Thread: Charging NEW members for classifieds

I don't see how charging a fee will prevent garbage from being posted in the classifieds. In the end any fee will be simply passed on to the purchaser anyway. Perhaps charging a fee to everybody to post something weather the item sells or not to generate income may work if this is your intent.

We just need to keep outsiders out of the site or have them become part of the community.

I have been a member for a good amount of time but i dont post a whole lot. I am on here everyday reading learning and passing the time. I have sold quite a few razors here but i dont have one hundred posts i dont think. I dont want to have to now pay to post. I am definately not a e-bay guy selling random crap. Most of the stuff i have sold here i have bought here. I use them for a while sell them and find something else. Why should that cost me money and not someone with one hundred and one posts.

I don't see the need, nor the merit of a post count limit, or a fee for sales in the classifieds. They seem to be pretty well policed already. The issue seems to be that we don't want new members, who are new to straight shaving to buy crap, and be put off for life. I honestly don't think this is even an issiue. Anyone who wants to learn how to shave with a straight, and has gone to the bother of finding this site is obviously willing to do the research. They will probably read the forum, searching for any info they need for a month or more before buying anything. In that time, thy will have read many posts, and will know which members are helpful, and which to be wary of as they haven't seen any/many helpful posts from them. They will know who is reputable and who is not. This is obviously based on my own newbie experiences, but I do think it applies to most people on here.
As for newbies,selling stuff. What better place to offload your straight shaving gear if you find out it's not for you? The more senior members would be well placed to evaluate the merit of such sales, and bag themselves a bargain, or advise a lower price etc. Maybe the simple act of allowing reputable members to comment on ads from new members woud help. A new member may be trying to sell a poorly ground new razor for almost new price simply because they are not aware of the fault. Advice from a senior member as to a fair price would surely help in that situation.
As for the issue of funding. Voluntary contributions have worked for most other forums I have been a member of, and I don't see why that would not be the case here. I have gained a lot from this site and would certainly be willing to contribute to it's ongoing success.

Connor

In the end if your are going to have a classified area you are going to just have to take the good with the bad. if you start doing things to restrict and protect no matter how you do it there will be unintended consequences and the innocent will get hurt too.

I think when people make a decision on who to patronize they need to realize if they buy from someone who never seems to post or contribute they are taking an increasingly big chance as opposed to someone who is a regular.

If you are looking at generating revenues thats one thing but fees to restrict and protect are something else and I don't think it will work.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Even though the tide of opinion seems to be going against it, I am in favor of doing this or something else to prevent sales by people just out to make a buck off of this forum. A while ago, I raised not too subtle objections to one new member dumping yard sale crap in the classifieds. Though he claimed the razors were honed and shave ready, it became obvious very quickly that he did not know what he was talking about. Such sales are most likely to victimize new members. Unless new members can do something to demonstrate a level of actual competence, I don't think they should be trusted to make such claims.

It's an overused phrase, but I think selling in the classifieds should be considered a privilege, not a right. That privilege should be earned by some reasonable level of participation within the rest of the forum. If you contribute nothing, then there is no reason for you to be allowed to gain anything by being allowed to sell in the classifieds.

The member this person is referring to is me. He might as well have used my name since its not hidden. Dan, "OldSchool", Alex and others agreed and were absolutely correct in every accusation. I had no clue as to what I was doing or what the term "shave ready" meant. I even mailed the razor in question to someone who was willing to test the razor and proved that I had no clue as to what I was doing. I admitted it in a forum and have since tried to rectify the situation. So, I agree that there must be some standard. I also agree about the contributions he is referring too. What I mean is, if you do not regularly post restorations, you should limit comments in the forum as you have not provided your examples by which to declare your so-called "expertise". SO some people should live by their own words about contributing. Now, I have read that Lynn and other pros hone for classic and my first Dovo came from them so I can only assume that the razors I have since sold were honed properly as this was my standard. After this incident, I bought a Norotn 4K/8K and now have a 1K and chinese 12K and feel I do a farily good job (ie. no complaints thus far). SOme people (I won't name names) still think I can't restore anything and have plenty of negative comments, but most people have been very helpful to me in the learning process.
The person who purchased the razor from me has since purchased two additional razors and has referred me to someone who has also purchased from me outside of the SRP classifieds.
I can understand that there needs to be some standard, but I find that when I first started position there were plenty of objections and my ads were just deleted. I still dont think I have 100 posts, but I try to post meaningful and thoughtful posts and not just hogwash to use the classifieds. So I'll leave with this, if the moderators want to be sure, let a person selling send them an example to test and if its approved, them allow them to sell. Otherwise I think you should just charge for the membership and not for the classifieds.
By the way, I know I am inexperienced so the elders (much older than 26) should make the call. If it were biochemistry, then I would say listen to me. Its not so I am cheering for whomever makes the decision.

Originally Posted by treydampier

SOme people (I won't name names) still think I can't restore anything and have plenty of negative comments, but most people have been very helpful to me in the learning process.

On the off chance that you are referring to me, I suggest that you do not presume to assume what I think, as I have never made such a claim and have no intention of doing so. I appreciate that you are improving in your efforts, but if I see an error, as I did once, and point it out, I see no reason why that should be presumed to be a negative comment. I consider pointing out an error to be more helpful than empty praise.

Actually, that comment was not meant toward you, it was meant toward a person who makes fun of what I do. I apologize for the misunderstanding. This person understands that in truth I am not really restoring, rather just refurbishing and adding new parts to make razors look nice. The person is a friend from the big town of Moultrie, GA and has never used a straight razor but is in the antique business.

It is a tricky one and good points have been made on both sides I think.

The problem is, SRP is becoming a victim of its own success, in a way. It is the biggest community of straight-related stuff anywhere that I know of (online or otherwise). That is going to attract people who are not interested in the community aspect of the site, and simply want to use it as a captive market.

In terms of protecting newbies from unscrupulous sellers and their shoddy wares, I'd just like to say the following, if I may:

I was a newbie once, and I managed to stay away from Zeepk, Pakistan, and most of the other shoddy brands. How did I achieve this apparent miracle? I kept my mouth shut and my eyes and ears open. I feel, with the wealth of information, and people willing to advise, available here, that you only have yourself to blame if you end up with rubbish.

I do not want to sound harsh here, but why are we wanting to nanny people? We are grown ups. I do not believe it is our role to swaddle the unwary in blankets of "good intention" and "we know best". Let people make their mistakes - I have found I learn better that way, when it actually costs me something.

As far as keeping blatant opportunists away from the Classifieds, I would have thought that is a moderation issue. By all means, implement some automatic controls like minimum post counts or time limits, but nothing really works 100%. Human intervention is required IMO. Charging money might do the trick, who knows?

James.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

It is a tricky one and good points have been made on both sides I think.

The problem is, SRP is becoming a victim of its own success, in a way. It is the biggest community of straight-related stuff anywhere that I know of (online or otherwise). That is going to attract people who are not interested in the community aspect of the site, and simply want to use it as a captive market.

In terms of protecting newbies from unscrupulous sellers and their shoddy wares, I'd just like to say the following, if I may:

I was a newbie once, and I managed to stay away from Zeepk, Pakistan, and most of the other shoddy brands. How did I achieve this apparent miracle? I kept my mouth shut and my eyes and ears open. I feel, with the wealth of information, and people willing to advise, available here, that you only have yourself to blame if you end up with rubbish.

I do not want to sound harsh here, but why are we wanting to nanny people? We are grown ups. I do not believe it is our role to swaddle the unwary in blankets of "good intention" and "we know best". Let people make their mistakes - I have found I learn better that way, when it actually costs me something.

As far as keeping blatant opportunists away from the Classifieds, I would have thought that is a moderation issue. By all means, implement some automatic controls like minimum post counts or time limits, but nothing really works 100%. Human intervention is required IMO. Charging money might do the trick, who knows?

James.

A true conservative!

Originally Posted by JMS

A true conservative!

O-M-G!!! What is happening to me?????????



James.