Caveat emptor, better known to us in English as “let the buyer beware.” It's an age-old consumer truism, which states that it is the buyer's responsibility to perform due diligence on whatever purchase they are considering. From an ethical standpoint, the modern and biblical sages take issue with this concept.

Why caveat emptor is considered unethical?

The caveat emptor principle arises primarily from the asymmetry of information between a purchaser and a seller. The information is asymmetric because the seller tends to possess more information regarding the product than the buyer. Therefore, the buyer assumes the risk of possible defects in the purchased product.

Is a caveat emptor bad?

“Let's Abolish Caveat Emptor” in BusinessWeek. Ethically speaking, how can you argue with that? It's wrong to mislead someone into buying a product that doesn't work as expected. It's called a rip-off, and it's the way a lot of business is done.