I have seen instances of people putting links to ebay items in sigs. Does this fall afoul of the Marketplace rules since its not being offered in that forum per se?
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Selling things in signatures
- Thread starter flopticalcube
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I asked the mods this and the response was that it's fine since I'm not a member of the Marketplace yet.
I think it is a work around for people to skirt the rules and others to gain better exposure of their sale within the marketplace. Remember, you can showcase your eBay auction within the marketplace providing you follow whatever rules they've made for such instances. Others who are selling outside the MP because they cannot actually sell within the MP, I say buyer beware. Those rules are there for good reason and have probably reduced the number of instances where people have been burned (though I've seen senior members burn others recently but nothing will be perfect).
Edit: If the mods allow this then this really defeats the purpose of the MP. However, perhaps this is only an allowed action if it's an eBay item and not a personal sale that is being handled via PM. The difference is the PM system is probably less safe than eBay.
Edit: If the mods allow this then this really defeats the purpose of the MP. However, perhaps this is only an allowed action if it's an eBay item and not a personal sale that is being handled via PM. The difference is the PM system is probably less safe than eBay.
I'm not sure if they'd let you do it w/ access to the marketplace. That seemed to be the justification for letting me do it.
I would ask the mods before you change your sig though.
What sense does that make? Allow for the people without the credentials to advertise to the larger audience while restricting those that can, per the rules, use the marketplace?
I do it all the time to try to make people aware of what I've listed in the marketplace, but I don't return communications to those who are not eligible to participate there.
A mod specifically told me I could post it. You post your listings in your sig too.
You're interpreting the rules without any practicality. Are people with under 250 posts criminal or something? I'd rather use the marketplace than just a sig.
It's really not something one should get upset about.
I do not think he is upset (but he could very well be). Like I said, if the mods allowed this then the only thing I can think of is they considered eBay to be safer than just listing something for sale and dealing in PMs (which I find to be really circumventing the MP rules). However, my guess is if you asked if you could sell something in your sig that was not being listed on a popular auction site I would think (hope) their answer would be no.
The guy has rights to the MP forum and therefore can show what he is selling. His decision to only sell to people with 250+ posts plus in 6+ months is up to him.
Are people with less than 250 posts criminal? No, but I believe the administrators of this site determined that scams occurred more among those who had less of a history (and general sense of belonging) to this site.
The guy has rights to the MP forum and therefore can show what he is selling. His decision to only sell to people with 250+ posts plus in 6+ months is up to him.
Are people with less than 250 posts criminal? No, but I believe the administrators of this site determined that scams occurred more among those who had less of a history (and general sense of belonging) to this site.
I will say that it seems like it breaks the strict precedent that has been set. But until someone gets ripped off...it's not an issue?
I agree, I think the 250 post/6 month requirement is more than justified. I'd trust a person here more with 10,000 posts here than with 2.
I'm not upset. I don't really care, but I don't think that using signatures to sell things is something that shouldn't be allowed by those that can use the marketplace. That was how I interpreted your post.
Well to be fair, users have, in recent times, been ripped off by a rather established and very active member here. Users have in the past been ripped off by other users with high post counts. Someone almost always has an unplanned multi-week vacation, a visit to Grandma's that seems to last ages, or an issue with getting to the post office in time for weeks on end. However, when someone has displayed a small investment in the site (time investment), I tend to want to deal with them more. Nevertheless, I am protected (we are all more protected) more these days with my credit card companies and the likes. The fact is, if you burn me I'd be pissed and I'd have to waste my own time getting my money back but trust me, most of the time I will get my money back or the product I originally paid for.
akonradi I disagree to a point. I still stand on my thought that selling something in your signature via eBay should be ok. Frankly, I'd prefer that than to have someone start a new MP thread about their eBay auction. It is not as though the seller is giving you an inside tip on their reserve, what they'll accept as a "offer" or anything. They're simply telling us that there is an auction out there that we should bid on because we know the seller from another site. But if you're selling something outside eBay and highlighting it in your signature then I believe it circumvents the rules.
Bottom line is apparently the mods have allowed this and since there is no real rule any of us can show that would suggest it is right or wrong the mods are allowed (most likely) to make up one.
Ooooh, grey areas!
I've reported a few sigs that appeared spammish/from subtle thread bumping possible spammers, and those from people who are not eligible for the marketplace. I wasn't completely sure of the rules on that but it seemed a bit dubious to me.
I have no strong feelings on it one way or another though. why am I posting? Frig knows.
I've reported a few sigs that appeared spammish/from subtle thread bumping possible spammers, and those from people who are not eligible for the marketplace. I wasn't completely sure of the rules on that but it seemed a bit dubious to me.
I have no strong feelings on it one way or another though. why am I posting? Frig knows.
It would be good if the mods could chime in here and give us their opinion. No one wants to break the rules but at the same time if its something I could use to leverage a sale, more the better.
It's being discussed.
*ominously runs behind a curtain*
*ominously runs out from behind the shower curtain, wiggles some water off, and runs behind the actual curtain*
*ominously runs behind a curtain*
*ominously runs out from behind the shower curtain, wiggles some water off, and runs behind the actual curtain*
I don't know if we're misunderstanding eachother, but I have no problem with it in either case. I was referencing post five, which said that placing auctions in a signature would only be allowed for those that do not meet the marketplace requirements. I couldn't care any less about people selling stuff in their signatures, regardless of post count.
I think every link you click in someone's signature should be done with caution, so if you click on someone's ebay link, it is you and your own responsibility. That said the MR marketplace is a different story since MR has partial liability (even if they disclaim it).
IMHO it's been traditional to allow personal links in signatures. So a link to eBay is fine. It's not saying 'Trust me, I'm a member of MR'. It's saying 'Here's a link to eBay. Treat it with the same caution as you would any other eBay auction'.
However, a sale in the Marketplace is trading within the MR website, trading on the reputation of MR, hence in need of more stringent regulation. I'm more liberal than most of the mods, so they may disgree with me on the issue of eBay links in sigs. (But I do agree with the recent tightening of the rules on use of the Marketplace, even if I think it went a little far. )
I think a practical question for mods will be : Have there been many complaints to MR mods of problems created by eBay links in sigs? If yes, ban them. If no, then it shows users understand that resulting problems should be handled via eBay's mechanisms.
However, a sale in the Marketplace is trading within the MR website, trading on the reputation of MR, hence in need of more stringent regulation. I'm more liberal than most of the mods, so they may disgree with me on the issue of eBay links in sigs. (But I do agree with the recent tightening of the rules on use of the Marketplace, even if I think it went a little far. )
I think a practical question for mods will be : Have there been many complaints to MR mods of problems created by eBay links in sigs? If yes, ban them. If no, then it shows users understand that resulting problems should be handled via eBay's mechanisms.
*stumbles out from behind the curtain with bruises*
Links in signatures are fine so long as they follow the signature guidelines.
Links in signatures are fine so long as they follow the signature guidelines.
^ What about when a newbie is bumping old threads with really random comments perhaps just to get their signature noticed? I've seen and reported this a few times and not known exactly what the rules are with that. It's like passive spamming.
Links to eBay auctions only or links to any sale?
IE: eBay auction - protected by eBay/PayPal MR needs not be in the middle of any possible disputes that may arise as a result of any sale gone bad.
Signature stating I am selling an item, I cannot post to the MR MP thread so I simply put a note and a link to photos (off MR) and say I have something for sale. My signature reads as such Selling 2 TB hard drive $100 PM me for details!. I use MR's PM system to administer the sale. I have 200 posts over the course of 60 days (hypothetical situation).
If we can do this then the MP rules should be lifted because basically you're saying sell away in your sigs but if you want to use the fancy new thread option you have to have 250 posts > 6 months etc etc.
I am not fighting anyone, I think I should let that be known now. I am attempting to get clarification myself on seek to understand and for that, I hope it is understood and tolerated.
Either way, even in a MP thread MR has little to no jurisdiction to really handle disputes. Best you all could do is ban the seller.
IE: eBay auction - protected by eBay/PayPal MR needs not be in the middle of any possible disputes that may arise as a result of any sale gone bad.
Signature stating I am selling an item, I cannot post to the MR MP thread so I simply put a note and a link to photos (off MR) and say I have something for sale. My signature reads as such Selling 2 TB hard drive $100 PM me for details!. I use MR's PM system to administer the sale. I have 200 posts over the course of 60 days (hypothetical situation).
If we can do this then the MP rules should be lifted because basically you're saying sell away in your sigs but if you want to use the fancy new thread option you have to have 250 posts > 6 months etc etc.
I am not fighting anyone, I think I should let that be known now. I am attempting to get clarification myself on seek to understand and for that, I hope it is understood and tolerated.
Either way, even in a MP thread MR has little to no jurisdiction to really handle disputes. Best you all could do is ban the seller.
If the post is not contributing anything I would just report it and maybe make a note in the report that the sig is selling an item also. We'll look into it and deal with the user.
I believe either way is fine. Again if people are making frivolous posts solely to promote their sale then we'll deal with that.