How many regular members are there that frequent this website?
Feb 29, 2012 at 8:32 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 16
pandab55

pandab55

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I have been a little more active this year and I notice that there is a group of regulars that I come across frequently.  I notice that most people are pretty honest and are also very helpful and friendly.
 
DO you think it would be crazy to create a sub group of regulars that shared some gear so we can try out new stuff without having to shell out lots of money?
 
Mar 1, 2012 at 1:11 PM Post #2 of 16
DO you think it would be crazy to create a sub group of regulars that shared some gear so we can try out new stuff without having to shell out lots of money?
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Look in the local meets threads. Going to meets is how we accomplish what you are asking. Especially since you are in Cali. They usually have some awesome meets down there.
 
Mar 1, 2012 at 3:12 PM Post #3 of 16
i agree, but then you would need to wait until that meeting.  if people were willing to go off of trust, you could be trying new equipment weekly...but you would obviously need a good reputation to take part in this program.
 
Mar 1, 2012 at 5:18 PM Post #4 of 16
Some points:
 
1) Shipping costs - with proper insurance, shipping adds up fairly quickly.  Attending meets are free.
2) Rethink meets - Who says you have to "wait for a meet" - arrange your own.  It doesn't have to be a mega meet, it could just be three or four friends in the same city on a Sunday off.
3) Fraud - Regular posters (even ones you deem helpful) can be charlatans more often than you would suspect.  The largest "scams" perpetrated against this community (that I can think of) were done by respected users who were "regulars" at the time.
4) You should have something to use something - such a program should be a two way street, and you should be willing to have your own gear floating around if you want to partake of other's.
5) Damage - with a loaner program that gets sent from person to person, the person who is loaning the item will almost inevitably  receive it back with scratches, dents etc (unless it's local where you can pick up and avoid shipping damage.)
 
So all in all, a great idea ideally.  In fact, there are users who engage in this type of program all the time between close-knit groups of friends.  But it is really a Utopian ideal - people are too opportunistic, and you can only know people on the internet so well.  
 
On a small scale, with a small group of people (especially in proximity to each other) the execution becomes much simpler. 
 
Mar 1, 2012 at 5:47 PM Post #6 of 16
Meets allow you to get to know the people as well as the equipment.
 
Mar 1, 2012 at 6:19 PM Post #7 of 16
I dont disagree with any of your points, in fact I agree with most of them. 
 
Obviously this wouldn't be easy and you can always run into sour apples, but you are more than welcome to not participate if you have a problem with it.  Clearly if people damage stuff and don't claim responsibility, this experiment would be a failure.  I would be willing to send out some of my own stuff. 
 
I never said meets were not great, because I have never even been to one but I am trying to set one up locally where people would bring their own gear and I would even bring my own.  One of my biggest pleasures is getting to talk to all of you who share a common passion for audio gear.  There aren't too many of us who really love this stuff.
 
I also wonder, if this actually did work, if vendors would participate and donate stuff to pass around.  I have met some of the people who work for these companies and they are awesome.  I bet some of them would demo their products to this group...
 
Mar 1, 2012 at 6:23 PM Post #8 of 16
This is clearly almost a utopian idea...I'm just putting it out there.  I have had the pleasure of dealing with lots of really kind people on this website.  There are lots of people with positive feedback in the :for sale" forum.  If this were to start, we could even create a feedback system for people who participate.  If someone's stuff gets damaged after they use it they would get negative feedback and probably get punished by the group because no one would send any more of their stuff to that person.
 
Maybe to participate, people could deposit 50 dollars(could be any number) in to a group fund and it would act as an insurance program.  If someone's stuff got damaged you would pull from that common fund.  If you opted out of the sharing program you would get your deposit back.
 
Mar 1, 2012 at 6:53 PM Post #12 of 16
"4) You should have something to use something - such a program should be a two way street, and you should be willing to have your own gear floating around if you want to partake of other's."
 
I think this is a great point by radio_head.
 
Mar 1, 2012 at 11:18 PM Post #14 of 16
For a photo forum I was involved in, there used to be monthly or every other month casual get togethers with local members to talk shop, compare equipment, and go take pictures. There is nothing from stopping you from trying to organize your own mini-meets. You could create a meet-up group, or just use the local meets forum - something like, "who is up for a mini-meet at X on the 15th of March..." 
 
You never know who will be in town, or is already around. 
 
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