MK5 Golf GTI
General => Testing and Forum Suggestion Box => Topic started by: stealthwolf on March 22, 2009, 11:29:40 pm
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There's been a spout of new members who seem to post what they have for sale and do not participate in the forum itself.
IMO this is an abuse of the system and this section of the forum should be off limits until at least 10, if not 20 or 30 posts. It's not that hard to be involved here.
Whaddya reckon?
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I agree in principle Stealth, but see this example from my point of view...
I have been a member of uk-mkiv's since January 2008 but have not posted at all. I merely signed up ages ago and kinda forgot about it. I simply don't have the time to trawl through several forums. But now I want to sell my OEM suspension. Theres little point selling it on here as most have it anyway, the same goes with golfgti.co.uk. UK-MKIV's is the best place to sell it because it contains people with Golfs that perhaps dont have sports suspension.
I am a reputable seller, but I dont contribute to that forum - firstly because I dont have time, and secondly because I don't feel as if I have much in common with the members, i.e. probably about 5% of the members will drive a GTI. OK, so the basic platform is the same, but it really bears down to time. My main reason for wanting to sell on that forum is because I feel that they are my primary target audience, and I would be helping them out also by providing a part that some may want.
Although - i appreciate that it doesn't always work as smoothly as that, and your always gunna get kn0b heads joining a forum and causing trouble in the for sale sections.
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I agree but it's still not too difficult to make five or ten reasonable posts (as opposed to just spam-type posts) regardless of whatever forum.
I personally consider use of the forum purely for selling without contributing an abuse of the forum.
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:fighting2:
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I agree but it's still not too difficult to make five or ten reasonable posts (as opposed to just spam-type posts) regardless of whatever forum.
I personally consider use of the forum purely for selling without contributing an abuse of the forum.
I think the 100 minimum post on uk-mkiv's is a little overkill, but perhaps as you say 20-30 could be implemented on this forum? :smiley:
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I agree I have been on another site where they have had a few problems with "bogus" members selling things and just taking the money. You now have to be a paid member on the site to gain access to the for sale section. Could be a way to gain revenue for the site too ;)
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There are a few ways we could go but they all require compromise in some way, in general it works ok at the moment, we really dont have any one who just joins to sell stuff, and as long as its stuff that our members can find useful for there car then the occasional sale like that is ok.
The only 2 issues we have that worry us are members jumping on a for sale post saying stuff like i got this amount for mine that's way to much.
Its up to the seller to decide what they want and if it doesn't sell then they will realise its to expensive. If our members feel its to expensive or indeed to cheap,then they should inform the buyer or seller via PM and not in the actual for sale post. :smiley:
But the main thing that worries me is selling stuff like wheels, brakes and suspension, if we know the seller then most of us will know the safety quality to some extent, but if its some one who hardly posts, then the condition of the wheels could be in a dangerous state. And i would not be able to sleep if we where in some way accountable for contributing a bit to a accident.
There have been no major drama's to date so let's see how it develops as our membership increases.
Dont forget there is the report to the moderator button, which we are obliged to investigate if pressed. :drinking:
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....... members jumping on a for sale post saying stuff like i got this amount for mine that's way to much.
Its up to the seller to decide what they want and if it doesn't sell then they will realise its to expensive. If our members feel its to expensive or indeed to cheap,then they should inform the buyer or seller via PM and not in the actual for sale post. :smiley:
what if someone is unsure of a value? ive seen (on other forums) things up for sale that i know where you can get them alot cheaper, would it be wrong to interfere if it's in the interest of a fellow member looking to buy? i totally understand what you're saying though
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The only 2 issues we have that worry us are members jumping on a for sale post saying stuff like i got this amount for mine that's way too much.
Maybe this should be a ruling? Allow Only people genuinely asking questions or replies to the sale post. Anyone who posts "I got mine from xx for half the price" should have that post deleted?
But the main thing that worries me is selling stuff like wheels, brakes and suspension, if we know the seller then most of us will know the safety quality to some extent, but if its some one who hardly posts, then the condition of the wheels could be in a dangerous state. And i would not be able to sleep if we where in some way accountable for contributing a bit to a accident.
How does this change from the present 1-poster sale post? Joe bloggs posts he has a set of Monza IIs for sale. It's his only post. Skinny Hew buys the set, doesn't realise they're reps and the day he fits them, he has an accident, all down to the dodgy rims.
Alternatively, Joe Bloggs posts a few messages, has a post count of 5, states he has a set of Monzas for sale....Skinny Hew has an accident because of the rims.
I see no difference - you still can't trust 100% who you're buying from. A few post counts shouldn't mean anything compared to the thousands others have. Someone like you should be reputable because of your 3000 spam posts. I'd be more wary of buying from someone who has a post count of 10 than you, and even more wary of someone who has a post count of 1.
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I dont think post count can determine the reliability and trustworthyness of a member at all...
I have 4 posts on uk-mkivs , and im 100% trustworthy when it comes to selling my OEM suspension!
People are just merely looking for a market to sell their products.
OK, so in an ideal world they should be well known on the forum before hand, but lifes not like that unfortunately :innocent:
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I guess its ok to say " look these exact same items are for sale here at less :happy2: , what i feel should be stopped is say for example some one sells a wheel for 70 quid on Ebay at the time it was the best they could get. Then 3 weeks later somebody puts the very same wheel up for sale for 120 quid. then the first chap comes back on and says i only got 70 for mine. Basically capping the price out of bitterness or ignorance, normally the first option. :chicken:
It is never going to be perfect and as long as the stuff we buy and sell is safe then the above is not to concerning, we just started getting a lot of this about a fortnight ago and we where getting a couple of complaint's :rolleye:
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^^ agreed, healthy competition is one thing but souring a legitimate advert would be unfair. knowing who you can and can trust could still be frought with risk regardless of post count, you pays ya money you takes ya chance etc etc
one forum i surf offer a reputation points system, reputations voted for by other members and their experience trading with each other scaled from 0-10
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That could be a very good shout VC . I wonder if PG can integrate that into this platform. :innocent:
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^^^ We already have a "karma" system available if we want to enable it???
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enable the karma? yes please it's a thing of beauty :innocent:
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.wired.com%2Fcars%2Fimages%2F2008%2F12%2F03%2Fkarma_prototype_rear.jpg&hash=182da145e1f5c0670d3474a3148b425c918c73fb)
The Fisker Karma is one of the hottest production car’s we have seen in ages, and so we thought we should share this with you. The designer edge that makes heads turn, with what we hope will still be in your price range to bump out any thoughts of a Mommy van.
Henrik Fisker, whose designs include the Aston Martin DB9 and the BMW Z8, has melded classic lines with liminal technology in a car that, like the Tesla Roadster, raises the bar of what is possible with green technology while making it sexy. The long wheelbase and wide stance give the car a European flair akin to the Maserati Gran Turismo.
Fisker Automotive has released photos of the production car it unveils next month at the Detroit auto show. It even keeps the rooftop solar panel  that silvery-chrome paint somehow makes it even sexier.
The only significant changes to the 408-horsepower super-luxe plug-in hybrid are a grille that’s a little bigger at the corners, an air intake that’s a little larger and an aerodynamic diffuser beneath the rear bumper. It’s impressive to see the production car hew so closely to the prototype because too often something that wows the crowd at an auto show gets watered down as it moves from concept to reality.
Of course, that isn’t a problem when the guy who designed the car is the same guy who founded the company building it.
This is one of the hottest production cars we have seen in ages, thus we thought we should share it with you! The Karma has the look and feel of designer class, but the competitive range of your pocket.
Beneath that aluminum and composite body is an aluminum spaceframe chassis cradling a pair of electric motors that together produce 300 kW (408 horsepower) and a stunning 959 ft-lbs of torque. Fisker claims the car, which weighs 4,650 pounds, will do zero to 60 in 5.8 seconds. Top speed is limited to 125 mph.
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and the award for the most random off topic post of the day goes to..........
VC :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
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:jumpmove: woohoo!
haha
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and the award for the most random off topic post of the day goes to..........
VC :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Why am I not surprised... :signLOL:
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That'll be every day then.......... :laugh:
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wel this went offtopic! lol... all items for sale should HAVE to have a picture of the exact item, not one from google images!
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^^ thats poor show :mad:
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Yes, it's very easy to think you know someone just from chatting on a forum. I only trust those I've either met (and formed my own judgement) or have got more detailed info about. I won't buy anything from fleaBay - Absolutely nothing! I don't care how cheap it is or what a good deal it's claimed to be or is.
If a seller can't be bothered to post a pic or detailed info, then that reflects a sloppy and uncaring attitude. [mentioning no names!]
Also, when an item is sold, it should be a rule that the seller bothers to modify his/her original topic title with the word "SOLD" in front. Jonnyc does this and is a glowing example of how sales should be conducted.
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Please Please Please can we get the sale section sorted!? Surely if something is for sale it has a price? If people want to use "offers" can it be "offers over".
What tends to happen is sellers put offers, then potential buyers make genuine offers (whether too high or too low), and then are given a hard time by other members, who automatically assume they are evil doers trying to make money off the community.
If a member does not post a price in a sale thread, can a mod request the seller has a price? At least that way people can either choose to buy or not, and we don't have to all go through the "guess the price in my head game"
Thanks :happy2:
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^^^^
I agree!
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Ok, I need to go into a huddle with the other mods to agree our way forward for the For Sale section as it is the single big reason for compliant on the site.
While this is underway I have temporarily locked the For Sale from new posts. Existing For Sales posts can be replied too.
If anyone has any more suggestions on the way this area of the site should work please let let us know.
Thanks
SteveP :happy2:
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did i do wrong inviting offers on my sale then? wasn't my intention if that's the case, hopefully it's explained well enough on my thread why there wasn't a price
apologies if so, no harm meant :innocent:
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did i do wrong inviting offers on my sale then? wasn't my intention if that's the case, hopefully it's explained well enough on my thread why there wasn't a price
apologies if so, no harm meant :innocent:
IMHO, offers is OK but a lot of people have complained about gazumping so we are trying to find a happy medium here :happy2:
So please don't take this as being directed at you VC :grouphug:
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oh no don't worry i don't :happy2: i don't bruise like that :wink:
but was worried i had fluffed things up then
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Yeah I didn't flag this up due to your thread alone VC, nor do I want to come across as some moaner. It really is odd though, I haven't experienced it on any other forum.
Nor do I have a problem with offers, but I think you need to have some kind of guide, as said: offers over etc etc
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The selling section in any forum needs its own rules. In my view, only people how have established themselves in the forum a little should be able to sell in the selling forum. Although all buyers purchase at their own risk, buying from a 'regular poster' does help the potential buyer a slight degree as they will be purchasing from a more trustworthy source.
Although the forum administrators can never guarantee a seller to be 100% genuine (hence why buyers purchase at their own risk), there are some rules that can be put into place in order to help the buyers a little further.
Here are the rules I think the forum should implement for the selling/buying/trading section.......
Please prefix the title of your thread with the following tags:
FS - For Sale
FT - For Trade
WTB - Want to Buy
Price Check - Price Check
1. In order to create a thread in the selling section the user must have a post count of 30 or above, AND have been an active member on the forum for at least 10 days.
(If you have to have a certain post count, peopel are more likely to contribute on the forum, rather then just join to sell a piece of kit and dissappear. However, you need to be careful since some people will join, and spam to get their post count up. Hence by saying the user needs to have 30 posts, AND be a registered user for 10 days, it gives the user some time to generate some quality posts. If the seller is genuine and trustworthy, he/she is likely to stick around and make some quality posts, and any potential buyers will be able to judge for themselves where to go ahead with a sale....)
* * Rules * *
Below are the rules for this forum. Please follow them, as they will be enforced strictly. Any posts seen to be unfit will be edited or deleted, and any infractions given as needed.
1) No sale lowballing. If you think someones price is too high or you want to make a lower offer, PM or e-mail them. There is nothing worse than if you are trying to sell something and someone says that price is too high. That scares off other prospective buyers. On our forums, a lowball is officially defined as an offer less than 75% of the asking price. Buyers offering less than 75% is perfectly fine, but please ask using the PM system.
2) Update your thread when your item(s) gets sold or are no longer available for sale. Report the thread or contact a moderator if you want the thread closed.
3) You MUST post a price in for ALL FS (For Sale) deals.
4) You cannot sell something you do not have in your immediate possession. You must provide pictures of it to show the condition and demonstrate it is in your possession (ie: picture of laptop with your forum username also in the picture, or a picture of the forum's website on your laptop's screen showing you logged in, or a piece of paper with your username on next to the item, etc).
5) Be courteous and professional when buying or selling, and please use commonsense.
6) List the payment methods accepted (IE. Paypal CC or non-CC, Money order, Check, COD)
7) Do not just post external links to eBay or another forum. Add all relevant information to your thread and you can link to eBay as long as previous rules are met.
8 ) You cannot include such things as +3% to cover Paypal fees. It is against the Paypal Terms and Conditions.
9) If you have sold items on eBay/Heat, post a link to your screen-name so users can verify your previous history of selling/trading/buying. If you have sold items previously on this forum, you may also post user names of those may act as references. If you claim to have eBay feedback, you MUST post a link to the feedback. Saying to PM for a user name is NOT acceptable.
10) You cannot ask for donations (and/or other freebies).
11) Absolutely no jokes in the selling forum. Transactions are serious and people will get irritated by jokes involving monetary loss.
12) Forum Staff and Moderators reserve the right to block any sellers who repeatedly fail to follow these rules. We have a zero-tolerance policy against sellers who market stolen or pirated goods, and those selling said goods may find themselves blocked upon their first offense. If it isn't legal, don't post it for sale...and please ask a moderator beforehand if you have any questions about your item or the legality of selling it.
13) If your post does not conform to these rules, forum staff and moderators reserve the rights to delete any of your listings without notice.
Mk5GolfGTI.co.uk is not responsible for any transactions: this is not eBay. All sales and transactions are done at buyers and sellers discretion and all risks are assumed by those parties only. Admins cannot help to resolve any disputes.
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99 % of that lot Ifti sounds spot on, thank you for taking the time to write it all out. A big percentage of this all ready exists, the problem is getting members to follow the rules especially when their is so many. When laid out like that it all sounds great, but if we posted them up in the for sale section 70% of our members wont even read them.
We have recently made a couple of changes so we will be checking to see if it improves this section in the long run.
Once again thanks for all the good advice. :drinking:
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Excellent set of rules, Ifti :happy2: - I've read them but I'm the kind of guy who reads a whole Manual or Handbook.
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If you were to adopt a set of rules like that, you need to be strict with their enforcement.
For example, on another forum i go to, they have some similar rules. If you omit one of the requirements, a moderator will post and inform you that you need to complete the post by the rules, and give sthe seller 24 hours to comply.
If they dont - thread gets deleted.
You could always have a template or layout under the rules. The seller then copies the layout, and pastes it into a new thread, then simply adds their data.....
Sorry, maybe Im getting carried away, but just throwing a few ideas out there ;)
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^^^^
I favour the idea of a template. I use a template for my posted Review topics and adapt it if appropriate.