Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not your job to anticipate all of the needs of the other party, but you should offer something that seems like it would be reasonably acceptable to each party. You shouldn't offer a contract you know to be "heavily biased" to the author -- you should write up a contract that details a deal you consider reasonable and fair and a deal you believe that the other party will find reasonable and fair, and further nego…
> But if you, because you happen to be a little smarter, or shrewder on a trade than your brother, have got the better of him, it is not all right, it is all wrong, and I do not think it a credit for a man to be possessed of that kind of smartness. Actually, the best kind of deal is the one where each person believes they got the better of the other. To borrow an example that is not my own, suppose two people are arg…
An instance of an unfair deal is exploiting the ignorance of a newcomer by offering to take something that has great value locally for a price far below what your neighbors would pay before the newcomer realizes that his belongings have much greater worth in his new vicinity than they had in the old. This is a fundamentally predatory deal, and even if you lay all of this out in the fine print, it's your duty to establish at least a basic reasonable assurance that the party at the other end of your trade understands the circumstances surrounding it and is satisfied with the proposed trade.
Another example is that of an individual in desperate straits who is required to offload a good he'd otherwise keep or sell for a much higher price. It is reasonable to expect this person to sell his goods, but it is not fair to exploit his unfortunate circumstance and purchase the goods at prices in extreme disproportion to market value. While the person may even offer the good at an absolute bargain basement price in an attempt to move it as quickly as possible, I do not believe it is moral to buy something at much, much less than its normal value if you have the means to pay more. Perhaps some discount is reasonable in order to move the merchandise quickly, but it should not be disproportionate to the circumstance; even if the seller believes he'll be happy with the trade, it's not very likely that that happiness will stay. You're better off just biting the bullet and at least paying something that resembles the low end of market value.
Remember that when it comes down to it, our lives are all about the people that are part of them. Things and money come and go, bank accounts ebb and flow; people last forever, and people give real value to experiences and things. It's not worth shafting your neighbors left and right to save some cash.
I recognize that many disagree and believe that it's "every man for himself" out there, and that you should take advantage of your neighbor when you can get it. I believe that is fundamentally wrong, no matter how many others believe otherwise.