a very bad feeling...

I understand that a lot of people are hoping to get some out-of-print Fruvous loot from O'Malley's auction on Monday. I fully support the acquisition of such loot. But, I have a very bad feeling about the idea of auctioning off Fruvous product. A very bad feeling. It's one thing to not want a Fruvous merch item anymore and let someone who does want it buy it from you at the price you paid. That makes sense to me. But making a profit off these items by auctioning them off to the highest bidder really doesn't seem right. It reminds me of people who sell live tapes instead of trade them, or of people who put recordings up on eBay, something which has traditionally been frowned upon in this community. What do people think? I myself am very uncomfortable with this situation.

If people are willing to bid on it, then I'm all for it. With Fruvous not touring any more and on indefinite hiatus, alot of old Frumerch has gone up in terms of novelty, so there should be a corresponding increase in price.

I see your point, but I also think the auction is a fairer method, because it gives everyone who wants the items a chance to bid, not just the first people to hear about them.

Selling a live recording is way different in my opinion... you can burn multiple copies of CDs and sell them... the merch is not reproducable... plus, Fruvous already made a profit on the shirt, it not like the shirt was stolen then sold.... right?

Quoth h*a*h:

It reminds me of people who sell live tapes instead of trade them, or of people who put recordings up on eBay, something which has traditionally been frowned upon in this community. What do people think? I myself am very uncomfortable with this situation.

Seems completely different to me. Baseball cards, action figures, out of print books, CDs, tapes, and records, etc. all go up in value as they get more rare. You own it, you can sell it for what the market will bear. Whereas with a live recording, you DON'T own it and the band does not authorize you to sell or otherwise profit from it even if they did let you record it.

I can see the potential for this to cause some trouble between members, though. Bidding can so easily get out of control. Perhaps a "blind auction" where you make one secret bid and at the end of the auction the highest bidder wins would eliminate sniping concerns as well as keep the prices from getting out of control and out of the reach of the not-so-rich fruheads. I can see those things causing strife between members.

But I have no problem with the idea of selling the items for profit.

I'm not really seeing the problem, either. It's a physical item. Fruvous already made their cut. Now the items are rare and probably worth more than they were. *shrugs*

I agree, there is no comparison between merch. and show tapes.

The commercial releases have been appearing on ebay with some regularity, other than making sure that no one gets totally ripped off (I know Chrissy, for one,�has been known to call out some people who have tried to sell items as "rare") I don't see much of a problem. I am not much of a fan of collecting anything,�but others seem to like it.

I don't quite know what other, more fair way Chris could do this. I suppose if he knew exactly when each piece was bought and how much he paid, a formula, taking into account inflation, lost bank earnings, etc, could be worked out so that Chris would not be out anything and would not gain anything, but seriously, what would that prove. As it is, there is no guarantee that he will break even.

I dunno Kath, would it be different if it were me selling items? Is it because it is Chris, arguably one of the most altruistic fruheads? Do you fear a degeneration of the altruistic nature of this place? I don't think it will, but that is just MHO. I hope not.

Yeah, I think that's really the big difference.

Shows are traded... shared.... not purchased.

Merch was purchased.. and the band was already paid. It's much more akin, in my mind, to selling used CD's. I think it's a great idea.

Chris (and many others) bought these things with their hard-earned cash... and are now the sole owners. They have the right to do with them as they see fit, and I, for one, am all for the idea of auctioning them off to a good home. :)

I dunno Kath, would it be different if it were me selling items? Is it because it is Chris, arguably one of the most altruistic fruheads? Do you fear a degeneration of the altruistic nature of this place? I don't think it will, but that is just MHO. I hope not.

Um. I'll try not to be a bitch here. I'll admit I had to look up the word "altruistic". It's one of those words you know contextually, but when it comes to specifics you're not sure what it really means, or where it comes from. There are many people I know who I would say are altruistic, but I can't tell you if I'd include Chris in that group. After looking it up, I can say that I really don't think the word applies in this case. Believe me, I have no illusions about the utopian status of this site.

I think what was bugging me about the auction was that it was sanctioned by FHDC and advertised here, making it sort of an "official activity". Officially sanctioned activities for one person's profit kind of rub me the wrong way.

> I think what was bugging me about the auction was that it was sanctioned by FHDC
> and advertised here, making it sort of an "official activity". Officially sanctioned
> activities for one person's profit kind of rub me the wrong way.

I don't really see it as being "official". FHDC isn't operating in any sort of an official capacity. I'll occasionally post things like other bands' concert announcements as well. Concerts are for-profit enterprises which also offer a benefit for those involved, just as this does. *shrugs* Plus, Father O is a good cause. :)

It's alright. It still doesn't seem right to me, but that doesn't take away the right for people to participate. I'll keep quiet with my un-utopian quibbling from now on.