People who'd throw out hardware if they can't make a profit

[sombunall]

I think this post is a +5 insightful. This guy has gone half-way into the selling paradigm in order to balance the question of what to do with extra vintage hardware if you must ship it out. I have the same questions myself that I am going through right now.

for context: the mac seller had a high price on a computer in a window and would not reduce it. After a long period of not selling it was seen in the dumpster in the back. The owner refused to let anyone take it for free when such requests were made.

I'm of the opinion that "what goes around comes around"...people should "pay it forward", etc.

People have been good to me...through free stuff, discounts, kind words, well wishes, common courtesy...the list goes on.

Someone like me who holds these sort of values looks at someone like that Mac seller and sees someone who doesn't participate in the "what goes around comes around" cycle and as a result does not deserve to have anything nice passed in their direction.

Before we go harping on me for the 'for sale' section of my website, consider that everything is $5 pre-shipping save for a few items of exceptional value.

Is my time worth more than $5? I like to think so.

Is the hassle of wandering out into the snow (or rain, or in summer the extreme +90 degree F heat) then onto a city bus to ship things worth more than the extra <$5 markup I put on shipping for transit costs? I like to think so.

People who seek only to profit...giving nothing else to their customers...getting the most return on their time...I have an issue with the way these people do things. Participate in society...give a little and see what you get in return. My kindness and generosity gets me all kinds of offers for this/that/the other interesting and potentially valuable piece of technology, but I turn down just about all offers where I'd turn around and sell the item. That damages the integrity of the original act of giving it to me, and it makes me look like a jerk to whoever tried to do something nice for me.