A Meh-Thical Quandry
2I was polling the community, gently, to see what people do with their fukuburu goodies. I got me a big old spensive Roomba 790 and the lovely and talented spouse says to sell it since 1) we have little carpet 2) what we have Menards would have burned rather than put it in the trash. I have always operated on a karmic basis with fukuburu. I look at it as a reward from a good company that I want to keep clean. Plus, even though the box is all beat up everything looks originally wrapped but I hate dealing with ebay buyers for fear of it turning into a "it didn't work" or something. The monies would be nice but I have a degree in guilt so I am conflicted. First world problems. Feel free to add your two bits.
- 8 comments, 22 replies
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The roomba will work on all floor types, not just carpet.
@thismyusername I'd argue it's almost better on hardwood and tile than carpet.
@thismyusername @ACraigL I'm sensing whether the Roomba sucks well or not isn't really the spouse's issue.
@RedOak Understood, but OP did state "lack of carpet" as another reason to get rid of it.
@ACraigL they'd prefer the money.
@ACraigL good to know. I too had this concern.
@RedOak What are those badges/shields for?
@breh the V-badges indicate the individual is a "VMP" - a Very Mediocre Person. For 5 bucks a month you get free shipping for anything you buy + some other truly meh benefits. Details here:
https://mediocre.com/vmp
@breh they shield us from exceptional things, they only let the mediocre through.
As a long time Meh Flipper/Re-seller/Purveyor of Goods, whenever I receive items in my Fukubukuro that I have no use for, I always sell them. I typically look up the current common selling price of an item and knock of a decent percentage of the total cost. In this way, I am still making a profit and yet I am still providing an individual with a good deal on something that they actually want. I typically "flip" locally and most of my customers understand what I do from the "business" end of it all and still appreciate the fact that I give them good deals. Just my two cents.
Personally speaking, I have no issues reselling what I get in BOCs or Fukus. In my mind, it's kind of like gambling. Pay $5 to see what you get for that money. Whatever is in there, is yours, you paid for it.
I also use this as a means to justify future purchases. Generally these pay for themselves several times over and I keep the proceeds as a little slush fund to buy other dumb junk here and there.
I donate plenty otherwise, so maybe that's why I'm ok with it, but yeah -- fuku profiteering for me all day.
@ACraigL depending on your income tax bracket, donating could be a win-win (you and the charitable org). So if you're in the 25% bracket and donate a $100 item that means you save $25 off your tax bill.
Of course setting the fair market value is up to you and the IRS auditor.
(Disclaimer: I will deny I said any such thing since I have no tax expert certifications whatsoever.)
You could also try to sell it to someone here... Just saying.
@Bogie @poppaearl - This is the one thing that doesn't feel right to me. meh sells Roombas, this could be considered undercutting their business using their own generosity.
@KDemo That's a very fair point. Personally I'd suggest just using the Roomba. The thing is fantastic. It took about a month to get used to it, but after that, it feels weird if I get home and it didn't run. Though I use a Neato for my carpets, and a roomba for my wood floors.
@Bogie I got the neato 85 or what have you. This is good for all floor types?
@connorbush Rumor has it that the Neato 85's have a tendency to explode during their first use. I'd suggest that you send it to the November goat (could that possibly be @christinewas?) so that she can check it out for your safety. Good goats do good deeds.
@Barney too late, my fiance already saw it. I'm afraid of her too much to take it back now.
@connorbush Kaboom!
@connorbush it rocks. It runs on our tial, linoleum, wood, and carpet. We have 4 cats and it does an amazing job with kitty litter too. If you dont want it I will buy it from you (depending on price)
ACQUIRE CURRENCY AND DISREGARD ALL MORALS
(NOTE: no morals really apply here. we're talking about you doing a thing with a thing that belongs to you.)
Thank you fellow Meh-ricans. If anyone here wants to buy it let me know, otherwise I will post it on Ebay and roll them bones. Seeing as how everything including the manual is still shrinkwrapped when you do sell stuff do you run tests or throw caution to the wind?
@poppaearl Just be sure to add disclaimers saying 'new in box, untested, sold as-is, no warranty, no returns etc.' Look at some other listings to get the verbiage.
@poppaearl yup. @hallmike is right. I've had to list things as New - Other because I've opened the box just to make sure the item is in there. Reselling refurbished or B-stock goods we often get in bags of crap or fukubukuros is a tricky thing because we don't really know the condition. New/Refurbished/Used Return? I sold a router I got in a bag of crap and the dude claimed it didn't work, so I gave him a refund less return shipping. I got it back and after pressing the reset button, it worked fine. Now I'm scared to sell it again because I don't know if it was a one-time problem or if it will occur again. I sold a fitness tracker band that looked brand-new in box and the user just emailed me yesterday to say it quit working after 2.5 weeks. I offered some suggestions, but in that case I don't think I'll entertain a return. I mean, it was a cheap tracker to begin with...
@poppaearl I do what @hallmike does.
For these types of things, the more detail about what you don't know on the ebay listing the better. I take as many pictures trying to show the items function as it should. I then put at the top:
Buyer be warned that I have not tested the device and cannot promise functionality. As such, I will not accept any returns. Please bid accordingly.
You may lose out on a couple bucks, but I've never had an issue with returns/DOAs. I've had 1 report made, but I won because i stated that I couldn't guarantee 100% functionality and it was highlighted within my post. The item functioned, but needed batteries replaced because they didn't hold charge. I offered to split the cost of the replacement battery. Lost a little cash, but ended up with more than I started with.
@poppaearl If you're really conflicted, you can send it to... umm... whoever ends up being voted in as November goat. You know, to help
heruh... that person suck up all that blame. ;)Totally kidding. I'd say sell it locally, via craigslist or something like that. If it makes you feel more comfortable, you can explain the situation before taking money. Then you know the person handing you money understands any risks they may be taking.
@christinewas Sending a possible nonworking Rhoomba to the November goat? Why, that just sucks! I sure wouldn't want to add to, um, "her" stressful duties and responsibilities by doing this.
When I sell things like that, I do it locally via Craig's List or facebook garage sale sites. Bust it out and make sure it works before it goes out the door, specify that there's no warranty in your listing. No muss, no fuss, no drama.
I suggest you hold a contest on here. Offer it to somebody on Meh for a really good deal, but they have to write the best haiku about what they would do with the roomba or something like that... I would actually use it as we have a bunch of carpet, 2 dogs, and 2 cats; we're constantly vacuuming, but can't justify the cost of robots..... i also don't see an ethical problem with selling it locally, though.