Original Message:
Preston Green (by KC):
jayjay states in pertinent part: >> If Mr. Green trolls the internet to find rental listings, adds them to his own database all the while raising the lister's rental rate (for his gain) is not ethical or moral. <<
In all fairness to the man, I'm not sure that this is a completely accurate description of his actual practices. I don't think that Mr. Green ever considers anything part of "his own database" until such time as an owner he has contacted (...or one who has contacted him) has agreed to an arrangement with him. If a prospective renter is willing to pay a particular amount, and the net amount (i.e., after Green's "take") is acceptable to the owner, it seems like a reasonable arrangement for all involved. If a prospective renter is unable or unwilling to exert the effort to "shop around" on his / her own and discover for himself / herself that he /she might be overpaying, then I respectfully submit that this prospective renter cannot reasonably expect to get the best possible "deal" offered in the open marketplace. Also, there might very well be instances where Green doesn't actually "mark up" the rental cost at all, but instead convinces an owner to accept a lower "net" amount (out of the same advertised rate), in exchange for Green coming up with a renter which the owner has not been able to find on his / her own.
Re: >> Why doesn't Mr. Green find his own clients without trolling the internet.<<
I'm not sure I can really fault the man for simply reviewing publicly placed ads and inquiring of an advertising owner if /when he thinks potential exists for a "win / win" arrangement . It seems like a cost effective (...free actually, except for the expenditure of time...) way to determine "what's currently offered out there". I know that Green also "surfs" the Net for "weeks wanted" postings. He contacted me once (apparently having completely forgotten our previous unproductive encounter) in response to an ad I had placed seeking to purchase one very specific fixed week in one very specific geographic location. In retrospect, I'm not sure why he even bothered to contact me at all since, as it turned out, he had absolutely nothing even remotely resembling either the specific week or geograhic area which was very clearly identified in my ad.
All that said, I'm certainly not trying to defend the man. As clearly stated previously, I found that I intuitively disliked him and quickly declined to even consider doing business with him. However, my own negative (and admittedly subjective) personal opinion certainly doesn't make him in any way dishonest...