Sales threads, bitching and flaming about peoples prices.

[Lordstar]

I see more and more people posting in peoples threads bitching about the price of X item when they have no inclination of buying, its childish and stupid. It breaks out in to pointless arguments and people have been warned about it countless times.

I am suggesting that we ban this sort of behaviour in peoples sales threads as were all old enough to make up our own decisions about if we want to pay the price that an item is listed for. It is common for people to post an item and not be 100% sure on what price to give it I suggest if you feel the need to flame the person you politely you politely do it via pm there's nothing stoping you from shooting a PM saying.

your price is a little heavy there why not try XXX amount

You dont walk in to a used car dealers and scream at the top of your voice

THATS NUTS THAT PRICE! YOUR ALL BEING CONNED!
so why on a forum? As you all well know prices are going up and down all the time. the price some one paid for a PCB locally may be very different to what is payed on-line, or the price you payed three months ago may have changed from the price some one is offering today.

although i have my doubts about "cave fever" personally as a whole the forum is not stupid enough to pay over the odds. we all know how to use goggle and search ebay and ask for a suggested price if we need one.


so im suggesting to the mods a rule to stop people going OMG that price is sooo high you suck cock if you pay that for it.

your thoughts?

[jonny5]

agreed

i think i am guilty of this in etrian's sales thread...not my best moment....

sometimes its hard to bite ones tongue...and it obviously does cause arguments...

this idea could only be good for the trading forum IMO

good idea lordstar!!

[elfhentaifan]

this thread should be the public announcement for all those Trading Station Heroes.

Stfu plz

[Jockel]

I dunno.
Somehow i think prices should be debatable, if someone just over- or underestimated the value of the game in question.
Some prices are ripoffs, and therefore i don't think it's childish to warn other people about this. But of course if the price is about 20$ different from the going rate, all mouthes should remain shut.

[undamned]

Free bump for Vilent Ken.
-ud

[Michaelm]

THATS NUTS THAT PRICE! YOUR ALL BEING CONNED!

Yeah, great idea !!

[benstylus]

As long as people remain reasonable and civil about it, I don't see a problem with letting someone know their price is high.

Something like "WOW WHAT A RIP-OFF" is obviously not reasonable, but perhaps with a little more tact, it can be used effectively... for example "I've seen a few on ebay recently go for about $20 or so less than that (or maybe $200 for a sought after PCB), you might get some bites if you lowered your price."

Heck, I've seen many many threads where items are priced low, and people with no intent to buy say things like "wow, fantastic price!" or "Wish you'd have sold this about two weeks ago... I just bought mine for twice that," etc.

I've also seen plenty of times where people say things like "you can get quite a bit more for that on ebay."

And obviously, no seller ever complains about posts like that, though they're likely to take the time to respond with thanks, or explanations of how they prefer to sell here first, etc. But why is telling people their prices are good any different than telling people their price is too high?

There's two sides to this debate - there's advising buyers to make sure they don't get ripped off, and there's advising sellers that they may want to lower their price to attract a buyer.

Sellers may think "well I don't WANT your help," but that sort of attitude immediately puts them in a negative light, as it makes them seem as though they know their items are overpriced, but want to try and sucker someone anyway.

I think it's absolutely reasonable that sellers have the right to ask whatever price they want, be it reasonable or exorbitant. But in doing so, it is equally critical for other users need to have the right to voice their opinions on the matter.

In a perfect world, everyone would do their research - sellers would look at the going rates and price appropriately (or even slightly below to be competitive) and buyers would shop around to make sure they aren't spending significantly more than they have to (though, in many cases, i'm definitely willing to pay some premium from someone knowing their reputation for quality, for example).

But this isn't a perfect world, and so peer criticism is a very useful thing, again, provided that it is done in a tactful manner.

[jonny5]

this is true...but i think lordstar is right....if a price is too high it more than likely wont sell...mosty members are fairly informed on pricing

although this will leave less experienced buyers open to being ripped off if they are not sure of current pricing....

i still think it would be a good idea....

and if interested buyers feel the price is too high a PM would serve just as well as a post in the sales thread

[Lordstar]

As long as people remain reasonable and civil about it, I don't see a problem with letting someone know their price is high.

which is why i suggest people do it via pm. All too often people will grab the pitch forks.

I've also seen plenty of times where people say things like "you can get quite a bit more for that on ebay.

I dont think that should be allowed either, We all are aware of ebay we all have the internet. A simple PM would also fix this

[jonny5]

my only concern with this idea is less informed members getting flossed....i would hate to see that kind of thing happen here

but negative price comments almost always result in arguments....so i guess its a damned if you do, damned if you dont kind of scenario

[Lordstar]

make a what price is this this thread and sticky it.
worked for killercabs and for Arcadeotaku.com

[jonny5]

make a what price is this this thread and sticky it.
worked for killercabs and for Arcadeotaku.com

now why didnt i think of that??

good idea

[dpful]

Man, I just wish someone would buy the rest of my stuff.
http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=20238

Everything's as cheaper than I would pay for it (or did pay for it)- minus any real research on competetive prices, plus a little less than just how much money I'd need to feel comfortable letting it go.
It's hard to bump it all the time. Buy!

I'd love a thread that had some competetive pricing estimate of everything. It would have to include something like- "This much $ when it comes up, vs., this much $ available whenever you want it"

Duh, it just occured to me, I've tried to do a good job recording the prices and people I've sold to in my sales thread just for that exact purpose- you could copy that into the new thread.

[KindGrind]

I'd say comments on what's being sold are rather unavoidable, as some sellers will always posts things for sale basing their price on sentimental value or because they had to take a 3 day hike in the desert to get the item. I don't think anyone who disses/destroys the sales thread of another member will have an easy time when it comes to selling his own stuff. It's a matter of decency. Also, there are times when something HAS to be said (infinite bumps, for example, of a ridiculously priced object that stays for 6 months).

Friendly advice via PM, as Lordstar and others mentioned, should be the way to go, but then again, banning people who make comments on other people's threads seems too much.

[Elixir]

I had full interest in purchasing this, but he ended up getting all defensive.

No, I really don't think it's smart to sell something a month later for more than what you paid for it, excluding shipping. I actually pm'd him before Dave replied in that thread but it still didn't work. I give up.

[dpful]

Here's my pitiful attempt at starting a general prices thread that I can't maintain and wish someone could.
http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=22318

Maybe sellers could submit the prices their stuff has sold for voluntarily and someone could add it up? Btw, ebay sucks for this, since a lot of this stuff isn't in the 3 month range or whatever it is.

I think it would be so valuable to know the different costs of things. This forum is a jackpot for shmup info- it could be the same for shmup pricing info.

[I'm Alec]

I think its wrong to say that ANY type of behavior should not be allowed short of illegal behaviors. That said, I don't think this behavior should be encouraged, nor the flame wars that can ensue.

[Ceph]

Here's my pitiful attempt at starting a general prices thread that I can't maintain and wish someone could.
http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=22318

Maybe sellers could submit the prices their stuff has sold for voluntarily and someone could add it up? Btw, ebay sucks for this, since a lot of this stuff isn't in the 3 month range or whatever it is.

I think it would be so valuable to know the different costs of things. This forum is a jackpot for shmup info- it could be the same for shmup pricing info.

Priceguides are a very bad idea, because they ALWAYS lead to higher prices for everyone. We have debated this several times and most of us agree. I know you meant well, but it would do us all a disservice in the long run (neo-geo.com, anyone?). It's very good that so far we never had any priceguides here, and I'd appreciate it if you closed (deleted) your current one.

[Ed Oscuro]

I agree with Ceph, priceguides are either supposed to be lo-ball-guides (aka DP Guide, which probably wasn't intended that way but that's more or less what it is at this point) to let you spot OMG R@R3 L@@K!!!1 finds in the wild, or they drive up prices.

p.s. would anybody like to buy a Stratovox cabinet? $500 OBO (pickup only tho)

[jpj]

all this drama from a £30 mark up on a pcb

[Ozymandiaz1260]

I think its wrong to say that ANY type of behavior should not be allowed short of illegal behaviors. That said, I don't think this behavior should be encouraged, nor the flame wars that can ensue.

Yeah, you shouldn't censor people like that. If somebody told me my price was too high, I'd just be like 'thanks for the info, fag' and be done with it. If somebody gets all huffy and doesn't want to sell their shit over something so trivial, then that's their problem.

[Ed Oscuro]

Of course, sometimes people DO need to hear that their prices are too high or that they're asking too much.

[honorless]

so im suggesting to the mods a rule to stop people going OMG that price is sooo high you suck cock if you pay that for it.

I agree with this, to a certain extent. It's one thing to politely suggest (even if it's not via PM) that "Hmm, that price seems a little high...(legitimate explanation as to why)" but all the bitching and rudeness lately in the trading section is annoying.

...shmupsforum is on its period

[gennss]

I would agree that ppl need to stay quiet. I would just look over stuff i felt was too highly priced, but if something i can't seem to find, and i really want, and i'm willing to pay for i easily go $50+ over value depending on my desires.

Business is business.

[neorichieb1971]

I personally don't see its any of your business what I price my stuff at. If I put something on eBay and it sold for $2million and it was the Rare Cave DDP6 then who;s to say its not worth that. I can ask what I want, if your not interested move along.

How would you like it if I told you what your stuff was worth?

[TigerCraneFist]

Free bump for Vilent Ken.
-ud

haha. Good one.

Really though, Im guilty of it in one of his sale threads and even knowing it was lame to do it... I couldnt help myself. Partially because his pricing sucks but also partially because he kind of seems like a jerk. So that brings about the point that alot of it to me seems more directed at the person out of dislike then out of actual concern to the price. The price just happens to be a way to shit on someone else under the guise of concern, which Im sure it is equal parts both. I am admittedly guilty of this in the aforementioned instance.

I think people realize the import of looking out for one another on these forums as the first and last line of defense against scammers and price gougers. At the end of the day we have no buyer protection and only each other to rely on so its only natural that people step in to inform, wether wrong or right. But if there are lines drawn in the sand then this will never stop until people just start biting their lips. Not to say he/she is guilty because that solves nothing..... just speaking in general terms.

Im so paranoid about being accused of price jacking that I almost always lose money when I sell stuff. Its no big deal though.... this is not my profession nor am I looking to make money off of arcade PCBs... Im just looking to thin my collection so I can feel better about buying new crap.

This is after all a hobby, something to do with free time and not real life. Its meant to be fun, but whenever money becomes an issue with anything.... it stops being fun.

[Dave_K.]

so im suggesting to the mods a rule to stop people going OMG that price is sooo high you suck cock if you pay that for it.

your thoughts?

Why is this reading overly dramatic?

Selling to a community implies you better understand that community. If you fear reprisal for selling tactics, or fear of overpricing, or underpricing, then don't sell your shit here. Ebay is a fine place to put something up for sale where you don't know how much its worth, and then be assured you will always get what someone is willing to pay for it. How hard is this to understand? If you want to get more eyeballs on it from the community then post a "FA:" thread.

Trying to impose a rule where people can't speak their minds in an open community no longer makes it open. Of course people maliciously slandering others is a subjective call, left to the moderators to control, thats why we have them.

[Ceph]

Exactly.

[mr_m0nks]

as i never have any money i never really look in the trading section

but after reading all this it sounds quite exciting


right im off to look at overpriced goods and type ZOMG RIP OFFS!!!!! all over them

[yojo!]

Free bump for Vilent Ken.
-ud

The flaming really started when he came to this board and started his profiteering. Banning Vile Ken from this board would solve 99.99% of the problems.