If you learn that you spent more on an item, any item, be it a car or a set of place mats, than it's worth, do you blame yourself or do you blame the seller?

I tend to research items that might cost that much before purchase, so in the scenario you describe, I wouldn’t blame anyone, I would be surprised and consider it a lesson learned, the lesson being that I would need to research better and/or differently.

What’s a Facebook purchase?

Things people sell on Facebook @rebbel. There are a ton of buy / sell / trade sites. I sold our 5 acres for $35,000 through Facebook. I currently have an Escalade up for sale. Potential buyers are test driving it now.

Rick once bought a used smoker from a “friend” for $90. After we came home I looked up and learned you can buy it NEW for $90! The next time we saw this “friend” I commented on it.
He said, “Well, I told him what I wanted for it, he said OK, so…..” and he shrugged his shoulders. I could only nod my head in rueful agreement.

Ah, got it.
Yeah, I think the buyers have to inform themselves before purchasing.
I see vinyl records online being offered from $1 to $1500 (same record, different condition).
It’s up to the buyer what he/she feels is the right amount.
Maybe Rick thought that $90 was okay (for the state the thing was in, and maybe contemplating he didn’t have to burn gas to go to the city to buy a new one; just thinking out loud).
And maybe he liked the guy to get the full $90, as a tip.

It was an impulse buy on his part. He thought they worth twice that brand new.

I agree. Buyers have to inform themselves. That’s why I would be swatting myself if I paid much more for something than it was worth. But sometimes you have to make an on-the-spot judgement call. I love bringing things home from auction or garage sale and finding out that this brand new, never worn coat I paid $3 for costs $110 new! I don’t get burned very often.

My mother refused to pay 25 dollars for a strip of Velcro at a shoe repair shop which would be applied in the repair of her shoes (that was not labor, that was just the Velcro itself).

Good for Mom. I told her we could get it at Walmart for probably the cost of shoe laces.
Actually, it only cost $1.25 at Walmart.

If the seller knows its value, or cost, I blame the seller.

I was totally ripped off by a hospital. They said I had to have a certain kind of brace for my entrapped ulnar nerve. I asked how much it cost and they couldn’t tell me. Anyway, they made it while I waited. They heated up a square of blue plastic, molded it to my arm, glued some Velcro on it and presto. A “brace”. An utterly useless brace.
I estimated the total cost, including 30 minutes worlth of labor to be about $25….$5.00 in material and $20 for “skilled” labor
They charged me $600.

Ultimately, you can only blame yourself. The seller is in the position to demand only what you are willing to pay. It is understood from the outset that he will literally deprive you of as much of your money as the law allows, whereas you are entitled to approach the goal of “getting it for nothing” with all the fervor you can apply.

If it is for something that you could have gotten cheaper somewhere else, had you done just a tiny bit of research, then it is clearly your fault.
But if it is something essential, that you can not shop around for, either because of time, or there simply not being an alternative, like this unbelievable shit here, then it is the seller’s fault.

Yet, in our disgusting and shameful ‘socialist’ countries babies get delivered without you getting a bill to go with it.

You’re not taking into consideration the meaning of the term free market and its actual implications. Ours is a system wherein those at the top are “free” to incentivize the rest of us to act against our own interests, and the results of this reality pan out precisely as you might expect, and to the great and often unrecognized detriment to the society overall. Healthcare along with most of our other problems are but glaring examples of this fundamental principle at work.

I tend to get mad at myself. Not even mad, really. Buyer’s remorse is the better description.

Both, but I do find disgust with the seller if he significantly jacked up the price.

Self, I almost always know the retail and wholesale of a big ticket item. Big ticket starts at $100 !

I’ve walked away from several purchases because it wasn’t right.

Since I am always perfect, it’s always the other person’s fault whether they are the seller or the buyer.

It’s 100% your fault. It’s up to you to research an item that you intend to buy. There have been times I have paid above retail for items either by choice or through ignorance. It’s easy to do when you dabble a little in antiques. Prices fluctuate, are subjective and have regional variation. Savy sellers mark up an item knowing that someone is looking hard for that specific thing and that buyers will almost always try to talk them down.

There are sellers who intend to deceive and antique malls, facebook marketplace, ebay and craigslist all have their share of them but in the end you must do your due diligence or be ok upfront with what it costs.

When I had the shop I’d price out parts based on what I thought customers would THINK they were worth.
There was one item in particular, part of a spindle assembly that cost us $15. Standard market mark up was 20%. The part was solid steel and very heavy. I sold them for $35 all day long.

My fault! Mine! Mine! Mine!

I would blame myself.