I did this exact thing recently as a buyer trying to help someone else and you're absolutely right, I won't do it again. It backfired and made it obvious to me that being a middle man was not a good place to be. If I have to buy for someone, the purchase is my responsibility. Devon
I wanted to kick in here someplace and I thought your point is well taken so I think I'll embellish it. I feel that the sights I belong to always have a few bitchers.It's just human nature.The V8 Board is such a great place for us old guys/gals to give time and info to keep the young guys/gals involved and mentor all ages.The parts I find here have been an education for me.I would gladly pay to be a member so donations are a gift to all involved.I have much to offer and like sharing.Thanks Jim.
Guess I am guilty of this, as there are several members of the local BCA chapter that I have done this for. Then I check with them to see if they still need the part, and if so, buy it. If not, I get back out of line. Guess I didn't realize this was a no-no. I thought helping a seller find a buyer, and a buyer find a seller, made both parties happy and was a good thing. I try to do the same thing all the time by helping members find parts or cars, and by posting leads. Also a bad thing I guess?
Chris ...a flipper? I would like to have all the greenbacks he's lost "flipping" Buicks and parts to help other Buick enthusiasts...including myself! Buick Eric / Oregon :3gears:
I've noticed in many threads people like to get off topic or muddy it up. Also take shots at each other. This is part of the issue as well. The other issue are some members are in a more narrow mind set or bring up a specific one off situation. I think Jim has a real issue up for discussion. There is a fix for it.
I have been a parts seller for years and a "Hoarder".as far as the gouging part,I take some issue.If a part is nice and priced high it can be summarily dismissed.The beauty of the system Jim has in place is that no one has to buy anything unless they want to.If you commit carry thru.I haven't spent years going thru junk yards and swaps and doled out cash for parts just to "give" them to someone who feels like it's there privelage to get something for cheap.Profit is not a dirty word.My life is full of GM parts and it only seems fair to be adequately compensated.I have never sold anything on E-Bay or Craigs list.And to be direct,don't want to.they're bad places to shop and sell.My suggestion is put the "Golden Rule" in place and make it known so we all live by it.This is suppost to be fun. Just my thoughts.
Jim, I think that one of the main reasons there are problems with the buying and selling done on the forum is that the rules here are different here than they are in "the real world". I am not saying they are right or wrong, just different. I will speak to cars for sale, as I spend more time on that subject than on parts. But I think what I am saying applies to almost anything, not just cars. In most instances, in the real world, a seller advertises his/her car for sale, and he wants to actually sell it, quickly, for as close to his asking price as possible. That is why he is advertising it for sale. He is then contacted by people with questions, requests for pictures, etc., etc. He probably has people promise to call or show up, and they fail to do so. He has people say I am going to buy it, and then don't. All along during this process, the car is typically still for sale. He is free to sell the car to anyone he wants to, or not sell it to someone he doesn't want to. He can even take a lower offer from a friend, or from someone he thinks will provide it a better home. It is his car, and his choice, as long as he isn't breaking the law. He can take as long as he wants to respond to someone, or to sell it. He has no time constraints, but he risks losing an interest buyer. But that is his choice, since it is his item he is selling. Then he gets a deposit. At that point, he has a real potential buyer. Usually that person is now "first in line", and the seller will work to close a deal with the buyer. Here, the rules (as interpreted by some) say that he can not take his time with a sale. He has to respond to buyer's within a certain time frame (a rule that is unheard of as it relates to seller's anywhere else). He has to sell someone, even if he doesn't want to. He has to let people "get in line" and potentially (and most likely) delay is sale (just check and you will see that more times than not the first person inline does not end up buying). It appears he is to only deal with one person at a time, if that person has expressed interest by getting in line. Where else can you put something on hold, that is in many cases rare, expensive, and even one of a kind, by just saying "in line" and not making any financial (or other) real commitment? The simple solution is to do like other boards (and real world businesses) do, and allow people to advertise their items for sale (with rules that dictate what the ad needs to contain, etc.) and let them sell to who they want. That provides sellers with the broadest possible audience to sell to, and buyers the largest choice of goods, as seller's will want to post their items for sale here. Do like HAMB, don't allow anyone to post in for sale ads except for the seller. Buyers can contact the seller through PM's. If you want to generate income, charge for mailbox size, so sellers and buyers will need one to PM each other. HAMB also allows members to join an "Alliance" for a fee, which essentially makes you a trusted member. HAMB will intervene if there are complaints regarding buying and selling between Alliance members, which encourages users to become one, and also to buy and sell to one. They don't "police" or intervene in sales with non Alliance members, not enough time in the day for that. It cuts the BS on for sale items completely out. Again, I am not saying your rules are right or wrong, they are yours to make, and as such they should be abided by. BUT, bear in mind, that they go against how things work in the Real World, which may be why they sometimes fail...... ---------- Post added at 08:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:44 PM ---------- Jerry sold it in June of 2012, it was wrecked in June of 2013.
Thanks and I wasn't looking for a debate on my thoughts or ideas. I don't think I mentioned "profit" in my post anyway. I could care less about anyone making money these days with all of the non sense. I do see a trend and some board members have a valid point with other members buying every single part and not having a chance to get them. My ideas would help the buyer v/s seller. It would make things more fair to some extent. Just an fyi I'm a guy that hs bought and parted out many cars ..............stored parts..............etc. I'm not new to trying to make a buck. I would just suggest to some "be a solution not part of the problem". I don't think there needs to be a response to everyones post either. Silence is golden. I won't be looking at this thread anymore just due to these items above.
Chris, I have no concern about generating income with classified ads. as to the HAMB way of just posting ads, and allowing only PM communication, I would be interested in knowing how that does just not turn into an auction. I don't have to try hard to imagine a seller taking bids via PM, over and above his sale price. The whole concept behind our classifieds is transparency. From both the buyer and the seller. And your correct, our rules don't jive with the "real world", because quite frankly, the internet is about as far away from the real world as you can get, when it comes to buying a car 1. You can't see it in person 2. You can't hear it run 3. You can't drive it 4, and most importantly to me, you cannot verify that the seller has title to the car, that the car even exists, or that the seller even exists, and is not some fictitious person, attempting to scam you. Honestly, when we started the board, I grappled with the idea of having classified ads at all... because the potential for fraud is so high on the internet. And in my opinion, allowing a seller to post a car for sale, bulletin board style, with only private communication after that, simply begs for dishonesty in dealing with potential buyers, if not outright fraud. I also noticed the HAMB rules for the classifeds.. and the last section, in so many words, says "Don't piss and moan to us about the classifieds". That's not an attitude that I would be willing to adopt here. JW
What a lot of response to this thread. Good. I have bought a lot more than I have sold through the classifieds, (including buying some guages a few days ago) and I have never had a problem, including buying 2 cars. Rather, I have had great experiences. Use your intuition and pay attention to the history of the seller or buying member... Frank
I think maybe that a dissection of the rules is in order, there seems to be a lot of confusion. Here they are: Our policy dictates that if you list a part or car for sale, you will in good faith adhere to the following: Post a price for the item being offered. Post a location of the item. Work with the interested parties to complete the sale, in the order that they showed interest in your item. This interest must be shown with a public reply to your thread, Personal Messages (PM's) or emails are not acceptable communication requirements for "getting in line" to purchase an item. We suggest 48 hours as an acceptable time period to allow interested parties to contact you privately. If the first user who responds to your ad does not complete the sale, you move onto the second person who responded, and so on and so forth down the list, until the item is sold. This list is dictated soley by the public replies to your ad. You will not accept other offers or negotiate outside of these guidelines. You will not refuse to sell the item to anyone, for any reason, unless a moderator or the board administrator is involved and Ok's the denial. Rule one and two are common sense.. price and location is a major factor in the purchase, especially of a large item. Rule 3 seems to be a cause for confusion. Here is my thinking on that one.. If someone is posting on your ad for information, they are interested in it.. is that not simple common sense? The only way to verify any of this is out in the open.. transparency.. protects both the buyer and the seller.. so that's the whole reason to require public responses. The next one is the biggy.. I was thinking about this earlier, and recall not wanting to define a time to work with a party.. in stone, but only to suggest a reasonable time frame. There is nothing in those rules to stop me from advertising my car, and allowing only 1 hour for each "in line" guy to make a decision. Nothing at all, and this was not an accident. But even I didn't recall that right away, I had to go back and look at it, when everyone started the time frame talk. It occurred to me that I should actually go back and read what I had written. I thought 48 hours was a reasonable time for conversation.. this allows someone to have a family emergency, and not loose out on the car or part they have maybe looked for years to find. The next one is simple.. work with them in order. And the next one.. no under the table deals... transparency one again. And finally, no more pulling the rug out from your buyer, buy just making up stuff. The thinking behind this was to keep these sales from turning into auctions. JW
Clarity of rules three and four it appears is needed. By some folks asking a question is not considered interest in purchase. So perhaps spell out in the rules that interest must be stated, as a statement. PM sent, Interested, ect are acceptable (or not, your call), but make sure its a statement. If it has a question mark (or lacks punctuation) its questionable and invalid. Did i miss the part of the rule it can only be listed here if posted? Is it listed somewhere else? Probably worth amending here also and point out the Leads section for stuff listed in multiple places.
Seems some want to change the rules that Jim has put in place.<o></o> One thing to remember is if you do not like Jims rules you Do Not have to post your items here. It is Jims playground so it is his rules. And they usually work.<o></o> Some items are vaguely described and not very good pictures so I see nothing wrong with asking for a better description and pictures. <o></o> Chris, you were the one inline before me so I take it you did not buy the car or you were in line for someone else??? At least it was enjoyed a year before it was totaled. <o></o> ---------- Post added at 08:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:44 PM ---------- Jerry sold it in June of 2012, it was wrecked in June of 2013.[/QUOTE]
"You will not accept other offers or negotiate outside of these guidelines." This rule precludes offering an item for sale in other venues when it is posted here....is that the intent? John
Ah, yes, I can see that now. It wasn't obvious to me as I kind of tunnel visioned on it applying to PM's and e-mails.
What concerns me is the "PM Sent". If you send a PM to a seller that's a no-no but if you put in the ad "PM sent" that shows intrest? Also asking a color is "Interest?. I've been told by Mods that this does "NOT" show intrest in either case. I also have been told they are both right. WTF. That's what needs to be clarified with me. I've heard it both ways, so it makes me hesitant to sell or buy here. PONCH
I miss the days when this board was all about making our Buick go fast and maybe trade off some parts to other die hard Buick guys! No bull, no attitudes, just good people with a common interest. Classifieds seems to be contrary to that lately, it seems like its just about the money/how much can I get for it/how high can I drive the price...I thought we were a cut above all that. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
---------- Post added at 09:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:03 PM ---------- When this rule was started way back when, the rule was that all business was to be done on the thread until you finalized the deal then you could swap info through pm's. I think over time things have been let go a bit here and there in that way. The whole reason behind it was to stop the back door deals. There does seem to be a little bit of division here in the way that some are bent on changing the rules to meet there needs or idea that the rules are like this on this site or like that over there. I think its very clear that most people are all and all happy with how well things work 98% of the time. This is a pretty tight community here and for most part everyone watches out for each other. I have seen where someone half way across the country that didn't receive there parts the bought and a follow board member knew the guy and went and collected on the parts. I think with this being for the most part a buick community the is no better venue out there to list your car or parts for sale, and you also get a increased chance of moving them over a generic web site. I also think people here buy with confidence which is pretty rare these days. Its not perfect but it works pretty well until some doesn't follow the V8buick rules. If you can't deal with the rules then its a easy fix, list them over on the BPG website, H.A.M.B, or where ever or what works for you and then post the link in the leads section. Or if its ebay we have a section that you can post in here also. Its a great way of buying and selling, ya it sucks if you aren't the first one on the list but you win some and lose some. Thank you for the great car site JW, and the mods that have put up with me over the 10 or 11 years I have been on here not including the couple holidays I got But most of all I am grateful for all the people I have met here. I felt that with all the going on's the last couple days it is time to talk about the good things about V8buick
You Got It Guys. I like it here too or else I wouldn't have been here for so long. Most of the time when I buy or sell things go great. A few hiccups but things work out in the end. E Bay? My God are they screwed up over there. I haven't bought anything there for Years. But more and More guys are wanting Pay Pal here. Not really demanding just as a convenience. I don't do Pay Pal either. No Comment there. Overall this is the best website On Line that I can think of. GREAT JOB J Dub Ya. If I thought you weren't doing things right I wouldn't contribute. But I do to cover those who don't/cant and I don't mind at all. HAPPY BLACK FRIDAY TO ONE AND ALL. Don't drive your favorite Buick, it'll get hit or dented in a parking lot. PONCH
