From: bis@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu (Bis)
Subject: Re: DO NOT DEAL WITH BOBS@APLCEN.APL.JHU.EDU
Organization: Bis Information Services
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 10:29:24 GMT

In article <1992Aug20.141244.21708@aio.jsc.nasa.gov> mark@trillian.jsc.nasa.gov (Mark Manning) writes:
>In article <1992Aug17.161706.2799@news.cs.brandeis.edu>, bis@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu (Bis) writes:
>> 
>> No it isn't.  OBO means the price is not firm.  PERIOD.
>> 
>> You know, a good rule to follow is that if you're going to be arrogant
>> and patronizing, you should know what you're talking about.  I find it
>> ironic that you're talking about being childish while applying
>> childish concepts of fairness where they don't belong.  We're not
>> discussing games on a playground, we're discussing business
>> transactions.  Unless a deal has been sealed, people doing business
>> with each other don't owe each other squat.  If you advertise
>> something and you get an offer, you can take it if you like it, refuse
>> it if you don't like it, or temporize if you're not sure.  By the same
>> token, if you show interest in an advertised item, unless you have
>> agreed to terms, stated you will take the item, and arranged for its
>> shipment, you can change or withdraw your offer at will.  There is no
>> "children play fairly" involved; that's a naive and unrealistic view
>> of doing business.
>
>No, OBO means OR BEST OFFER - period.  But what is the best offer?
>How are you to know?  There must be offers, and offers means that
>someone must have placed a bid, and bidding occurs in auctions, thus
>OBO can mean auction.  Equating OBO to only meaning "the price is not
>firm" is reducing it's meaning to just an outlook and not a request
>for other bids.  I prefer the broader outlook to the slimer.

This is just semantics and sophistry on your part.  "Or best offer",
or its abbreviation, "OBO", is widely accepted to mean that the price
is negotiable.  If you're naive about business practice, that's your
problem, but don't be so arrogant when your reasoning is so childish.

>As for arrogance - that is for someone who finds themselves in an
>untenable position attempting to defend something which can not be
>defended.

This is a digression, but get real.  Do you seriously believe that
that's the only reason for arrogance?  You sound like you believe in
the cult of psychology, I recognize the style.  But I won't get into
an argument about psychology right now.

>           I'm not in such a position.  The patronization is too
>true though.  :)  I did it on purpose since, I knew you would react
>as you did.

I'm not the person you were patronizing.  That was my first article on
the subject.  Funny how you predicted how I would react when you
didn't know of my existence.  Gee, haven't you made a fool of yourself
now?  (Again)

>             Not many people can accept, or wish to know, the games
>they are spouting.  Which is why I turn the spotlight on myself as
>well.  I too play these same games until I catch myself at them and
>stop.  Ask yourself this now: Which game are we playing now?  "Can
>you top this?", "My X is better than your X", or another?

I'm not playing any game.  I saw you patronizing someone, calling him
childish, while sounding extremely naive and childish yourself, so I
pointed that out.  By your response, I can see that I hit a nerve.

>The topic is still: Should a sellor not give an adequate amount of
>time, on OBOs, to allow a everyone a chance to respond rather than
>jumping from bid to bid?

No, the topic is:  You need to grow up.  Keep your childish sense of
fairness where it belongs--on the playground.  The seller doesn't owe
you anything.

>Message of the day: Big business is nothing more than kids fighting
>over toys.

Well, since you're into catch-lines:

"A witty saying proves nothing."
                         --Voltaire
Newsgroups: misc.forsale.computers,comp.sys.amiga.marketplace