Re: I was told I'm a scammer... - Saab General Bulletin Board - Saabnet.com
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Re: I was told I'm a scammer...
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Posted by davidgmills [Email] (more from davidgmills) on Tue, 19 Jun 2012 21:23:25 Share Post by Email
In Reply to: I was told I'm a scammer..., Chadwick [Profile/Gallery] , Tue, 19 Jun 2012 16:07:42
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I was the person who sent the email so now I will tell my side of the story. I really don't have the exact times that Anil did everything so I may have to follow up with a more exact timeline or have him post his side of the story.

Let me begin by saying I am a lawyer and I don't like price gouging. I began a quest for a part that Anil was having a hard time finding, a secondary air injection pump. I was the one who convinced Anil to buy the Saab in the first place. The local dealer could not get him the part nor could the local independent. So I put a note to that effect on Saabsite and SaabsUnited. Chad responded both places.

When I initially asked him what the price was he first hemmed and hawed around and then said $425. I told him my friend would be calling him back. I told my friend that Chad had the part for $425. When my friend called him, he hemmed and hawed around again and said the price was now $450 and he wouldn't sell him the part for the price he quoted me. He specifically told my friend that he was upping the price because of the scarcity of the parts. He was obviously taking advantage of the scarcity.

I had no clue at the time what the part costs retail if you could get it from a dealer. I now know that the dealer sells the part here to an independent mechanic for $311 including tax and $350 including tax to someone who does not operate a mechanic's shop. $450 is a 36% markup over $311 and a 28% markup over $350.

As I understand price gouging, it is when a seller takes advantage of fluctuations in supply and demand. The law considers price gouging kin to basic extortion. Many people get indicted for this kind of s**t. This was way beyond helping out someone in need. This was taking serious advantage of someone who was a victim of a severe shortage of supply.

Unfortunately for those of us who have Saabs (I have owned fifteen) parts shortages may become a real problem in the future even though the Swedish government has now bought Saab Parts. The last thing we need is for parts suppliers around the country to raise prices so high during shortages that we can't fix our cars. It took me four months to fix a 2011 9-5 last autumn that should have been fixed in two weeks. In Anil's case, his car has been sitting for several weeks because it can't pass inspection because of a check engine light.

Once Chad and Anil agreed on the price, Anil still had to find a gasket and a valve that Chad did not have to fix his problem. So in searching for a valve and a gasket, Anil learned that the local dealer finally had been able to get the parts and now had the parts in stock. Anil also learned that Chad's part was not going to get here for several more days as the price of $450 was for three day ground (Anil did not know it was sent UPS as they had only discussed FedEx).

I will have to let Anil tell us what the UPS told him about the part, but my understanding is the Chad was told by Anil that Anil found the part locally for cheaper before Chad sent it and that Chad insisted on making his profit. Anil asked him to cut his price. Anil was still willing to pay more than $311 or $350, but Chad would not budge.

Now what Chad also didn't say is that I suggested that he cut his profit by 50% to $42.50 because I thought under the circumstances that was fair. I don't see my email so here is the missing email that was sent before Chad's last response:

Chad:

I think the fact that you have offered to give $100 to a charity of Anil's or my choice is a fine gesture. But I also think it slightly misses the point. Certainly such a gesture would be the right thing to do (even magnanimous) if you were completely right on "principal" and you just wanted to resolve this amicably. I truly appreciate the fact that you view this situation as two grown men who have made a bargain with each other that should be upheld. Normally I would agree with you. But this situation is slightly different. What comes into play in this situation is the concept of price gouging. In every price gouging situation there is a buyer and a seller who have made a bargain, but that bargain is not legally enforceable. Price gouging occurs when a seller takes an advantage of an unusual fluctuation in supply and demand. By your own admission, you raised the price because of what you believed to be as the scarcity of the air pump.

As a disinterested bystander, I view "principal" as being more on Anil's side than yours. So if principal is on his side, it does not seem just to offer to pay money to a charity. I think what is called for is for you to make a reasonable profit under the circumstances. Instead of $85, cutting your profit in half sounds more like a reasonable amount. If you are willing to credit Anil's account with $42.50, I will contact him and see if he would accept this as a resolution but whether he can accept that or not may depend on his ability to sell the part. He is looking into that now. I think he has decided to buy a new part from the dealer since he was not sure when yours was getting here and he really needs his car fixed.

Let me know.



posted by 75.66....

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