Thread: Charging NEW members for classifieds

Originally Posted by mkevenson

It seems to me that the INTENT of this thread is to discuss how to prevent unscrupulous sellers and to prevent unaware newbie buyers from purchasing a product that is "no good" and or way too expensive for what it is..

give me a break

unscrupulous sellers ???

people do read a lot before any purchase
and where is the FUNDAMENTAL rule
Caveat emptor
"buyer be aware"

YOU can not regulate stupidity or lazyness

Originally Posted by wapienica

give me a break

unscrupulous sellers ???

people do read a lot before any purchase
and where is the FUNDAMENTAL rule
Caveat emptor
"buyer be aware"

YOU can not regulate stupidity or lazyness

We want to discourage unscrupulous sellers, sure.

You wouldn't rip off your friend, right?

Or worse yet ... your friend ripping you off.

Lets face it ... No one likes to get burned. This board's classified ads are basically run on a merit system that some people take advantage of...

Caveat emptor should not be a factor. This isn't ebay, ya know.

Originally Posted by Whiskers

...

Or worse yet ... your friend ripping you off.

Caveat emptor should not be a factor. This isn't ebay, ya know.

with friends like that who needs friends anyway

buyer be aware should always apply, this is a natural way to weed out people looking for quick and dishonest $$.

You have to remember one thing, people can always leave a comment under the ad , so if you see something suspicious
do not hesitate VOICE YOUR OPINION under the item

Just thought I would my 2 cents in here. If the worry is people getting ripped off why not go with the approach mentioned above of having people who view comment combined with a trader rating section and comment after each sale. I know ebay does this as well as some other forums I am on. If some one gets a good deal etc they post something along the lines of "Item as described, prompt shipment, good service" etc. And the same for bad.

On the other forums I will look at such comments before purchasing and if they say things like "never recieved, not as described" etc I will not deal with them. This will not work for the first time purchasers but will help to establish who has been around for a while is reputeable and if combined with other methods can be effective without charging a newbie who is experimenting with different things and would like to try and get some money back on the stuff he or she doesn't like. (

This is an open forum, but it is also a specialized club of wet shavers. WE determine the kinds of results in the classifieds by our actions. WE can choose to keep the classifieds an unparalleled place to get great shaving straights, or we can let it descend into Caveat Emptor if we like. I choose the former. I think that any charge for new members would only attract problems by showing them which door to use. I would also like to see the classifieds kept for members who have 'earned the privilege' of posting classifieds. Since I am also an inclusive kind of guy, screening n00bie classifieds might not be a bad idea, rather than simply forbidding them entirely.

X

Originally Posted by xman

...I would also like to see the classifieds kept for members who have 'earned the privilege' of posting classifieds. Since I am also an inclusive kind of guy, screening n00bie classifieds might not be a bad idea, rather than simply forbidding them entirely.

X

does anybody here have any negative experience from using classified ads ?
seems like it is easy to demonize the whole situation and kill the free market approach

I'm against any purchasable privileges on this website.
If there's a problem with the classifieds, then I would restrict selling to senior members (post count 100).
People who aspire to sell junk can write 100 quick posts, but they can also just as easily pay the small fee and add it to the selling price.

It strikes me that in 2 weeks time, two threads are started about making certain forum options (partially) payable. In the other thread, a lot of members declared being willing to make a voluntarily financial contribution, if funds become a problem. So would I.

Bart.

Originally Posted by Bart

I'm against any purchasable privileges on this website.
If there's a problem with the classifieds, then I would restrict selling to senior members (post count 100).
People who aspire to sell junk can write 100 quick posts, but they can also just as easily pay the small fee and add it to the selling price.

It strikes me that in 2 weeks time, two threads are started about making certain forum options (partially) payable. In the other thread, a lot of members declared being willing to make a voluntarily financial contribution, if funds become a problem. So would I.

Bart.

Bart, I thought that it was interesting that in this thread the need for a new server was brought up and the pay for new members to be in the classifieds was mentioned as a way to help pay for the upgrades. In the last thread asking for money to add specific features it was stated that the site was self sufficient and didn't need general contributions. Hmmmm.

Let me clarify.. We are headed towards a new server.. We don't need members to pay for it. The membership idea was floated out there, as we had several people request it, and we wanted to give the idea to the community.. We're huge believers in letting you steer the direction of the site.

This idea was floated by me, as a way to protect the integrity of the classifieds.. And potentially take any revenue from it, and put it into the monthly giveaway..

None of these ideas that we're talking about are money making schemes by SRP.. It's not going into my pocket or Lynn's.. But we like the idea of putting these ideas out into the open, for discussion.. After all, this site is about your as much or more than it's abou t us.

Thanks
David

da bomb answered my query!