Unethical?

That is a horsehair brush?

You could say that. In the sense that unicorns are related to horses…

I don't consider threads like this one to constitute "whining" about prices on ebay. I think its part of the value of a community like DFS that members point out examples of pricing or practices that they believe may fall outside the boundaries of fair play or reasonableness in the marketplace. Yes, we all understand the nature of a free market with buyers and sellers and constant reminders of that are not particularly helpful. The fact is, these threads provide a service particularly to those just starting out on their traditional wet shaving journey. The OP wasn't necessarily griping about the price of the brush, at least not entirely but rather about the fact that the seller took one of the limited spots in Paladin's que to buy a brush with the express purpose of immediately flipping it on ebay for a substantial markup - like a ticket scalper, he's a parasite thats extracting a premium for little effort and preying upon those who may actually want one of those brushes but couldn't get one because the scalper had got there first and bought them all. Should this concern the rest of us if we aren't interested in buying that brush on ebay - yes and no. No if you're not interested in buying any custom shaving brushes ever but if you are possibly buying brushes at some point, then this practice could have upward pressure on brush prices generally. The artisans are aware that their products can attract premium prices in the aftermarket (Wolfman?) and if it happens frequently enough and the premiums are big enough then, resorting to the often pointed out free market economics the demand is clearly outstripping supply so the price must rise. In that scenario everybody pays more, so yeah, that ebay paladin brush scalper is a D-bag.

Some call it scalping, but it happens in all markets where there are collectors. Vintage cars as an example, there are many people who look for the deals and flip them hoping to make a profit. Why should shaving be any different. The best example is the stock market, there are double and triple leveraged ETFs that can make a pile of money in a week if you make the right pick. Do any of you feel guilty when your retirement saving increase. It's always at the expense of someone else. There is always a buyer and seller in the stock market, just like this little shaving cult and every other collector market. Why is someone who re-sells a brush a scalper or D-bag. The solution is don't buy from these people and drive the price back down.

One more thing, we live in a capitalist nations. Canada / USA / Western Europe are not communist and there is no such thing as fair or everyone being equal. As well, with that freedom comes our right to express our opinion, so we are all entitled to your opinion. Thank goodness DFS does not believe in communist style censorship like some other places on the interweb.

As well, with that freedom comes our right to express our opinion, so we are all entitled to your opinion.

Exactly what I think.

If asking ridiculously high price for an item, in a transaction which won't benefit the original maker directly, is fair game,
criticism of that kind of behavior/practice should be welcomed as well.

I don't consider threads like this one to constitute "whining" about prices on ebay.  I think its part of the value of a community like DFS that members point out examples of pricing or practices that they believe may fall outside the boundaries of fair play or reasonableness in the marketplace.  Yes, we all understand the nature of a free market with buyers and sellers and constant reminders of that are not particularly helpful.  The fact is, these threads provide a service particularly to those just starting out on their traditional wet shaving journey.  The OP wasn't necessarily griping about the price of the brush, at least not entirely but rather about the fact that the seller took one of the limited spots in Paladin's que to buy a brush with the express purpose of immediately flipping it on ebay for a substantial markup - like a ticket scalper, he's a parasite thats extracting a premium for little effort and preying upon those who may actually want one of those brushes but couldn't get one because the scalper had got there first and bought them all.  Should this concern the rest of us if we aren't interested in buying that brush on ebay - yes and no.  No if you're not interested in buying any custom shaving brushes ever but if you are possibly buying brushes at some point, then this practice could have upward pressure on brush prices generally.  The artisans are aware that their products can attract premium prices in the aftermarket (Wolfman?) and if it happens frequently enough and the premiums are big enough then, resorting to the often pointed out free market economics the demand is clearly outstripping supply so the price must rise.  In that scenario everybody pays more, so yeah, that ebay paladin brush scalper is a D-bag.

Some call it scalping, but it happens in all markets where there are collectors.  Vintage cars as an example, there are many people who look for the deals and flip them hoping to make a profit.  Why should shaving be any different.  The best example is the stock market, there are double and triple leveraged ETFs that can make a pile of money in a week if you make the right pick. Do any of you feel guilty when your retirement saving increase.  It's always at the expense of someone else.  There is always a buyer and seller in the stock market, just like this little shaving cult and every other collector market.  Why is someone who re-sells a brush a scalper or D-bag.  The solution is don't buy from these people and drive the price back down.

One more thing, we live in a capitalist nations. Canada / USA / Western Europe are not communist and there is no such thing as fair or everyone being equal.  As well, with that freedom comes our right to express our opinion, so we are all entitled to your opinion.  Thank goodness DFS does not believe in communist style censorship like some other places on the interweb.

As well, with that freedom comes our right to express our opinion, so we are all entitled to your opinion.

Exactly what I think.

If asking ridiculously high price for an item, in a transaction which won't benefit the original maker directly, is fair game,
criticism of that kind of behavior/practice should be welcomed as well.

These posts are some of the best I have seen on this subject.  I'll be upfront and say that I definitely lean towards Mark's (Marko) way of thinking.  However, the flip side expressed here certainly has value.  For me, though, there is a place for making a profit but scalping, especially when it comes to what is essentially a small, and generally friendly, hobby is just wrong.  For the most part, we are not talking about vintage cars or the like because they are far out of reach, from a monetary point of view, for many of us.  Most shaving gear is much more approachable and gives entry to the hobby for the beginner as well as for the more experienced.  A neophyte might get badly burned and while some of the completely free market thinkers here may think "those are the breaks" I find it distasteful at best and dishonest at worst.

Also, while DFS does not filter buying and selling, for the most part, suggesting that other sites are communist is as ridiculous as having members of those sites stating that DFS is nothing but a free-for-all where anything goes.  Outlooks as to how each site is run (think forum rules) may differ but each has its place and offers something to its members.

I think Marko hit the nail on the head with this:

Yes, we all understand the nature of a free market with buyers and sellers and constant reminders of that are not particularly helpful. The fact is, these threads provide a service particularly to those just starting out on their traditional wet shaving journey.

In the sometimes fevered enthusiasm that some new wet shavers have, they can be vulnerable to paying way more than they should for some items. These threads provide a valuable service by letting them know that this kind of 'flipping' is going on. Then they can make a more informed choice.

I’ve posted this before. Seems like a good time to post it again.
(I wonder if it was those blades that sealed the deal…)

Holy cow.

I think Marko hit the nail on the head with this:

Yes, we all understand the nature of a free market with buyers and sellers and constant reminders of that are not particularly helpful. The fact is, these threads provide a service particularly to those just starting out on their traditional wet shaving journey.

In the sometimes fevered enthusiasm that some new wet shavers have, they can be vulnerable to paying way more than they should for some items. These threads provide a valuable service by letting them know that this kind of 'flipping' is going on. Then they can make a more informed choice.

Exactly!

Some call it scalping, but it happens in all markets where there are collectors. Vintage cars as an example, there are many people who look for the deals and flip them hoping to make a profit. Why should shaving be any different. The best example is the stock market, there are double and triple leveraged ETFs that can make a pile of money in a week if you make the right pick. Do any of you feel guilty when your retirement saving increase. It's always at the expense of someone else. There is always a buyer and seller in the stock market, just like this little shaving cult and every other collector market. Why is someone who re-sells a brush a scalper or D-bag. The solution is don't buy from these people and drive the price back down.

Your assertion about the stock market is incorrect. For example, if I bought shares of coca cola when they were $20 and sold them for $30 to someone who then sold them for $40, we both made money. I made less than I would have but I haven't lost money.

As far as the high prices go, I know that the artisans don't like this sort of thing but it could be alleviated by having an open wait list. Meaning even if you were number 300 on the list, you would get what you ordered and not have to scramble to get something even if it isn't exactly what you want.