[boomana]

IC. ICs serve a purpose, but mostly for rarer and/or modded gear, and if one is genuinely unsure if it's worth it to sell. It's pretty easy to tell who is posting a silent auction and who is doing a genuine ic. There are a lot more ics lately for items that have had a stable market value and should be easy to list, even if in a stated range ("I'm looking for offers between X and Y"). I say that members should be able to respond to sleaze ics with semi-rude comments that refer sellers to ebay and/or post pics that demonstrate the true nature of someone posting a sleaze ic:

No Pics. Bothers me not. I won't buy unless a pic is provided, or I know the seller well, but I can always ask for an email.

Removing the Sale Price. Zero problem with that. The sales price is between the seller and buyer only, and once sold, it's no one's business. If you want prices to stay up, go to a store....oh wait, when stores change their prices for sales and whatnot, the old ones disappear as well.

Sales Tactics. so what. It's the seller's ad. If you don't like the pitch, don't buy.

Empty Threats. see above.

The only FS forum tactic I really dislike is when people are selling their item on ebay or another site, and their only reason for listing it here is to provide a link. That's crap.

 

[PhaedrusX]

i too dislike I.C.s and the whole guessing game associated with it.

i firmly believe in negotiating in good faith, and enjoy the personal touch that goes with it. i can understand people wanting to recoup as much as they can, but i also think it can be done in a more open and direct manner.

to wit:

recently, an amp was posted FS along with a price. I expressed interest through PM. three days later, i received a response stating that there was one member ahead of me, but if that didn't work out i would be "next in line."
fair enough.
a couple hours later, another PM came from the seller saying that the buyer had backed out, but there was now another interested party, so it was now going to the "highest offer."
i offered to pay his original asking price, plus shipping. a couple hours later there was another reply stating that the item had been sold to the other party because he was the "first to commit."

laughable.

and when i see a thread entitled "how to manipulate buyers into offering more money" or some such thing, well i guess i just see it as a sign of the times.

 

[warrior05]

I just keep the whole thing in perspective: The FS board is a free way to post for sale equipment that is specific to our niche and, typically, much safer than using eBay and the like. I have had nothing but terrific experiences in using the FS board. I tend to be careful with who I buy from and do my homework in regards to reading feedback and the like. All the annoyances that have been listed are just that in my book... annoyances. If it is something I'm interested in, I'll pursue further but otherwise I just move on.

I will say this in regards to people removing the final sale price: When I'm ready to post something for sale or looking to buy, I do a search to see what the current market has been and have always found plenty of postings where the final sale price was still listed. Again - do the homework.

 

[Hadden]

I've been guilty of "make me an offer". It was because I had no idea what it would be worth at the time and I also tend to underprice things. Self protection for me I guess. And believe it or not I don't own a camera.

I also dislike the coy IC.

People asking for new price for an item. The rational being you'll save the wait, or something else lame. If I don't get at least 20% I don't bother.

I find a lot of items, perhaps a bit FOTM, sell for way too much on Head-fi.

I had one seller recently mildly protest he was going to lose what amounted to 3% of his purchase price. Come on!

 

[mark_h]

Can't see anything wrong with any of it really, after all its only an interest check? pics. are a must really if you want to sell anything but not everyone has access to everything you need to do it all the time. I don't think wanting a fair price or trade for your gear is a crime! In the UK people forget that when you buy something from outside Europe you have to pay silly import duties that knock the value up.

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark_h /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can't see anything wrong with any of it really, after all its only an interest check?

The issue is it rarely is just an interest check, usually it's a silent auction under the guise of an interest check.

 

[PFKMan23]

In addition to some of those mentioned, I don't like buyers who seemingly don't read the ad and then ask a question clearly answered by the ad itself.

 

[FrederikS|TPU]

Why not just do a quick summary of "how to use the FS forum" for all the new people who want to buy / sell stuff on this forum?

For example to begin with I had no idea that you could alter the subject line after posting. That could be nice if I had known that to begin with so that I could add "SOLD:" to the thread.

Maybe someone that know his or hers way around this forum could make a sticky? it would be of great help to all us forum newbies.

Another little request is that when somebody puts SOLD or FOUND in their thread title it could be moved to a "FS: Sold/Found" sub-forum. That way people looking for prices could find the them easier. Both as a seller and buyer it can sometimes be hard to figure out what a fair price is, a sub-forum like that could help a bit.

 

[mark_h]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitz /img/forum/go_quote.gif The issue is it rarely is just an interest check, usually it's a silent auction under the guise of an interest check.

Ahh now IC.

 

[ezzieyguywuf]

what is IC?

 

[PFKMan23]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ezzieyguywuf /img/forum/go_quote.gif what is IC?

Interest Check. In other parts of the forum IC can also mean Interconnect or "I see"

 

[Jon118]

When I say interest check, I actually mean it. Usually it's something I'm hesitant to sell so I want to see if there are a lot of people who would want it, and if so then I'll put it up for sale. I believe I've only done one interest check and I ended up not selling. I eventually did sell sometime later.

Also, when I say I will miss something I'm selling I genuinely mean it. I did like my Vibes and know I won't be able to get a first gen again probably, but they weren't suited to my needs, it still doesn't mean I wanted to get rid of them.

As for removing the price I do personally like to see, especially if it is an item I have some interest in, it's nice to see the current market price.

I try to get pics taken, but sometimes the ones I get are so bad I don't even bother posting them since all I had until recently was my phone or a film camera, and I didn't want to have to finish a roll and develop the film quickly just to get pictures up.

I don't mess with empty threats or that sort of thing so I have no comment there.

 

[craiglester]

Paypal fees, I say suck it up seller, if you want the convenience of paypal, then pay for it. Don't be so cheap.
Oh and sometimes, if I use checking account direct debit - not credit card, there are no credit card fees, so don't be trying to scam me for an extra 3 or 4 %.

IC is a waste of time - either you're selling something, or you're not. List it for sale, with a price, and if no bites, then you can remove it.

Removing sale prices, well theres many ways of looking at this, my opinion is that if you feel you need to remove the price, then you probably got more than the item was worth. Like I say, that's my opinion I don't buy the whole buyers privacy thing at all.

No pics - well that just screams "I am Shady!" to me. Borrow a camera.. you must know someone with a camera!

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by craiglester /img/forum/go_quote.gif Paypal fees, I say suck it up seller, if you want the convenience of paypal, then pay for it. Don't be so cheap. Oh and sometimes, if I use checking account direct debit - not credit card, there are no credit card fees, so don't be trying to scam me for an extra 3 or 4 %.

While I never charge extra for PayPal fees, you would be quite mistaken to assume that fees are never taken out just because it's from your checking account or existing PayPal balance.

 

[vcoheda]

lots of good and thoughtful responses.

people seem to be divided on a lot of the issues - the ones i listed plus many others. although less so on the use of the improper IC, it seems. again, i'm not lobbying for changes and am overall quite happy with the way the FS forum works. just throwing out items for discussion.