post counts before selling

[denmen]

I will shortly have a shed load pf tools to sell for my dead relatives wife but see here on the forum that it says I need a post count of 20 in one board and 50 elsewhere so this is a bit contradictory and I would like advice on whats the post count needed to sell

 

[Trevanion]

It used to be 20, now it's 50. It's gone up mainly to stop people taking advantage of the forum without really contributing anything more to the forum, It's a specifically woodworking targeted, fee-free marketplace so you get all sorts trying to make some better cash there than say eBay where they take listing and sale fees.

"But I'm doing you guys a favor by selling all my rusty, decrepit tools here! You should let me post!"

The marketplace is for forum members, not advantage takers.

 

[sunnybob]

I dont have anything to sell, but have bought a couple items from this site.
But I find the current rules are quite elitist.
"You can only sell if you contribute in a meaningful way" is just not a criteria for deciding who can and who cant sell.
Define meaningful to me.
I have a (not exactly sure) post count of a couple thousand, but the number of "meaningful" posts have to be pretty low. :roll: 8)
I've seen members with longer than my 5 years who have barely posted 20 times, and then only asking questions.

I partly agree with the "evading ebay fees" thing, so why cant the forum charge a selling fee in the form of a paypal or patreon account?
It could be something as modest as a quid a time, or 1% of the selling price, which would go to the site running costs.
Yes, there would be people trying to take advantage (there always will be), but by excluding so many, the site is actually doing its members a disservice, as most of the people who want to sell nowadays are relatives of deceased woodworkers, trying to get money for the estate by selling mostly good equipment.

 

[Mrs C]

Yes, there would be people trying to take advantage (there always will be), but by excluding so many, the site is actually doing its members a disservice, as most of the people who want to sell nowadays are relatives of deceased woodworkers, trying to get money for the estate by selling mostly good equipment.

But isn’t that the whole point of the rule? As ‘buyers’ forum members can still buy from eBay. It’s the seller that gains the advantage by be being able to post sale items without fee and that advantage should be there for genuine forum members. Without some form of restriction you also lose the trust element that the item will be as described as the seller has at least a vague idea of what they are selling. You will never get a perfect rule for allowing members to sell, but you have got to have some way of the site not being flooded with rubbish whilst preserving the sanity of the moderators.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've bought a few and sold a lot ................... but I didn't join to do a garage clearance.

 

[nev]

I will shortly have a shed load pf tools to sell for my dead relatives wife but see here on the forum that it says I need a post count of 20 in one board and 50 elsewhere so this is a bit contradictory and I would like advice on whats the post count needed to sell

The required post count is 50.

...
Define meaningful to me.
....

Maybe the wording could be different but basically adding 'cool' or 'I like that' or 'thanks for the tip' or similar to 49 posts just to get the count up is NOT welcomed.

 

[MikeG.]

.......But isn’t that the whole point of the rule? As ‘buyers’ forum members can still buy from eBay. It’s the seller that gains the advantage..........

So what? What's the worst that could happen? What's wrong with us getting first dibs at someone's workshop sale? Who knows, we might even gain a member or two who likes what they see here when they are selling stuff, or people who come here looking for tools for sale. The current attitude is self-destructive and illogical.

 

[nev]

Charleys house. Charleys rules. Dont like ‘em go elsewhere, otherwise stop having a dig and a moan every time you see something that doesn’t agree with your idea of how things should be done.

 

[MikeG.]

No, Nev, I won't. That would just suit you down to the ground, wouldn't it. I'll obey the rules as written, and if I don't, then you can deal with it. Until then..........

 

[sunnybob]

With all and any due respect, how much does Charley have to do with the site?
Its a very rare day to even hear him mentioned (apart from a "discussion closed" aspect), let alone posting.
I belonged to a motorcycle forum, started by one man, who after a few years sold the bike and drifted away. The forum struggled on for over 5 years following his rules before he finally came back and said he no longer wanted to fund it. So another member took over and updated the site. Its still going strong 15 years later.
My point being, times change. This is a woodworking site, and so anything non woodworking would be automatically banned from the for sale page. You might get woodworking companies advertising, but why would they unless they were offering a discount. In which case, yes please.

And then, why would any junk salesman, who relies on a constant stream of new and unsuspecting customers, give up the countless millions of ebay watchers, to post on a site that has at best a few hundred people who can mostly spot a dud from a mile away?

And any fee however small would pay for the upkeep of the site.
The rule might be Charlies, but has anybody asked him if he is open to altering it?

 

[Turnr77]

I have a marine aquarium and so belong to a marine fishkeeping forum. Marine fishkeeping equipment is on the whole very expensive, a few years back scammers join the board on occasion to sell there supposedly surplus items on the for sale pages.

Members sent money and of course received nothing back and the selller disappeared from the board. Money was always requested to be sent by Paypal gift to "avoid fees" so there was no way of getting it refunded. A lot of money was lost.

The policy now is new members have to be a member for 30 days and make 50 meaningful posts before being allowed to post items for sale. Also all sales posts must include photos of the actual item being sold not online catalogue photos of new items, the item location and price must also be included or mods remove the post.

We still get new members on occasion joining and posting numerous "great tank", "nice fish" etc posts, but the mods delete them, reset their postcount and send a warning, if they do it again they then get moved to 60 days before posting sales ads.

It has worked very well so far.

 

[Simon_M]

I support the move to 50 posts because it is a community and it's obviously open to abuse (if allowed). I'm sure the increase from 20 was well motivated or triggered by some previous event(s). It's evident that the forum is quite a lively place, so the increase is obviously not motivated by the need to boost footfall and a "dead" forum is of no practical benefit.

Reading the selling posts, I see honest descriptions e.g. a plane with a broken tote (broken, easily fixed/replaced) is as it's described - it didn't need to "break in the post" on the way to a disappointed buyer. I see each seller on the forum having a few more morals and long term a reputation to keep intact, so the limit seems very reasonable to me. Raising it shows (to me, my opinion only) a duty of care.

 

[nev]

No, Nev, I won't. That would just suit you down to the ground, wouldn't it. I'll obey the rules as written, and if I don't, then you can deal with it. Until then..........

Grow up you pedantic little child.

 

[nev]

With all and any due respect, how much does Charley have to do with the site?
...

It doesn't matter how much or little he has to do with it. He pays the bills. He makes the rules. If it grinds into the ground because people think that their way is better and offski to another place, then that's his loss.

Its being going successfully for 10 years plus and with the exception of a few constant whiney individuals (that come and go - though some not soon enough!) that think the world and its occupants should do everything the way they think it should be done, the forum trundles along quite well on its own.

 

[lurker]

IF we were paying a substantial fee to be members here, there might be milage in the "complaints".
BUT we don't , so there isn't.

 

[MikeG.]

No, Nev, I won't. That would just suit you down to the ground, wouldn't it. I'll obey the rules as written, and if I don't, then you can deal with it. Until then..........

Grow up you pedantic little child.

The Rules:

(2.) No offensive material
UKW expects members to behave respectfully and not to personally attack or be abusive to other members. ......

We intend to maintain a friendly forum where members respect each other .....That means no name calling, sneering, impugning a person's integrity, or openly and purposely attempting to damage a person's reputation online.........

When you are posting something, ask yourself if you would say that to a person if you were in their presence. Better still; ask yourself if you would like someone to say that to you. If you have a problem with someone, send a personal message to one of the moderators.

So Nev, do you not know the rules, or do you just think they don't apply to you?

 

[nev]

I refer you my previous statement

 

[MikeG.]

Try as you might, Nev, you will not goad me into giving you an excuse to ban me. You may as well give up trying.

 

[fezman]

Without wanting to get into the argument between Nev and Mike G, (there is obviously a bit of history there), and whilst i still consider myself to be a relative newbie around these parts, may I suggest a constructive way forward?

It strikes me that when someone has a whole workshop to dispose of, it may well be to the advantage of forum members that that person is able to list items on here for sale. In the case of some recent examples, a number of quality brand tools could be made available to members at reasonable prices without having to go through the rigmarole of ebay / gumtree. I don't think these people are trying to avoid selling fees etc, but simply trying to inform / sell to like minded people.

So my suggestion is twofold. Why not canvas members opinion ** on what the post count should be for selling tools, then introduce that as the limit. a simple poll should do the trick.

Additionally, in the recent cases of e.g. richarnold (plenty of posts - selling on behalf of someone else - but doesn't want to break the rules), Lindas (new member - no post count, but clearly wanting some good to come from their fathers tools) etc, perhaps they could be directed to a moderator who could make a decision to allow them to sell or not - bearing in mind their wares may benefit the members on here.

** Nev, simply stating that Charley pays the bills so it's his rules is somewhat shortsighted. If "Charley" or any other moderator sufficiently annoys enough members, the forum will die a slow lingering death and people will move elsewhere. Perhaps a more engaging approach would ensure that the forum thrives and the membership and therefore Ad revenue continues (increases?)

 

[Noel]

Without wanting to get into the argument between Nev and Mike G, (there is obviously a bit of history there), and whilst i still consider myself to be a relative newbie around these parts, may I suggest a constructive way forward?

It strikes me that when someone has a whole workshop to dispose of, it may well be to the advantage of forum members that that person is able to list items on here for sale. In the case of some recent examples, a number of quality brand tools could be made available to members at reasonable prices without having to go through the rigmarole of ebay / gumtree. I don't think these people are trying to avoid selling fees etc, but simply trying to inform / sell to like minded people.

So my suggestion is twofold. Why not canvas members opinion ** on what the post count should be for selling tools, then introduce that as the limit. a simple poll should do the trick.

Additionally, in the recent cases of e.g. richarnold (plenty of posts - selling on behalf of someone else - but doesn't want to break the rules), Lindas (new member - no post count, but clearly wanting some good to come from their fathers tools) etc, perhaps they could be directed to a moderator who could make a decision to allow them to sell or not - bearing in mind their wares may benefit the members on here.

** Nev, simply stating that Charley pays the bills so it's his rules is somewhat shortsighted. If "Charley" or any other moderator sufficiently annoys enough members, the forum will die a slow lingering death and people will move elsewhere. Perhaps a more engaging approach would ensure that the forum thrives and the membership and therefore Ad revenue continues (increases?)

Thanks for your suggestions.
The FS board has worked well since it was introduced and is regarded as an "optional extra" for established members, nothing more. There are no plans to modify or change any of the guidelines and rules.

No need to put Charley in parenthesis, that's his name.
Your comments concerning the death of the forum are greatly exaggerated.