Ethically Speaking: August 2009

Last month, we saw some unusual activity in the Tradeloop Ethics area. Two new Ethics complaints were filed and two pending complaints were closed with no action taken. That's a pretty routine level of activity.

The unusual aspect is that both new Ethics complaints filed in July are between Tradeloop members. Generally, the vast majority of Ethics complaints are filed by Tradeloop members against non-members. That's one reason we always encourage our membership to look to other Tradeloop members first when buying or selling equipment.

Both new complaints are still in the information-gathering stage and, of course, our staff will work with the members to try to solve the disputes amicably. In one case, the complainant alleges that the defendant didn't pay for merchandise received. In the other case, the complainant says that the defendant shipped substandard equipment and hasn't refunded the agreed-upon amount.

One case closed with no action was originally filed in April. The complainant asked that the case be placed on hold while he and the defendant (a non-Tradeloop member) worked on a resolution. We closed the case with "no action taken," after a long period of inactivity.

We closed the other case (#5036) at the request of the complainant. He and the defendant (both are Tradeloop members) made extensive use of our Ethics blog format to discuss the complaint and various issues relating to pricing strategies, Broadcasts, posting inventory on other sites, and more. Other Tradeloop members may find the discussion interesting and relevant to their own business practices as well.

Learn more about these Ethics cases and review the details of other posted Ethics cases as our Tradeloop Ethics area.