We really need revamped rules for the Sale/Wanted forums

[BlackMetal]

To the management of this site:

I have my doubts that any change will come from my complaints, but I have to at least try.

A major flaw in the Parts for Sale and Parts Wanted forum is a lack of concrete rules about where the negotiating should take place, i.e. in the thread, or through private messages (PMs).

In fact, there are hardly any rules at all for the sales forums except that you have to be a supporting vendor if you want to sell large quantities.

Too many times now I have really gotten my hopes up to purchase a part from someone and I have clearly been NEXT IN LINE in the discussion thread, only to have the seller contact me and say "sorry, someone PMed me and purchased it". Now, I know this is simply a message board and it's hard to keep things perfectly in order, but there should be some fairness to the buying and selling process.

Go look through the Sale forum and see how many people reply to threads with nothing more than "PM sent!". What the heck do you mean PM sent? The rest of the people interested in the items for sale would like to see which parts are claimed, which are sold, which are being negotiated, etc. Simply sending a PM leaves everyone else in the dark about what is going on, and makes it an uneven playing field when multiple people are after one part.

In my opinion, all initial negotiation and declaration of interest in the item should take place IN THE THREAD. Once the seller acknowledges that a certain person is next in line to purchase the item, THEN you can move to private message discussion about the transaction. The seller should be obligated to honor the order in which people replied to the thread and give each person a chance to respond.

It just seems childish that people try to "snake" their way into a deal by PMing a seller instead of posting in the thread, and I don't think they do it by accident, they know that they are trying to take advantage.

This all applies to the Parts Wanted section as well. Someone will respond to a thread saying "I have the part that you want" and then the original poster comes back and says "sorry, a second offer came along", even though you never see a 2nd offer posted in the thread.

I'm not asking to change the world here. The summary of what I request, and what I think is best for everyone (not just myself) is that you must post in a thread to declare your interest in an item, you must mention which item you are after (in the case of multiple things for sale in one thread), and if the seller receives any PMs about the item, they should tell the interested party to go post in the thread like everyone else and wait in line like a big kid. PMs can be used for finalizing the offer where private information (address, payment, etc) needs to be exchanged.

Just my opinion, in the interest of fairness...

[DCVING 6]

Scott,

I don't know if this has anything to do with the oil drain line or not, but for what it's worth I jotted down names and times that they contacted me on a note pad whether it was email, PM, or posting in the thread and went down the line.



I used to specifically say, please email if interested, and I'd end up getting PM's anyway.

[Grumpy]

hey check your PM's












To me PM's are easier and don't "insult" people on the board when someone throws an "offer" .. It's easier to tell them to ()_(_(**_(*&^

oh I look at the time when people respond .. thats the "line" to me

[corymc]

should make some rules for it like no more mutiple posts by users if you have stuff to sell put it all in one thread

i like the thing about saying what you want then sending a pm so buyers can know where they stand on the product

[jcawley3]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

hey check your PM's












To me PM's are easier and don't "insult" people on the board when someone throws an "offer" .. It's easier to tell them to ()_(_(**_(*&^

oh I look at the time when people respond .. thats the "line" to me

yep

[Slow91z]

Dude what does it matter, whether it's a PM or a email or posting in a thread the 1st to respond has 1st dibs with all my for sale stuff.

And for another thing if you want the part go ahead and post or whatever, the 1st deal doesn't always work out.

[Grumpy]

one other thing to think of is I am sure Jay and Shane have enuff to do as it is rather than playing "police" in the parts forums. I think they work pretty good as they are.. I do see the "me first" thing happening BUT hey it's the "net" Oh ya LOTS of deals don't work out .. thats when I will skip the list and say first with the $$$$ gets it !!

[SGRIM]

Also sometimes people like to buy stuff without other people knowing they bought it.... I have bought stuff and didn't post. We have members that hardly ever post but buy stuff all the time. Some people just don't like to post!

It is up to the seller post his any specific rules, if they choose so... Long as nobody is committing fraud a sale is sale....

[rmar]

I don't always want people to know what I bought or how much I
paid or offered for a part.

[Cheeseburger]

I don't see the point in your post, other then to say "That's life".

[turbo2nr]

(PM sent)

[waddell87]

If I PM then I give my Name,address, phone number, and other details, all in one message. Why do I want to put that info out for ALL to see except the seller..who needs the info. Saves times too. Less messaging. I get it.. then I get it..I don't, oh well look someplace else. Just my o2. thx