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Why no sub-forum for sale/trade?
- Thread starter Konrad9
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And just like that, I have no desire to sell or trade here.
Aside form the pompousness required to restrict who can post there, if only certain users are allowed to SEE it, nevermind even post in it, the audience it has will be so pathetically small it won't even be worth the time.
Kind of sad.
No, not kind of, extremely sad. Extremely sad that a forum would restrict access to certain areas. Or just disgusting laziness on the part of the moderators.
Aside form the pompousness required to restrict who can post there, if only certain users are allowed to SEE it, nevermind even post in it, the audience it has will be so pathetically small it won't even be worth the time.
Kind of sad.
No, not kind of, extremely sad. Extremely sad that a forum would restrict access to certain areas. Or just disgusting laziness on the part of the moderators.
If anyone can see it, then people can PM OPs, rendering the time/post limit useless anyway.
When I was sub 6 months/sub 250 (at like 4 months/180 posts) I thought it was a bit lame too, but once you get to that point you recognize that it's a pretty sound policy. Selling things online is potentially burdensome enough - having a few safeguards in place never hurt anyone.
When I was sub 6 months/sub 250 (at like 4 months/180 posts) I thought it was a bit lame too, but once you get to that point you recognize that it's a pretty sound policy. Selling things online is potentially burdensome enough - having a few safeguards in place never hurt anyone.
You are better simply listing on ebay, but defently you can "market" your auction in the forum, it can help.
If you can't even read a basic FAQ in this site that answered this very question (not to mention the threads started on this often) then I wouldn't want to buy from you anyway. No love loss there buddy.
No, you can't market or advertise your eBay listing in the forum outside the Marketplace.
The Marketplace here isn't one of the main reasons for the site's existence, it's simply an extra perk for members who have contributed to the forum to a certain degree. If you were primarily looking for a place to sell or trade, you probably just picked the wrong site.
The feeling is that members who have been around the forums enough to become known and have an investment in their place here, are unlikely to want to risk. You're new here, so you're an unknown quantity for other members. You or any other new member may well be a perfectly responsible buyer or seller, but it's practically impossible for other members to confirm that. The lack of a post history in the discussion forums has proven to be a detriment to successful dealmaking.
With over 700,000 members, we have quite a few who meet the requirements.
The system has nothing to do with laziness, but rather with experience. The requirements for post count and length of membership were set up after considerable discussion, and as a result of experience with how it worked before such limits were in place.
If you have an ongoing sale somewhere other than MacRumors, you can link to it in your signature. You can't however draw attention to the link in any of your posts, or post solely to bring attention to your signature.
If you stick around long enough to qualify, I think you'll see what we mean.
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Sad and disgusting would be to open up the MacRumors forum to scammers, which inevitable would be the case if it was allowed for new members to post there. This is the best solution in lack of a proper system of secure payment.
It's not like you're lacking other sites where you can trade things, so why even bother acting like a little child about it?
Name-calling is a really mature way of handling your disappointment that the rules don't conform to your whims.
The fact is that when you open a membership in this forum, you agreed to abide by the rules, which include the rules regarding the Marketplace. If you did so without actually reading the rules, which are not hidden, that's your choice. But it's unrealistic to expect the forum to modify the rules that make the forum work so well for so many, simply to accommodate a relatively new member who has a different idea of how things should work. If you find this forum doesn't meet your needs, there are others you can choose from that may.
Yes there is a lot of butt-hurt in this thread... from you.
You asked a question which you could easily have found the answer to yourself, and the question was answered. Then you threw a tantrum including words like 'pathetic', 'disgusting' and 'lazy'.
Now you wonder why members of the forum you are insulting are defending it, and you accuse them of being butt-hurt? How clueless can one be?
Fair enough, to my mind, the original question asked by the OP was perfectly reasonable - not everyone reads the rules of the forum despite claiming to do so when they sign up.
However, the question was answered, and answered with both courtesy and detailed explanations as to why such a position is taken.
OP, the content, and worse, tone of that last post is gratuitously unpleasant, extremely discourteous and pretty much uncalled for. Your question was answered; accept the answer - and perhaps, if you feel up to it, manners might suggest that you thank those who took the time and trouble to reply, and then, move on. If you have an argument to make, make it, but I think it only fair to say that an insult is not an argument.
The Marketplace here isn't one of the main reasons for the site's existence, it's simply an extra perk for members who have contributed to the forum to a certain degree. If you were primarily looking for a place to sell or trade, you probably just picked the wrong site.
The feeling is that members who have been around the forums enough to become known and have an investment in their place here, are unlikely to want to risk. You're new here, so you're an unknown quantity for other members. You or any other new member may well be a perfectly responsible buyer or seller, but it's practically impossible for other members to confirm that. The lack of a post history in the discussion forums has proven to be a detriment to successful dealmaking.
With over 700,000 members, we have quite a few who meet the requirements.
The system has nothing to do with laziness, but rather with experience. The requirements for post count and length of membership were set up after considerable discussion, and as a result of experience with how it worked before such limits were in place.
If you have an ongoing sale somewhere other than MacRumors, you can link to it in your signature. You can't however draw attention to the link in any of your posts, or post solely to bring attention to your signature.
If you stick around long enough to qualify, I think you'll see what we mean.
I agree wholeheartedly to some degree, but disagree on a few points.
A specific number of post does not validate someones status, it just shows the activeness of that member. If I really wanted to I could post uselss comments like someone mentioned in this section about seeing an increase of "+1" comments or "Steve would have never _____" to quickly obtain my 250 post requirment. This would gain me access to the FST thread and frankly give the buyers false sense of security believing that because I have "access" I am "validated" or legitimate.
I'll use myself as an example;
I am a member of HardForums, a prodomintely PC/hardware based forum, for almost 10 years (I had to recreate my username to gain consistency with all the forums I belong to). As seen here; http://hardforum.com/member.php?u=66835
In my 10 year tenure, I've only managed to produce 777 post, as of today. Rounding up, that's roughly 78 post per year. As you can see by doing a search a majority of those post are in the For Sale/Trade forum. By Macrumors logic, it would take me a little over 3 years to obtain this status. But as you can see, I've already been a member for three years and have managed to only produce a WHOPPING 68 post. At this rate it will take me 8 more years!!!!
See that fact of the matter is this; There are legitimate hobbyist out there, myself included, that don't have the time to spend posting new topics or commenting, but find the FST forums useful. I, like many, get tired of gadgets really quick. A websites FST forum is a great way for me to feed my addiction. Do I lose money in the process buying new toys and selling for a loss - sure I do. But it sure beats having to hassle with ebay and their flaky members.
When searching forums to join, I usually look at the FST sections first to see how active they are. I joined this site because 1) I own Apple products and at times need assistance with them and 2) when I decide to move on from those products (ie iphone), it would be easier to move on a website dedicated to APPLE enthusiast.
I have YEARS of trading feedback on heatware; http://heatware.com/eval.php?id=14373
and have never had an issue. I describe all my items to the best of my ability, provide detailed photos, answer any and all questions before money is exchanged, and provide any personal information a buyer may want to ease their tension.
Here is an example of a sale I have going now;
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1711885
This is where my frustration lies, I'm sure my Apple products would have moved quicker on this website but because I am listing them on a PC/Hardware website there isn't much interest and I'd like to think my prices are more than fair. There are always ways to circumvent rules/regulations.
I guess at the end of the day, I feel MacRumors moderators should really look into exploring other ways to "verify" members to allow them access to the FST thread...
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It is threads like this that remind me why it is a good policy to have the rule
Unfortunately this guy's only 42 posts away from gaining access :/
Duff-Man says....back a few years ago when the rules were changed there was a thread started with an explanation of the changes and why they were being implemented. I'd suggest not only reading the initial posts but also perhaps the comments, both positive and negative, on the first few pages of the thread and you'll get the idea. It was thought out, debated and though I don't use the marketplace a lot I have bought and sold several times (both before and after the changes) and I think the changes were for the better. Just my opinion.....oh yeah!
I think the thread Duff-Man linked to will give you the background you need to understand the policy, but I can respond to two of the things you bring up:
- While it's true that a specific number of posts is not a guarantee that a member of an online forum can be trusted in a transaction that involves money or goods, the cumulative posting history does give others an idea of 1) that person's commitment to the site, and 2) their personality (is the person well-reasoned and calm in discussions, or does he react with insults and fluff comments? - that sort of thing).
- As far as spamming one's way to MP access, it's not quite that simple. The rules specifically prohibit it, and members tend to notice and report it. When they do (or when we happen to notice it ourselves), we deal with it.
Point taken... I've had a chance to skim some of the pages and there are good arguments to both sides. I definitely see the need to provide some barrier but it troubles me to see a site like XDA Developers, with similar requirements, have such a high rate of fraudulent transactions whereas a site like HardForum, not so much.
My observation is sites that provide support for a broader base of users - i.e. international/overseas vs US only - tend to have more scammers... Although it seems majority of the scammers are US based but don't ask me why it just seems that way.
Ahh, oh well - looks like I'll never sell here hahaha.
That's the spirit!
Go find a topic you feel strongly about in Community and PRSI, or find a forum you know a lot about, and help answer questions. Posts aren't that hard to get. Or, look back a page or two in this forum, for the thread talking about getting an avatar. We've got great suggestions for upping your post count, without spamming.
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