Buy/Sell Suggestion

[dL]

I think we need to implement a rule where a poster can only start a thread on Buy/Sell if and only if he has 30 posts (for e.g.) or higher.  This ensures that the person is not registering here solely to make businesses and/or to sell a single thing and then go away.  This also heightens the confidence level of the buyers here as they won't have to deal with potential strangers.  Violators should result in the thread deletion and a warning from moderators.

What do you guys think?

dL

[M-Ziggy]

That's what the mazda3 forum has. I think it's a good idea.

[dL]

And Revscene too, I believe.

dL

[M-Ziggy]

I don't think revscene does. I signed up there simply to sell stuff and there were no restrictions. On m3f I had to have 50 posts and some other conditions met before I could sell anything. It'd be good for a little bit of piece of mind somewhat knowing the seller....if that's even possible over the internet.

[w00tgasm]

They do.
25 post minimum.

But then again, they do have a significantly larger member base.  But the post minimum has it's cons too.  ie. post whoring to get to the minimum then posting their ad.  But either way, it's a good system, implemented by a lot of forums.

[dL]

Well mods can track post whoring.  If they just post minimally to the minimum post limit (i.e. posting with one word answers) then post a Buy/Sell right away, then they shall be warned as well.

dL

[cng]

+1 for the idea

However, a con I see is sometimes maybe we would miss out on an good item for good price as the seller is a legit but too lazy to meet requirements before selling on our forum.

[dL]

I've thought about that con as well.  In that case, if the seller really wants to sell it, he/she can contact one of our moderating teams privately and telling them what they are selling and why they should be able to post this item even though it is under the post limit.  Usually these types of people will be company-based, then in that case, they can potentially be one of our future sponsors.

dL

[tonyzoomzoom]

Thank you for your suggestion, dL (and others' comments as well).  We had discussed changing some of the buy / sell rules in our last mod meeting.  One of the points that came up was this "minimum posts required".  In the end, we decided that no minimum posts are required to post in the FS section as we are not noticing many "newbies" posting there.

As for the confidence in buying from other members, I can only continue to stress that it is "buyers beware", irrespective of whether the seller has 1 post or 1,000 posts.  If you are not comfortable when meeting up, just bring along a buddy.  An extra set of eyes often helps.

One more thing, no commercial goods are allowed to be sold in the FS sections - only personal items.

We will continue to monitor the FS threads to see if there is a huge influx of newbies posting and whether it warrants us to revisit this minimum post issue again.

[M Speed]

Great idea but that add extra programming and loads on moderators' duties.

Minimum post rule is stupid as one can make posts within hours without whoring the forum. We don't have enough traffic to warrant the use of such rules.

As for commercial goods, it is very difficult to class as personal or commercial. Just like I see an automotive sponsor here always selling computers.

[tonyzoomzoom]

Overseas Auto is a sponsor here so he would have the right to sell commercial goods.  Would it help if I moved his computer FS threads into his sponsor section?

[M Speed]

As for a sponsor, shouldn't it restricted to the commercial goods that store sells?  or one paid sponsorship and all goods can be sold? Regardles if you see his computers are related to his shop (shop is selling, not him) then I think he should only post in his designated seaction.

[tonyzoomzoom]

Perhaps.  But we currently don't have a rule in place that restricts what a sponsor can sell.

[M Speed]

then my suggestion is to tighten up the "big birds" rather then add new rules to the little ones.

[coyote]

I think less restrictions is better. I think the for sale section is something that everybody likes to check out, and one thing that will bring people back to this website. If you start restricting things then less people will use the board.
As for the Sponsors selling, I would say if they are selling something not related to their business, then that should be in the general for sale section.
I would also like to see something to help show what the sponsors actually sell better. Right now you have to click on the Sponsor link, and then the individual Sponsor before seeing anything. Maybe on the Sponsor Page there could be some quick links to the top two or three things that each place is trying to sell, or whatever special they are trying to advertise? This would make it easier to find what you are looking for at a glance.

[kar-yin]

this is not an actual store, its online buying and with that in mind, there are always risks involved. if you are not comfortable with the seller or the item, dont buy. if the item or seller seems sketchy, dont buy and move on.

but, just cause they seem, doesn't mean they are. i've bought and sold tons of stuff (cell phones, keke) online before and still do and have not had any problems.

bottom line, if your sacred about online buying, go to a store all i can say.

i dont see a problem with the buy/sell section and even with the 30 post req. thing applied, it only takes a good day to get 30+ posts. and like tony said, no matter if a person has 30 or 3000, they still might have the potential to rip you off.

[M Speed]

I think less restrictions is better. I think the for sale section is something that everybody likes to check out, and one thing that will bring people back to this website. If you start restricting things then less people will use the board.
As for the Sponsors selling, I would say if they are selling something not related to their business, then that should be in the general for sale section.
I would also like to see something to help show what the sponsors actually sell better. Right now you have to click on the Sponsor link, and then the individual Sponsor before seeing anything. Maybe on the Sponsor Page there could be some quick links to the top two or three things that each place is trying to sell, or whatever special they are trying to advertise? This would make it easier to find what you are looking for at a glance.

speaking from a guy who is selling the steering wheel to trip computer mod, aka commercial product.

why would a member get money from a website that one never pays for? not even a premium member......

the use of buy/sell section is privilage, not a right.

[coyote]

Sure, I have a vested interest.
Right now (correct me if I am wrong) it costs $100 to become a sponsor.
For someone trying to get a business off the ground, it is a significant cost.
I want to provide members with something I think they want. If you want to limit that, I will take my business elsewhere.
Once the business is going, then we will become a sponsor.
If you must know, right now we are down $1000 trying to get this thing going.

I'm just saying I don't think it is in the best interest of anybody to try to impose strict limits. I think the mods generally understand this.
Some of us aren't post whores either - I beleive mazda3forums allows for sale posts if you've browsed the site for more than 24 hours or some such time frame, even if your post count is low. I think it took me months to get 30 posts.

And ask yourself what difference does it really make? Isn't it about creating a forum that people want to visit and to try to get more traffic and interest in the forum? Or are you trying to restrict things and make it an exclusive club?

[M Speed]

we had a few members who were selling things that we wanted here. You could talk to the moderaters here to see if other alternative can be taken to make this a win-win situation (for example, some started for each unit of good sold, $X will be donated toward the forum).

This forum is not free, someone is paying for it. Thus letting any people come in and make a profit...you think that is fair? would you go into a mall and start selling your product without rent?

[coyote]

Makes sense. I would maybe like to see a minimum in sales before imposing fees.
Maybe say after $500 in sales, then 5% of sales (through the board) goes to pay for the sponsor price until it is paid for.

Also don't forget that the Sponsors quite often give sales and benifits to members to help pay back a little to the community. Obviously this isn't a rule, but I think it is a bit of "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine".