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Originally Posted by PatriceJ
when i open a classified ad, the first thing i check is the member's join date.
if they've been here less than 6 months, i next check their profile to see their posting history. if their history is overloaded with classifieds to sell i consider that person a poser. that is, somebody pretending to be a member who is here only to stick her/his hand into our pockets. i resent that. the board is free to us. it is not free to Admin. there are expenses involved. advertising revenue can offset those expenses. ideally, they would generate some profit. the more often he breaks even or makes a profit, the more he can afford to add to the board and offer to us for free. people who want to exploit board members as a market should have to pay for their ads. that way, the rest of us can remain free to post occassional ads offering our extra supplies to each other at rock bottom prices without having to pay any membership or advert fees. our classified section was created to give members an easy way to buy/sell/trade amongst ourselves so we can help each other makes ends meet. it was never intended as a place for professionals to ply their wares. let's say you belong to a quilt guild. members are allowed to bring things to meetings to buy/sell/trade with each other. some creep shows up and "joins" but the first thing out of her mouth is "i have such a deal for you." all that member ever contributes to guild meetings are "opportunities" to get in on "bargains". (she may drop in a line or two of general conversation to "cover her tracks".) are you seriously going to tell me that wouldn't ruffle just about every feather in the guild? they'd run her out of town on a rail, nicely tarred and feathered. the same principle applies here. we are a vitual guild; an ongoing party among friends; a huge extended family. the issue is not whether the seller is honest. the issue is whether the seller is truly one of us or just somebody hoping we're stupid enough to believe they are so they can take our money and run laughing to the bank. |
Originally Posted by tlrnhi
Originally Posted by PatriceJ
when i open a classified ad, the first thing i check is the member's join date.
if they've been here less than 6 months, i next check their profile to see their posting history. if their history is overloaded with classifieds to sell i consider that person a poser. that is, somebody pretending to be a member who is here only to stick her/his hand into our pockets. i resent that. the board is free to us. it is not free to Admin. there are expenses involved. advertising revenue can offset those expenses. ideally, they would generate some profit. the more often he breaks even or makes a profit, the more he can afford to add to the board and offer to us for free. people who want to exploit board members as a market should have to pay for their ads. that way, the rest of us can remain free to post occassional ads offering our extra supplies to each other at rock bottom prices without having to pay any membership or advert fees. our classified section was created to give members an easy way to buy/sell/trade amongst ourselves so we can help each other makes ends meet. it was never intended as a place for professionals to ply their wares. let's say you belong to a quilt guild. members are allowed to bring things to meetings to buy/sell/trade with each other. some creep shows up and "joins" but the first thing out of her mouth is "i have such a deal for you." all that member ever contributes to guild meetings are "opportunities" to get in on "bargains". (she may drop in a line or two of general conversation to "cover her tracks".) are you seriously going to tell me that wouldn't ruffle just about every feather in the guild? they'd run her out of town on a rail, nicely tarred and feathered. the same principle applies here. we are a vitual guild; an ongoing party among friends; a huge extended family. the issue is not whether the seller is honest. the issue is whether the seller is truly one of us or just somebody hoping we're stupid enough to believe they are so they can take our money and run laughing to the bank. |
I'm new here....and it wasn't me!!!!! I read in that post that new members should wait a while before putting anything up for sale so that the older members could get to know us and trust us. And that's what I'm doing even though I do have something I would like to put in the classified. I'll wait.
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I honestly haven't bought or sold anyting on here yet, but I have to say, it drives me nuts. I was just looking at a "too good to be true" sale posting. The woman joined quite some time ago, but EVERY one her posts was a classified ad. No conversations, nothing else. Don't know if we can report that kind of thing or not but it is enough to drive me nuts!
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I always look at the poster to see if I "know" them. Sometimes it means now thinking, do I wait or do I buy? It goes quickly. I shy away from new posters, just until I know them better.
Most times the items I love are gone instantly. |
Buyer beware. It's not a new concept, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded. That being said, I've bought some really neat fabric from one of our members! And it was a great deal!
If the classified posts are not your thing, turn them off. Admin has set it up so we don't have to read content we have no interest in. I would hate for someone to quit participating because of the classified posts. If you need help opting out of those notices, I'd be happy to walk you through the process. It's easy. |
Since I have bought and sold machines on Ebay, I like to see things for sale here, too. And I think some just need to skip reading the classified section if they are not interested. I read it for curiosity's sake, and I do hope that if someone is stung by an offer that was not as pictured or described that someone would tell us about it, too! I still think that one person's trash is another person's treasure, and the sewing machine you might not want is one I might love to buy!!
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Originally Posted by beachlady
When I look at the classifieds and don't know the name I always look at the joining date. I have only bought a couple of things here and so far so good. I would not buy from a newbie and I think some of the things posted lately have been priced way too high.
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i deleted a few posts. i think this conversation will be more helpful if we keep it general. let's avoid the temptation to name names.
discussion ... good respectful debate ... good arguments ... not good don't make me pull over. ;-) |
Originally Posted by PatriceJ
i deleted a few posts. i think this conversation will be more helpful if we keep it general. let's avoid the temptation to name names.
discussion ... good respectful debate ... good arguments ... not good don't make me pull over. ;-) |
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