What Happened to Basic Etiquette ?

[Richard Tracy]

Something has drastically changed in RWG for the worse.

I have been on these replica boards for years,.. many in fact and have traded in the boards for as long and never have I seen it reduced to this.

The trading forum has become a place for the bored to amuse themselves by posting negative and usually uninformed opinions on other member's sales threads.

I understand fully the spirit of our board which is to prevent rip offs, however, much of what you see posted on sales threads is totally against simple and common Etiquette !

Some say that the market should regulate itself,... however I don't even go that far.

If an item is clearly overpriced, then I have no problem with someone pointing that out,

however my last two sales were in the $80 to $100 range, peanuts, for brand new watches and yet still the crows come out squawk, ask silly questions, & start ridiculous speculative discussions.

If you have questions, please take the time to pm the seller.

We are all members of the same RWG family and we should not, I repeat not, be so casual about taking money from other member's pockets just to amuse ourselves.

Another recent degeneration is for sellers to play favorites and ignore those who reach a sales post first then follow the logical format of post interest, then to pm their interest.

If you have an item for sale, and some respected member gets there first to post interests and then pms for details,.. take the time to answer their request, and allow them to make the purchase if they agree to your price.

Why ? Because it has always been a basic etiquette which allows for a fair transaction that should reward the fastest on the draw and makes for a more exciting and rewarding experience for everyone.

Not to follow basic and common decency takes away from the purpose of the trading forum, which is to allow us all a productive & fun place to barter, save some money on great deals or to finally obtain some elusive or discontinued peices.

As it sits now, I don't think I will ever go back there again to buy or to sell, because the experience has never been so uncivilized.

[Samurai]

Mate....I completely agree with you that we need a much more civilized behaviour....which perhaps has to be self goverened by the members here.

As for selling something to their favourite/preferred members.....I would say...given the nature of our hobby (not 100% legal) and the recent few scamming incidents.....it is the seller's prerogative to whom he/she might want to sell and being biased in this is as such ok.

While on the topic of etiquettes.....another thing that irks me is members sending PMs without any greeting or thanks. I get a fair number of PMs from members and a lot of them are one/two liners asking for info on where I bought a watch or recommendation on something else.....I still take the time to reply to them in a polite way...and very rarely have I seen anyone acknowldge the reply.

Oh well.....

[Ronin]

I agree there has been some recent tread crapping, and as long it is not a SCAM-- if you don't have anything good to say, why say it. This is buyer beware, and again, as long as it is not someone trying to sell a Canal St rep for $$$, it is the buyers responsibility to research what they are buying.

However, on the first come first serve. It depends. I have seen, and agree/support people who post "This is not a race to PM me first - I reserve the right to sell to who I believe is the best buyer". Furthermore, posting in the thread, PM sent, does not necessarily guarantee your place in line. I have purchased at least 4 watches by PMing but having never posted to the sales thread.

Given a choice during a sale between a Platinum Member with 1000 posts and a noob non-supporter who PM'd 10 seconds before.... Sorry, but to protect myself I would choose the Platinum guy.

Again, posting PM SENT in the thread does not mean someone else hasn't stealthily beat you to the draw. Finally, some even cross-post sales between RG and here.

So I agree on the thread crapping, but politely think the seller reserves the right to sell to whomever he/she wishes.

Thanks!

-Ronin

[lanikai]

It has extended to other areas of the forum as well,.. but conversely there have been a lot of new members that have restored my faith in the younger generation.. must have been good "Parenting" when they were younger.. or "old fashioned discipline by Dad"

I usually don't post names.. but.... ammendal.. one of the newer members who is familiar wtih timepieces has been a true Gent !! and it other newer additions are reading this .. you would do yourselves all a favlour by mimicking his manners and respect .. cause only by giving it do you in turn do you recieve it !! Respect~

The Man is a Class Act.. fo sure..

We will always have the "hit and run".. people that come here for info then run..

ERGO ~.. as members who frequent this forum that we call home.. I believe we really need to lean on the newbies to upgrade to supporter status ..

We do spend countless hours of our time and money and pass on all our knowledge... the least that can be done is for members coming on board to help with our daily usage..

jus ma 02

Aloha~Cheers

Lani

[Richard Tracy]

I agree there has been some recent tread crapping, and as long it is not a SCAM-- if you don't have anything good to say, why say it. This is buyer beware, and again, as long as it is not someone trying to sell a Canal St rep for $$$, it is the buyers responsibility to research what they are buying.

However, on the first come first serve. It depends. I have seen, and agree/support people who post "This is not a race to PM me first - I reserve the right to sell to who I believe is the best buyer". Furthermore, posting in the thread, PM sent, does not necessarily guarantee your place in line. I have purchased at least 4 watches by PMing but having never posted to the sales thread.

Given a choice during a sale between a Platinum Member with 1000 posts and a noob non-supporter who PM'd 10 seconds before.... Sorry, but to protect myself I would choose the Platinum guy.

Again, posting PM SENT in the thread does not mean someone else hasn't stealthily beat you to the draw. Finally, some even cross-post sales between RG and here.

So I agree on the thread crapping, but politely think the seller reserves the right to sell to whomever he/she wishes.

Thanks!

-Ronin

Thanks for the response guys....

With regards to the notion of 'selling to whomever I want..." however,..

I'm not referring to a law here, but a courtesy, as long as the person who posts interest first is of respected status,..

Otherwise if you will only sell to a chosen few, you should post your ad in the platinum forum, or send pms to your 'friends'...

I personally feel that if someone will take the time to respond to my ad, then I should at least take also the time to respond, and if someone gets there first, but I am not aware who they are, I will also let them know the reasons why I feel the way I do.

Not to do so is simply rude, and allows backstabbing deal ninjas to snatch watches away from honest forthright buyers, with the offer of a few extra dollars, when someone who responded to a sale first and was willing to pay the full asking price is left in the lurch.

To me that is a shady way to do business, but if I am alone in this notion,.. then I will remain silent and simply follow my own guidelines.

[Ronin]

I'm not referring to a law here, but a courtesy, as long as the person who posts interest first is of respected status,..

I think we are on the same page actually. Overall, I agree on the first come first serve.

And I think my other point was that "PM Sent" in the thread first, does not mean anything -- given cross-postings, or people like me who will just fire off a PM and not respond in the thread all the time.

As long as you are up front in your post: "Supporters Only", "members >10 Posts" I think it is acceptable. Also, if someone sends a PM along the lines of "PP Loaded, ready to buy NOW" while the first guy to respond is looking for answers and more pics, I see no reason not to sell to the NOW guy -- within reason -- if the questions/requests are easily responded to -- stick with FIFO (First In First Out).

The same applies IRL (In Real Life) when using something like craigslist.org or classifieds. I was selling some DJ equipment, and some of the "first" phone calls I received left uneasy feelings that I would be rolled or otherwise put out. Needless to say, I choose to trust my gut, and not deal with them.

This is a good discussion... Civil .

-Ronin

[TeeJay]

It's a tricky balance, to be sure. I've had deals go very well with members with hardly any posts, and, by the same token, had members with very few posts make offers to buy, but fail to complete the transaction. When that happened, that made me think "fine, platinum members only..." but, given that most platinum members already had what I was selling, it wasn't as if they'd want to buy duplicates, so easier to make some things open to all. I don't even mind if someone backs out of a sale when, following questions, it turns out the item is not what they're looking for, because as mentioned above, I'm not going to take someone's money just because I want it, and I'd certainly rather someone explain and then step back, rather than simply not send the money, and totally back out of the deal like a piker... I guess it's just a case of being grateful when a transaction goes well, and philosophic when things don't work out as intended...

[edit to add]

I'd say that in general, the world is a generally ruder, less considerate, and more self-centered place than it was, not even a decade ago...

[mjmurphy926]

Totally agree Richard...

...And let me just add that I have read some posts lately where newer members have stated, matter of factly, that a particular watch isn't what the poster or seller state it is, but rather something else (i.e. 4th gen, noob factory...stuff like that) and they were dead wrong.

It's one thing to think you are more knowledgeable than you really are in a general post, but if you're going to question someone's sales post, you had better be right!!

Advice to newer members...Read more, post less!!

I certainly don't want to discourage anyone from posting worth while and valuable information, but the more you learn, the more valuable your posts will be. Don't just spew crap and try to raise you post count!!

OK...I'm done..

[Shundi]

Well said... it's been quite obnoxious lately.

[maxman]

Mate....I completely agree with you that we need a much more civilized behaviour....which perhaps has to be self goverened by the members here.

As for selling something to their favourite/preferred members.....I would say...given the nature of our hobby (not 100% legal) and the recent few scamming incidents.....it is the seller's prerogative to whom he/she might want to sell and being biased in this is as such ok.

While on the topic of etiquettes.....another thing that irks me is members sending PMs without any greeting or thanks. I get a fair number of PMs from members and a lot of them are one/two liners asking for info on where I bought a watch or recommendation on something else.....I still take the time to reply to them in a polite way...and very rarely have I seen anyone acknowldge the reply.

Oh well.....

I agree, a simple thanks is a no brainer

[KB]

From an administration point of view it is a very difficult thing to police, we believe having a sales section open for discussion is the correct way to go and that by and large the members will police the section in a responsible manner.

However there will always be those who want to push the limits, at the end of the day there are only two avenues to sorting this (1) We make the sales section a closed forum, which as stated above we do not believe is in your best interests or (2) The members themselves need to step in and tell these people when they have crossed the line between normal inquires and crapping, remembering also that an Admin team member will take action if alerted to thread crapping.

Ken

PS. Good to see you around K.

[Fidestro]

I can agree with the silly questions statement, I have posted about this before. Few things are more annoying than answering questions on a potential buyer for three days to have them disappear.

[Richard Tracy]

From an administration point of view it is a very difficult thing to police, we believe having a sales section open for discussion is the correct way to go and that by and large the members will police the section in a responsible manner.

However there will always be those who want to push the limits, at the end of the day there are only two avenues to sorting this (1) We make the sales section a closed forum, which as stated above we do not believe is in your best interests or (2) The members themselves need to step in and tell these people when they have crossed the line between normal inquires and crapping, remembering also that an Admin team member will take action if alerted to thread crapping.

Ken

PS. Good to see you around K.

Logical as always Ken !

Hear that guys,.. the gloves are off.... Just joking....

Great to be here,....