Buy Sell & Swap

[Arfie]

Following the recent debacle with fishkeeper.com and a recent upsurge in new users registering and then advertising things for sale the same day, often just with links to promote their eBay auctions or even worse auction sections of other forums, I propose that you should have to have some kind of qualification to advertise for sale on TFF.

Either something like, been a member for at least 2 months or having a post count of say 50 or more to allow you to add a new post to the buy, sell swap section. This way only regular users of the forum have the privilege of selling via the forum to the forums members. After all this will help protect the forums members from scumbags trying to fleece them. Of course being a member for a while or spamming 50 posts wont guarantee anything, but it will stop those looking for a quick buck.

Arfie

 

[boozybears]

I've seen this being used on other forums and think it's def something to consider here.

 

[willtang3000]

should be 70 I think because 50 posts wont exactly take long to post well for regular users anyway and maybe the mods could possibly judge from what there posting to see if they have the privilidge to post in that section

 

[Fishkeeper2004]

maybe the mods could possibly judge from what there posting to see if they have the privilidge to post in that section

Good idea, but can you think how much work the mods would have to do to keep an eye on 14,800+ members? It would be far to much, they would never keep up..

 

[Lateral Line]

The use/abuse of this forum is a current topic of debate on the mod board. We will be issuing new use guidelines "shortly", although regular members will know that shortly may not mean within the next day or so.

We are looking at it.

 

[OohFeeshy]

We will be issuing new use guidelines "shortly"

Can you issue them before I get so old and grey I need glasses akin to the proffessor guy on Futurama to read them, please

 

[Ethos]

should be 70 I think because 50 posts wont exactly take long to post well for regular users anyway

I was thinking 300.
Anywho, shouldn't there be a minimum post limit to BUY things too?

 

[fi$hys]

excellent idea

 

[shrimply]

I only joined on the 21st of December and I am already up to 120 posts. For people with lots of questions it doesn't take long.

Also is there a way so people could delete their posts after their items have gone. That would be helpful.

 

[aardvarkfromspace]

Just as easy to remove the ''bad'' buy/sell topics.

 

[afireinside]

should be 70 I think because 50 posts wont exactly take long to post well for regular users anyway

I was thinking 300.
Anywho, shouldn't there be a minimum post limit to BUY things too?

300? I think that seems too much . There are some very nice members on this forum that may need to sell items. 50 is suitible .

 

[Arfie]

The thinking behind a number is just to stop the scammers that seem to join up and advertise on the same day or within a week.

50 posts would take a while to get without getting booted for spamming and with post counts not applying in quite a few areas of the forum. Besides there could be 50 posts asking for help, before the one in buy sell & swap advertising the 10gallon tank that is far too small for the remaining common plec and 3 clown loaches that the pet shop sold them

It's not about stopping newbies selling, it's about stopping scamming scumbags.

I don't think it should really apply to buying as there is no case of this causing potential loss to the forum members (so long as the seller covers their own ass)

But maybe a dual qualification of must have been a member for a minimum of 2 months and have a post count of over 50 .

This is just an automatic feature I am suggesting, then on top of this the moderating team still have the powers they currently have to remove any adverts that are still inappropriate.

Arfie

 

[Lateral Line]

moderating team still have the powers they currently have to remove any adverts that are still inappropriate.

Under discussion is what really is and is not appropriate, as much as how we deal with it.

The board was put here to allow members to trade their surplus stock and kit. For a long time, that was all that happened. Increasingly, we have seen traders coming on and trying to do business here, and totally unrelated items being offered. Another irkesome development is the number of people that are posting links to their online auctions which, in the view of some, me included, is simply advertising, which is already against the rules.

At present the rules are not absolutely clear about this, but we are moving towards a concensus that these things will be removed.

The idea of putting limits on the forum, and putting the forum on permenant mod queue, (where all posts have to be read and approved by a mod), have been/are being discussed.

Can you issue them before I get so old and grey I need glasses akin to the proffessor guy on Futurama to read them, please

No, that's what they'd be expecting us to do...

 

[Katchan]

Thanks for keeping us little people up to date LL

Andrew

 

[SRC]

I currently have a link to my Ebay auction up in this section...

I posted it there so that if anyone wanted the item they would know it was up for sale. You can stop an Ebay Auction at any time you like (well, I think it has to be within like 15 min of the scheduled end date to stop it early), so if anyone wanted the item for what I have it listed..I would just sell it to them for that price.

I didn't just post the link though..I also posted pictures and the text as well.

I didn't think I shold post the stuff for sale here and then make an Ebay auction as well...so I figured doing it that way would be more effective in selling it correctly, ethically, and more time sensitive (instead of posting it here, bumping it every week, until 5 months later and someone was interested; or someone bidding on it and then someone here wanting it, or something similar).

Maybe there should be a post limit, to stop people from just using this as a "free classifieds section" to scam people...and also have a good guy/bad guy section (that has to go through Mod approval before it is publically posted)..in case anyone has been shafted and would like to warn others.