Newbies selling equipment

[atp_design]

This is my biggest pet peeve with forums.
New members who sign up to simply sell their stuff in their first post.

You have to modify the selling criteria otherwise assumptions of fraud will be thorough in the For Sale thread. I.e. make a member have atleast 50 posts to their name first.

Not only is it disrespectful to the forum, forum sponsors and traders are ripped off by 'unknowns' with no proven history.

Would you buy a anything off ebay when the seller has ZERO feedback ?

 

[terri]

I appreciate your point. But we're not able to guarantee the honesty or reliability of a member who has 50 posts any more than one with 5. People must make their own assessments, including reading the disclaimer in the Buy & Sell forum before proceeding with any transaction - just as they would with eBay or any other online seller.

I fail to see how providing a Buy & Sell forum is "disrespectful". Rather, you are given the opportunity to make your own decisions. If something seems off about any transaction, don't complete it, and by all means report a post if you suspect blatant foul play.

 

[atp_design]

terri, by means of disrespectful i mean the moderators, administrators and those who pay for the forum hosting are being disrespected by those who simply sign up just to flog off their stuff.
It takes time and money to build a forum and i just feel like its an abuse of a free priviledge especially when the person hasnt previously introduced themselves nor contributed.
Just my 3 cents.

 

[terri]

terri, by means of disrespectful i mean the moderators, administrators and those who pay for the forum hosting are being disrespected by those who simply sign up just to flog off their stuff.
It takes time and money to build a forum and i just feel like its an abuse of a free priviledge especially when the person hasnt previously introduced themselves nor contributed.
Just my 3 cents.

And again: I do understand your point here. But the owner made the decision knowing full well this would be part of the equation. If it ever got to be a completely abusive situation we may want to reconsider. As it stands now it's an acceptable part of having a presence on the internet. Your support is appreciated, but we're big boys & girls...we can tolerate it.

 

[dslrchat]

My 2 cents,
You ask

Would you buy a anything off ebay when the seller has ZERO feedback ?

No I wouldn't,
And I doubt I would purchase anything from a New Unproven member here either.

I beleive it is up to the Buyer to be aware and careful, not TPF.

On same token, if TPF became aware of a scam or issue, I am sure the would take appropriate action.

 

[Valethar]

Would you buy anything off ebay when the seller has ZERO feedback ?

Flawed logic. Applying that criteria to new sellers/buyers would mean that there were never any new people buying or selling, and would eventually mean the system self destructs.

You're assuming guilt or fraudulent intent when you have zero evidence to the contrary. Perhaps you've been burned before on a deal you didn't properly research, but that doesn't mean you should project that on every new person you encounter.

Under certain situations, it would pay to be cautious, especially when you're looking at high ticket items, or items easily counterfeited, etc... and in that case, I can see not dealing with the person if it doesn't feel legit.

Making someone have 50 posts here wouldn't do much to stop them from ripping someone off if they were serious enough. They could have that many posts in a week, two at most, simply by asking questions and adding replies to existing topics until they reached the threshold.

As a side note, despite the fact that I don't have anything I want to sell anyone here, as a relatively new member of these forums I resent the fact that you assume by default that any new faces here are criminals.

Not exactly a welcoming attitude, and disrespectful to those of use who came here to learn from and eventually contribute to the community.

 

[atp_design]

Flawed logic. Applying that criteria to new sellers/buyers would mean that there were never any new people buying or selling, and would eventually mean the system self destructs.

You're assuming guilt or fraudulent intent when you have zero evidence to the contrary. Perhaps you've been burned before on a deal you didn't properly research, but that doesn't mean you should project that on every new person you encounter.

Maybe its just me but i would like to know the seller before i exchange money. This is a forum and not ebay, hence why i feel its polite to introduce yourself first before you use the For Sale area. I havent been burnet by zero feedback sellers, i just choose to look elsewhere.

Not exactly a welcoming attitude, and disrespectful to those of use who came here to learn from and eventually contribute to the community.

Hence why i condone the use of the introduction thread and forum interactivity first.

 

[Rachelsne]

for me it depends how much it costs, if its a $3.00 nail varnish and they have severl clothes/health and beauty items listed on ebay and no feedback. if I was spending more than $50. I would be more wary.

When people place a 'brand new item' that they bought three days ago I lie to remind them that they should be able to get there money back from the store they purchased it at

 

[Mitica100]

All other forums I visit actually only allow subscribers to sell. To buy, you don't have to be a subscriber. I wouldn't mind that happening here.

 

[Valethar]

Hence why i condone the use of the introduction thread and forum interactivity first.

Commendable, were it done properly. Unfortunately, your recent posts in the buy/sell area is not what I would call 'condoning the use of the introduction thread'. They come across more as angry flames instead.

Perhaps you were having a bad day, so I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt there. I just personally think that it could have been done better, or not at all. You don't know the person, you have no idea of their motives, yet you jump in and all but accuse them directly of being a thief.

If you don't like the way the system works on the boards, by all means, I encourage you to work with the admins to see if it's feasible to change the process. Better that than immediately abusing a new poster because he offended your sense of how things should be done, especially given that there are no posted rules that would appear to have been broken.

Yes, I agree, some transactions may look like they're too good to be true. However there are better ways to handle the situation. Asking for pictures of the items, preferably with a date stamp. Asking for references such as an eBay account in good standing that can be verified. I'm sure there are other things that can be done as well.

Attacking people for posting there is not the answer.

 

[atp_design]

Valether, discussion forums are just that, for the purpose of discussions. I value the talent and expertise on here from so many who have helped me and helped others. Most of us are here to share our common interest in photography. Yes there are some who simply have no interest in interacting and i find that rude.
Before you became a member i have witnessed a few new members create accounts, first post was something to sell fraudulent stuff and then vanish, only to rip off the honest forum member of all their money.
Im not having a bad day, i just hate that kind of behaviour on forums.

 

[seabug]

I would not have discovered this site if I were not looking to sell some equipment. I am an avid photographer and have discovered a lot of great sites and thought this was one of them. I find it rather complicated to use and am still learning the ropes. I do have equipment to sell at a very good deal and I think some people would appreciate finding affordable equipment. I hope to figure out to post pictures but can not figure it out as yet. I do find this site is complicated compared to others. I just wanted to say this for all the newbies, we all start somewhere, gives us a chance.