Change in Requirement for Posting Items for Sale

[amirm]

Hello you all.

It seems that we continue to get reports of people getting scammed either privately or by listing gear for sale. We had a rule of having X number of posts before offering items for sale but a) this was not enforced through forum software (no easy way to do that) and b) wasn't enough of a barrier. The proper technical solution is to have an existing class of members that can post items for sale. We chose to make that the Forum Donors. No, we did not do this to make money. We are doing this because we have a level of trust with members who have supported the forum.

In addition to above, some of our special members (such as Technical Experts) have privilege to create threads/post items for sale.

Please note that we do NOT read or see your private messages. If you have doubt and issues with people approaching you in private, please report their messages and then we can take action.

Appreciate your understanding as we work through a proper way to manage this service for the membership.

 

[Zensō]

This seems like a good policy. Thanks!

 

[enricoclaudio]

100% in agreement! Thanks, @amirm

 

[suttondesign]

You must be popular!

 

[DVDdoug]

Sounds like a good idea. I'm not a donating member but it seems "fair enough" that you have to donate before selling. And most scammers are unlikely to front any money.

 

[eric-c]

Maybe the converse be true as well where donating members selling gear should see if the potential buyers are also forum donors to better weed out scam buyers.

I bought speakers last year through the ASR classified and it was a smooth transaction. The long time member did have many legitimate posts especially on the product he was selling.

 

[formdissolve]

I guess now is a good enough time to donate then

I've sold two items here and both have been smooth transactions. Without the protections of Audiogon or eBay, it's risker for the honest seller than the buyer if they pay through PayPal (due to buyer protections). The more protections here for buyer/seller the better if you ask me.

 

[Chrispy]

I'd be leery of buying from a poster I'm not generally familiar with in the first place. However, if you have to make a move, this seems a reasonable one....altho they could make a donation and still scam I suppose.

 

[JohnBooty]

Well, this leaves me in a quandry. I have some new-in-box Revel towers that I was going to sell on ASR for $20.00 so I could make a forum donation. But I can't sell them until I make a donation. But I can't make a donation until I sell them.

This leave me no choice but to get in shape and sell my body on OnlyFans.

 

[Graham849]

Caveat emptor.

Several years ago an elderly Australian scammed many in a cable fraud. He was legitimate at first but his personal circumstances changed.

 

[JSmith]

It seems that we continue to get reports of people getting scammed either privately or by listing gear for sale.

Yes that isn't good.

We had a rule of having X number of posts before offering items for sale but a) this was not enforced through forum software (no easy way to do that)

Other forums using XenForo usually base it on membership time, not the number of posts. So the For Sale section is hidden to new members, usually 3+ months.


JSmith

 

[amirm]

Other forums using XenForo usually base it on membership time, not the number of posts. So the For Sale section is hidden to new members, usually 3+ months.

There is no direct support for that in the software. Xenforo defers all of this to, "create a new class of users and promote people into it after X month or whatever." It is a hack and I hate to go down that path and pray that converting some 40,000 members after the fact goes smoothly that way. They should allow member titles/attributes be used for forum permissions but they don't have this capability.

That aside, scammers routinely register and wait a while to pull their stunts. So even that won't as well as Forum Donor which creates a paypal transaction record which is a strong deterrent.

 

[Ron Texas]

I have some real estate in Florida for sale. Showings may be arranged at low tide...

 

[dav0043]

Maybe the converse be true as well where donating members selling gear should see if the potential buyers are also forum donors to better weed out scam buyers.

I bought speakers last year through the ASR classified and it was a smooth transaction. The long time member did have many legitimate posts especially on the product he was selling.

Agreed. Length of membership and posting activitiy is probably a better indicator than donation. Or maybe all three, depending on how rampant the issue is.

 

[JSmith]

Compared to other forums with FS sections, the one here is very quiet anyway. It may be better to simply abandon it altogether, as any FS section is a scammer magnet really. Especially considering we have had member accounts hacked for the purpose of scamming and also since it's more of an international forum that solely local. From my experience FS sections need strict rules and heavy moderation.


JSmith

 

[Billy Budapest]

I effing hate criminals. If someone commits fraud and steals your money, that’s what they are. I don’t like the word “scammer” because it can imply the victim was partially to blame (because they were “scammed” and should have known better, or shouldn’t have fallen for the scam, or were too trusting, etc.)

 

[JSmith]

I effing hate criminals. If someone commits fraud and steals your money, that’s what they are. I don’t like the word “scammer” because it can imply the victim was partially to blame (because they were “scammed” and should have known better, or shouldn’t have fallen for the scam, or were too trusting, etc.)

Yes a good point actually, agree. When dealing with an item of value, it would also be better if both parties agreed to use an escrow service... and always pay extra for sign on delivery with a reputable carrier;

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JSmith

 

[JohnBooty]

That aside, scammers routinely register and wait a while to pull their stunts. So even that won't as well as Forum Donor which creates a paypal transaction record which is a strong deterrent.

I ran a medium-sized web community for a number of years and this was my experience as well.

Requiring non-anonymous payment is IME the gold standard for deterring abusive/fraudulent behavior.

You could go a step farther and require picture ID verification via a third party like RealID or something, but that is expensive and a rather insane invasion of privacy that will turn 99% of people away. It's not realistic at all.

 

[Dj7675]

Compared to other forums with FS sections, the one here is very quiet anyway. It may be better to simply abandon it altogether, as any FS section is a scammer magnet really. Especially considering we have had member accounts hacked for the purpose of scamming and also since it's more of an international forum that solely local. From my experience FS sections need strict rules and heavy moderation.


JSmith

This place has been really good for me. Sold a number of things. I would like to see it remain.

 

[diddley]

So do I keep it here