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Folks I am going to jump in here. The reason the BST was changed was for a lot of the reasons you state above it was a source of problems. And if you look at other forums there BST are full of the same thing. It has resulted i
n arguements threats and to the point of people almost if not getting banned.
We are a site for information and friendship.
It is perhaps unfortunate, but all we can pretty much do is try to reason with members in PM. I know what its like to want to comment and warn others of items FS that really belong on ebay due to their misrepresentation, its hard to hold back sometimes, coz you just want to be helpful and avoid seeing people get ripped off.
If I were to offer a newbie some advice before they purchase their first razor, it would be to spend some time reading the forums and gathering info first, then they should know what to look for. Also I would recommend the info on ebay, (I don't have the link ATM) which was written by Bill Ellis IIRC about purchasing from the bay. That info is both very helpful and useful.
All that said though, if there is something you really object to and don't think you can overlook, then shoot a PM to one of the mods, and they will take it from there.
Folks I tam going to jump in here. The reason the BST was changed was for a lot of the reasons you state above it was a source of problems. And if you look at other forums their BST are full of the same thing. It has resulted in arguements threats and to the point of people almost if not getting banned.
We are a site for information and friendship. The classfied was set up to keep the crap out of the site but still give a place for members to sell and buy things. A sale is between the buyer and the seller. Commen sense must prevail. If some buys something in the classidieds or anywhere on the internet without checking in on it. Well that was not the case. There is a wealth of knowledge in the forum to reasearch any purchase. If a buyer chooses not to that is there choice. That also goes for sellers they can list their product as they feel fit. Value is in the eyes of the buyer. It is none of our places to say they overpaid or got ripped off. If they are happy that is all that matters. If they feel they did not get what they expected that is between them and the seller. We are all grown adults. I have used the classieds and love them. By the way someone buy the rest of my stuff so I can list more lol. There were also people that bought through the BST and felt we were responsible. It is simple you are butying something on the internet do your research and were a great place for that. The classfieds are easy quick and a great place to sell and buy. All that said we do moderate the classifieds tomake sure people are following the guidlines. They way someone describes their product, rates it or prices it is up to them. That said I do comended those looking out for others. But a purchase or sale is a private transaction and the classifieds keep it that way.
I am typing on my Q and driving so sorry for any typos or any lack of clarity plaese feel free to ask me any questions on my post. And those that now me well I know stop driving and postining :-)
Well, for your sake as well as ours, please drive more carefully than you post!:D
I do appreciate and acknowledge your comments. I wonder if perhaps in the future if someone has something to say, pro or con, it might be more appropriate to ask about it or comment on it in the Auction Talk section of the forum, rather than as a comment in the Classified section? This would be a means for newbies to get advice about a particular item without any resulting discussion being attached to the ad itself. Given the way that the Auction section is currently used primarily for ebay items, it could easily expand as a resource to cover the Classified section.
I think everyone assumes, that the seller on ebay is not a member of SRP, hence the discussions and talk about price etc. At least we might hope they are not a member.Quote:
Originally Posted by Utopian
Actually, I have seen several Auction talk discussions that have ended up with the ebay seller joining in and identifying himself as a member.
The only problem I see with not commenting on condition or pricing (within reason) is for newbies. I agree people need to research themselves but there isn't a lot of info out there other than forums like this and the general advice to all newbies looking for a straight is "buy one from the members here on the classifieds, you can't go wrong" While I know that to be the case 95% of the time it's hard for newbies to know the 5% to avoid. Rather than challenge condition or pricing I think it's better to ask a simple question for your own sake and for others interested such as "Is that a small chip I see in the blade" or "Are those heavy blemishes spotting or corrision or pitting" just my 2 cents. I agree that outright pricing disagreements don't belong there but simple informative questions seem perfectly ok and beneficial to all.
I absolutely agree. I fear that absent the self-policing that was so prevalent in the old BST, the number of people selling questionable quality stuff will rise. I completely understand SRP's decision to bifurcate the classifieds from the rest of the fourm. I just think that the slack should be taken up by allowing or even encouraging comments or questions about stuff in the classifieds in the same manner that the auction talk section has been used to discuss razors for sale on ebay and other places
I don't like to see people get ripped off either but personally, I lean towards Don's 'mind your own business' policy. My deal is to buy from those with good reps, good pix, and they answer all the questions that I ask. If any of those are negative, I don't buy. Simple.
It drives me nuts to see (on other forums) self-appointed expert buyer advocates, who have no intention of buying an item, commenting on something that is really none of their business.
I haven't spent much time on the SRP lately, but I've noticed a huge increase in active membership. There are quite a few names I don't recognize. Across the board, this creates a condition of relative anonymity, where an unscrupulous seller could take advantage of an uninformed buyer.
However, we have always been a community of gentlemen and behaved so (with a few exceptions, but I'm talking in general). That is why, in theory, both systems should work.
The reason I would have preferred the old BST format is because it's open to discussion. Prospective buyers could ask questions in public and have them answered for everyone to see. While it might be the buyer's responsibility to get educated in general, the BST allowed for the prospective buyer to get educated about the specific item.
Another reason why the BST forum was superior was that the prospective buyer could do a search on all similar items sold in the past and get a better idea of the value and how various factors affect it.