The "For Sale" Forum...

[Scilly Suffolk]

,,,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.

 

[Norm]

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.

 

[Shaun]

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

 

[dellzeqq]

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

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

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.

 

[Shaun]

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 ...

 

[Garz]

Why has many posts on here been deleted?

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.

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

[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]

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...

 

[Shaun]

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

 

[Shaun]

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

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

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)...

 

[phil_hg_uk]

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.

 

[ianrauk]

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?

 

[Norm]

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?

 

[ianrauk]

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