sour grapes.

[ QUOTE ]
Trouble is, those without dollars are denied a vote...not to mention others too slow to compete with the frenzied mob

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh, the humanity of it all. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mecry.gif

 

[kaseri]

357...

Thats exactly what I was thinking. An E1e and a 2nd Gen KL1. Maybe someone has a used E1e they would be willing to sell me...?

 

[xochi]

I think that you've forgotten that , although there is a price at which something can be aquired there is also a price at which something will be relinquished. These high priced arcs are being sold at high prices because the buyer and the seller agree that they have a high value.

I really like my cpf edition arc but if someone offered me that kind of money , I'd be willing to let go of it.

As others have said, I think that 'price gouging' should be reserved for situations when things necessary for survival are being discussed (food ,shelter,water,medicine etc.)

 

[2dim]

Oddly enough, I've found we usually get exactly what we deserve, and what we wanted so much becomes anything but, farther down the road. Life goes on and the world keeps turning, with or without us. I hear hula hoops are coming back...

 

[coachbigdog]

This has already been "discussed" when people started doint that with the VIP.I agree that those prices should be kept on Ebay or at auction,but not on the BST forum.Unfortunately some see otherwise.I find it ironic that some VIP's went for $300-400 and now are going for UNDER $200.Just wait until the LionHeart comes out!

 

[tvodrd]

5 or 10 years down the road, even Arc's offerings will only be a piece of portable illumination tool history. If the number of collectors of such exceeds the available supply, the prices will rise! If not....... In the near term, speculation rules! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crackup.gif (I'm not a flashlight collector, but I have a few. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

Larry

 

[avusblue]

[ QUOTE ]
2dim said:
Trouble is, those without dollars are denied a vote...

[/ QUOTE ]

Means the price was too high (because you don't want to or can't pay what others will).

[ QUOTE ]
2dim said:
not to mention others too slow to compete with the frenzied mob.

[/ QUOTE ]

Means the price was too low (because others snapped it up as a bargain).

Seems like artificially set prices just won't work, eh??

How about we let the free market of willing sellers and willing buyers set the price they agree to pay?

Cheers.

Dave

(Full Disclosure: I just sold a bunch of Arcs in the past 10 days on BST, for - avert your eyes - big fat profits. All the buyers were thrilled to get these lights and the longest one took 2 hours to sell. And these sales created liquid resources for me to 1) donate to CPF, and 2) to spend on NEW lights, thus keeping the wheels of the Flashlight Economy turning! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif)

 

[nerdgineer]

Old joke: two somewhat threadbare old friends are talking, complaining about the state of things.

One says, "People who are rich are still so greedy. Why if I was rich and had 2 houses, I would give you one as my friend."

His friend agreed it was the right thing to do.

"..and", continued the first, "if I had 2 cars, I'd give you one of those, too."

Again the friend concurred.

The friend then added, "And if you had 2 shirts, why I bet you'd give me one of those, too..."

"Well...no, I wouldn't," said the first.

"Why not" asked the friend.

"Because I do have two shirts" answered the first.

 

[2dim]

Guess I'm just frustrated, being not only Arcless and still somewhat bewildered by all the different variations, but without any 123 lights whatsoever. Just got a charger and battery though, from 4sevens, so I'm ready for when things slow down enough for me to catch up...

 

[Aloft]

[ QUOTE ]
McGizmo said:
To my knowledge, no one is being forced to buy or sell. It is a free enterprise and if one is willing to accept discounts or expect discounts then one should also be willing to accept the opposite of discounts when supply is scarce.

[/ QUOTE ]

Great statement. . . as a avowed capitalist, I think McGizmo's quote above, as well as several other similarly well stated posts, speaks the truth. I've got several ARC AA's and AAA's. . . which I bought for $30-$35 each, and I thought that was expensive! That's because it was expensive! But if someone is willing to pay $70-$100 more. . . well, I think P.T. Barnum had another quote regarding that. . .

 

[tiktok 22]

I personally don't see this as gouging. If someone is willing to pay, so be it. We're talking about lights here, not medication.

 

[JOshooter]

I don't see any problems with it, isn't that what capitalism and the free market all about? My suggestion for anyone who not necessarily agrees with the price to at least take a look at basic economics. When a highly respected company like Arc goes out of business, there is an instant spike in demand for their flashlights. How long this will stay, I don't know, the market will dictate that as well as the price.

 

[bhds]

[ QUOTE ]
LEDmodMan said:
It's one thing to make a few bucks, but charging nearly 4 times what the light originally cost, please! Nice way to stick it to your neighborly CPF friends.

[/ QUOTE ]

Soooo... What exactly is a "fair" price for an arc aaa? 3 times what the light originally cost? 2 times? Who gets to decide? Sasha? Be willing to bet that whatever "your" idea of a fair price is a lot lower than if you were actually selling an arc aaa. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[coachbigdog]

I don't know why I'm posting this again,as last time few understood what was being said.But here we go again:What some fail to see when talking about "how much is too much" or what is "price gouging",is that people aren't saying it's wrong.They are just saying that as a member of CPF,some feel that prices should be "better" than on Ebay or the open market.There is nothing wrong with putting something on Ebay and it selling a thousand times the value if that's what someone is willing to pay.But as a member of CPF we should make lights available at a reasonable price.It's like this:Sure you can make an Arc AAA available on BST for $150 and maybe that's not exactly "wrong",but it sure cuts out some of your "friends" on CPF from being able to have a chance at buying it.

 

[bhds]

I understand perfectly what you are trying to say coachbigdog but the basic question still remains- how much better than ebay should the prices on b/s/t be? Whats a "reasonable" price to sell to a fellow cpfer? I love the arc ls lights. Have a "few" of them already. Would buy more if they were under $75. Is that a "fair" price? To ME it is. Not being sarcastic either. In my mind they were a little over priced to begin with and now that arc is no longer able to supply warranty work...
When I see the the inflated prices for arc aaa and ls's my first and last thought is "Wow! those people must really love those arcs. Hope they enjoy them". /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/broke.gif

 

[js]

Yeah,

Lot's of views on this. As I have from the beginning thought that the prices on Arc Flashlights were too low, I see a part of the price jumps as being only reasonable. What exact percentage that is, is up to the market to settle--in the long short term, if you know what I mean. Right now, there's obviously some scrambling and speculation, and I think that the prices will come down, but not down to the original Arc prices, because those lights are worth more than what was charged for them, on the whole, anyway.

All of that said, I agree with LEDmodMan, that it is a bit lacking in class to post an Arc AAA on B/S/T for $150 ! Yes, we can all vote with our pocket books, but still, it sets a "tone" that is distasteful to me in the same way it is distasteful to LEDmodMan. Taking offers or putting something up for auction is one thing, but turning around and asking your fellow CPF members for some outrageous price for an Arc AAA is another.

But I guess I feel like we're all a "family" of sorts here, and that colors my view. Just my two cents.

 

[LED-FX]

Can always donate a bit of your excess profits to CPF or the relief fund....

Adam

 

[mapson]

Like others have said, the market will come back down, it always does. There are always new lights that will come in and replace the old. If anyone wants an Arc but can wait, do so, your wallet won't be shocked as much.

 

[Kiessling]

The B/S/T isn't a place of friendship and support, it is a place of business. We're not a small community of friends either, we're big nowadays, and we're more and more about business. Like it or not, this is the cruel reality.
Like many already said ... you're free to sell and buy at whatever price you like.
And just imagine ... some one offers a highly sought after light at a very fair price only to see it reappear hours later for much more ... and don't tell me this won't happen.

[ QUOTE ]
Some CPF members buy lights as collectors. I believe they are entitled to sell the lights for whatever the market will bear. I have been in a position many times to sell something on CPF for more that it would be worth if it were available in ample supply. I have never gouged or taken advantage of this position, IMHO, but that was out of choice, not some community obligation, again IMHO.

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course, McGizmo hit the nail once again square in the head ... you always have the choice among friends and fellow flashaholics to sell at a lower price which lots of us actually do, especially behind the scenes.
I am very much against a group pressure though that condemns the ones who want to make a profit. With CPF's structure nowadays (sponsors, banners, B/S/T, custom runs,...) we are not really in a moral position to demand this.

And besides, I see a lot of great people help out others here, either officially or inofficially, I see a lot of donations, raffle items etc. to make me proud of this community. Just thought it was necessary to mention this as well.

bernhard


P.S.: a stamp colelctor would laugh is *** off reading this thread /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crackup.gif