For Sale?

[Messy]

Apoligies in advance as im sure this has been asked, is there a for sale section?

If so, does it require a specific post count or special access?

Many thanks

 

[bruinsrme]

this might help

http://guides.macrumors.com/Help:Marketplace_Rules

 

[MacDawg]

Marketplace Rules

6 months
250 posts

 

[Messy]

Thanks both of you.

 

[MaxBurn]

Question on this, why is it so high? I could understand a month and 50 posts like some other forums but delaying FS posts for half a year??

 

[Blue Velvet]

Question on this, why is it so high? I could understand a month and 50 posts like some other forums but delaying FS posts for half a year??

Going back a few years ago, the Marketplace forum was open to all, in full view of everyone. With increasing site traffic, it soon became a free for all with squabbles, thread-bumps, undelivered items, scams... and time-consuming to moderate and resolve disputes. It wasn't serving the site's members well at all, particularly with so many items being of comparatively high value.

At the time, as moderators, we discussed a range of solutions and the drawbacks of administering seller and buyer reputation systems. The main goal was a straightforward requirement to protect forum members, first by placing a high premium on marketplace access, making access a privilege so that buyer and seller reputations were valued and not surrendered lightly. The requirement of six months forum membership and 250 posts was felt at the time to be sufficient enough to discourage anyone rapidly posting their way to such a high post count, with the six months providing a decent amount of time for people to get to know other forum members.

Since that time, after an initially quiet period as relatively few forum members had access, during the period that I was moderating, the amount of disputes and other problems associated with the forum dropped substantially... and although it's been a while since I spent any time in there, I'm assuming that the policy has continued to be a relative success in keeping problems for both buyers and sellers to a relative minimum.

 

[MaxBurn]

Well I guess I won't be able to convince people that a six month hold on FS posts is too long but I was looking for other good places to list things for sale while I am here learning.

If people are being too unruly on the forum perhaps admins were just a little too light with the ban hammer? I would agree that arguments and disputes have very little or no place on forums, that's between the buyer, seller and whatever payment institution was used. Administrators aren't to get into disputes and solve arguments, they are to keep the forum running smoothly and in my opinion shouldn't get bogged down with every little detail as apparently happened in the past here.

A small exception I look for on forums is a place to review the seller and leave feedback like this and this. But honestly now that I know about heatware these are irrelevant.

As far as references go a post count on one forum doesn't tell as much as a heat rating linking you to say seven other forums with decades of subscriptions or possibly your paypal account showing ten years being verified. Just because someone is new to your forum doesn't mean they are new to the internet or selling on it.

Been on eBay for eleven years now and it was great while it lasted but selling there is just too expensive for high value stuff. Craigslist is a joke and places like freecycle are worse. I have simply found no better place than forums like this one for responsible buyers. The only thing ebay has over fora selling is exposure to a large audience, and I am trying to offset that by joining appropriate forums.

Course I am not joining forums randomly as I am pretty active in learning about jailbreaking and unlocking here. I am not a mass seller by any means and my ebay score is only up in the mid three hundreds. I just look at these places as an excellent way to recycle and get some cost recovery for stuff I tried and replaced.

Six months on the internet and especially considering apples product life cycle is an eternity.

 

[Blue Velvet]

Well I guess I won't be able to convince people that a six month hold on FS posts is too long but I was looking for other good places to list things for sale while I am here learning.

Which is one reason why the six month waiting period and the post count of 250 was established, namely, that the perception is that the marketplace is a privilege for established forum members and the community, not part of the core business of MacRumors... and not a reason for joining, especially for those wanting to unload a quick sale

Honestly, I completely understand your frustrations... but hang around, post a couple of times a day or so, get involved with the community and soon enough, your time will come sometime at the end of May 2011.

If people are being too unruly on the forum perhaps admins were just a little too light with the ban hammer? I would agree that arguments and disputes have very little or no place on forums, that's between the buyer, seller and whatever payment institution was used. Administrators aren't to get into disputes and solve arguments, they are to keep the forum running smoothly and in my opinion shouldn't get bogged down with every little detail as apparently happened in the past here.

The ban hammer wasn't the solution, it's almost always the last thing to be reached for. Occasionally assisting with disputes is part and parcel of ensuring that the forum remains a valuable resource for the community, particularly if and when a scammer rides into town.

 

[gr8whtd0pe]

The ban hammer wasn't the solution, it's almost always the last thing to be reached for. Occasionally assisting with disputes is part and parcel of ensuring that the forum remains a valuable resource for the community, particularly if and when a scammer rides into town.

The ban hammer usually just makes the person even more upset and angry. All they have to do is create a new account and start spamming. Not fun for any mods or admins, especially if it can just be calmed down.


I implemented an eBay like feedback system on my forums. It has feedback ratings right under peoples avatars, making it quick and easy to see if they are trusted. People can leave a short message about the sale for all to see and a longer one for just the seller/buyer/admins to see.

http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=230543

Works well, maybe MacRumors can go to that in the future? Who knows...

 

[MacDawg]

I don't really think MR is interested in getting into the whole buying and selling thing on a large scale. It is provided as a convenience because some members like having the option, but it is really not the main focus of MR. The rules were instituted to have the capability, but to avoid some of the major headaches associated with it.

That is just my personal take on it, and not a statement of policy.

 

[Blue Velvet]

One quick reminder and some consolation I'll add at this point, is that for those waiting the many months it takes to qualify for marketplace access in order to sell items, can also take a little comfort knowing that buyers have had to meet the same requirements, and are therefore less likely to provide too many problems compared to how it used to be before.

That's no guarantee that problems can't or won't happen, it just means that marketplace access is far more highly valued these days amongst those who participate. Feedback from 2008 when the new rules were instituted; far more people have access these days:

Although the traffic is markedly less, the Marketplace definitely feels safer

 

[maflynn]

I agree, while we all had to wait the 6 months, the idea of it not being a right, but rather a privilege needs to be considered.

Additionally, Macrumors is a site that fosters apple related discussions about news, rumors, tech support and mostly anything apple related, not the buying and selling of goods.