Commission from brokerage by telling the customer that “selling price” is that of original “company price”.
Assaalam O Alaikum,
My father has sole agency rights of a company of Malaysia in Pakistan i-e; only he can import goods of that company in Pakistan. Now, my father imports goods, take in possession and then sell. But some customers demand for whole container so in that case my father acts as a broker between the buyer and the Malaysian company. My father gives the buyer a price that is always higher than the price offered by the company. Anything above the price of the company is my father's commission that is allowed by Malaysian company in the agency contract. This I think is correct from the hadis below?
I just read a Hadis: Ibn ‘Abbaas said: There is nothing wrong with saying, “Sell this garment and whatever there is above such and such a price is yours.”
The question is that; can my father pretend to the buyer that the price offered to him is the price of the company so that there remains no room for bargain by the buyer.
Thank you,
Subset.
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Salaams,
First of all, I want to say that I am not an expert in trade or business practices. However, I do believe that even during the time of Muhammad (saws) the whole point of buying and selling was to do a little more than break even so that all needs can be cared for.
So if I understand you correctly, that your uncle has the practice of obtaining goods and selling them for more than what he paid to get them so as to make a profit, this doesn't seem to be wrong. I would interpret the hadith the same as you did.
Now, if your uncle is intentionally deceiving others by telling them they are paying the same price he did for the item just to make a sale, that is not something I personally would recommend. If I were your uncle, I wouldn't tell the buyer anything, and just sell at the price I've set. If a buyer asked me if he's paying the same price as I did when I purchased from the supplier, I would say that there are other costs involved that have to be recovered so I would be losing money to charge the same price, and everyone needs to survive. Most people understand they aren't paying factory costs on things, so if the person decides not to buy based on that, oh well. I'm sure there are going to be many more willing to pay the difference or not even bother asking, that it wouldn't be an issue in the end.
-Amy
IslamicAnswers.com Editor