Is a fair exchange always not a robbery?

The common answer is the seller should have done the research before selling ( or the buyer, since it is a two way street). I personally would tell the other party, if I knew about the difference.

The use of the term fair exchange is key here. If the two people knew the value of the item then it is a fair exchange even if the seller only charges a cheap price for it,

If one person is selling something and they have not bothered to value it correctly and another person buys a high-value item for a cheap price, it is the seller’s lookout to have priced the item correctly. It is a fair exchange.

A fair exchange happens when both parties feel good about the deal. The value of an item goes beyond mere dollars, and is different for each person.

Robbery happens when sellers jack the prices up on necessities during an emergency situation. Many areas have laws prohibiting price gouging during emergencies.

My husband and I use the barter system on occasion with friends, neighbors and even Craig’s List, and it seems to me that most of our trades are very fair.

Our neighbor wanted our two antique settee’s with matching chairs, straight across for her gorgeous dining room table (scalloped edges with chairs) and china cabinet (2 Piece), so even though our antiques had the higher value, she had what I wanted, so we did it.

At the end of the deal, she threw in a $300 cream leather chair with no arms, very modern and steamlined, to even out the deal but my husband wanted to make it more fair so he’s powerwashing her deck. It all worked out, we’re all very happy.

My point is, you have to be able to stand up for yourself and know the value of each item, so both parties can do a fair deal. Or just walk away.

You all would agree to that if the seller wanted to way overpay for something that generally was cheaper, say he wanted to buy a stock but fair 1968 Chevelle SS, and offered the owner $56k for it (cherry is would average $27k-$35k) and know the owner knew he was over offering?

Deception or violence are the only actions that make an exchange unfair. None of your examples display deception, therefore all the exchanges are fair. However, your examples do display withheld information and ignorance.

Withholding information is not the same thing as deception because the seller isn’t lying about the price of HIS car and isn’t lying about the cars authenticity. The seller is just not educating the ignorant customer that this car can be purchased for a much cheaper price from a dealership down the block. It’s not misinformation. It’s not suppressing information, It would only be fraud if the advertisement & agreement was for 50k but the customer ended up paying 60k or if the advertisement & agreement was for a new car, but the engine inside the car was old.

Someone taking advantage of an ignorant person by not educating him outside the realm of the exchange for the given product or service is not deception and ignorance is not an excuse to cry fraud.

Caveat emptor should also always apply to the seller….