When selling on the Forum

[leftpoole]

Hello
When offering items For Sale in the For Sale section of the Forum surely it is not fair for members who are not interested in the particular items to stick their noses in by posting links in the same thread showing similar items For Sale elsewhere more cheaply? I am a victim of this and I am not selling for profit but at a loss clearing surplus goods. It would be appreciated if persons could keep business to themselves or even better send a PM advising the seller-not sticking a notice in the middle of an attempted sale. I had an agreed sale with someone and then someone else stuck in their oar and guess what the buyer changed their mind!
Normal trading between members is personal and not for all and sundry to poke into.
That said I expect I shall be reprimanded by someone!
John.

[reohn2]

Spot on I agree totally.

[Si]

It is up to the seller to decide how much they want for an item - it's their item, they can name the price: no one is forced to buy it.

We've asked several times that people do not cause problems to sellers by criticising the item or the terms offered on the thread. If you genuinely want to help the seller by letting them know that the item is priced too high (which I'm sure was the case here), then please PM them rather than replying to the thread.

If you see an advert and suspect that there is something wrong with it (e.g. it contains erroneous information), please give the seller the benefit of the doubt. Assume that any error is unintentional and ask for clarification rather than steaming in with accusations of fraud. If, after this, you are still not satisfied, please report the post to the mods.

But, on the other hand, if you do try to sell a second hand item for more than it can be bought new, it's understandable that people might raise an eyebrow. Furthermore, people might make judgements based upon your reaction to this, which could be to the detriment of future sales.

[hubgearfreak]

Spot on I agree totally.

me too.

[Freddie]

Hmm, I dunno. I've seen a few attempts on a few forums by sellers trying to have someone over a barrel with a ridiculous price because they believe they have a boutique item (it has a certain makers name on etc). Of course one makes a loss on second hand stuff, you've had it, enjoyed it, now you're passing it along, hopefully because you don't want/need it, rather than looking to make a song.

There is nothing wrong with making some profit, but I think obviously overblown prices should be questioned. For example, Mercian's seem to be a hot topic on this board and older ones usually sell for around £300-£400, if someone comes offering a similar Mercian for £900 say, they should be willing to explain the reasoning behind the price. I wouldn't want a friend to pay that much over the odds for something, is there not a similar sense of community on this board.

How long does it take a seller to scope out the price of previously sold similar items?, some of the prices I see things offered for show a significant lack of shame on part of the seller.

So, I'd say it cuts both ways, if one can't justify the pricing and that pricing is far above what has gone before, then it's obviously too high.

[leftpoole]

Hello
The problem I have with people sticking an oar in,is that I purchased something for £28 and no longer need it brand new in its box. i offered it for £20 posted!
Apparently it is available bucket price elsewhere. The person telling all and sundry on the forum should have politely sent me a PM!
John

[rualexander]

If you are referring to me, then I was unaware that there was any form of forum etiquette regarding something like this, I was merely trying to advise you that you were asking more for the item than it could be bought for new from a reputable dealer including postage and a statutory guarantee, and that you might have more luck selling it at a lower price.

[Jonty]

I don't think that people should comment on the prices asked for goods for sale unless they are a potential buyer and then it should be strickly PM.
The seller can ask any price he wants for something no matter how seemingly outrageous.
It's up to the potential buyer to come to a view as to whether or not the price is reasonable.
Third parties have no locus in the matter. Buying and selling is a contract between 2 people and third parties have no interest. An exception could be when someone is hired or asked by a potential buyer to provide advice on the price in a consultative capacity, and then it should be strickly PM.
Seems obvious to me.
jonty

[stoobs]

Perhaps a posting, along the lines of anything you could hear at a market:

"How much?"

[rualexander]

I don't think that people should comment on the prices asked for goods for sale unless they are a potential buyer and then it should be strickly PM.
The seller can ask any price he wants for something no matter how seemingly outrageous.
It's up to the potential buyer to come to a view as to whether or not the price is reasonable.
Third parties have no locus in the matter. Buying and selling is a contract between 2 people and third parties have no interest. An exception could be when someone is hired or asked by a potential buyer to provide advice on the price in a consultative capacity, and then it should be strickly PM.
Seems obvious to me.
jonty

I disagree, this is an open forum for expressing opinions and giving advice and feedback. I see nothing wrong in commenting on anything that another person posts.
If you want to sell something here then you have to accept that. Otherwise, there's always Ebay etc.

[Anura]

Perhaps if an item for sale is more than the person wants to pay, they should just not buy it! After all you can't do that on Ebay!

[pete75]

I don't think that people should comment on the prices asked for goods for sale unless they are a potential buyer and then it should be strickly PM.
The seller can ask any price he wants for something no matter how seemingly outrageous.
It's up to the potential buyer to come to a view as to whether or not the price is reasonable.
Third parties have no locus in the matter. Buying and selling is a contract between 2 people and third parties have no interest. An exception could be when someone is hired or asked by a potential buyer to provide advice on the price in a consultative capacity, and then it should be strickly PM.
Seems obvious to me.
jonty

Any post made by anyone on a public forum is open to comment by other members of the forum. Seems obvious to me.
You're right it is up to a potential buyer to decide if a price is reasonable but in order to do so they need full information on how much the item sells for elsewhere. There is nothing wrong with a forum member providing this info.

[Jonty]

I appreciate that it's a public forum and I understand and respect the views expressed which are different from mine.
However I remain of the view that it's inappropriate behaviour for people to poke their noses into other people's business.
I'm a member of the Yahoo Moulton Bicycle Forum and the Moulton Bicycle Club and members frequently post advice on those fora on whether or not a particular bicycle on Ebay is what it says it is, and they also draw the attention of the Forum to potential scams etc. This is public spirited and very worthwhile. However I've yet to see a member posting comments to the effect that the product being offered for sale by another member is over-priced, for all to see.
IMHO that would be rude, inappropriate and not something I would choose to do, but we all have different standards.
jonty

[Jalan]

I'm quite surprised that folk are allowed to join CTC forum and advertise their goods on the first day

No indication either whether a board member is a paid up CTC junky

[pete75]

I appreciate that it's a public forum and I understand and respect the views expressed which are different from mine.
However I remain of the view that it's inappropriate behaviour for people to poke their noses into other people's business.
However I've yet to see a member posting comments to the effect that the product being offered for sale by another member is over-priced, for all to see.
IMHO that would be rude, inappropriate and not something I would choose to do, but we all have different standards.
jonty

When someone posts something on a public forum it is no longer their own business and they are inviting comment. It's not the same as posting adverts on a paid for selling site like ebay.
If someone is asking a price for an article which is way over the odds it is , in a way, a form of fraud as they're hoping to sell it to someone with no idea of it's true value. I see nothing wrong with anyone pointing that out to potential purchasers.
You may think good luck to the venodr if he/she can get away with it, but we all have different standards.
Having said that I've not posted anything about prices here but I wouldn't hesitate to do so if I saw something second hand being advertised at a similar or greater price than a retailer was asking for the same item new.