[Faulk]

One of the things I've found interesting when poking around the For Sale threads is how often I read "bought from head-fi'er x" or "originally owned by x". To me, it hints at what an interesting history some of the items must have. The For Sale sections currently include feedback threads to help us get to know and trust other sellers/buyers. I was thinking it might be fun to add a "History" section for items changing hands on head-fi. Users could research not just the seller, but also the items, when it changed hands, who had it, maybe what they thought of it.

To lay out how this might work I'll use the recent sale of my Little Dot MKIII. Being the original owner, when posting a FS thread I could also start a history thread for it, including the serial (if there is one), condition, and maybe pictures. Once sold, and for every subsequent sale, the seller could post to the history thread adding their impressions and who it went to.

As the history builds, potential buyers would view the FS post then the history post to get an idea of the overall life of the product, what people thought of it, mods they've done to it, overall impressions, etc. Buyers could also ask questions of past owners if their opinion was of particular interest.

It would be a bit more work for the seller, and obviously there is alot of history not captured except through subsequent FS posts, but beyond the initial start of an item's history thread, it should only take a minute or two to add an update as it changes hands.

What are people's thoughts? Interesting idea? Waste of time? Crazy talk?

--Faulk

 

[earthpeople]

I like this idea, but would this mean making a whole bunch of "history" threads for every item sold? I suppose it can still work if you just keep it to the FS thread where you are selling it. Some people already post after the item is sold who they sold it to.

Also, it depends on people posting that they've bought/sold/etc and frankly I don't think that everyone will take the time to do it, even if it is just a few minutes.

 

[Faulk]

Yea, it would require more work, especially up front with the initial thread creation. And your right - the chances of people keeping them up with any consistency is unlikely, which almost completely undermines the value of them.

 

[InFn-0]

Lets start with it, first thing to do would be to start listing the oldest headphones, and headphone amplifiers. Then would be important breakthroughs and people associated with it. Hmm, we ringing?

 

[Faulk]

I think the first thing would be deciding where it should live. Then, as people want to, adding threads for their items. Once added the threads could take on a life of their own as they change hands. For the first few months/year it won't be all that interesting, but as time passes and more and more history gets added it could really become a usable and fun resource.

 

[Drag0n]

I think it would take up alot of space on the forum for no reason really.
Nice idea in a way, but i thought you were going to start a history of headphone amps thread.... Like, first back in whatever year, Cmoy made an amp....or Headroom made an amp, or the Pro-Music world made an amp....or whoever started it, then blah blah blah, then RSA was born and others yada yada...

But to catalogue every amp from everyone and who else owned it.......omg!!!!!

Leave that up to whoever is selling it to tell the new potential buyer.

Just the RSA Hornet alone would be a vast undertaking to catalogue every owner.
Skylab reviewed 50 portables alone and theres many he hasnt touched.....then home amps, etc.
It would need its own forum!!!

 

[tvrboy]

No.

Scenario 1:
What happens when one of the 10 owners of a headphone forgets to post in the history thread? Then the buyer checks that history thread and thinks the seller is lying to him about who owned it or who didn't ... buyer wants his money back ... starts a thread on here about it .... now repeat x 1000...

Scenario 2:
User "tvrboy" buys a brand new K701 and writes a review about it. Two weeks later, he sells it. Members who don't believe tvrboy's review come out of the woodwork and say "he didn't use it with many amps! he only owned it 2 weeks! that's not enough time for all the burn-in! tvrboy is an idiot!"

Scenario 3:
User "tvrboy" needs some quick cash and sells his K701 for 180 dollars to "tvrgirl." A month later, tvrgirl sells the K701 for 200 dollars. Immediately there is a thread started attacking tvrgirl for illegal profiteering and taking advantage of the goodwill of the headphone community. Apparently Head-Fi users think headphones should never ever be sold at a profit, that is even worse than killing a busload of orphans with AIDs. You think that's not true, go look at that HF-2 resale thread...

 

[Drag0n]

I dont like tvrgirl anymore.

*angry mob with torches and farm tools*

 

[Superpredator]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drag0n /img/forum/go_quote.gif I dont like tvrgirl anymore.

Who cares? She's hot. Go Team Girl-Fi.

 

[Faulk]

I like the sound of Team Girl-Fi - if there's a meet let me know. I want to crash... (if you're reading this wife, I'm just kidding)
 
So, it seems like the new system incorporates this very functionality or at least just about. With the new "List" features that include "Own It" and "Had It" people can add the item to their list, maybe with the serial for identification and thoughts in the description. That then gets compiled directly under the Head Gear thread for the item. The only thing would be for users to make sure they select the item from the search results when adding to their list rather than adding it manually (like I did for my lists. d'oh). Otherwise it won't appear in the Gear thread.
 
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like you can search these items to find specific serials or that the description is accessible without going to each user's profile page, but that might be a possible future tweak.
 
@tvrboy - I see your points, and with the new system it would be an optional thing for people to do that would provide a resource for others. Not a requirement or gospel history by any means. This would also divorce the history from the sales process to avoid your scenario 3. In terms of Scenario 2, looking like an idiot on the internet is unavoidable (here I am, posting my ridiculous idea).
 
@Drag0n, @earthpeople, and @InFn-0, You're right that researching and compiling a history for all headphone related items would be a tremendous undertaking and I'm definitely no historian (still a Junior here). Letting the history build itself as people add to their lists is the only way this could possibly work.