First Legion Napoleonic Bavarian Standard Bearer on Evilbay (2 Viewers)

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There is no need for anyone with a lick of common sense to take an Eco-101 class to know that greed and deception abounds in almost every facet of business today.......but it does need to be recognized and exposed. It is something that needs to be condemmed not applauded or praised in the name of free enterprise. Consumers are not as dumb as some deceivers and con-men may think. E-nuff said
 
I did just read an article in the Wall Street Journal where several Moguls were interviewed. I was very surprised to see that a few said they were thinking of moving back into their mom's basement and taking up Toy Soldier Speculating. :rolleyes2:
 
Gebhard said:
I did just read an article in the Wall Street Journal where several Moguls were interviewed. I was very surprised to see that a few said they were thinking of moving back into their mom's basement and taking up Toy Soldier Speculating. :rolleyes2:
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LOL....Yeah, knowing some of those guys, they probably bought Mom's house and then gave her the choice of paying rent or being put out onto the street.... ABC....."Alway Be Closing"....."PUT THAT COFFEE DOWN"....coffee is for closers.:wink2:
 
Oh, how I love and adore greed! Another infamous movie character, Gordon Geeko, said, "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good".

Greed has brought us every major advancement the world has ever known. Whether it be greed for money, or greed for power, humans striving to better their condition moves us forward. Suckling up to the teat for nourishment is ok for infants but not adults.

Now greed can be abused like anything, and unethical or illegal acts in its service are abhorrent. But everyday that I get up and go to work I do so because I want to better my situation and those I serve. If its at the expense or loss of a rival or competitor, so be it. Indeed, I am greedy, and proud of it.

Economics 101 can help explain the law of supply and demand, and other critical concepts that make capitalism and its associated profits the greatest wealth creation system the world has ever known.

Yes, sure there are losers too. But that's purely natural. Ask a lion and a gazelle.
 
Vezzolf said:
There is no need for anyone with a lick of common sense to take an Eco-101 class to know that greed and deception abounds in almost every facet of business today.......but it does need to be recognized and exposed. It is something that needs to be condemmed not applauded or praised in the name of free enterprise. Consumers are not as dumb as some deceivers and con-men may think. E-nuff said
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Since this thread began with the sale of a FL Flag bearer that began with an opening bid of 39.99 GBP (less than retail), I'm a bit confused as to how we quickly move to 'greed and deception' and 'consumers are not as dumb.'

This auction was perfect free enterprise. No arms twisted. Should the seller have cancelled the auction once the price hit retail?

I think we have build the straw man of the 'toy soldier speculator' so we can properly tear him down. There used to be a day when a retired item would increase in price immediately. No longer. Anyone who buys toy soldiers on the hope that the price will go up is taking a heckuva risk, IMHO.

So...can we stop calling out the snarks and grumkins and simply let the market do what it does?
 
In regards to "free enterprise" and "capitalism" there is no question that it is BOTH used and all too often abused.....Capitalism is far from being a perfect system.......and despite what some may think "Greed is not Good". E-nuff said.
 
Vezzolf said:
In regards to "free enterprise" and "capitalism" there is no question that it is BOTH used and all too often abused.....Capitalism is far from being a perfect system.......and despite what some may think "Greed is not Good". E-nuff said.
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As Winston Churchill (almost) said, "capitalism is the worst system there is....except for all others".

Who claims capitalism is perfect? No one I know. Nothing created by man is perfect. Capitalism is man made.

However, capitalism closely resembles nature, in that the strongest survive/thrive and the weakest are culled. Thus it works closest to the way the larger system was "designed". Now nature ain't perfect neither. But it works pretty **** well for humanity. More so than for any other species on planet earth.

Capitalism does not, in fact, encourage greed. Rather it recognizes mans true nature and leverages that for humanity's benefit. In pursuing his own interest man makes the world a better place for others. For example so much of modern technology exists because capitalists wanted to make peopes lives better - and get paid handsomely for doing so. Systems that don't reward risk taking and successful innovation are stagnant and dead ends for most within it. The US's dynamic society attracts people like Elon Musk who impact the whole world with their innovations. Oh yea Musk, he's a rich sob, and deserves every penny.

If / when a business achieves abnormal profits, that attracts other entrants who drive profits and price down to more normal levels. Competition drives innovation, it drives improvements in services and product. And its all done in the naked pursuit of profits. Capitalism, baby. Economic growth and the consequential betterment of society is achieved thru beautiful, imperfect capitalism better than any other man made system ever created. That is indisputable historical fact. Nothing else comes close.

Enough is enough when I say so. Or the Treefrog people do. Let me be perfectly clear about that.
 
In "THEORY" alot of what you say regarding capitalism makes sense.... but in "Reality"....NO WAY.... Many "isms" rarely work the way they were intented..........Much of the recent economics problems and the current recession in this country are the result of all the Abuses, GREED and Fraud that still occurs to this day on Wall Street and throughout the business world and society.....WHY? ..It's because of the love of a lousy buck that men will sell their souls and become corrupted at the expense of others and ultimately themselves.....Well That's just good business I guess.^&cool.........To all the folks who believe in ECO-101...how will this all ultimately work out for you in your climb to the top as you step on and over others.....Good Luck.
 
Guys all very interesting, but what does it have to do with First Legion and the shock of a retired Fist Legion figure selling for almost 600 bucks. Like most guys here who work hard in our chosen profession we come here to escape the strains and stress of the professional world and to chat about what's new with the manufactures of our choice, or to share our collections with others. Unfortunately just about every thread is turned into something else because of guys dislike for one another or because one doesn't like what the other does or just to re-hatch old arguments that never seem to be resolved. Could we try and stay focused ^&confuse think First Legion Bavarian Standard Bearer and 600 bucks :wink2: And Frank please drop the FL rules crap it gets on my nerves and I actually own hundreds and hundreds of their figures that I really enjoy .thanks, regards Gebhard
 
Rutledge said:
Oh, how I love and adore greed! Another infamous movie character, Gordon Geeko, said, "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good".

Greed has brought us every major advancement the world has ever known. Whether it be greed for money, or greed for power, humans striving to better their condition moves us forward. Suckling up to the teat for nourishment is ok for infants but not adults.

Now greed can be abused like anything, and unethical or illegal acts in its service are abhorrent. But everyday that I get up and go to work I do so because I want to better my situation and those I serve. If its at the expense or loss of a rival or competitor, so be it. Indeed, I am greedy, and proud of it.

Economics 101 can help explain the law of supply and demand, and other critical concepts that make capitalism and its associated profits the greatest wealth creation system the world has ever known.

Yes, sure there are losers too. But that's purely natural. Ask a lion and a gazelle.
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Well said, Since when it is it evil to be in business and make a PROFIT ! Oh wait I know after 2008. Some of these posts have given me a stiff neck from reading them. I can't turn my head that far to the left.
 
Vezzolf said:
There is no need for anyone with a lick of common sense to take an Eco-101 class to know that greed and deception abounds in almost every facet of business today.......but it does need to be recognized and exposed. It is something that needs to be condemmed not applauded or praised in the name of free enterprise. Consumers are not as dumb as some deceivers and con-men may think. E-nuff said
Click to expand...

Capitalism, as history has shown time and time again is the greatest financial system ever created. I think an assumption being made here is that this buyer is stupid, and was some how deceived into spending their hard earned money for an item that they obviously wanted. I'm on my feet applauding for both the seller and buyer in this transaction.
 
I'm all for capitalism, but I hate when I have to worry if I got a fair deal. I wonder how the buyer would feel if he knew someone would sell the same product for a whole lot less regardless if the buyer was filthy rich. Buying Manhattan island from the Indians for a few trinkets amounting to less than $30, was that capitalism?
 
I think what bothered a lot of people after 2008 was finding out that a lot of CEO's are making 100's of millions of dollars with millions more in bonus's while other's have to scrape to make ends meet.If what I understand and I may be wrong American CEO's make way more than their counterparts in other countries.Are they really worth that much?This is a question not sarcasum.
Mark
 
Go for Broke said:
I'm all for capitalism, but I hate when I have to worry if I got a fair deal. I wonder how the buyer would feel if he knew someone would sell the same product for a whole lot less regardless if the buyer was filthy rich. Buying Manhattan island from the Indians for a few trinkets amounting to less than $30, was that capitalism?
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That's why you need to be an educated consumer or you will be the guy who signs his mortgage paperwork with out reading it first. There is currently a seller on ebay selling single Britain's figures for 90.00 bucks plus They are still available inventory that you can buy from any dealer for 28.00 to 32.00. People are paying it because they have lots of feedback. Let the buyer beware.
'
 
Toy Soldier Brigade said:
Capitalism, as history has shown time and time again is the greatest financial system ever created. I think an assumption being made here is that this buyer is stupid, and was some how deceived into spending their hard earned money for an item that they obviously wanted. I'm on my feet applauding for both the seller and buyer in this transaction.
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Capitalism, as history has shown time and time again, is very bad and unjust financial system. Unfortunatelly, nobody ever created better one.
 
Life ain't "fair" folks. Everyone can't play QB, date the cutest cheerleader and be class president. Any system that artificially rewards those who haven't earned it and punishes those whose only crime is success are soul crushing death spirals for all involved.

We are all Pavlov dogs. We work harder for rewards and less hard for freebies. This is as fundamental to the human condition as eating and sleeping.

You can wish for a nirvana never never land where nobody loses and everybody wins. But wishing is all you'll ever do. Imagine sport with no winners. School with no grades. Restaurants where all food must be average. Yada yada yada.

The reason a "better" system than capitalism has never been created is there isn't one. Even in groups of less than 10 there is jockeying and competing for position. I don't make the rules folks, I just report them.
 
There is nothing wrong with competition. hard work and rewards for that hard work and making a "fair profit" for your hard work ethic. What many of us object to about terms "capitalism" and "free enterprise" is that some unscrupulous characters will use those terms to excuse manipulative, deceiitful and corrupt business practices..... Wall Street CEO's and their companies got away with business crimes and financial abuses that were amazing....Between the FED and Wall Street who pull the strings behind the scenes of our government these clowns have plunged the country into an economic recession that still persists to this day. Sadly even the average citizen today seems to feel it is OK to lie, cheat, and steal and overcharge for services and products in order to get ahead in all walks of life....As long as you can get away with it "It's ALL OK.....and....Smart business".......WELL.....Greed is never GOOD and never will be...It breeds corruption and selfishness...Not the way I want to do busines, even if if it costs me a few STINKIN BUCKS.
 
wow, didn't know selling a toy soldier would raise such anger?^&confuse...Sammy
 
Since an auction isn't about charging a fixed markup on an item, fair or reasonable pricing doesn't even apply.

auc·tion
ˈôkSHən/
noun
a public sale in which goods or property are sold to the highest bidder.


It's all about how badly two people want or need something and how deep their pockets are. If someone say wants to buy Marilyn Monroe's bra for 28,800 that's their decision. The market sets the price.
 
Gents, we've gone far afield from the original topic and are wandering from economic theory to the politics behind it.

I think everyone got to have an opinion on this...so time to move on.

I'm shutting the thread down.

We're here to talk toy soldiers (novel concept, I know!).
 
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