MODERATORS: HEADS UP!!! TOO MANY SELLERS IN TWO MINDS!!

[MythSte]

Wayne punk dude, The next ones on me yeah? ^_^

[thepurpleblob]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='264037' date='Aug 17 2008, 05:52 PM']If you don't like it f*ck off.[/quote]

Mmm.... harsh yet somehow fair

[birdy]

[quote name='Apothem' post='264025' date='Aug 17 2008, 05:27 PM']"Oh, I have gigged it today and I have decided it is going nowhere..." "Oh, it was only a feeler, I was in two minds, so it is not up for sale anymore...." Nothing is more irritating than this!!!

Reading between the lines: nobody offered what I had in mind, so I 'll have to stick with it for the time being, but I will use a silly excuse... It's free!! I can!!

I would dare to suggest to moderators to charge a fee for putting a bass up for sale, e-bay style. No "feelers" allowed: either it is up for sale at a specific price or it is not. If you do not know what to charge, do some research first and avoid some embarrassment. I know this is a great community but the "For sale" section is the "For sale" section, not the smoochy-smoochy, "oh, lovely!!!! but I am skint " waste of bandwidth!!! Anywhere else you pay to advertise.

If you DEFINITELY want to sell it, be prepared and that's it!! Too many "I will try here, or it will go to e-bay" transformed into "... well, after all, I did not know what I was doing....". Very well, maybe there should be a charge upfront, to clear in advance the mind of people just testing the water. Attracted buyers will visit the site anyway.

In a few words: too many taking advantage of the (free) system.

Please do not flood my mail box with comments, I will not reply. If you want to add something, please do in the open thread. And before anybody asks: yes I have sold a bass here, a cheap one, and if I had known in advance about all the timewasters begging to reserve it for them for the next week/month, only to disappear in the blue yonder, I would have done otherwise. Surely not again.

All the best to convinced sellers that WANT a change and go for it!!

Thanx[/quote]

I am going to answer this as I feel it 'could' be partially directed towards me as I have withdrawn a bass from sale today AND I mentioned that I may eBay it.

Firstly, When I wanted to sell it my thoughts were to sell it here and see what happened, To give the members here, many of whom I know, first shout on a fantastic bass. The price would, as always, have been negotiable and believe it or not I would rather sell to someone I know on here for LESS than I could get on eBay (within reason obviously).

Had I got desperate I would then have either eBayed it or took it to the Gallery to sell for me.

BUT and this is the main point if I had had interest or agreed to sell it to somebody or taken a deposit I would then have honoured this regardless and not withdrawn it.

Not sure if you are annoyed as you have been part way through a deal that has fell through and if so then to some degree I can sympathise but your post looks like you just want to have a moan for the sake of it.

You would probably win more friends and have more people listen to your gripes if you had made a few more posts before this one rather than browsing the forums, presumably to see what bargains you could get from the for sale forum

As to your issue with the timewasters that is a real shame. If you stay around the forum you will get to know the forum and make good friends and know people who you can trust and I like to think there are a group of many members who I would hold stuff for.

There are many people on here who I have met and would let have something I was selling before I have had any money back such is my trust in them so for every negative experience there is a positive one.

I think people may have given you less of a negative response to your original post if you had contributed more to the forum and were a known member.

Steve

[neilb]

I may have a bass for sale, probably, not sure yet.


Anyone interested?

[Mike]

As far as I'm concerned, I'm here for all the bass info and related chat, and few the for sale forums (fora?) as a delicious addition.

It does irk me that certain BC members (whom have not posted in this thread) are here 100% for the For Sale forum and contribute sod all to the rest of the site!

[ashevans09]

Well said to everyone here

tbh I think the original poster was out of line and if he spent more time here he'd realise how amazing and unique this place is.

[Dubs]

This is a great forum community where a lot of people seem to have built a strong rapport with other members, but nothing is a done deal until the cash is in your hand or the goods have been exchanged or shipped etc – no ones owes anyone any favors on this site, so it’s always the sellers prerogative to do whatever they want with their goods. By posting a for sale thread, the seller is only inviting you to make an offer with no guarantees that it will be accepted, and even if it is but they change their mind due to circumstances or any other reason then that’s just some of the sh*t that you have to deal with when buying and selling online, and more specifically, on a forum. However, it does work both ways – if you f*** people around then be prepared to get f***ed around yourself and possibly risk having your name dragged through the dirt…I seem to recall a recent incident with a Thumb BO…etc…
Either way, in all sale deals it’s always good to treat the other person with as much respect as possible and let them know the whole situation as it is – i.e. if there’s a chance it is going to be withdrawn/sold to another person/etc, then let whoever is involved know about it. The same goes for buying as well – don’t ask for pics and negotiate on a price if you can’t afford it or have no intention of buying the item in question.

Are these not just old issues repeating themselves in a slightly different format though?

I’d also have to agree with Wayne on this one…

[JimBobTTD]

[quote name='bnt' post='264119' date='Aug 17 2008, 08:42 PM']If I was a moderator, I might be offended by the original post: it implies that they aren't running this forum properly, don't think about this kind of thing, and need someone else to come along and [b]SHOUT ORDERS AT THEM[/b]. [/quote]

Indeed. I'm an admin on another site and I can confirm that users "kindly pointing things out" is somewhat irritating, mostly because someone has to reply to said user AND deal with the problem at hand, thus doubling the workload. It also calls into question our alertness and judgement. In short,

[Apothem]

OK, the provocation was: let's make the "For sale" section what it says on the tin. Anybody could have done opinion/tip exchange, price research and other soul-searching/mulling over in other sections BEFORE, so that when the axe is placed up for sale, the vendor has ALREADY clear in mind that the bass is DEFINITELY up for sale (first) and at what price (second). This is what the thread was about. In the "For sale" section I would prefer the brutal honesty of vendors stating clearly "if it does not sale within X, it will go back under the bed or to the 'bay".

Please note this was a general comment and not with anybody particular in mind. Obviously the idea did not prove very popular (this is the mother of all the euphemisms...) and I take notice, no problems, simple as that.

Thanks to you all for replying and letting me know I was an isolated voice.

[birdy]

[quote name='Apothem' post='264217' date='Aug 17 2008, 10:11 PM']OK, the provocation was: let's make the "For sale" section what it says on the tin. Anybody could have done opinion/tip exchange, price research and other soul-searching/mulling over in other sections BEFORE, so that when the axe is placed up for sale, the vendor has ALREADY clear in mind that the bass is DEFINITELY up for sale (first) and at what price (second). This is what the thread was about. In the "For sale" section I would prefer the brutal honesty of vendors stating clearly "if it does not sale within X, it will go back under the bed or to the 'bay".

Please note this was a general comment and not with anybody particular in mind. Obviously the idea did not prove very popular (this is the mother of all the euphemisms...) and I take notice, no problems, simple as that.

Thanks to you all for replying and letting me know I was an isolated voice.[/quote]

Fair play for coming back and responding in this manner,

Thanks

Steve

[neepheid]

People are free to do what they want. I've been "let down" on deals before. Until the goods and money have swapped, the seller or the buyer can duck out. Annoying perhaps, but life goes on.

[bass_ferret]

From the tone of the OP I thought he had been f***ed about. It does happen occasionally. Never mind.

[molan]

I've bought and sold lots of stuff through the For Sale section in basses, amps, effects & accessories.

I have also put feelers out to see if there's even a remote interest in selling something & I've withdrawn a bass that I decided to keep (partly because I didn't get offers I was happy with but also because I lived with it for a while and decided I'd hang on to it for a while longer).

I've been buggered around a little and I pulled out of one purchase, for reasons mainly out of my control.

However every sale, bid, offer, declined offer has been with lots of friendly chatter and everyone has been really courteous - something that cannot be said of a lot of Ebay transactions I've been through.

I've made some real friends in the process as well.

I find the whole for sale section works incredibly well, certainly better than any other forum based sale section that I've come across anyway!

[silverfoxnik]

[quote name='molan' post='264239' date='Aug 17 2008, 10:51 PM']However every sale, bid, offer, declined offer has been with lots of friendly chatter and everyone has been really courteous - something that cannot be said of a lot of Ebay transactions I've been through.

I've made some real friends in the process as well.

I find the whole for sale section works incredibly well, certainly better than any other forum based sale section that I've come across anyway![/quote]
+1

That sums up my view on this completely.. There isn't a 'system' in the world that's perfect, but the one here is pretty good and reflects the character of the Mods and most of the Basschatters who frequent the site; i.e. friendly, open, honest and generally full of good humour!

[Protium]

Erm, the item belongs to the seller and as such he/she can do whatever they like, including not selling the item

[kevbass]

What a pointless thread to start, nothing wrong with the current for sale system, I hardly think somebody paying a quid or two to post up a high end bass for sale is going to stop the seller from pulling it should they change their mind, I mean come on did you really think it would? I think waynepunkdude said it best, if you dont like it I suggest you go elsewhere

[warwickhunt]

I don't know... I go away on my Jollies and where has all the love gone?

There are two sides to all of this but occasionally people do get steamed up and get a 'cob on' (as my wife has been wont to direct at me over the last 10 days or so ) over tense things like spending/receiving monies. Just chill out, what goes around comes around.

F*ck people around on deals and you will be f*cked around on deals... believe me it will happen. I have ALWAYS tried to be fair with people and by and large people have reciprocated (cheers MB, I picked the envelope stuffed full of dosh that you squeezed through my letter box while I was away... didn't realise £1 notes were still in circulation when we struck that deal ) but buying/selling shouldn't be the 'be all and end all' of BC.

Let my holiday chillness wash over everyone... or I'll kick your f*ckin head in

[thisnameistaken]

Meh... I've bought and sold a few things with people on here so far, had one seller change his mind but that's his prerogative and I certainly wouldn't get shirty about it. Also had a buyer ask me to "reserve" a couple of items for a couple of weeks, which I did and he was as good as his word.

I don't think anything's broken. The good experiences far outweigh the bad and I've never been (or felt like I would be) shafted. Which to me is far more important than the occasional nervous trader pulling out.

Edited August 17, 2008 by thisnameistaken

[budget bassist]

[quote name='Apothem' post='264217' date='Aug 17 2008, 10:11 PM']OK, the provocation was: let's make the "For sale" section what it says on the tin. Anybody could have done opinion/tip exchange, price research and other soul-searching/mulling over in other sections BEFORE, so that when the axe is placed up for sale, the vendor has ALREADY clear in mind that the bass is DEFINITELY up for sale (first) and at what price (second). This is what the thread was about. In the "For sale" section I would prefer the brutal honesty of vendors stating clearly "if it does not sale within X, it will go back under the bed or to the 'bay".[/quote]
Then you've obviously not spent much time on this forum. I'd say 95% of basses and other equipment for sale get sold with minimal fuss, i've bought a few things and not been let down yet. I did back out of one deal, but that was because the seller (no names mentioned) had slightly poor communication and i'd just seen something i'd rather have from someone that i trusted more, but i did apologise for this (though i haven't heard back anyway... figures). But wouldn't you do the same if you saw something you wanted more, that maybe you;d been after for a while for a good price? And a lot of people DO say that if "X" item isn't sold by "Y" then it's staying at home or going on ebay, which is fair enough in my view. It's a free forum and nobody is forcing anybody to do anything.

Edited August 17, 2008 by budget bassist

[daflewis]

I was reading the first post and thinking, “hang on, I don’t think I agree with this - how many of us just followed this site without joining until it came to a point where we wanted to buy or sell something and then joined because we needed to in order to do that (myself included). The vast majority then go on to make a worthwhile contribution and become part of the community (again I hope to include myself in that – quality if not quantity….)

then I saw the second post and laughed my a*s off!!

The problem - if there is one - is that people, understandably, want the best price that they can get, and the “set a price and then take the best offer” method does not always work. hence people often use this “testing the water” to see what the market will take/offer.

I came to the defence of one basschatter a while ago who had simply said in plain English what many others have implied – (he had said “best offers above £x”) only to be shot down in flames for suggesting that, even though it was not the normal way, it was still a legitimate method of selling. - the concern seemed to be that using this method automatically turned the for sale section into the monster that ebay has become, rather than understanding that the real problem with ebay is its size (which makes it difficult to police) and that the actual selling method is perfectly good (it wouldn’t have become the global brand that it is otherwise)

Now before I take another hail of bullets, I want to say AGAIN (as I did a number of times in the previous thread) that I am NOT SUGGESTING THAT THIS BECOME THE NORMAL METHOD OF SELLING ON THIS SITE, but I think that being able to say “offers over £x” would solve a lot of the issues raised in this post and need not have a major impact on the way that the for sale section works. After all, what’s the real difference in starting high and getting offers below, or starting low and getting offers above?

[noisedude]

Dear The OP,

So you were disappointed on a couple of sales. There were a couple of things you really wanted, and you didn't get them.

I'm sorry to hear that.

I guess when you deal with real people rather than a mechanical selling platform, things don't always follow a set pattern. I never expected to sell a pedal to a stranger in a social club full of other bass playing loons (and loony instruments, Argh!) and I never expected to send a friend on an expedition to deepest Surbiton to buy me a cab off another complete stranger. But they both happened, because we're people here. Good luck negotiating those terms with an Ebay seller.

Anyway, I hope you turn up whatever it is you're looking for and at the right price for you. Good luck. And if you don't like that, I'd kindly refer you to the post immediately after yours.

Nik

[CHRISDABASS]

personally i think the way the for sale section works is fine as it is!

ive sold/traded about 10 basses so far and numerous other bits n pieces! ive also bought a lot of stuff!! every deal has been done without a hitch and ive met some great people along the way (marcus, mickeyboro, shaunB, jonny walker, birdy, molan, rayfw, bassmankev, whynot, andyMM, jake_tenfloors, jobiebass, bassbod, king tut, MB1, old horse murphy and a few more i cant remember lol) many of which ive had great chats with and got some great advice from 2!

the experience for me has been great and i feel like ive built up a pretty good reputation for being good to deal with!

there has been the odd time where i have had to unfortunately back out of a deal and ive had people back out on me a few times but its not a big deal! you just get on with it!

at the end of the day if no money has changed hands then the seller can back out whenever they like!


leave things the way they are please

[neilb]

Is this thread going anywhere now?

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='neilb' post='264482' date='Aug 18 2008, 12:44 PM']Is this thread going anywhere now?[/quote]

This could be asked of a good few threads

[Rich]

The OP has a point, sort-of anyway... but what narks me even more is when people come here purely to look at/contribute to the For Sale sections rather than getting involved elsewhere... not even an introduction...
[size=1]naming no names but casting more than just a glance in the direction of the OP... [/size]