Market Manager’s Report:

An otherwise beautiful sold out Sunday morning market was marred by an altercation between a stallholder and shopper.

At approx 10:30 a shopper who was angered because the stallholder would not give a refund on the purchase he made earlier, decided to just take another item from the stall. The stallholder gave chase until both were stopped by a Rotary Volunteer.

The shopper claims that the faulty item purchased (a boxed Spiderman toy or bedding set), discovered after leaving the market that his $10 purchase was not a complete set. So he returned for a refund.

The stallholder claims that before the purchase both parties checked the contents of the box (not denied by the shopper) and agreed upon the transaction. The stallholder has refused the refund based on the fact that the goods left the market area and returned not in the same condition as they were purchased.

Now, at this stage, Rotary Market staff volunteers are not empowered to settle disputes between stallholders and shoppers. The shopper decided to call the police. Shortly thereafter, a Divy van and 4 of Moorabbin’s finest constables attended.

The shopper did not want to keep the merchandise and offered it to the Rotary staff, not sure where it ended up. No refund was given;  according to the stallholder the Police said she did all the right things, and that the shopper (who allegedly said he would trash the stall) was told that he was banned from the Market.

The impartial verdict was that it was a wast of time. Even the shopper who claimed “its not about the money”, said it was a waste of taxpayer’s money to have the Police attend (we agree but are not sure why he called them then.)

The moral of the story is “caveat emptor” – Let the buyer beware. If you are buying second hand items in a trash and treasure market, you need to understand that you are responsible for judging the quality of the goods and that all sales are final.

Market Manager.