Making the classifieds a safer environment....

I'm unsure if I have a right to say this being relatively new at PFM (a year or so) but wouldn't it be a far safer place for all if there was a restriction on the classifieds room, ie, make 20-30 or so posts and you 'unlock' the ability to offer items for sale to the PFM public?

I understand this may be complicated to police but could eradicate the dishonest folk out there.

Without a doubt the vast majority of sales in the classifieds are genuine and go without a hitch, but it's a shame when the few that go wrong cause so much grief.

Also, making the huge 'good guys' thread into a 'good guys' alphabetical list may make it easier for folk to see who they actually are?


Anyone agree (Tony?)


Cheers,
Ant

 

Hi Ant,

This has been debated to death on here in the aftermath of Wigwamgate - the consensus was to leave the classified as they are and not impose any measures to restrict trade/availability. I am in favour of this, however I can see the downfalls. Whilst there have been a number (and I must comment, an exceptionally small number for a public forum) of problems, more often than not these sort themselves out. I think Caveat Emptor is the name of the game in any 'classified' type situation, and this must rank as one of the most trustworthy places to buy and sell audio equipment on the net.

Cheers, James.

 

I vote leave as is please. Caveat emptor. We're all able to account for ourselves.
Re the list of good guys, yes an alphabetised list would help as it's virtually indecipherable now.

 

I would think that 20 to 30 posts is not much of a obstacle to a thief on a mission.

On your second point about the 'Good Guys" thread I thought, when it was started , that it would rapidly become of little or no use the bigger/longer it got. If anything the feedback should be a score next to someones name. Even then it would mainly indicate who was merely trading a lot on here and tell you nothing about who ( amongst those who have only traded a very few times ) was honest.

I think that Caveat Emptor is right ... and unsticky the unwieldy Good Guys thread.

 

Very true James, very true.


Ant

 

Would it be possible to associate a trading score against a persons profile? That might be an easier way of looking at a traders history.

 

The 'iTrader' score against a user on AVforums is very useful.But I guess is dependent on a completely different plaform provider for the site.

 

Both PFM & AVF run on vBulletin so implementing iTrader is certainly possible. No idea of the cost or admin implications though.

Another option is to each trader to have their own feedback thread started by themselves in a Good Guys sub-forum, where all feedback is left.

You can always search the Good Guys thread for the username you're looking for.

 

If you are a good seller and have been recommended on the "good guys" forum then quote the thread number/s....... Also what i have been seeing is verbal affirmation from other members with history when an item is offered for sale. If you have no history maybe a letter from your bank manager doctor

 

I disagree. It's not difficult to click on the 'Good Guys' thread, then click on the 'Search This Thread' link and type in the user name of the person that you are thinking of buying from, and finally looking at the search results.

I have done this with my own username, it took seconds and it came straight up with some positive feedback from 0rangutan

 

Thanks Tony,


A few obvious yet often overlooked steps to make a transaction safer....


1. Research the sellers posting activities.

2. Ask for a land line telephone number and ring to discuss payment. Mobile numbers do not pin point the sellers location.

3. Always make a traceable payment, PayPay, bank transfer etc etc, NEVER by Western Union or Moneygram.




Ant

 

Tony L has asked me to post up details of a scam perpetuated on AVF so please take note.

A group of scammers monitor classifieds for agreed sales & offers. They then register a new account with a name virtually identical to the seller, say with the addition of a full stop. The buyer then receives a PM with "payment details", or apparently accepting a previously rejected offer. You need your wits about you to notice it's a new account if your expecting the PM anyway following an agreed deal & it's all to easy to go ahead & pay without giving it a second thought.

 

Good point.Well made.

 

You're right, it is not difficult to search the 'good guys' thread for a name, although I have tried searching for my own G&JM and it comes up "Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms." even though it is there (#135) thanks to misterc6.



Ant

 

That's because you've used ampersand in you username which is excluded from search.

 

Of course, silly me.

 

With my nickname could be a problem to perform a search...

G.

 

There is a workaround for the search issue. If you use the archived version of the 'Good Guys' thread located here, you can search the page for any word or phrase. Pressing Ctrl+F in Windows (Command+F on a Mac) while browsing will bring up a search bar. When you type a word or phrase in the search bar, the browser will automatically find that text on the current web page.

Regards,

Mus