'Approved Seller' Status

[FlyingDonut]

I don't think I see the reason for this. If the rules of the Marketplace that already exist are enforced, none of it matters. If a seller is a total tool, don't buy from them. Eventually the seller will get the message. Also, I don't think a "seal of approval" will fix the issues that you're discussing, it will simply add a layer of bureaucracy to the process.

 

I have no problem with total noobs selling their books in the Marketplace and being nowhere else on the boards - as long as they play by the rules that already exist. I do have a problem with somebody having to be voted in.

[Speedy-D]

I don't think I see the reason for this. If the rules of the Marketplace that already exist are enforced, none of it matters. If a seller is a total tool, don't buy from them. Eventually the seller will get the message.

 

I have no problem with total noobs selling their books in the Marketplace and being nowhere else on the boards - as long as they play by the rules that already exist. I do have a problem with somebody having to be voted in.

agreed

[shadroch]

I don't see this committee as being worth the effort. If people are abusing the marketplace, report them and call them out in public if it bothers you that much.

[Jeffro.]

The idea that everyone has to "contribute" in order to be a favored seller seems more than a little elitist to me. Who's to be the final arbiter of what "contribution" is meaningful enough to be in the club?

[Boozad]

I can see the points of all the against - and I agree with them too. The one case that sticks in my mind is TFL ( abuyer in this case, not a seller), where he left his seller in the lurch on a book and left him over $1k out of pocket. Yet he still posts as if nothing happened, and has stated time and again he has no problem with what he did. And, as he keeps telling us, buys and sells through PM.

If I were the seller I wouldn't be able to face seeing him post away after what he did, it would grind me to my bones. And there's always the chance of him doing ti to somebody else who knows nothing about what happened.

 

I suppose that throws up more questions than answers as this was a buyer in question, but I can see how Nick's idea may prevent such instances from happening again.

[Flaming_Telepath]

The idea that everyone has to "contribute" in order to be a favored seller seems more than a little elitist to me. Who's to be the final arbiter of what "contribution" is meaningful enough to be in the club?

 

A three-man committee?

 

Voted into office by the board members themselves?

 

And yes, it is 'elitist' if you wish to use a word with such negative connotations. Another way of looking at it would be that, in the absence of an e-Bay style feedback rating, it would help the new members easily identify those sellers who you are more likely to be able to trust.

 

Oh, and the Marketplace has already embraced a similar 'elitist' concept with the Dealers section.

 

And I'll repeat it, as some people have either not read it, or are deliberately ignoring it...this is not a way of stopping anybody selling. Even registered users who only post in the Marketplace will still be able to do business as usual.

[GACollectibles]

 

Oh, and the Marketplace has already embraced a similar 'elitist' concept with the Dealers section.

 

 

That section has more to do with items being advertised on other sites, not just because one is an "elitist" dealer, it covers board members ebay listings as well.

[Forbush-Man]

"Seal of Approval", eh???

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

Can we adopt Steve Borock's old avatar for this proposed new Approved Seller Status? (H-WAC: Honest, Without a Club).

 

Oh wait, that would defeat the purpose of being in the club.

 

Seriously, I like the idea...not so sure on the execution.

[Flaming_Telepath]

 

Oh, and the Marketplace has already embraced a similar 'elitist' concept with the Dealers section.

 

 

That section has more to do with items being advertised on other sites, not just because one is an "elitist" dealer, it covers board members ebay listings as well.

 

Agreed.

 

But it still segregates one group from the other and allows them to post in the 'good' area.

[GACollectibles]

 

Oh, and the Marketplace has already embraced a similar 'elitist' concept with the Dealers section.

 

 

That section has more to do with items being advertised on other sites, not just because one is an "elitist" dealer, it covers board members ebay listings as well.

 

Agreed.

 

But it still segregates one group from the other and allows them to post in the 'good' area.

 

Assigning good vs not good isn't accurate though, nor should that be the perception. The intent is "board exclusive" vs "not board exclusive" and has been quite effective for strictly community offerings.

[Flaming_Telepath]

 

Oh, and the Marketplace has already embraced a similar 'elitist' concept with the Dealers section.

 

 

That section has more to do with items being advertised on other sites, not just because one is an "elitist" dealer, it covers board members ebay listings as well.

 

Agreed.

 

But it still segregates one group from the other and allows them to post in the 'good' area.

 

Assigning good vs not good isn't accurate though, nor should that be the perception. The intent is "board exclusive" vs "not board exclusive" and has been quite effective for strictly community offerings.

 

So if you had a choice on where to sell your books to get the most exposure, which area would you decide to list them in?

[Flaming_Telepath]

And for those who consider there is no benefit to an 'approved dealer' scheme of some description, this was posted in the other thread...

 

I don` t buy or sell here because I don`t know if its safe especially buying.

example is I buy $200 dollar book on Ebay and if I don`t get book I know Ebay/Paypal got me covered, what if I sent money here and then seller didn`t send books? What are the safeguards that are in place if something goes wrong with deal for this board?

This is a newbie question, maybe someone can answer it.

[Jeffro.]

The idea that everyone has to "contribute" in order to be a favored seller seems more than a little elitist to me. Who's to be the final arbiter of what "contribution" is meaningful enough to be in the club?

 

A three-man committee?

 

Voted into office by the board members themselves?

 

I guess what I really meant is that I don't need anyone telling me that my particular contribution to these boards is not good enough to warrant inclusion into the club.

 

And yes, it is 'elitist' if you wish to use a word with such negative connotations. Another way of looking at it would be that, in the absence of an e-Bay style feedback rating, it would help the new members easily identify those sellers who you are more likely to be able to trust.

 

I wouldn't mind some type of rating system for sellers and buyers here. Just not sure how it could be implemented.

 

Regardless, I think this discussion has value. I'm certainly not insulted by it and maybe some good will come as a result.

 

[GACollectibles]

 

Oh, and the Marketplace has already embraced a similar 'elitist' concept with the Dealers section.

 

 

That section has more to do with items being advertised on other sites, not just because one is an "elitist" dealer, it covers board members ebay listings as well.

 

Agreed.

 

But it still segregates one group from the other and allows them to post in the 'good' area.

 

Assigning good vs not good isn't accurate though, nor should that be the perception. The intent is "board exclusive" vs "not board exclusive" and has been quite effective for strictly community offerings.

 

So if you had a choice on where to sell your books to get the most exposure, which area would you decide to list them in?

 

Most exposure would be to list them on ebay, then link in the Dealer's, etc forum.

 

My preference is to list them here in the Forum Only section to a community that I enjoy dealing with(for the most part ). Lesser exposure, more personal gratification selling greggy junk, being able to put a personal connection with someone working on/completing a run, etc. And that is the route I usually take, offering items here before somewhere else, because personally it does mean more than the $$ to me.

[GACollectibles]

And for those who consider there is no benefit to an 'approved dealer' scheme of some description, this was posted in the other thread...

 

I don` t buy or sell here because I don`t know if its safe especially buying.

example is I buy $200 dollar book on Ebay and if I don`t get book I know Ebay/Paypal got me covered, what if I sent money here and then seller didn`t send books? What are the safeguards that are in place if something goes wrong with deal for this board?

This is a newbie question, maybe someone can answer it.

 

Two references in place now to assist in making a decision:

 

1) Check the Probation List for the problem children.

2) Search the "Kudos" thread for completed transactions acknowledements.

 

Are either perfect? No. Do they offer an initial step in trying to figure out who is trustworthy and who may not be. I believe so. Could the forum sellers benefit from additional "rating"? Possibly.

[Flaming_Telepath]

And for those who consider there is no benefit to an 'approved dealer' scheme of some description, this was posted in the other thread...

 

I don` t buy or sell here because I don`t know if its safe especially buying.

example is I buy $200 dollar book on Ebay and if I don`t get book I know Ebay/Paypal got me covered, what if I sent money here and then seller didn`t send books? What are the safeguards that are in place if something goes wrong with deal for this board?

This is a newbie question, maybe someone can answer it.

 

Two references in place now to assist in making a decision:

 

1) Check the Probation List for the problem children.

2) Search the "Kudos" thread for completed transactions acknowledements.

 

Are either perfect? No. Do they offer an initial step in trying to figure out who is trustworthy and who may not be. I believe so. Could the forum sellers benefit from additional "rating"? Possibly.

 

I think they are now wholly inadequate, Andrew.

 

In the early days, the Kudos thread was manageable. Now it's hopeless to find anything of real use. Additionally, it's only there for the 'good transactions' and even if a seller has 77 consecutive posts of praise, what about the other 78 buyers who aren't so happy?

 

As for the probation thread, there are so many people who don't actually make it there that actually need to be flagged up, it's not even funny anymore.

[GACollectibles]

And for those who consider there is no benefit to an 'approved dealer' scheme of some description, this was posted in the other thread...

 

I don` t buy or sell here because I don`t know if its safe especially buying.

example is I buy $200 dollar book on Ebay and if I don`t get book I know Ebay/Paypal got me covered, what if I sent money here and then seller didn`t send books? What are the safeguards that are in place if something goes wrong with deal for this board?

This is a newbie question, maybe someone can answer it.

 

Two references in place now to assist in making a decision:

 

1) Check the Probation List for the problem children.

2) Search the "Kudos" thread for completed transactions acknowledements.

 

Are either perfect? No. Do they offer an initial step in trying to figure out who is trustworthy and who may not be. I believe so. Could the forum sellers benefit from additional "rating"? Possibly.

 

I think they are now wholly inadequate, Andrew.

 

In the early days, the Kudos thread was manageable. Now it's hopeless to find anything of real use. Additionally, it's only there for the 'good transactions' and even if a seller has 77 consecutive posts of praise, what about the other 78 buyers who aren't so happy?

 

As for the probation thread, there are so many people who don't actually make it there that actually need to be flagged up, it's not even funny anymore.

 

I didn't say they were adequate, I answered the question as to how someone new to the boards can start researching making a purchase on the boards. No system will be perfect.

[VintageComics]

I like this idea from the other thread...it's relatively easy to implement and allows for a bit of censoring. We want viable members of the community to be sellers here? Force to become members of the community before selling...it won't eliminate all the bad but it will weed many out who just come here for a hit and run:

 

Post count or length of time a person has been a boardie are the only 2 workable criteria for vetting sellers on the boards. Neither is perfect but either would make it harder for dishonest sellers or sellers uninterested in the community aspect of the boards to sell here.

 

I have bought some wonderful books from sellers that had low post counts or were new and the opposite doesn't guarantee a satisfactory transaction.

 

it's perfectly feasible with UBB board code to make it impossible for new members to even see the "Marketplace" forum or make it so that they can see it but not post in it (which I would prefer as this way they get to see how to properly set up and handle a sales thread).

 

It could be set up that new members get to see the "hidden" boards or are able to post in it after a said period of time or amount of posts on the other boards.

 

Agree with this...it's the only practically viable screening tool that will work as it can be done quickly, and it's automated.

 

Community service, vetting committees, and other manual means of allowing folks to sell here sound a bit unwieldy.

[Pirate]

I think you need to spend more time getting your website up and running Nick so people can buy some books.