random fashion thoughts

[Lex1017]

I have considered doing what Byhand does but it just doesn't work for me. Maybe if you are selling it in other venues it would be okay. For example if you were bringing certain brands into a rural area and selling it locally, for more, to people who otherwise wouldn't have access to a curated selection of certain designer clothes. Buying something from somebody who is desperate for money, to only flip it the very same week on the same website (even using the same photos, not taking your own) for a profit doesn't sit well with me. Yes what you are doing is completely void of wrong doing, I don't know, I would just feel like an asshole.

[byhand]

This practice of drop shipping is common in e-commerce. The example here with the yoox guy, if he really isn't purchasing the stock before selling, is only unusual in that he is buying from a retailer and then reselling. Ordinarily, there is no profit in that. It's usually done in a relationship with a wholesale business, but if he is buying the stock at a deep discount from a retail business, he may be getting items at a price that is essentially at wholesale or lower. Nothing unethical about what he is doing.

There are countless people using this same business practice on ebay and making a living at it. It was mostly catalog companies using this business model before the existence of the internet, but it is now vastly more popular and so common that getting all twisted up about it suggests a lack of education about basic contemporary business practices. I wasn't being snide by suggesting an economics class. That's a real suggestion. It can be helpful.

Mixing up morality with business can be very dangerous, especially if you are having those ideas as a consumer. That mindset is one that those controlling the flow of money want you to have; it only benefits them. In business one must only be concerned with what is legal. That is the playing field you are on when engaged in business, and everyone else is using that rule. Attaching morality to a business model is a function of the public relations department and is only indulged if it's good for the bottom line. That's the reality. I'm not saying it's good or bad. It's just the way the world works.

[bukka]

I'm not saying it's good or bad. It's just the way the world works.

You should change your avatar.

[Arkady]

You should change your avatar.

God damn it, that was funny.

[zamb]

There are countless people using this same business practice on ebay and making a living at it. It was mostly catalog companies using this business model before the existence of the internet, but it is now vastly more popular and so common that getting all twisted up about it suggests a lack of education about basic contemporary business practices. I wasn't being snide by suggesting an economics class. That's a real suggestion. It can be helpful.
.

The Idea that countless people participate in a thing, is no reason to conclude that such a thing should be done by an individual. Nor does it legitimize the validity of the thing itself.
There are a lot of contemporary business practices that is leading to the ruination of commerce and the lives of many people, and there is a lot of economic schools and course advocating these classes. Such practices are perfectly legal, but one ought to be careful of the world we seek to create and the things we seek to justify. After all we will have to live in the world of our making

Mixing up morality with business can be very dangerous, especially if you are having those ideas as a consumer. That mindset is one that those controlling the flow of money want you to have; it only benefits them. In business one must only be concerned with what is legal. That is the playing field you are on when engaged in business, and everyone else is using that rule. Attaching morality to a business model is a function of the public relations department and is only indulged if it's good for the bottom line. That's the reality. I'm not saying it's good or bad. It's just the way the world works.

Indeed, but divorcing morality and ethics from business is equally dangerous and devastating too.
As Rhett Butler said:
"there is just as much money to be made from the tearing down of civilization, as there is in the building up thereof"
I personally cannot tell you what to do and how to make your money, but its a scary thing when people in the business of making money disregard all ethical and moral considerations in their approach.

[stagename]

Mixing up morality with business can be very dangerous,

I really tried to shy away from this conversion but that is a such a bullshit comment I don't even know where to start.

What do you think capitalism is, but an ecnomic system orchestrated by an ideological one (neo-liberalism) anchoring a moral one? Stop taking everything people tell you as granted, start reading a bit, and refrain from preaching stuff you have no clue about. NEoliberalism is a social construction, helping inequality and the creation of power hierarchy, the maintenance of power in the hands of a select few. Try to be more critical rather than being a apostle. As in any ideological system, it elevates certain actions as good or acceptable (such as "oh it's all good if I take advantage of what I pereceive to be an economic opportunity no matter the cost to others) and others as not so good (you shouldn`t cry because I'm flipping stuff it's all good it'S capitalism). Everything is moral. Go read some Foucault, Bruno Amable, Ronen Shamir, Marion Fourcade, Trent Hamann, Zizek to a certain measure, go read something for God sake's.

[Faust]

No time for reading, all time consumed by flipping.

[Fuuma]

This practice of drop shipping is common in e-commerce. The example here with the yoox guy, if he really isn't purchasing the stock before selling, is only unusual in that he is buying from a retailer and then reselling. Ordinarily, there is no profit in that. It's usually done in a relationship with a wholesale business, but if he is a buying the stock at a deep discount from a retail business, he may be getting items at a price that is essentially at wholesale or lower. Nothing unethical about what he is doing.

There are countless people using this same business practice on ebay and making a living at it. It was mostly catalog companies using this business model before the existence of the internet, but it is now vastly more popular and so common that getting all twisted up about it suggests a lack of education about basic contemporary business practices. I wasn't being snide by suggesting an economics class. That's a real suggestion. It can be helpful.

Mixing up morality with business can be very dangerous, especially if you are having those ideas as a consumer. That mindset is one that those controlling the flow of money want you to have; it only benefits them. In business one must only be concerned with what is legal. That is the playing field you are on when engaged in business, and everyone else is using that rule. Attaching morality to a business model is a function of the public relations department and is only indulged if it's good for the bottom line. That's the reality. I'm not saying it's good or bad. It's just the way the world works.

What you are describing is not in any way value-neutral. In fact this normalization of base, sorry basic, liberal principles is one of the worst ills affecting today's intellectually neurasthenic western world.

[mrbeuys]

Whoever is in charge of sewing buttons at Rick needs to have a performance review pronto. It's a joke, every time I buy a coat or blazer I find myself having to reattach buttons pretty much within a day...

[byhand]

My point about morality and business intermingling and the potential danger, especially from the viewpoint of a consumer, was made because it is precisely this idea that damages consumers financially. An easy example is a consumer who is insolvent but continues to juggle their finances in a way that enables the debts to be serviced even though the liabilities far outweigh the assets. The consumer damages himself in this situation with the idea that paying the debts is his moral obligation. Bankruptcy is a financial tool that ought not imperil the morality of anyone, but a consumer in financial straits usually gets caught up in exactly this dilemma. Know that the creditors on the other side are making their business decisions using math, not morality, and they love it when you use morality as a guiding impulse to do whatever you have to do to get the debts paid monthly. Folks engaged in business exploit your moral impulse whenever they can.

I'm not a cheerleader for existing business practices, and a philosophical conversation about why business exists in its current form and how it impacts society and the planet can be an interesting conversation, but perhaps that is a different conversation.

[Nickefuge]

Gralled is now charging 6%. Do you think this will regulate their fast-paced
cop-flip marketplace?

Hello,

As a member of our community marketplace, you are a huge part of what makes Grailed great. Grailed just turned 2 years old, and thanks to you we've grown to become the premier destination for buying and selling menswear online. However, with that popularity comes some very real costs. In addition to handling our growing traffic, we work hard to prevent fraud, assist you during transactions, develop new features, and most importantly, attract more buyers and sellers to the site. For example, we recently released the Grailed iOS app and redesigned the Grailed website.

We exist to serve you. In order to keep doing that well, starting tomorrow we will begin charging a small sales fee for newly posted items. It bugs us that eBay charges 10% (plus PayPal), has additional hidden fees, and then even shows ads. Our goal is to be as low as possible while still constantly improving the marketplace. We think we'll be able to do that with just 6% (plus PayPal). This will only apply to items posted after 12pm Eastern Time on Friday, February 5th. All current items, and those posted before that time, will continue to be free, even if they are sold weeks or months from now. That means today is a good time to post anything you've been meaning to sell.

Now that we're out of Beta we'll be able to bring you even more improvements, even faster. To protect you against fraud and make the marketplace as safe as possible we are now offering Grailed Buyer and Seller Protection on top of PayPal's Protection. If PayPal unfairly sides with the other party you can file a claim with Grailed and we will help you recover any lost funds (see the About page for more details). And, we have many more new features lined up, including Binding Offers, an improved international shipping system, and selling directly from the iOS app.

Thanks so much for being a Grailed user. Remember, we're always here to help with anything you need. Stay tuned for a big event this Tuesday.

-Grailed Team

[the breaks]

Tell you what now that I have to pay for it, I really wish they add the option to block buyers from sending offers / messages.

[Arkady]

I thought it's always charged a percentage to sellers? Fucking thing's been charging me at least.

Not gonna make any difference. People will just dock their lowballs 6%

Blocking would be spectacular but I suppose anything that could limit their revenue will not make it in the feature set. For every 20 blocks someone will have a change of heart on a large transaction.

[HugAndWug]

I thought it's always charged a percentage to sellers? Fucking thing's been charging me at least.

That's paypal not grailed.

[vtlynch]

Blocking would be spectacular but I suppose anything that could limit their revenue will not make it in the feature set. For every 20 blocks someone will have a change of heart on a large transaction.

Well, I think its probably in Grailed's long term interest to create mechanisms that actually solve their user's problems.

If a seller is unhappy that they can be spammed by people, they may just leave grailed altogether. A "blocking" function is pretty much core functionality for any site where users can contact each other.

Gralled is now charging 6%. Do you think this will regulate their fast-paced
cop-flip marketplace?

Hopefully. I also think it will help weed out the low quality sellers who just want to make a buck. Hopefully they will return to Facebook Groups.