B/S/T Suggestion

I'd like to suggest that in the B/S/T forum, only the thread's OP can make subsequent posts on the thread.

The reasoning behind this is to prevent threads from being hijacked by others with their opinions as to what the seller should be charging for their item. If someone is interested, they can PM the OP.

What if someone has proof the person is a scammer and they want to warn others?

Send a message to the moderators who can then close the thread and add in the information.

Khris said:

Send a message to the moderators who can then close the thread and add in the information.

Click to expand...

And what if the Admin doesn't do anything in time?

That seems a little over the top. I don't think it's unreasonable to allow people to post suggestions, questions, and such on threads. In fact, it helps potential buyers by providing more information via the sellers responses.

If there are seriously thread-jacking problems, or people purposely trying to sandbag sales, then that is an issue with members, not with the system.

I've seen several threads which end up becoming 2 or 3 pages simply because of everyone offering their unwanted opinions. To me, I don't want to have to weed through all of that to get information about what someone has for sale, whether or not it's still available, or whether or not they've changed their asking price.

The suggestion comes from seeing how other forums operate their BST section, and limiting the thread to the OP only seems to work well.

Khris said:

I've seen several threads which end up becoming 2 or 3 pages simply because of everyone offering their unwanted opinions. To me, I don't want to have to weed through all of that to get information about what someone has for sale, whether or not it's still available, or whether or not they've changed their asking price.

The suggestion comes from seeing how other forums operate their BST section, and limiting the thread to the OP only seems to work well.

Click to expand...

Why can't the OP edit the original post with new information if the thread gets too long? I know of several photography forums where this is the norm.

lifeafter2am said:

Why can't the OP edit the original post with new information if the thread gets too long? I know of several photography forums where this is the norm.

Click to expand...

I'm sure that's possible, however it doesn't really address the issue of people needlessly posting about something they have no genuine interest in buying. It just puts the onus on the OP to mop up the mess left by others.

Khris said:

I'm sure that's possible, however it doesn't really address the issue of people needlessly posting about something they have no genuine interest in buying. It just puts the onus on the OP to mop up the mess left by others.

Click to expand...

On the plus side they get a free bump.

Khris,

Are you talking about this thread?
http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/buy-sell-trade/131145-fs-macbook-air-1-6ghz-80gb-accessories.html

I can see both sides of the argument. Yes, it sucks that people will sandbag sales by posting their thoughts on pricing and such. But at the end of the day, members are just looking out for each other. If you think someone's purposely trying to kill your sales, then I'm sure that's something you could work out with the moderators. But it seems like people are just giving each other advice on whether or not buying seems like a good deal. People come here all the time looking for buying advice, and it seems only fair that people are entitled to let each other know when they think a better deal exists, this is a forum after all.

I'm referring to numerous threads all over the BST forum.....not just my own.

Regardless, I do agree with CJCS. People here do look out for each other, and I see no reason why that shouldn't happen. If you don't want people to weigh in on whether it is a good deal or not, then personally I say to sell on Craigslist or Ebay, where people can't complain (at least as easily). That's what I like about forums, they are moderated not only by the moderators, but also by the members. Everyone looks out for everyone.

Besides, in lots of those threads there are also people who are saying that it is a good deal, etc. So in that case it only helps the buyer, not hurts them. Again, everyone looking out for everyone.

The ironic part is that I made a request looking for opinions/information from others, but no one bothered to reply. Perhaps I should have worded it to sound like I DIDN'T want people to share their opinions......maybe then I would have got a reply.