Not Much New In The Members Classified

[stinger35]

Like the rest of you NES addicts, I am constantly checking the classifieds through out the day. I start in the green section, and after finding minimal new posts, head down to the "other" classifieds. This is where my minor rant begins.

I understand that the idea of selling something is to sell it for as much as you can, as fast as you can; but more and more I click on an item and see it snatched up by a registered user. More times than not it was never posted in the members section.

I know that I'm setting myself up for a beating here, but I know there are members who have felt the same, So don't leave me hangin.

All I'm saying is "lets give the members the first shot".

And to the first one to fire back at me; "Go Green"

 

[stoneypete]

Short answer. No. I will sell what I want to whom I want on the terms that I want. Ain't capitalism grand?

 

[Brian5582]

I can understand your point and have thought the same. I must ask though why aren't you posting this in the members section?

 

[Twigg]

If you're looking for something specific, try posting a "WTB" ad.

 

[HooVooLoo]

Members can just as easily look in the general classifieds as the member-only ones. But when someone needs money, why should they restrict themselves to a certain section when there would be more exposure in another?

It's not like people are posting uber-rare must-have collectibles that other greenies might feel that they should be obligated to "have first dibs on", which is an outrageous attitude in it's own right. It's just mundane stuff because people need money. This isn't a fashion show, an art auction, or some lazily off-beat *yawn, you wan't this?*

This is survival money people need. For survival. Paying bills. Buying food and clothing.

First-come, first-serve.

Does that put your mind at ease? /rant off now? You're welcome.

 

[Sputa Arms]

I don't think you should get any flack. I thought the same thing. You don't have to give the stuff away for free to members. Just a little something for people who appreciate the nes site enough to pay a membership.

 

[MACGYVR]

Posting in the members section is more of a security blanket. If a green member wants to buy it you know there is some protection by being able to see their feedback, rep points etc and recourse if the deal goes bad.

In the general public classifieds anyone could want to buy your item and many times these are not green members so its a crap shoot on how the deal is going to go down.

Also posting in the members section provides a level of privacy for the seller as well.

Its not about giving the members a chance at it first. It's about how much can I get away with selling something for. Post in the classifieds and you can demand top dollar from it. In the members it will be tougher to get that so you discount to the actual price you want to sell it for. It's capitalism.

If you are concerned about missing items just click new posts each time you visit the forum. Then you can see the classifieds that were just posted since you last visited. It will also show if an ad has activity on it.

Also many times when an ad is posted, you will not ever know if someone has already expressed interest in an item via a PM. Not everyone writes PM sent.
I don't. It's redundant. It's more like claiming your spot in a line that does not really exist.

 

[FalArAk]

Treating registered members like lepers makes the one treating them as such look foolish.One of the phrases I seen was "If you aint green,you aint shit" comes to mind.

$20 does not buy respect or make a person more honest in dealings.

I was trying to sell an AK once and the guy said he sent me a money order,week later no money order coming from Milford or something.Dude says it must have gotten lost and whether or not he should file a claim with USPS.Heard nothing from him for another week and sold the AK to Mikey for a better price than I gave the welcher.It was an Arsenal milled AK,and it was a great deal.

He is a NES member,and he paid his $20.To this date,it was the most f-d up deals I ever participated in..A close second was an ammo for ammo trade that was agreed upon,and a site dealer changed his mind and said he was getting ripped off..At least he was upfront and didn't leave me hanging like the other idiot did.

Only thing I do different when selling things is give an NES member discount to encourage membership.The only thing I take seriously on this board is buying and selling,everything else is just entertainment.

 

[EddieCoyle]

The rules WRT the Members Classifieds if that you have to give better terms (lower price, pay for the transfer, etc) in the Members area than in the 'regular' classifieds. You can't post it the same way in both places. You can however post it in the Members area first, then move it to the regular classifieds if it doesn't sell.

I agree that this would be the ideal way to do it - even though it makes more work for the mods. We have to go in and remove the Members post if it is moved to the regular classifieds.

 

[xtry51]

Only thing I do different when selling things is give an NES member discount to encourage membership.The only thing I take seriously on this board is buying and selling,everything else is just entertainment.

+1

 

[stinger35]

Interesting thoughts from all.

As I stated in the post, I understand that when you decide to sell, you want to sell as fast and for as much as you can get for the item. And as for selling to whom you want on the terms you want, I think this is a pretty standard attitude that goes without saying regardless of what classified section you would post in. This being said, you may be selling to someone who found NES googling an item, and after the sale will not visit again. Regardless, your item is sold, good for you, mission accomplished. The forum gains nothing.

Restricting yourself? Do you truly believe that your item would sell that much slower in the members classified? I did not mean to imply "first dibs" as a privilaged attitude, but more of a support for the forum. More interesting is the attitude that those in the Members Classified are half asleep "YAWN", looking for art or a fashion show. Is that truly your belief POTATOE? We all check the forum multiple times daily!

 

[wolf223]

Concept: post stuff in the general WTS section with two prices.

Registered users $xxx.xx

Green members $yyy.yy ( minus whatever discount you feel is appropriate ).

 

[vellnueve]

Do you truly believe that your item would sell that much slower in the members classified?

Yes.

 

[meth0d]

I'll put my Savage for sale in the members area for $5 off if you buy it today.

 

[Terminator03]

Geez, I wasn't even aware that there was a separate classified section for green members only. I'm pretty new here, and have not officially joined as a supporter as of yet. I generally hang for a bit on the various forums I join to see if it is a good fit before becoming a pledged member. So far this seems like a great group, and I will likely be official soon. I have to admit, though, that the different pricing in the classifieds caught me totally off guard, though! In all of the many types of forums I do belong to, that is something I have never seen before. Generally prices are what they are, and the only thing blocking some random visitor from buying, is that some forums restrict the ability to pm someone until they have established 20-30 posts on the site.

 

[davemata]

Yeah, I know what you mean... but that's what works here, you know? Seems to be exclusionary, but if someone wants the reduced price, go green. I'm sure if they do it purely for getting a savings, it will pay off quickly.

If someone wants to go bargain basement to another green because they're supporters, go for it and if not, they don't have to. At the end of the day the disposition of their goods is their own business.

 

[depicts]

I just used the open classifieds to sell a nice S&W pistol. I could have listed it in the members section, but wanted more people to see it. Turns out it sold to a new green forum member with only a couple dozen posts, but belongs to my club and knows some people I know. The deal was easy and clean. The one thing about doing business with members you know on line is we have a community reputation to protect. For that reason alone I prefer to deal with Green members, but don't rule out selling to a non-greenie.

 

[drgrant]

If I was going to make a rough count, Most of the guns I've sold on NES (All but 2, that I can recall) ended up getting sold to a paid member, so what you're saying effectively happened anyways.

And all of the guns which I sold in record time (say, under an hour of within posting) were all bought by NES paid members. Not so coincidentally, the core base around here tends to be faster on the draw.

So even if I had posted on the "internal" section first, it wouldn't have made a difference most of the time. I recently posted some ammo at a reasonable price in the open section and it was sold within 24 hours... guess what, to a PAID MEMBER.

BTW, I think it's also unwise of you to assume that just because some guy posts "PM incoming" or "I'll take it" that was who actually bought or scored the item. Half of these messages posted in the ads end up following through to tire kicking or "can I trade my fishtank and foosball table for your Glock?" type trade propositions. There's a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes in a typical NES Classified transaction that the outside observer has no clue about. As a buyer you should ignore these messages, and assume the item is unsold until the seller says it is. Even if you think it's probably gone, it's not a bad idea to PM or email the seller and get a spot "in line".

Do you truly believe that your item would sell that much slower in the members classified?

Yes, there's a far bigger audience in the general ones, including people that haven't even registered.

IMHO the members area is for folks that want to offer (whatever) to members only and likely aren't in a rush to move it.

-Mike

 

[BenDover]

+1

the last 2 guns I sold were never posted for sale....responded to a WTB post.

If you're looking for something specific, try posting a "WTB" ad.

 

[billmelater]

And all of the guns which I sold in record time (say, under an hour of within posting) were all bought by NES paid members. Not so coincidentally, the core base around here tends to be faster on the draw.

Or faster at spotting the ads while on their computers at work?

 

[rattletrap1970]

I'm sellin all kinds of stuff.
Heat Treating oven - $1000
Complete Dillon 550 reloading kit - $850
Ransom Rest - $450
Peavey 50/410 tube amp - $500
Older Cast Iron Craftsman Radial Arm Saw - $200
PM me for more info

 

[GSG]

Posting in the members section is more of a security blanket. If a green member wants to buy it you know there is some protection by being able to see their feedback, rep points etc and recourse if the deal goes bad.

In the general public classifieds anyone could want to buy your item and many times these are not green members so its a crap shoot on how the deal is going to go down.

I'm more inclined to deal with an active member of the forum than a 3 post Charlie, no matter what color his/her username is. But I was a lurker on NES until I saw a gun I had to have, so I joined to buy it, and now I don't discriminate if someone else does the same. I've sold guns and accessories on here to regulars and random strangers, and I haven't been burned yet.

Treating registered members like lepers makes the one treating them as such look foolish.

Agreed.

This being said, you may be selling to someone who found NES googling an item, and after the sale will not visit again. Regardless, your item is sold, good for you, mission accomplished. The forum gains nothing.

What does the forum gain if it goes to a regular? Chances are it'll turn up here again if they want to sell it, but that same random stranger could return to sell it. The crowd is fickle, you never know what'll happen once a gun sells. I'm personally more interested in keeping hard to find guns & pre-ban mags in the Mass. market than I am keeping them in the hands of green NES members. I think that helps the community as a whole a lot more.

I have to admit, though, that the different pricing in the classifieds caught me totally off guard, though! In all of the many types of forums I do belong to, that is something I have never seen before. Generally prices are what they are, and the only thing blocking some random visitor from buying, is that some forums restrict the ability to pm someone until they have established 20-30 posts on the site.

That's how it is here. The catch is if you cross-post between the regular classifieds and the member section you have to have some kind of incentive for the members only. Otherwise there'd be tons of clutter just so people could get more advertising space. There's no communist forced price slashing to sell something in the members section. That would definitely make things more interesting though...

 

[stinger35]

It's funny how a post can go differently than you intended.

I started this as more of a show of support for the forum and members, and never meant to come across as someone with a sense of entitlement. I wasn't trying to make this a greenies versus the world, but I thought that the users were going to take a couple swings at me and I asked for you guys to back me up. So, I was very surprised when the responses started coming in. But I learned a few things and I guess thats the point.


After seeing a couple of items picked off by reg users, it reminded me of someone I had told about the site. After talking up the site to him, he registered as a user, bought his forty and left. Apparently I had a hair across my ass yesterday, and this prompted my post. But as was stated to me, he may come back later to sell, and at that point he may have something else to sell (hopefully). The hook has been set.

Having actually never sold anything on this site I guess I lost sight of the fact that its still about the sale. I was surprised that most of you felt it would sell that much quicker in the generals than the members, since most of the items according to you are bought by members anyway. But I guess, the more views the better the odds, and being green just means you paid your twenty. That twenty dollars doesn't tell you any more about the person than the next. I also have been assuming that a pm sent, as stated by drgrant, means the item is gone. Huh.

Thanks to all