Unexpected profit - Should I give a kickback? - Page 4

Originally Posted by BurlyGuys

It says in the OP your agreement is for half the shred value. SHRED value, not resale value. Reselling involves more work, placing an ad, meeting the buyer, haggling, etc. I seem to be in the minority here but keep the money, unless you feel you are somehow being dishonest, which by my reading you are not. Remember, you made a trip to the guy for a ten dollar bill.

I'll give you an example from my business. I do junk removal. I charge $425 for one full truckload of material removed regardless of what it is, unless the load is very heavy dense or wet. Otherwise, I charge the same whether I am hauling bags of trash or the entire contents of an estate. At the time of the removal I have an agreed upon price before work begins.

With an estate I have the guys bring everything back to the warehouse (this is the entire purpose of spending money on a warehouse!) for sorting. I am typically selling a couple grand a month worth of stuff. I then go through the work of sorting, cleaning, and otherwise making things sellable. Then I either transport items to an auction house or a consignment shop, OR I store them further while I photograph, write ads, research the item so I know what I'm selling and can protect my precious feedback, and finally list and hopefully sell the item on CL or Evilbay.

When I finally DO sell an item, do I have an obligation to go back to my source and pay part of the profits? Of course not. That was extra work and expense on my part. Had I just done what I was contracted to do, hauling their junk away, I would have gone straight to the dump, dropped everything, and moved on to my next load. My obligation ends when I drive the truck away from their property.

Had you driven away and thrown that pump in your shred pile, would the customer have expected anything extra? Of course not. You had an agreed upon price, you paid, customer is happy, you're happy, end of transaction. Had the customer wanted more for the pump, he could have sold it himself. But he was willing to sell it to you for shred value, which he did.

Am I the only filthy capitalist pig on here? Or am I the only one willing to be honest?

And now TMoney, with all of that being said, act as your conscience guides you. If you are looking for absolution over keeping a little windfall profit, I hereby grant it my son. If you feel better cutting your customer in, then by all means do so. It will certainly generate some good will.

I agree with Burly on this one. Our contract clearly states that we "we reserve the right to sell items that are in good condition". When you have a payroll to meet, a warehouse to maintain and a fleet of trucks, a little "windfall" is a welcome bonus for the untold hours spent on "triage" and listing items for sale.

Another way of looking at this is, would you go back and ask him to return some of the money you paid him if the load didn't pay what you thought it would? Probably not. Remember, PROFIT is NOT a four letter word. It is required if your business is to grow. Since this person is also a business owner, they will respect you for that. Furthermore, the quickest way to have another competitor is to show a customer how much profit there really is in this business.

All that said, customer relations is a VITAL part of any business. We try very hard to make certain our suppliers are taken care of and appreciated. Gift cards, coffee and donuts at morning break time, Pizza at lunch, and an occasional laptop or cell phone make nice "gifts" to make certain your name stays at the top of the list.

As many on here have said, follow your conscience, but if it were me, I would say thank you in a way that is more personal than money. It will build more "goodwill" and respect for your business acumen than all the gold in Ft. Knox.

JMHO - TRB