Classifieds

[gNats]

Originally Posted by Coastie6

Don't disagree, just coming to the forum to sell stuff seems counter to the forum's intent. But as has been said caveat emptor.

Just yesterday I hooked up a relative with a great WTS deal on the forum. The seller was someone established on the site since 2007 and while I don't know him, I did review his profile and felt comfortable putting the two of them together. I would not have done this with someone that was posting for the first time.

So, you have never bought a used car from a private seller have you? Or anything else as a matter of fact.

How could you? I mean, if you saw a car for sale, based on what you said, how would you qualify the person as someone you could trust to buy a vehicle from? By the number of cars they own? Or how many they have sold in the past? The organizations they belong to?

Sorry, not picking on you, but this is really an interesting thread. Just because someone took the time to complete the profile page and has been on the forum since 2007 gave you confidence to recommend him/her for a retail transaction.

That 2007 member could be a complete scuba diving poser. I can go into the profile page right now and throw in enough key words to make even me impressive.

I'm just really surprised at the majority vote on this topic. I wouldn't have guessed it in a million years.

[cummings66]

I think that numbers don't mean anything, ratings don't mean anything. What makes a person trustworthy is how they deal with people. You can't get that from reading their own brag pages.

I myself tend to trust people unless something strikes me as off, and I do have a good sense of whom to trust due to the business I'm in. I deal with the public every single day and see all kinds of people there, rarely get taken in.

So, I don't much care.

[chilly willy]

Originally Posted by gNats

Really? Why? Does a minimum number of posts make the seller any more honest? Does it make their used gear more valuable? Does it make the pricing more reasonable?

Where do you want them to post? Do you really want a person who hasn't dove in 5 yrs to start posting in the Tec Forum because they are trying to sell gear?

Won't *that* plan just encourage idiotic posts to generate a magic number?

All valid points, especially the idiotic post idea. I was thinking that it might filter some of the BS items out and maybe some of the overseas companies that aren't interested in anything other than selling substandard junk.

[Beefcake]

gNats- Sorry if my topic hit you wrong. After reading my original post, I used stronger wording than was probably warranted. I am still new here, and I was really just throwing out an idea. I don't care much if the system changes or stays the same; for some reason, it just struck me as odd to see people with no posts having a bunch of stuff on the classifieds.

[WaScubaDude]

If it hasn't been mentioned. If the stuff for sale was close enough I could go and see it, no problem. If I had to mail money or paypal, I wouldn't until the gear was in my hands. So in that way one can gain protection against being ripped off by a new poster.

My bigger issue with w 0 poster or very new poster is when they hardily endorse a dive op or resort or what ever. Most often they have a vested interest in promoting said business. If they were for real their first many posts would be questions or comments per usual on this site.

[Coastie6]

Originally Posted by gNats

So, you have never bought a used car from a private seller have you? Or anything else as a matter of fact.

How could you? I mean, if you saw a car for sale, based on what you said, how would you qualify the person as someone you could trust to buy a vehicle from? By the number of cars they own? Or how many they have sold in the past? The organizations they belong to?

Sorry, not picking on you, but this is really an interesting thread. Just because someone took the time to complete the profile page and has been on the forum since 2007 gave you confidence to recommend him/her for a retail transaction.

That 2007 member could be a complete scuba diving poser. I can go into the profile page right now and throw in enough key words to make even me impressive.

I'm just really surprised at the majority vote on this topic. I wouldn't have guessed it in a million years.

Well, don't think you're picking on me at all, this is a good exchange of ideas and opionions. The key message of my post was caveat emptor.

I felt comfortable with Jim, we exchanged several e-mails, he sent me numerous detailed photos. Does this mean I wouldn't ever buy from a 0 poster, no. Yes, I placed a bit of trust in the fact he's been here since 2007 (I looked at a lot of his posts). Could the fact that his profile had him as a more experienced middle age diver been BS, yep, but sometimes you got to go with your gut.

Working in Federal Law Enforcement, there are few people more untrusting than me. But after my exchanges with Jim I felt I could trust what he said, so much so, in fact, that we processed the PayPal payment prior to shipping. As promised, Jim e-mailed the shipper tracking number the next day,and the gear was as good or better than described in just 3-days. My family member and I were so happy that I posted kudos to Jim on the forum Thanks jbres1.

So on this one I was spot on. Might that always be the case, perhaps not, but like I said, I try to do my homework and ultimately, the discussion of who I decide to do business with and it's repercussions rest with me. Caveat emptor.