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Greed Sets in with a vengeance on eBay!

Hendrix1326

Hendrix1326

So, just out of curiosity, I searched eBay for fresh peppers and came across this:


http://cgi.ebay.com/...#ht_1177wt_1271

I decided to "Ask The Seller A Question", and this is what I said to them:


"Are you really selling single pods from a Morouga Scorpion for 18 dollars apiece? I find it extraordinarily difficult to believe that you put that much work into growing the plant (or plants) to justify that, and they are not hard to grow, or hard to find. How many have you actually sold for that outrageously overinflated price? I grow plenty of peppers up here in Michigan, even super hots, some even tougher to find than the Morouga Scorpion, without extraordinary financial burden. Regardless of demand, there is no rational justification other than greed for you selling those peppers at that price."


Unbelievable, the greed in this world. People have a knack for looking for the easy way out, and have no sense of ethics, morals, or scruples, or putting in work to provide a good/service actually worth the money they charge for it. $18 for one pepper that isn't tough to grow or find! I mean, it is a little tricky to germinate Morougas, but I had no problems getting a huge plant, the limiter being the soil at my mom/stepdad's garden not being rich enough in phosphorus/potassium, so it had trouble setting pods. However, anyone keeping abreast of my garden videos knows that I am not lacking in pods at the homefront plants!

Notice the novice seller boasting the Scoville rating of the Morouga being 200 Million Scovilles, as well! I just about shit myself when I read that! Hahahaha!
 
If he were talking about a single BOX of peppers, then I could definitely see $18, and would even consider that a bit of a bargain, since I've willingly paid $20 for a box of them not too long ago. But a single pepper? Doubt it.

And for him to claim it has 200 million... Well, the burden of proof is on him to show how a pepper has more than 1000% by volume of capsaicin...
 
elcap1999 said:
And for him to claim it has 200 million... Well, the burden of proof is on him to show how a pepper has more than 1000% by volume of capsaicin...
Click to expand...

That being said, the Scoville scale is now bumped up to 1 Billion, thanks to a chemical called Resiniferatoxin. So, technically, if peppers contained that chemical, they could theoretically reach that mark. However, in this case, I believe the seller of the peppers was simply mistaken.

Okay, I just checked my messages on eBay, and the seller sent me a message back:
Here is what they said:

"You dont worry about how much I sell my peppers for. I'm very happy you grow plenty of peppers in Michigan."


Notice how they did not answer any of my questions, nor address anything regarding the specifics of their peppers in the reply.
 
Hendrix1326 said:
That being said, the Scoville scale is now bumped up to 1 Billion, thanks to a chemical called Resiniferatoxin. So, technically, if peppers contained that chemical, they could theoretically reach that mark. However, in this case, I believe the seller of the peppers was simply mistaken.

Okay, I just checked my messages on eBay, and the seller sent me a message back:
Here is what they said:

"You dont worry about how much I sell my peppers for. I'm very happy you grow plenty of peppers in Michigan."


Notice how they did not answer any of my questions, nor address anything regarding the specifics of their peppers in the reply.
Click to expand...


Actually, Resiniferatoxin ranks at 16 Billion Scovilles, 1000x as hot as Capsaicin. However, since peppers don't produce any of that (Which doesn't just feel hot, it acutally damages you) you would need to have a modified crystal of pure capsaicin over 10x its original heat in place of the pod lol!
 
And he charges $4.99 shipping, and has sold 3!!!! I need to make a listing like that & see how many I could sell
for the same price with FREE shipping!!! LOL. Maybe copy his listing and undercut him big time would be a better
idea! :onfire: :P
 
Hendrix1326 said:
That being said, the Scoville scale is now bumped up to 1 Billion, thanks to a chemical called Resiniferatoxin. So, technically, if peppers contained that chemical, they could theoretically reach that mark. However, in this case, I believe the seller of the peppers was simply mistaken.

Okay, I just checked my messages on eBay, and the seller sent me a message back:
Here is what they said:

"You dont worry about how much I sell my peppers for. I'm very happy you grow plenty of peppers in Michigan."


Notice how they did not answer any of my questions, nor address anything regarding the specifics of their peppers in the reply.
Click to expand...

Cool information.. thanks
Looks like resiniferatoxin goes to 16,000,000,000 scu, but is also highly toxic.
 
I also sent him a message about the "New Worlds Record" he's claiming, he messaged back that it was since feb 2012, I sent him Guinness's link!
 
Me thinks someone is :high:

It doesn't seem to matter anymore what people say on ebay.
They just spew whatever they want with nothing to back it up.

I have 5 acres on the moon for sale if anyone is interested...
Power, Water, Phone, and Septic installed. Great view.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
I don't get why it's a big deal, just skip the ad on ebay. Anyone can put whatever price they want on anything.
Click to expand...

I was just astonished at the sheer ridiculosity of the markup. I mean, if you were to extrapolate the per-pound price at $23 per pepper, we're talking a couple hundred bucks at least per pound. That is why I was shocked and appalled.

armac said:
Discontent just like this is as bad anything we have internally.


Same problem, different content.
Click to expand...


A little cryptic, there, armac. What's up? I don't understand, I guess :confused:
 
Sold prices set market trends not asking prices. There are many inflated prices for many items on ebay from sellers hoping to sell to the uneducated, or typing buzz words. It will only become an issue if they start selling in large quantities. :)
 
The Hot Pepper said:
Sold prices set market trends not asking prices. There are many inflated prices for many items on ebay from sellers hoping to sell to the uneducated, or typing buzz words. It will only become an issue if they start selling in large quantities. :)
Click to expand...


True dat! I was surprised, too, that 3 people had actually bought that at that price!
 
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