For Sale forum rules

[Mr_P]

Someone joined this morning and posted 20 useless comments in less than an hour, most of them along the lines of "That's a good idea" and then posted in the for sale forum.

Wouldn't it be better to scrap the automatic 20 posts rule and just have a lock on all new members which can only be deactivated after 1 month and a message/ request to a moderator to unlock ?

Moderator could then look at a the message history and then say yes or no.

Then again that is a load of hassle for a problem that only occurs once or twice a year.

Maybe just raise the bar to 50 posts and then they will be spotted and banned before they reach 50 and thus allowing them to post in the for sale section.

 

[Racers]

Another forum I visit had 50 posts and 90 days membership rule.

Pete

 

[marcros]

the poster may have joined to sell something, but he had a location, named a price and wasnt asking for untraceable fund transfer. He was probably trying to avoid ebay fees, but that isnt a crime. I thought it was a bit harsh really the way that he was pounced on- technically he was abiding by the rules and he wasnt doing any harm IMHO. we havent had many issues in the last couple of years that I am aware of with the current rules.

Mod edit:-

New members need a post count of at least 20 to create threads in the For Sale section.
Attempts to circumvent the above restrictions with gratuitous posts elsewhere will risk all such posts and the subsequent For Sale Post being removed.

 

[Mr_P]

He might have been genuine but it looked darn fishy to me.

Location could have been bogus and he didn't mention how he wanted to be paid.

Agree it would be a lot of hassle for a £45 fraud but then again a lot of hassle to avoid £4.50 ebay fee.

 

[marcros]

maybe outlawing paypal gift would be a step. bank transfers are always going to be a risk, but that is something that the purchaser needs to assess for themselves.

 

[Mr_P]

maybe outlawing paypal gift would be a step. bank transfers are always going to be a risk, but that is something that the purchaser needs to assess for themselves.

Wouldn't that be the tiny minority spoiling it for the majority of decent folk on here.

Touch wood I've bought and sold on and I've never had a problem. However only used it about 6 times combined.

 

[RogerBoyle]

I agree with the it looked fishy comment but He wasn't given the chance to say if he would allow cash on collection...
Ho Hum it would appear that he has now been deleted..

Was his IP address checked against his given location before he was deleted ????

 

[bugbear]

I don't think it matters wether he was a "genuine seller" or not; if the (reasonable, IMHO) notion is that the "for sale"
forum is for members to sell to fellow members (and not just for any random retailer to sell to members)
sellers must be "real members", not just "fake members", or "pseudo members".

BugBear

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I agree. He was bogus absolutely without question. I've seen plenty of Internet scams and that was one of them. Even if by some miracle he just wanted to sell stuff legitimately, then those rights need to be earned through regular posting over time at a minimum so there is a barrier to entry sufficiently onerous to prevent shisters getting instant access. Since their agenda is clearly to steal, making them wait a month will put 99.99% off.

 

[RogerBoyle]

I disagree to a point
How many posts have we had on here from folks who are having to sort through workshops of tools etc. usually following a bereavement, with no knowledge of what things are or what they are worth...
The usual advice given is to list things and let the forum guide them..

How many times have we seen on the for sale threads a new member asking how to get in touch with a seller as they want to buy what ever the item is that's being sold. and members are happy to sell to them... ( I would love to see the stats for that LOL)
So that surely makes a mockery of the must be a real member argument or does that just go out the window when its convenient to the seller..

Even the long standing members on this forum sometimes have problems while dealing/selling with other longstanding members.

As I already said I do think it was suspect..........However Was his IP address checked against his posted location and did he refuse cash on collection.. if not you cannot say 100% that it was dodgy....

Either way I'm not going to loose any sleep over it LOL
I'm just curious as to what checks were taken to prove it was a scam rather than just gut feeling and knee jerk reactions

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi BB,

I don't think it matters whether he was a "genuine seller" or not; if the (reasonable, IMHO) notion is that the "for sale" forum is for members to sell to fellow members (and not just for any random retailer to sell to members) sellers must be "real members", not just "fake members", or "pseudo members".

I agree entirely. I also believe that there should be a minimum number of days in addition to the minimum number of posts. I would suggest 60 days, as this would give members time to decide whether the member has contributed to the forum and not just made multiple inane comments.

The acid test is whether the member has contributed to the forum, or made genuine requests for help with their woodwork. In the case of this poster the answer was most definitely NO.

Just my 2p.

Thanks,
Neil

 

[wizard]

I think if you are going to sell on here it would be a safe idea if the item was also on eBay buy now with a link to the item so the buyer has the choice of buying it here cheaper or buying it from eBay at the higher price including eBay and PayPal fees. That way the buyer can see seller’s feedback or just have eBay protection. Just a thought.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

But don't you incur a fee to post it on eBay if you do that? One if the things I really value about this forum is that it's a dam good niche market for like minded buyers and sellers. It's a real benefit that I can avoid eBay both buying and selling here. Also whilst there's no formal feedback rating scheme on the forum, a quick meander through someone's posts can give you anecdotal information about their trustworthiness. Let's face it, the last thing most contributors want is to have sold a load of rubbish which then bites them in the bum publicly. I agree that's not legal protection but it has pretty much worked to date hasn't it? I've both enjoyed good purchases on here and made a couple of sales. The people I've met have been delightful

 

[Mr_P]

Didn't they threaten to start charging a final fee on auctions ended early recently ?

How they can tell if I dropped it or sold it someone for cash I don't know.

 

[MMUK]

This incident is no different to certain people being allowed to sell non-woodwork related items when it clearly states within the rules that such items may not be sold on these boards :roll:

 

[wizard]

Didn't they threaten to start charging a final fee on auctions ended early recently ?

How they can tell if I dropped it or sold it someone for cash I don't know.

If i sell something early on eBay i do not end the item i replace it with something else

 

[woodfarmer]

I have chosen not to have either paypal or an ebay account/membership.

sometimes it is awkward. But very rarely.