Newbies in the Classifieds

[Kevin54]

I see that a lot of the classified ads are by new members and no doubt some of the new members are only here just to sell something and nothing else as far as the other forums go. Other forums I belong to have a minimum requirement of post counts before you can post on a classified. I think the lowest post count I have seen is 25. Is this something that maybe we should look into for GJ?

I guess I just don't think it's right just to sign up just to use a classified, then if it sells, never to be on again.

 

[ezriderga]

Good point. Maybe the mods will consider this.

 

[e30bradley]

if they needed 25 or even 75 post to sell stuff they would just comment on everything. like when someone find something at a garage sale say 'cool' and get their post up until they can sell.

 

[d.mcfarland]

The idea is very good, but the practicality is low.

Many people probably came here to sell a few things and ended up sticking around maybe ended up buying a few things too.

One of the things GJ has going for it is that you can easily connect with people who are interested in a single topic (tools/garages/etc.). I don't think that should be taken away from the website.

I'll admit, I'm relatively new, but have lurked and been around for a little while longer, and the buy/sell part is what attracted me. I guess my feelings are that as long as nobody is getting scammed, there is no need to change it.

 

[emrock32]

****, I just posted above this asking the same thing because I cant post, however have seen people post. GRRRRR
shoulda searched....

 

[mncountrydoc]

I kinda new and posted in classifieds but I have been reading posts for over a year just not posting
Sent from my SCH-I405 using Tapatalk 2

 

[jabberwoki]

Yep i aggree with kev. It fells like getting used.

 

[Tarheelgarage]

No way in hell would I ever buy anything now in the classified.

Too many folks getting ape-raped by scammers and crooks.

 

[adragontattoo]

I am part of the staff of another forum that has a pretty strict requirement for classifieds access. Buyers and Sellers are both protected. Limiting access by various means is something that takes some work for the staff of the forum but minimizes a lot of work elsewhere.

Look at minimum QUALITY posts not just posting THIS IS AWESOME! in 50 threads or whatever.

Require a non throw away email address (ISP provided, EDU, .gov, etc vs. yahoo, gmail, etc) for classified access.

Look at something similar to Heatware.com to document history in relation to transactions.

etc.

Yeah, Im a noob here but I hate to see folks refuse to sell things because they have been burned without recourse.

 

[Mickey O]

I see that a lot of the classified ads are by new members and no doubt some of the new members are only here just to sell something and nothing else as far as the other forums go.

Where would you get that idea?

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=164771

 

[nanofrog]

if they needed 25 or even 75 post to sell stuff they would just comment on everything. like when someone find something at a garage sale say 'cool' and get their post up until they can sell.

I've seen other forums add a minimum time limit to it as well, such as 6 months (post count is much higher too, @ 500 IIRC).

I doubt it's foolproof, but it seems to help.

 

[uniballer]

Actually I was thinking 100 posts? Sounds fair and shows you want to be here for more than sales!

 

[dmaic]

Being a newb myself, I thought Id chime in. I will say that I was shocked that this forum did not have a minimum post requirement to place an ad in the classifieds. Ive been a member of sites that require as few as 10 and as many as 50. As others have mentioned, yes you can acquire that many posts by checking out picture threads and replying with cool, or thats neat, etc. Do I agree with people who have no interest in bettering the forum coming here to use the classifieds and then leave? No. For the members who truly appreciate what this community brings, for me it goes back to everyone has to start somewhere. Its also easy enough to click a person's user name, look at either the posts they started and/or the posts they replied, and then determine the quality of their posts but Im not sure if this would really tell someone hey watch out Im a scammer. Ive been a member of a GTO site where new members based their decision to buy off of an old running classifieds in the sponsors section, saw their post count, and felt it was safe. Little did they know that there was a DO NOT BUY FROM list a couple of tabs where that same tenured member turned sour. Do your due diligence if you are interested in an item. Ask them, while youre new to GJ, do you have any other feedback with ebay? Im a prime example, while Im new to GJ Ive been a member on ebay since 1999 with 100% feedback. AND, in the hopefully unlikely event you get scammed, make sure youve been smart with the transaction. Remember the basics, if you dont have your item in 30 days from when you paid REGARDLESS of what the seller has told you, OPEN A PAYPAL CLAIM. And when you make your payment, state the terms of the sale in the notes, dont leave it blank.

Example:

For the sale of (1) WIHA Inomic needle nose plier in new condition as stated on garagejournal.com classifieds

Paypal has come a long way in working to keep online transactions safer. Are they perfect? No. Ive had my challenges with them over the years. But as long as youre smart about how you handle transactions youre pretty protected nowadays. Just dont send cash or a money order.

 

[JeremyManning]

One thing I will say is that in my experience I won't buy from people who are members for a short time or low post counts. I like to see someone with a track record before I will deal with them, that being said everyone has to start somewhere.

 

[tymbo]

Why do some people consider post counts to be an indicator of:
knowledge
experience
credibility
honesty
trustworthiness
etc.
It is a MEANINGLESS number

A certain motorcycle forum I used to frequent actually eliminated the post count because people were so obsessed with it.

I am a firm believer in the quality of what is said, not the quantity.

Tim

 

[DanCo]

I agree with the OP.

Dan

 

[geezer48]

hell i ant been here that long,i ant got nothing to sell.im here for the fun of it!

 

[adragontattoo]

Why do some people consider post counts to be an indicator of:
knowledge
experience
credibility
honesty
trustworthiness
etc.
It is a MEANINGLESS number

A certain motorcycle forum I used to frequent actually eliminated the post count because people were so obsessed with it.

I am a firm believer in the quality of what is said, not the quantity.

Tim

I will agree that post count =/= Knowledge. But a minimum !quality! post count just to ACCESS the classies is different than post count = 400234234, that person must know ALL THE THINGS!

 

[ajchien]

What might be really useful to me is a way to assess the number of transactions and feedback like eBay or amazon. But I have no idea how the admin would do that on a user forum.

 

[SCscoutguy]

Why do some people consider post counts to be an indicator of:
knowledge
experience
credibility
honesty
trustworthiness
etc.
It is a MEANINGLESS number

A certain motorcycle forum I used to frequent actually eliminated the post count because people were so obsessed with it.

I am a firm believer in the quality of what is said, not the quantity.

Tim

I think it has more to do with people actually knowing someone is here to contribute to the community and has invested their time here. It is to prevent people just joining to use the classifieds to sell or buy or even possibly scam someone.

 

[RAYJAY]

I see that a lot of the classified ads are by new members and no doubt some of the new members are only here just to sell something and nothing else as far as the other forums go. Other forums I belong to have a minimum requirement of post counts before you can post on a classified. I think the lowest post count I have seen is 25. Is this something that maybe we should look into for GJ?

I guess I just don't think it's right just to sign up just to use a classified, then if it sells, never to be on again.

we do need a post count or something to stop the scammer's from just logging on here to sell stuff,

this post changed in price and listing twice since i looked at it ?????????

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=168411