From: ah007@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Frederick O. Jacobson)
Newsgroups: misc.forsale.computers.mac
Subject: Re: Don't ... Gary Goldberg (Response)
Date: 18 Dec 1992 00:15:52 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: ah007@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Frederick O. Jacobson)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc5.ins.cwru.edu


In a previous article, svsolanalos@pro-freedom.cts.com (Sheldon Nalos) says:

>All Gary did that was wrong was to say it broke, rather than saying that he
>had a higher offer, and he was sorry, but could not sell it to him at that
>price, because he needed the money. This is not an issue of "internet
>integrity" but one of public relations. If you are polite and
>straightforward, then people don'
>t get mad and go out and smear your reputation. I think Mr. Naftulyev
>should have considered this before smearing Gary's good reputation. This
>is not an immoral thing he did, but was a simple mistake in PR, not
>deserving of the smear.

I don't know which is more discouraging - what Mr. Goldberg did (broke
an internet agreement, if not contract, to sell at a given price); Mr.
Goldgerg lying about why he would not deliver the merchandise; Mr. Nalos
suggesting that if Mr. Goldberg had been a little more polite and had
better skills at public relations, Mr. Naftulyev might not have "smeared
Mr. Goldberg's good reputation" (*what* good reputation?), or Mr.
Nalos suggesting that what Mr. Goldberg did was not deserving of the
smear.

Before I comment further, I want to say that even though my ID suggests
that I am, in one way or another, affiliated with a university, this is
not the case.  I am neither a student, faculty, nor employee of any
university.  That said, I want to comment a little bit on what I see as
a lack of ethics from business leaders and university students, faculty,
and administration.

I see Mr. Goldberg's behavior, and Mr. Nalos's defense - de facto if
not actual - of Mr. Goldberg's behavior, as evidence of a serious decline
in ethics of university students compared with a generation or two ago.
Back then, a verbal agreement to make a deal was an ethical man's
bond - similar to the way people used to treat a handshake even longer
ago.  Mr. Goldberg obviously does not feel morally obligated to
perform on what he agrees to on the net; Mr. Nalos actually defends
Mr. Goldberg!  Mr. Nalos actually comes close to condemning Mr. Naftulyev
for airing this sorry situation in public!

There is no Internet "Better Business Bureau."  The only way potential
buyers or sellers of items can be warned away from problem buyers/sellers
is if a person who has been dealt a phony hand exposes the culprit
on the internet system.  Therefore, far from condemning Mr. Naftulyev
for posting his article, I thank him for it, and encourage him - as
well as other buyers/sellers who are crapped upon by the undisciplined
to expose *their* activities - honestly, of course.  I do think that
perhaps Mr Naftulyev might have said that Mr. Goldberg had been unethical
in his behavior rather than overtly criticizing Mr. Goldberg's entire
ethical bankruptcy, especially since Mr. Naftulyev only had very skimpy
evidence of Mr. Goldberg's entire ethical bankruptcy.

To Mr. Goldberg I will say one thing:  I have purchased more than $50,000
worth of equipment on Usenet in the last year; thanks to Mr. Naftulyev's
warning, I will not purchase anything from you unless you offer an
unbelievable deal on your merchandise, and you agree to payment terms
that *I* insist upon - terms which are guaranteed to prevent an
unscrupulous seller from taking my money and sending me a box of bricks.

I urge other buyers/sellers to be equally cautious if dealing with Mr.
Goldberg - or others who may have questionable ethics, for that matter.

Fred Jacobson, ah007@cleveland.Freenet.Edu
Maroff & Jacobson, Inc.
Voice:  (216) 475-2360 from noon till 10 PM Eastern
FAX: (216) 475-1560 from midnight till 8AM Eastern

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Newsgroups: misc.forsale.computers.mac