A LART is needed (was: VCF 4.0)

-> On Wed, 18 Oct 2000, Hans Franke wrote: -> > > Aaron Nabil <nabil(a)SpiritOne.com> -> > > I scrap (well, actually throw away) a HUGE amount of stuff rather than -> > > "sell it for less than I think it's worth". No, I'm not in the -> > > business, I'm just a hobbiest, but if I can have valid reasons for -> > > throwing things away instead of selling them at a lower price (or giving -> > > them away), I can certainly imagine that they do too. It's uncalled for -> > > ascribing "poor character" to people unless you also happen to be a mind -> > > reader, they might have perfectly valid reasons for doing what they do. -> > -> > A perfectly healthy state of mind of one person may be total -> > insanity to another, and your expression may need some additional -> > backup to be considered by most people. Throwing away goods -> > istead of selling is more damaging to the vendor than selling -> > at a lower price (even when lower than the cost to produce) . -> > This is valid for most economic situations, eventualy except -> > communist systems and EU buerocracy. -> -> Again, ascribing "state of mind" to people just because they don't -> volunteer their rationale to you is silly. You aren't the one making -> the decision, they don't have an obligation to you to "explain -> themselves" to you. Especially when the explanation would only reveal that the basis of the decision is greed and/or selfishness. -> As a general rule, you can expect people to act in their own best -> interest. If someone thinks that reducing the price is in their interest, -> that's what they will do. If they think throwing it in the dumpster is in -> their best interest, that's what they will do. -> -> I'm not sure which of my expressions needs backup, but first and foremost, -> it's my stuff, I don't need to "explain" my actions, While this is very true, those that refuse to explain the rationale of what to others are inexplicable behaviors usually are just hiding their true motivations, knowing that the revelation of those motivations to others will open their beliefs and themselves to scrutiny. -> you can trust that -> being a reasonable person I'm going to act in my best interests. As for -> throwing away things being "less damaging" than selling them, I'll -> include a couple illustrations from "real life" to show how that it may -> not be the case. But what is important is that this isn't intended as an -> exautive list, I'm simply pointing out that people can have valid reasons -> for what they do even if they don't share them with you. -> -> Local high-tech company T has a surplus sales store, but instead of -> selling their own equipment at the store, they scrap it and only get -> a tiny fraction of the value back. They do this to avoid -> competing with their own new products. Explanation: Greed. -> -> Hobbiest A has acquired most of the remaining sets of a particular test -> set that is in high demand on the surplus market. He has a large number -> of junk units that he could sell on Ebay or to other users for a few -> hundred dollars, but they would get fixed up and sold in competition with -> his really nice units (worth $1000), so he throws them away instead.0) Explanation: Greed as motivation again. Selfishness also. I can imagine that it never enters into the thought process of a greed driven seller like this that a buyer who just can't afford the "really nice units (worth $1000)" would gladly buy a "junk" unit, invest the time and effort to repair/restore it and then use it, having no thoughts of re-selling it on eBay. The seller in this instance is so fearful of competition that he will relinquish maximum profits to control an imagined future competitive situation. Is the fear of competition in this instance so strong as to cause an irrational action? I think so. Would this seller likely hide his true motivation with a statement such as "It's my stuff, I don't need to "explain" my actions."? Probably. -> -> -> And I'll make one up... -> -> Vendor X hauls a bunch of stuff down to VCF n, some of which he sells. -> People are interested in what he has, but aren't willing to pay what he -> thinks are reasonable prices. He has a warehouse of the stuff, realizes -> that there is going to be a VCF n+1 and that the same people will be there -> and the value of his warehouse of stuff will only go up. If he gives his -> stuff away, those will simply be sales he won't make next year, and he may -> be creating the impression that if you wait long enough everything will be -> "free" or "any offer accepted" at the end, thus driving down sales and -> prices even further. So he throws things in the dumpster, taking care to -> smash them extra hard on the way in. -> -> That's a prefectly reasonable rationale, and the Vendor X doesn't become -> any more "unreasonable" or less "sane" or "logical" becuase he didn't -> hand out a leaflet explaining what he was doing. This isn't a reasonable rationale at all. Again, with greed as the prime motivation here, what appears to others as irrational actions occurs. Just because the seller has a reason for his actions doesn't make it reasonable, rational or sane. The fact that he refuses to explain his actions is a clue that he also knows his rationale for his actions is unacceptable. His actions are no more justified than the other seller who claims he heard a voice inside his head telling him to blow up the VCF because every is plotting against him to ensure that he doesn't sell anything. Bill -> -> -- -> Aaron Nabil ->