A moral question.

[AwesomeHat]

Today, I was given a pretty expensive gadget by a friend. Am not gonna say what it is due to the slight possibility he'll see this post, but it's a type of phone costing around £200 new.

Now, ordinarily I wouldn't accept it, he isn't very well off at all, but he said it was broken and it'd just been sitting on his desk for some time, he gave it to me for free.

Anyway - I got home and it works fine. Fine; perfectly even. The screen and casing are scratched to ass-hell, but for pure functionality it's great, compared to my piece of crap brick phone.

Now, do I:

- Give it him back, tell him it works, let him get the money for it.
- Keep it, lie and tell him I fixed the electronics inside or something.
- Sell it, use the money to buy myself a decent new phone that's less mauled up.

Somewhat of a dilemma. I'm leaning heavily towards the second option.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

If you want to lie to your friend I'd say 2 is the more ethical of the trio.

But why did he give it to you in the first place?

 

[xitel]

Well, if he gave it to you because he thought it was broken, just tell him it wasn't broken. Let him decide what to do then.

 

[nimrandir]

My dedication to (often brutal) honesty points to telling him the phone works, regardless of what you do with it. Since it was given to you, I guess that part is your call.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

For some reason this strikes me as only several steps removed from

"so there's this guy I want to murder...what should I do?"

Asking the internet for advice is rarely a good idea.

 

[Aardvark]

Morals are a personal code. If you need someone else to tell you, then you're doing it wrong.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

Keep it, he knew it wasn't broken, he's just being nice I'm sure.

 

[Galletea]

Tell him it isn't broken, then he'll either want it back, or say 'keep it anyway'

 

[Fox1789]

id just tell him it still works and ask him if he wants it back.. that way you would have a 50% chance of keeping it.. once it yours, you can sell it if you want or keep it..

 

[DarkLordofDevon]

Well, he gave it to you believing it to be damaged. If its as scratched as you say, its not going to be worth much second hand.

If you try to give it back, he may think you fixed it for him so he could sell it on. Depending on the type of person he is, he could find it insulting as a form of charity, or be grateful for your concern.

Only you can really judge this. If he will take it and you are that worried about his finances, return it. However, if he might get angry or its going to be near worthless keep it.

No point selling it for your own profit. It will just make you look mizerly.

 

[Rankao]

avoid all communication with your friend by setting up an Elaborate plan to have him killed. When asked why did you do it, tell them "I didn't want to hurt his feelings"

That sounds like a good plot for a movie.

 

[Baby Tea]

Well, if he gave it to you because he thought it was broken, just tell him it wasn't broken. Let him decide what to do then.

This.

Lying only begets more lying...and that's just not nice.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

avoid all communication with your friend by setting up an Elaborate plan to have him killed. When asked why did you do it, tell them "I didn't want to hurt his feelings"

That sounds like a good plot for a movie.

What did I say? See! We start with petty theft among friends and then this all ends in Murder.

Why does it always end in murder?

 

[arcus_angelus]

Another option: Tell him the phone works. That there was nothing wrong with it. Ask him what aspect of the phone is broken. See what he says after that. Then it kinda depends on him, is he the type of person to give someone a gift and then take it back. *shrugs*

 

[xitel]

Well, if he gave it to you because he thought it was broken, just tell him it wasn't broken. Let him decide what to do then.

This.

Lying only begets more lying...and that's just not nice.

I never knew someone else could use beget correctly. But yes, if you're friend gave you a gift, you shouldn't lie about it in any way.

 

[Rankao]

Actually I would call him up all excited and simply say "Dude I got it working!" then hang out.

 

[DangerChimp]

Well, if he gave it to you because he thought it was broken, just tell him it wasn't broken. Let him decide what to do then.

This.

Don't lie to your friends.

 

[Arsen]

Give it back to him. It is the right thing to do.

 

[Jamash]

Some people consider the screen & casing being really scratched up, as broken, broken enough that they don't want it any more.

It may cost £200 new, but second hand items, even if only owned for a day, are valued at less than their original price, and if it is as scratched up as you say, then it will be worth a whole lot less, even less than the price it would cost to replace the screen & casing.

We live in a superficial society where outward appearance is often valued higher than internal functionality.

 

[cheesemanxl]

just tell him it works and ask if he wants it back if he says no then congratulations if he wants it back then give it back
also if you really want a new phone save up some money and buy one