trading station

[Acid King]

Shumps Farm: It's Just You

Fixed.

[Some-Mist]

the only reason I see any issue with new users having access to the trading forums is sniping/flipping. I know many of you longer-standing members have seen people on numerous occasions buy something on here and then turn around with an insanely marked up price elsewhere. to be fair, it could've been an established member on here... but I've noticed it occurring more frequently with users who are relatively new with low post counts. regardless it's those kinds of practices we should try to avoid.

just a recent (last week) example from another forum:

Spoiler

I know ng is in no way related to our forums though I've seen both boards assist one another with dealing with shitty sellers, but vinnyguy (joined jan 2014 with a very low post count) is now trying to flip one of the blast city cabs they bought from cdamm's buy for a $300 markup on craigslist. there are clearly ng users still interested in buying cabs per the new shipment, and one of those users could've snagged that blast and actually enjoyed playing on it instead of seeing this user trying to make a profit on it

I also know often times people will post an extremely fair price that can't be found elsewhere - which greatly helps our community and users who aren't looking to get gouged on ebay or other sites for something that they actually want to play.

on here.. I got a crazy discount deal on a full ibara kit from a member that I met last year at the chicago shmupsmeet. months later (without any prior deal in place) I happened to have a Progear board that I sent him for the price of shipping once I got one with a working battery.

the point is.. because of the tightness of the community and the great relationships between members (both posting on the forums and meeting irl) we're able to establish some sort of trust while keeping the market relatively/fairly priced. those are the kind of deals I (and I'm sure many other active posters) like.

[Some-Mist]

look at this... it seems the guy from my spoilered example above joined this forum last month too and he made the proper requirements (1 post) in order to access our trading section
http://shmups.system11.org/memberlist.p ... le&u=13597
and his first post:

Spoiler

Coming by to say hello...
I like to play zero gunner 2, galactic attack, under defeat..,
I was at the MGC yesterday and played the shit out of dodonpachi 2 and bee storm... I'm interested in being able to use the trading post so I'll stick around and chat it up

[kilauea]

If you want to keep the kit in the community, be a bit more choosey who you sell to. No silly rules required.

[Some-Mist]

I shouldn't have to screen users every time I want to sell to someone within a community I participate in. though I do anyway just to make sure it's a safe transaction, but it's definitely a lot easier and less stressful in dealing with people I've met in person, with established post counts, or feedback ratings.

what rules do you consider "silly"? The only requirement in place right now is that you have to post on here to see the trading section, and I don't really see how that can be considered silly.

[kilauea]

You don't have to screen anyone every time you want to sell something. You just can't complain if the item is flipped for a profit afterwards if you don't, which I'm gathering is the beef here.

Post counts I consider to be silly rules as they just don't address the problem described. Selective selling is the only solution to keeping games within a playing/collecting community. It will annoy some people and stop others getting into the games, but that's the price you pay.

I'd err on the side of tolerating it myself, so long as you get what you want for the item.

[Dave_K.]

If you want to keep the kit in the community, be a bit more choosey who you sell to. No silly rules required.

^this.

what rules do you consider "silly"? The only requirement in place right now is that you have to post on here to see the trading section, and I don't really see how you consider that silly.

I believe he's referring to irate buyers who complain when people won't ship overseas, or don't sell to certain countries, or don't accept the "first pm" asking to hold, etc. You are the seller, you sell it however you choose. If you give higher priority to locals, or known community contributors, then great. If you are looking to unload to the first person meeting your price, then great. If you are a price gouger or flipper, then be prepared for a shit-storm or don't sell it here.

[Some-Mist]

I still think it's better to have people actually participate in the community in order to view the community trading section. More participation in other sections of the forum isn't exactly a bad thing unless it's disruptive posting. though I am getting pretty worn out from seeing all the petitions from newer users

If you are a price gouger or flipper, then be prepared for a shit-storm or don't sell it here.

since you seem like one of the better people to ask...from your experience (other than someone like STV who had a few hundred posts even though 98% of them were in the trading section anyway), are the flippers/gougers on here typically people who participate here frequently? or is it more often than not users who don't really participate much?

I think that could possibly change my stance on the post requirements.

I also don't think you guys might've noticed that vinnyguy has flipped arcade related hardware on another site unless you participate there or had I not pointed it out. be prepared though, because he even mentioned in his introductory post that he's interested in being able to use the trading post.

[brentsg]

If you are looking to unload to the first person meeting your price, then great. If you are a price gouger or flipper, then be prepared for a shit-storm or don't sell it here.

The devil is in the details here though, and there's a lot of gray area. One person's price gouge is another's fair market price. I think sometimes people want to get a better deal because of the community, but when someone's financing their new hobby purchases by selling off old ones, generosity is overrated. Not to mention all the issues regarding different local market pricing due to currency issues.

[Dave_K.]

Completely agree with you brent, and probably should have caveat-ed my statement as such.

since you seem like one of the better people to ask...from your experience (other than someone like STV who had a few hundred posts even though 98% of them were in the trading section anyway), are the flippers/gougers on here typically people who participate here frequently? or is it more often than not users who don't really participate much?

I think that could possibly change my stance on the post requirements.

Yeah, I was trying to sidestep the whole post count requirements for trading section thing. This is certainly not a solve, but a welcome deterrent. So the advice by kilauea to be choosey about who you sell to (or buy from) seems most appropriate.