I saw this eBay auction a few days ago, and though I'm
fairly used to eBay prices, this one took me by surprise:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1345429808
Now, after thinking about it, several questions come to mind, and I thought I would like to know your opinions,
namely:
1) Is this a new record for an HP-16C on eBay, or have
any of you ever seen even more preposterous prices ?
2) Is it for real, or may it be part of an ellaborate
scam, where the seller buys its own item at such
extremely high price only to sell it again a few
days later, hoping people will recognize it was the
one sold for so much and then be happy for winning
it at half that money, yet still two times its normal
price ?
3) I guess part of its high price is the announced fact
that "... It is still in the original box with the
original shrink wrapping, i.e. it has never been opened."
If this is so, should it be assumed that opening it
would inmediately devaluate its value ? If so, when
the buyer wins it, he/she must not open it lest it
will instantly get devaluated, and so must accept on
faith or nearly so that inside there actually is a
new, working HP-16C ?
4) What if the buyer opens the shrink-wrapping only to
find it all is a scam and the calculator inside is not
what it purported to be ? How can he effectively
complaint to the seller ? The seller can simply answer
that that one isn't his calculator, and the buyer is
trying to deceive him by getting a refund for another
calculator instead.
5) If the seller hasn't ever opened the shrink-wrap, how
can he know anything about the calculator inside, its
cosmetics, its working order, anything ? How can he
say that the one being returned is or isn't the original
one inside ?
6) If the buyer cannot open the shrink-wrap without
devaluating the item, does he have to sell it to another
buyer also 'on faith' ? Shall all people ever selling or
buying this item blindly trust there's a mint, working
HP-16C inside, without ever looking ?
It really puzzles me ! Thanks for your wise
opinions on the subject.