# The "For Sale" Forum...



## Scilly Suffolk (29 May 2012)

,,,is becoming the source of friction.

There are two causes::
1) advertisers don't read "PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING" before posting and
2) self-appointed moderators are filling the vacuum left by official moderators.

The rules regarding eBay are also ambiguous.

Is it possible to make For Sale ads subject to scrutiny _before_ they are posted? In other words, they have to be approved by a moderator before they are posted?

If they aren't up to scratch, then don't tell them the reason, just cancel the ad and re-direct them to "PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING".

Similarly, in the short term ask moderators to concentrate their attention on the classifieds and delete inappropriate and inapplicable comments, with a re-direction (via PM) to "PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING".

This would increase the observance of your regulations: "ignorance is no defence in Law".

With regards to eBay, could you please clarify your intentions: do you want to prevent cross-promotion ("Hey, check my eBay sale!") or require that ads note if goods are advertised elsewhere (regardless of of where and without promotion).

Yours constructively,

Jim.


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## Norm (29 May 2012)

One cuckoo doesn't make a spring and I see little benefit in asking for the mods to concentrate on the for sale section because of one thread. The report button appears at the bottom of every post and there's usually someone from the mod team watching the reports.

As for the auction sites, the rules are " _do not_ list items you are selling on auction web sites". I'm not sure what is unclear about that.


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## Shaun (29 May 2012)

Thanks for the feedback. 

You'll notice in my *announcement* that I have asked people to *report* inappropriate posts in the classifieds forums so that we moderators can look into it and take action if we feel it is necessary. This is the best way to deal with anything you think is out of place in classifieds (_or anywhere else on CC for that matter_).

With regard to auction links; at the moment we _don't_ allow you to sell items in For Sale that you are _also_ (at the same time) selling at auction elsewhere. I'm considering changing this to allow auction links, perhaps in a separate forum, but at the moment that little tweak is buried deep on the to-do list. 

Our classifieds actually run very well and lots of members benefit from them so I don't feel the need to change how they operate for the moment - other than the small changes I've made recently.

Cheers,
Shaun


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## dellzeqq (30 May 2012)

Norm said:


> *One cuckoo doesn't make a spring* and I see little benefit in asking for the mods to concentrate on the for sale section because of one thread. The report button appears at the bottom of every post and there's usually someone from the mod team watching the reports.
> 
> As for the auction sites, the rules are " _do not_ list items you are selling on auction web sites". I'm not sure what is unclear about that.


Were you leaning on a farm gate and sucking on a corncob pipe when you wrote that?

The classifieds work for me


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## Scilly Suffolk (30 May 2012)

I missed Shaun's announcement, which does pretty much cover things (I largely use the forum via What's New and Alerts, so with it being posted at 2:00am it must have been pushed out of sight down the list). Had I seen it, I probably wouldn't have felt the need to start this thread.

It wasn't _just_ Ramses' thread (but this is what prompted me to write), but also this one. You don't have to read too many threads in For Sale to come across other instances where non-mods are posting about breaches of forum rules.

There also seems to be a recent increase in "bumping" and there is at least one long-term forum user who has not declared that an item is advertised elsewhere.

So no, not _one_ contentious thread (or cuckoo even).

What wasn't clear about the eBay rule, when read in conjunction with the requirement to declare if it was advertised elsewhere, was if it was prohibited to advertise something being sold on eBay or if it just needed to be declared that it was up for sale somewhere else.

Any how, like I say, had I seen Shaun's announcement I probably wouldn't have started this thread.


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## Shaun (30 May 2012)

You wanted to make it work better and that's a _good_ thing - and you're not alone in missing my posts in the site news forum ...


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## Garz (24 Jun 2012)

fossala said:


> Why has many posts on here been deleted?


 


ianrauk said:


> I have just checked.
> They were deleted due to being off topic.
> This is from the 'for sale' rules sticky.
> *Please only post if you are interested in the item/s being offered. Off-topic posts may be removed.*


 
I am reluctant to post on this section any more for this very reason.

There was a seller calling people tw*ts which got editted out making some others look like the bad guys, I for one seemed to be the only regular highlighting the rule flaunters. This is not ebay where you can pick up an item for more than retail. Why try sell cycling items to cycling folk for "best price" seems daft but anyway good luck to the sellers nonetheless.


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## Scilly Suffolk (24 Jun 2012)

[QUOTE 1869051, member: 45"]I don't think it's "becoming", based on one contentious thread. It's always been pretty amiable. And if you read Shaun's request posted yesterday he's pretty much covered it.[/quote]



Norm said:


> One cuckoo doesn't make a spring and I see little benefit in asking for the mods to concentrate on the for sale section because of one thread. The report button appears at the bottom of every post and there's usually someone from the mod team watching the reports.
> 
> As for the auction sites, the rules are " _do not_ list items you are selling on auction web sites". I'm not sure what is unclear about that.


You were saying...


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## Shaun (25 Jun 2012)

I've moved Garz post here because it is more appropriate to the feedback section.


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## Shaun (25 Jun 2012)

As I've said previously we can't check every post/thread in for sale so we rely on members reporting things to us that they think are inappropriate. The posts that were removed from the Brooks thread were not of interest to the seller - they were a discussion between two members about whether a Brooks discount code still worked or not.

Using forums for classifieds is not ideal but it does offer everyone the ability to comment on a sale; this can be good when people want to discuss a sale and/or barter, ask questions, request photos, provide positive feedback about something they own, etc. but it can also lead to people having off-topic discussions that disregard the seller and/or potential buyers.

Bluntly posting "_You can get this cheaper at <insert web link>_" isn't particularly helpful either. The seller is unlikely to know the retail price at every online outlet and if they have paid a high price for something and want to try and recover as much of that cost as possible, that is their choice. If they don't get any interest they will have to consider lowering their price.

If something is _wildly_ overpriced and the seller has made an obvious mistake, point it out politely to them so they can make an adjustment - but otherwise we have to let buyers work out for themselves what they are prepared to pay for something and do their own research. The only exception to this is if you feel someone is _deliberately_ trying to rip off your fellow CycleChat members; if that's the case we _definitely_ want to know about it so we can monitor and take action.

We've done very well over the years and it is not an easy balance to strike sometimes but if you are not interested in an item and have nothing constructive to add, don't post; If you _do_ see off-topic or negative posts in a classified thread that you feel are inappropriate - please report them.

Thanks,
Shaun


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## Scilly Suffolk (25 Jun 2012)

Firstly, I would like to apologise for my last post: it was argumentative and not constructive.

With the benefit of hindsight I would probably have let "sleeping dogs lie"; but seeing as I'm here, what strikes me is that I just don't see this sort of thing on other forums (LFGSS, Retrobike, CTC, YACF, Bike Radar & Road.cc)...


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## phil_hg_uk (25 Jun 2012)

It is a pet peave of mine all these "_you can get this cheaper at x_" postings on the for sale forum, I have sold things on other forums and it is only this one that this seems to happen. You should be able to list items for whatever you like and if you think it is too expensive just dont buy it but keep your opinions on the price to yourself.


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## ianrauk (25 Jun 2012)

phil_hg_uk said:


> It is a pet peave of mine all these "_you can get this cheaper at x_" postings on the for sale forum, I have sold things on other forums and it is only this one that this seems to happen. You should be able to list items for whatever you like and if you think it is too expensive just dont buy it but keep your opinions on the price to yourself.


 

Spot on.
It's not rocket science is it?


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## Norm (25 Jun 2012)

If it is poor form to start a discussion about prices on a For Sale thread, does that mean it is also poor form to post a link to an item you are selling in a discussion thread?


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## ianrauk (25 Jun 2012)

Once again. A new for sale post.
Off topic smart arse remarks have had to be removed.


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## Garz (25 Jun 2012)

phil_hg_uk said:


> It is a pet peave of mine all these "_you can get this cheaper at x_" postings on the for sale forum, I have sold things on other forums and it is only this one that this seems to happen. You should be able to list items for whatever you like and if you think it is too expensive just dont buy it but keep your opinions on the price to yourself.


 
It is equally a pet peave of mine that people cannot be bothered to research factual information or forum rules before posting. One of the wonders of forums is the ability to express oneself openly and discuss things in an adult manner albeit the odd troll now and then crops up. So whilst your entitled to your opinion, I don't buy (pardon the pun) your "keep your opinions on the price to yourself" as quite clearly the admin/cc founder states:



Shaun said:


> if you feel someone is _deliberately_ trying to rip off your fellow CycleChat members; if that's the case we _definitely_ want to know about it so we can monitor and take action.


 
Whilst I will be less active in any responses on the for sale section now, there is some truth to the posts about nit-picking and price linking which I along with others have probably been guilty of in the past.

The for sale section works fine, nothing to see here - let's move on!


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## phil_hg_uk (25 Jun 2012)

Garz said:


> It is equally a pet peave of mine that people cannot be bothered to research factual information or forum rules before posting. One of the wonders of forums is the ability to express oneself openly and discuss things in an adult manner albeit the odd troll now and then crops up. So whilst your entitled to your opinion, I don't buy (pardon the pun) your "keep your opinions on the price to yourself" as quite clearly the admin/cc founder states:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
If someone thinks that someone is trying to rip off people with a high price then report it to the mods rather than ruining someones chance of a sale by posting comments such as "_you can get it at x for y_" if you can get it for that then go and get it otherwise move along nothing to see here.


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## Garz (25 Jun 2012)

phil_hg_uk said:


> If someone thinks that someone is trying to rip off people with a high price then report it to the mods rather than ruining someones chance of a sale by posting comments such as "_you can get it at x for y_" if you can get it for that then go and get it otherwise move along nothing to see here.


 
Phil, the only comments I have been posting lately was those that also listed on popular auction website - which is a breach of forum rules. I have not been part of the "you can get it at x for y" club for a long time, I think people should not be ashamed of highlighting to a seller that their prices need revising in a tactful matter that's all.

If you were foolish enough to buy a product and paid over the odds or bought the wrong item and want your money back then that's part of the learning curve and should belong on ebay not the CC forum!


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## phil_hg_uk (25 Jun 2012)

Garz said:


> Phil, the only comments I have been posting lately was those that also listed on popular auction website - which is a breach of forum rules. I have not been part of the "you can get it at x for y" club for a long time, I think people should not be ashamed of highlighting to a seller that their prices need revising in a tactful matter that's all.
> 
> If you were foolish enough to buy a product and paid over the odds or bought the wrong item and want your money back then that's part of the learning curve and should belong on ebay not the CC forum!


 
I wasnt pointing the finger at you, I have no idea what you have posted or not posted in the for sale section. I was just pointing out that people should report posts they find a problem with rather than putting links to cheaper products into the listing.

I have myself in the past pointed out to a seller that they had no chance of getting a price they were asking because it was currently available for less on another site, but I PMed them to do it rather than wrecking their listing. Again I am not saying you did this but some people on the forum do seem to like doing it.


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## Garz (25 Jun 2012)

In that case then phil  , the CC folk are a great bunch and I enjoy posting here chatting to others. I agree posting links and wrecking listings in not constructive, a friendly nudge to them pointing out the pricing is ample enough which I have gladly taken note of.

Dunno about others but I'm definitely looking forward to my holidays this friday, double bubble as the TdF starts the next day!


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## JackJoff (9 Sep 2012)

Trying to post here to see whether I can then post in the classified section?!


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## ianrauk (9 Sep 2012)

JackJoff said:


> Trying to post here to see whether I can then post in the classified section?!


 

you need to have a certain amount of posts before you can use the classified.
Get involved in the forums and it will open up to you.


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## JackJoff (10 Sep 2012)

Aha, ok, thanks for letting me know.


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## JackJoff (27 Aug 2013)

So, me again! Are there any specific rules anyone can give me on viewing the classified ads? I used to be able to see them but now can't.. is it a certain number of posts in a certain time period? Or is there something else I'm not doing?!


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## ianrauk (27 Aug 2013)

JackJoff said:


> So, me again! Are there any specific rules anyone can give me on viewing the classified ads? I used to be able to see them but now can't.. is it a certain number of posts in a certain time period? Or is there something else I'm not doing?!


 


You need a few more posts to view.


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## JackJoff (27 Aug 2013)

A few more posts it will be then 
I've just been reading through the "Matthew_T thread".. I don't think there's anything I can add to that though!!!
Thanks!


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