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View Full Version : Trouble with the For Sale section


psychedelic
04-18-2006, 03:03 AM
Hey guys,

I know this is totally not the place to post For Sale related questions...but I was trying to post something on there and I couldn't... Do you know where I could get help for that? Appreciate it. Thanks.

SeaHorse_Fanatic
04-18-2006, 03:36 AM
New rule - need 25 postings before new members can post in the buy & sell. Too many lurkers were just signing on to sell their stuff & not contribute anything to the site.

Xtasia
04-18-2006, 03:43 AM
I don't particularly find anything wrong with that. People contribute in their own different ways. We wouldn't have people come post 25 things to the buy and sell forums before they developed a right to give advice.

a Pity this rule is in place.

Willow
04-18-2006, 03:59 AM
I don't particularly find anything wrong with that. People contribute in their own different ways. We wouldn't have people come post 25 things to the buy and sell forums before they developed a right to give advice.

a Pity this rule is in place.

the problem was that existing users were registering under new names to sell items for some reason and not listing locations or following thru with sales.

StirCrazy
04-18-2006, 04:18 AM
a Pity this rule is in place.

actually I feel it is a good thing and maybe a little low. the problem that I see is that there are a ton of people who joined Canreef just to sell, so they log in, register, make two posts and then there is a dead name floating around for ever. Lurkers usually don't register as you can read all you want as a guest. Personally I feel the reason for having a resource like Canreef is foremost to learn and further the hobby, not to find cheep stuff to buy or a place to unload your equipment you bought on a whim because it turned out to be more work than the fish store lead you to believe, or what ever the reason.

there are plenty of Internet sites that are free buy/sell sites so it isn't like this is a function that is needed, but rather a convenience to the members of Canreef.

Steve

Xtasia
04-18-2006, 04:23 AM
Well I think it's a matter of how much this inconvenience matters compared to the amount of new people we'll lose because they don't understand canreef's rules, or find it too "difficult" to join in.

I joined initially for the Buy and Sell forum many years ago, i didn't post to other forums for about 6 months because I didn't feel I had anything educated enough to say, but I did have things I wanted to buy or sell. I didn't want to be flamed for the lack of knowledgable insight. I lurked.

I wouldn't be here today if it was for these rules. I'm sure I'm not alone.

Xtasia
04-18-2006, 04:27 AM
actually I feel it is a good thing and maybe a little low. the problem that I see is that there are a ton of people who joined Canreef just to sell, so they log in, register, make two posts and then there is a dead name floating around for ever.

I don't think it's our place to judge what forum a person is most interested in.

Does anyone know how many people actually abuse Canreef in this way, and isn't there a way to ban their IP instead of inflicting this rule on new community members due to the actions of a few established exploiters?

What about phasing out names after 6 months of inactivity if dead names bother canreef members?

psychedelic
04-18-2006, 04:40 AM
Yeah...I mean I check this board and post my pics and all...but 25 posts...hmm... that's quite a bit to accumulate. Checked the stickies in the For Sale section...hmm..wish there was more help for new members.

Anywayz...thanks for the help guys.

aquanot
04-18-2006, 05:22 AM
I feel the same way. I joined Canreef because I thought it was the most honest and friendly reef website out there. My self, I would rather absorb as much information from people as possible and make my decisions based on people's experiences. I value everyone's information wether I agree with them, or not. Without everyone's imput, the saltwater hobby would not be where its at today. I feel when the posting rules changed, it sort of put a dark cloud over the website. Just because someone has been a member for more than 25 posts doesn't mean that the equipment you want to purchase from them will be in "A" one condition. We can look at it another way, if someone has been in a hobby for a long time and they are selling a piece of equipment, may be we should consider it that it has seen its day and it may be just a piece of junk. Some people may have tried salt water hobby and found it wasn't for them and they may want to sell their stuff. Like the old saying goes" buyer beware" If you can't see it, touch it, feel it, smell it, or lick it, then don't buy it. One other thing, I don't really like is when some people slam other people for trying new products and posting the results.
I know I've tried a lot of products that didn't work and if someone is willing to spend their time and money testing something I greatly appreciate it.
We may not all get the same results, but at least we have someone elses experiences to go by.

Samw
04-18-2006, 05:48 AM
I would prefer to see a 30 day waiting period or something like that vs a minimum post count requirement. You can't abuse time. Whereas you can abuse a post count requirement if a person posts 25 useless posts within a couple of days. Of course, a user can wait 30 days and still start abusing the system and start selling stuff but he'd really have to be a patient person.

aquanot
04-18-2006, 06:02 AM
I know, why don't we put everybody in jail and then let the honest people out one at a time.

EmilyB
04-18-2006, 06:55 AM
I'd just like to be able to post pics and get email notifications to sell my things.

I guess I'm going to have to link to another site.

TheReefGeek
04-18-2006, 02:56 PM
I think the 25 post rule will turn a lot of people away from the site, so the loss of those people is worse than any gains there is from the rule.

It might also make people just post 25 messages of crap so they can sell their stuff.

And for a person getting out of the hobby who wants to sell their stuff, they don't want to post 25 times, they want out of the hobby, and there are many users who might want their used equipment but now they won't be able to!

To me this is bad news for canreef.

TheReefGeek
04-18-2006, 03:04 PM
This could also explain why I have been seeing a lot of for sale posts for "friends" - probably because their friend doesn't want to post 25 times just to sell their stuff. So there are ways around the rule anyways, so I say get rid of it.

jess
04-18-2006, 03:58 PM
Now your going to have people like me making useless posts like this one just to get my post count up :) Since I'm relatively new to the hobby (1.5 years) I find myself not having alot to offer. What I have found though is that the buy and sell section is a great way to meet fellow reefers and have one on one conversations when making the transaction. I've got to see a few great tanks in person because of this.

Willow
04-18-2006, 04:41 PM
Now your going to have people like me making useless posts like this one just to get my post count up :) Since I'm relatively new to the hobby (1.5 years) I find myself not having alot to offer. What I have found though is that the buy and sell section is a great way to meet fellow reefers and have one on one conversations when making the transaction. I've got to see a few great tanks in person because of this.

try the local forums to hook up with other reefers.

Delphinus
04-18-2006, 05:33 PM
Well, the 25 post minimum rule is a bit of a trial run anyhow. Whether it stays permanent or not is going to depend on how people like it overall. But even as such, nothing is ever cast in stone and people shouldn't feel as if they need to resent anything when a rule is put in place. The only reason any "rules" are put in place is to try to improve the quality of life of the board in general, and if that's not happening as a result, well, then, we'd want to re-evaluate.

But as far as 25 posts go ... it really doesn't take that long to accumulate 25 posts ... I don't understand the argument that newcomers are afraid to post. They shouldn't be. Besides, how can you be afraid to say "hi" and introduce yourself but not be afraid to sell an item? I think there's an inconsistency there in that argument. If the board is unwelcoming to newcomers to come and post and ask questions, then that is a separate issue that we would want to look at. What can we do as a board, to make it more open to posting to newcomers?

TheReefGeek
04-18-2006, 05:44 PM
I think splitting the Reef section into 2 sections would help. One for introductions and newbie questions, another section for more advanced reefer questions.

This way newbies could post what they want without fear of feeling dumb or whatnot, because they have their own section.

zulu_principle
04-18-2006, 10:33 PM
As an advertiser, a member of canreef, and someone that tells a few "new" people about this site I tend to agree with Ivy.

I'm not sure what the motive for the rule is, but on countless occassions I have heard all too often about, people not following through on sales, not answering PM, etc. and fear not, this has also happened to me. I also like Sam's idea about time, not postings.

I also agree that this is not a buy and sell site, but if that feature were not available, thats alot of what I send people to canreef for; because the local guys hang out here and there are always some deals to be had.

People are not "afraid" to post, but this is not a club where you have to stand up and say, Hi, my name is Wendell, blah, blah, blah. In my mind its a forum for research, discussion and to find out what Brad's and Rich's tank's look like.

Anyways, my two cents.



Hi, my name is Wendell.

christyf5
04-18-2006, 10:35 PM
In my mind its a forum for research, discussion and to find out what Brad's and Rich's tank's look like.



Wendell you crack me up sometimes. :razz:

Doug
04-18-2006, 10:55 PM
What many seem to forget, {go back & look at the original thread}, is the problems that we handle behind the scenes. Thats why the post limit was tried.

As for the post limits, many boards now use them for the buy/sell, for the same reasons. Other boards have strict buy/sell rules. Most of these are also because of similar problems.

Now that being said, your comments have been noted and we are looking at other possibilities. :smile:

Xtasia
04-19-2006, 03:21 AM
... on countless occassions I have heard all too often about, people not following through on sales, not answering PM, etc. and fear not, this has also happened to me. .

And therein lies the problem. It is not a problem with new people but a problem with the Buy/Sell Forum. Maybe A Feedback System would help sold these issues? Errm actually, what are the issues that made this rule become instated. Perhaps with all our brains we can think of a way to work around this.

Bartman
04-19-2006, 04:41 AM
the problem was that existing users were registering under new names to sell items for some reason and not listing locations or following thru with sales.

How do we know this was happening?

Willow
04-19-2006, 06:15 AM
How do we know this was happening?

umm cause it was all over the buy and sell forum a few weeks ago when some guy from alberta wigged out on canreef and it turned out he had more than one account when the mods looked at his ip.

Bartman
04-19-2006, 06:30 AM
umm cause it was all over the buy and sell forum a few weeks ago when some guy from alberta wigged out on canreef and it turned out he had more than one account when the mods looked at his ip.

So, one guy did this and we changed the rules? :confused:

Willow
04-19-2006, 06:59 AM
im not a mod and not privy to the ip's but i don't think this is the first time at all.

seashells
04-19-2006, 02:03 PM
There will always be people finding ways to beat the system. Just ask any hacker worth their salt. Unfortunately putting rules in place will only inconvenience those of us that try to follow the rules. The problem lies with the dishonest people.

Doug

Skimmerking
04-20-2006, 02:44 AM
I would trust som one with posts over 50-100 then 1-20. But you never know who is out there to scam people. Actually I trust more people here then actually any other place. Because it comes down to MORALS. Youhave to live with yourself and your username on this board.

I remember a time that Harvey sent me a kalk Reactor before i even paid him. that is trust. :wink: Or any thing its like a big family that you can talk with.

But what really pee's me off are the people that ask questions after questions on things that you have already given them the answer too. people that have 20 + pages on their tank and there is nothing in in or look at my tank look how great it is and not contribute to the board.
IT"S ALL about THEM.:twised: Srry I t got me going
any ways im out of here going to bed ......

Im starting to type without error must be getting tired

NIGHT CANREEF FAMILY:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen :

Bartman
04-20-2006, 05:01 AM
umm cause it was all over the buy and sell forum a few weeks ago when some guy from alberta wigged out on canreef and it turned out he had more than one account when the mods looked at his ip.

Multiple accounts does not sound like the work of a new member.

I have to say that I have purchased some very nice items from people with less than 10 posts. There's no post limit for the Buy & Sell or the newspaper. If even a few of those people who come here to sell or buy like what they see and stay to contribute then that helps all of us.

titus
04-22-2006, 02:24 PM
Hello,

I have to say that I have purchased some very nice items from people with less than 10 posts. There's no post limit for the Buy & Sell or the newspaper. If even a few of those people who come here to sell or buy like what they see and stay to contribute then that helps all of us.
Well it is certainly nice to hear that we do have good people selling good items on this board.

And yes there are no limits to Buy & Sell because they charge a fee for listing. I'm looking at the fees now. $2.99 for 3 ads for 1 week. $40.00 for 1 photo ad for 2 weeks. I'd certainly think twice before dishing out $40.00 for a photo ad, which is free here thanks to our sponsors. Also, we are not interested in just making money here from Buy/Sell. The board was setup to promote discussions.

Titus

Xtasia
04-22-2006, 03:28 PM
And yes there are no limits to Buy & Sell because they charge a fee for listing. I'm looking at the fees now. $2.99 for 3 ads for 1 week. $40.00 for 1 photo ad for 2 weeks. I'd certainly think twice before dishing out $40.00 for a photo ad, which is free here thanks to our sponsors. Also, we are not interested in just making money here from Buy/Sell. The board was setup to promote discussions.

Titus

Actually no, buy and sell is free if you post your ad online only. and since Canreef is online only as well, I think this is comparable.

People are right. There are a few existing members that are abusing this website, but this has nothing to do with new members and they shouldn't be punished for it.

On another note. Just because someone has alot of posts doesn't mean they are honest or a good person. As a veteran I can look back now and realise I was taken advantage of BY "respected" CANREEF MEMBERS. Regardless, let the buyer beware, community or not.

StirCrazy
04-22-2006, 05:04 PM
Im starting to type without error must be getting tired



no you wern't,....trust me:mrgreen:

Steve

Delphinus
04-23-2006, 05:38 AM
Thank you to everyone for their constructive comments and logical arguments on this one. We have decided to remove the restriction to users with 25 posts or more, on the buy/sell forums. These forums should now be accessible to all users. If you find yourself having difficulty accessing those forums (or any other) please let myself or one of the other staff members know.

We have also posted some guidelines, or recommended practises, for posts within the buy/sell forums. We hope that these guidelines will provide direction for proper use of the forums.

If you have any concerns or questions, or suggestions on how to improve the site, please let us know. Thanks.

PS. There are still server issues and unfortunately it is currently out of our control. It is as frustrating to the staff members as it is to everyone else ... please bear with us in the meantime.