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Should we require (SOLD) notification in heading in sales forums?


rionrlty

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Hey guys, I’m not usually one to stick my nose in where it may not be appreciated, but…

I’ve only been on the forum now for most of a year. I started out right away selling some of my almost 250 reps, which I’ve been collecting for over 10 years and then buying others to replace them.

Right off I noticed that when a watch, parts or straps sold on the forum that some of the listings displayed a (Sold) notification in the heading. Many more did not and many would only give indication on the last reply that they had indeed been sold.

I nearly always search the recent listings at least twice a day and right away became irritated that I would have to waste time searching the entire string to find out if the item had already been sold.

I resolved to be more informative on my own listings but ran up against a roadblock. When I left clicked on the “edit” prompt, it gave no option for changing anything in the ad heading. So, I contented myself with placing (Sold) at the very beginning of the description.

Not completely content with this situation I finally managed to contact an admin., who informed me that by right clicking on the “edit” prompt and then clicking on “open” that I would be able to access the whole ad, including the heading, so that I could place (Sold) right at the beginning of the heading.

Right now I would estimate that less than 20% of the ads are marked in this way. It’s really not much effort and I, for one, would appreciate this courtesy from other forum members. It was not obvious to me, so perhaps many simply do not know how how to do this as I did not in the beginning. Perhaps it should even become a rule of listing and selling INHO. Anyone else think this is a good idea?

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Perhaps it should be put in the sales rules, but of course not everyone obeys all the rules now. Education is the key. I think there are a lot of people who just don't know how to do it.

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I agree with MOB, it is common courtesy to add "Sold" to either the title or at the beginning of the first post. Ir's very frustrating and time consuming to read through a sales thread, and then have to PM the seller to ask if the watch is still available.

I believe that one way to police the sales forums, is to give folks that refuse to follow the rules a " timeout". If your post doesn't conform to the rules, you get a warning, second time no posting For Sale items for one week, then one month, then if the seller continues to violate the rules, a permanent selling ban. I would bet that the folks who are not following the rules, would get the message pretty quickly.

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I agree with MOB, it is common courtesy to add "Sold" to either the title or at the beginning of the first post. Ir's very frustrating and time consuming to read through a sales thread, and then have to PM the seller to ask if the watch is still available.

I believe that one way to police the sales forums, is to give folks that refuse to follow the rules a " timeout". If your post doesn't conform to the rules, you get a warning, second time no posting For Sale items for one week, then one month, then if the seller continues to violate the rules, a permanent selling ban. I would bet that the folks who are not following the rules, would get the message pretty quickly.

+1

 

This "timeout" penalty is what happens on other forums and works well.

 

Saying that I don't think there is a rule to prefix the Subject with "Sold", although it's a good idea.

 

As to notifying people, IIRC there is an option in the forum software for important notices for all members, the next time they log in the message is displayed all by itself and you have to click a checkbox saying you've read it and an Accept button which will then take you to the usual front page of the forum.

 

Don't know what clicking "Refuse" button does, I assume it doesn't let them log in, instead viewing the forums as a guest (that can't post).

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That would be nice. Something else that bugs me is when the location isn't listed. Its obvious when the sales listing is £xx.00 or some other currency but some member list the value in USD no matter where they are shipping it from.

We are advised to list all prices in dollars regardless of where we are from.

Sometimes you can miss seeing if its in pounds, dollars or euros and assume dollars and get a shock when asked for 375 pounds or whatever! :)

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Both location of the item and currency are minor annoyances, but I generally don't worry about those things until after I've developed a positive interest in the purchase. After a while currency conversion became familiar enough that I could approximate it my head. A single currency would be nice but after all we are an international community and should adapt to the fact.

Still paramount however, is the (Sold) notification as currency and location would only be relevant after passing that portal. Some inconsiderate sellers will still refuse to make the notification, but if we could get 80% of the members to comply, instead of the 20% that I've estimated so far, it would make a big difference.

Also I've learned that before seriously considering a purchase, to check the seller's profile and, more importantly, feedback which automatically informs of location. I've already had responses from a number of members thanking me for instructions on how to modify the heading so I think education is the key to this. The real question seems to be, what is the best way to get out the word?

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TBH until this post it never crossed my mind so really the issue never bothered me... I simply sent a PM asking relevant questions and if it had sold I thought nothing more about it and moved on..

 

As for currency I prefer to work in USD as its the common currency on all the forums and its the curency that dealers work in on thier sites.

 

 

I have always had a mindset that this place has many individuals with different views,cultures and attitudes and there is always a balance in what we expect and what we get...

 

I am not disagreeing with the point of the original post just that I have never allowed minor inconsiderations (or what I personally consider those to be) of others to bother me...

 

:)

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I thought it was forbidden to edit the post in watch sale section, one of the rule in red font written: Your listing cannot be edited after it's posted - ALL  pictures and description must not be deleted or changed in both your original post and the Topic Title

so simply add sold info at last reply of my post...

seems I need go over and find my post marking it as sold in head.

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You know, I never was one to accept rules at face value if they made no sense. Why not be able to change the listing? I personally have made mistakes in both pricing and description that I needed to correct after posting. None of us are perfect. Sometimes a price should be reduced after the fact, so what is the reason for that rule. It seems not to make sense and also seems to be pretty much disregarded by most on the sale forums. Anyone got the answers? Also, if the rule is valid, then why give us a way to edit in the first place? Also, I still think it's a pain in the a-s to have to go to the end of the string to find out if an item is still available.

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I've always pot sold in the subject line and also put price reductions in the original post.

I know about the no edits allowed rule but am like Nanuq, I don't think anyone will mind for just those reasons, and the original text is always left in there and crossed out.

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Has anyone noticed that the options tool bar has been blanked out on posting? I too always crossed through the old text just to be totally accurate, but for now my tool bar is not working, so cannot cross out items. Is this happening to everyone or is it just me? Also, can an admin. comment on the reason why changes are forbidden? I'd really like to know.

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I have a number of listings right now that I would like to lower prices on. Would it be preferred that I simply repost them with new price, or should I edit the old one?

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Has anyone noticed that the options tool bar has been blanked out on posting? I too always crossed through the old text just to be totally accurate, but for now my tool bar is not working, so cannot cross out items. Is this happening to everyone or is it just me? Also, can an admin. comment on the reason why changes are forbidden? I'd really like to know.

 

In the toolbar, look at the very top right - there's an icon that looks like a light switch.

 

Click on that and see if all the other toolbar icons come back.

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I have a number of listings right now that I would like to lower prices on. Would it be preferred that I simply repost them with new price, or should I edit the old one?

Edit the old one.

 

If you can't cross out the old price just do something like:-

 

Price now : $xxxx (price was $yyyy)

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Thanks Fraggle42, that did the trick.  I just learned something new.  Appreciate it.  I sometimes suffer from paranoia and for a while though admin. had slapped my hands for disobeying the rules

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