Limit the Marketplace Forums

BlackSpy:
I think that

1) the Selling forums should be invisible to non members - I've seen it done on other forums

2) you should only be allowed to sell if current selling members approve you, probably done by a 'blackball' method ie, by exception

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broken:
Even though this isn't general Neo discussion, I think it deserves to be posted here due to the fact that, we as a community, represent one of the largest gatherings of Neo fans on the planet. If not THE largest.


The Anti-Scammers Manifesto

Presented by broken


Hardly a day goes by without a cry from one of our forum members of deals gone bad and I propose a list of tips and suggestions to minimize your potential of being ripped off (here after being referred to as "screwed", "shafted", "raw-dogged", or any other number of similarly phrased offensive terms).

I will break this up into categories starting with a general and then specific areas out of that.


General Tips for trading/selling/buying.

1. Always ask for references if sending items or money to someone first. This is of importance when dealing with a new member. This will of course vary depending on the situation and if its a sell or trade or what not.

A. Always check the ebay-ids, if they were posted as reference! If someone says, that his ebay-id is "mr_X", then you should ask "mr_X" via ebay's internal mail service to verify (ask him about the offered goods) his identity. Especially, if you want to buy/trade expensive stuff. - addition by supergoose79

B. When you do check up on someone's feedback, say on eBay, make sure you check on an item link and see when it ended and how long it took for the feedback to come. If it was a good while, you may want to take that into consideration. Also, if it's feedback on say, Gametz.com which a lot of people here tend to use, do the same thing. Many times people on ebay and gametz put "positive" and "excellent" all across the board when really it was less than satisfactory. This will sometimes occur because people are afraid of retaliation.

So, email those people and ask personally how the sale/trade went. Usually they'll give you honest answers in private email and you get to know the potential business partner better. - addition by Steve


2. Always be crystal clear on what exactly is being traded/sold/bought. If not, keep asking questions until this is clear. No one likes to get stuff that isn't in the condition that they thought it was going to be. Or missing pieces that should have normally been there.

3. Photos. A picture can tell a thousand words. Considering the English of some forum members leaves a hell of a lot to be desired, this is a VERY good idea. This also leads into the next suggestion.

4. Never, ever, deal with anyone from an English speaking country (USA, Great Britain, Australia and such) that can't spell or put together basic sentences. If their writing all the time looks like they are:

A. drunk
B. one of the "home boys"
C. most likely in the 5th grade
D. all of the above

Avoid. If someone isn't willing to use basic grammar skills and at least make an attempt to sound understandable, its best to just walk away from the deal. This is of course not valid when dealing with someone that lives in a foreign country and speaks English as a second or third language (i.e. Our German, French, Spanish or other non English speaking country members).

5. The most important thing to keep in mind when you are at either end of a transaction is "If its sounds too good to be true, then it probably is". Don't become another statistic of the "A sucker is born every minute" crowd.


Selling Tips

1. Always ask for payment first. Just like eBay, you should receive payment before you ship the item.

2. Always be clear on what type of payments you accept. If you say Paypal, make sure to note if you don't accept Credit Card based Paypal payments. This will save everyone time and headaches.

A. You also might want to mention any shipping insurance you offer. Or just roll it into the asking price. Make sure to note this if you do.

3. If you only want to sell to folks of your country, or certain areas, you should also mention this.

4. Be precise on what you are selling and add pictures if possible.

5. Never let someone drag you out on the thought they are sending payment or who wants to haggle on the terms after the deal has been finalized. Always be flexible, but don't be ignorant.

6. At anytime either party can back out of the deal. This of course doesn't apply once someone has sent payment or a trade. Again, be flexible.

7. Once an item is sold, you should follow up with an email or PM to ensure that they are pleased with the sale. This will go along way towards good will.


Buying Tips

1. Know what you are buying. Educate yourself on what it is or its function prior to buying it. It is your responsibility to know that a square peg doesn't fit in a round hole.

2. Know the market price. Check the forum for past similar transactions or eBay and other various places for this info. Don't crap on someone's selling thread, but don't get taken to the cleaners either!

A. You can search eBay for many items and get a ball park idea of what the going price is. Keep in mind that on eBay, nearly everything is classified as "Rare".

B. If the item in question is Neo related, you should really check out the Price Guides here at neo-geo.com to also double check that the asking price is reasonable. This guide is maintained and kept up to date on a regular basis.

3. Although mentioned before, ask questions. If buying something that has a high chance of being fake or bootleg (i.e. MVS carts), ask them.

4. Protect your purchase by asking for insurance. It might cost you more, but this is in case the delivery service decides to play an "Ace Ventura" with your package, you have some way of recouping your losses.

5. Also protect yourself by not sending cash. Always use a form of payment that leaves a paper or electronic trail. This way incase the seller decides to go to Cancun on your payment, you have proof that you actually sent it.

6. Be prompt when paying. Don't wait 2 weeks to send payment if you were going to send in a few days. If such circumstances come up, notify the seller and perhaps work out an agreement. Most people are flexible on these things unless they need the cash NOW.


Trading Tips

1. If a trade goes down between a Senior member and a new forum member, I am of the opinion that the newbie should send first. Until this person has built up some street credit at n-g.com, this should be the way it goes.

2. If possible always provide pics and detailed descriptions to go with them. This way everyone is clear on what exactly is in the photos.

3. A trade is never finished until both parties have received their items and had a chance to examine them. Brother ForeverSublime got shafted on this one, so we should all learn from his trade on the value of this one.

4. DO NOT trade/sell/modify an item you just received in a trade until the previous point (3) has been met. It is not yours until both parties agree that point 3 has been fulfilled.

5. If both can't agree to point 3, then the trade should be reversed and items sent back to their original owners. This will cost shipping for each side, but its better than getting stuck with something that doesn't suit your needs. This will of course vary depending on the situation.


If You Think You Have Been Scammed

1. Always try to settle differences in private before taking them to the forum. Don't jump the gun and start making accusations and threats before you at least try to contact the other party.

2. If you decide to drag a topic to the forum, back up your accusations with proof. Don't come in there blasting off remarks with no way to prove it.

3. Once you make a public post to the forum, expect everyone and their brother to start posting their opinions on it. Don't get pissed and fly off the handle at them. Remember, YOU are the one that posted this for everyone to see.

4. Paypal charge back is your friend. If someone keeps dragging a deal out and says they are shipping "Real Soon Now", and can't/won't furnish a tracking number or insurance number, charge back! This of course only applies if you paid via Paypal and are still within your 30 days from original transaction. After that, you are hosed. Be careful with this, as charging back after someone has shipped the item is of course going to piss them off and make you look like a thief.


Most of this is common sense, but I thought it would be nice to post it up and let others comment on it.

Anyone want to add or modify any of this?


edit: Cleaned up grammar and spelling mistakes and removed some of the over the top foul language.

Several additions and cleaned it up some more.

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broken:

I have an idea.

How about make it so that when someone new registers, they don't have immediate access to the Market Place forums. They can post anywhere else they might normally be able to post except there.

Then, for them to gain access to the Marketplace, there could be a number of criteria that might need to met. Such as any one of the following:

1. Voted on by mods. The mods could do something like on the 15 and 30th of each month all new members from a certain date could be voted on having Marketplace post access.

-the mods have enough going on in thier own lives, they don't have time do lock most threads that go wrong as it is. How can you possibly expect them to do anything more?

2. After so many posts, the Marketplace would be "unlocked" and they would be able to post there.

-This is a worse idea becuase there are some members who post nothing but one-line bullshit for every single one of thier posts! Besides there are members with restraint who only post every once in a blue moon.


I am sure there are several other ways it could be done. Maybe even totally restrict new members from even seeing the Marketplace to begin with. This would cut down on people that see it as an easy target to hit for Scams.


Anyway you cut it, I think this BBS needs to really change its software and go to something more flexible if it wants to continue to grow. Which it ain't doing.

-the people running this site and modding this site have enought stuff to do as it is. For example bobak is the most active mod, no question about it. But he can only fix most crap once a day and some days not even then. He is going to law school and juggling a career you know

Regardless of how many people are registered, this site really isn't growing in size. Its simply changing and moving members around.

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zorro:

broken:

I have an idea.

How about make it so that when someone new registers, they don't have immediate access to the Market Place forums. They can post anywhere else they might normally be able to post except there.

Then, for them to gain access to the Marketplace, there could be a number of criteria that might need to met. Such as any one of the following:

1. Voted on by mods. The mods could do something like on the 15 and 30th of each month all new members from a certain date could be voted on having Marketplace post access.

-the mods have enough going on in thier own lives, they don't have time do lock most threads that go wrong as it is. How can you possibly expect them to do anything more?

2. After so many posts, the Marketplace would be "unlocked" and they would be able to post there.

-This is a worse idea becuase there are some members who post nothing but one-line bullshit for every single one of thier posts! Besides there are members with restraint who only post every once in a blue moon.


I am sure there are several other ways it could be done. Maybe even totally restrict new members from even seeing the Marketplace to begin with. This would cut down on people that see it as an easy target to hit for Scams.


Anyway you cut it, I think this BBS needs to really change its software and go to something more flexible if it wants to continue to grow. Which it ain't doing.

-the people running this site and modding this site have enought stuff to do as it is. For example bobak is the most active mod, no question about it. But he can only fix most crap once a day and some days not even then. He is going to law school and juggling a career you know

Regardless of how many people are registered, this site really isn't growing in size. Its simply changing and moving members around.

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Kid Aphex:
Limit the market place forums somehow.

Post count?
Member number?
Date of registration?

C'mon, this can't be that hard. The scamming is ridiculous, this site is starting to become a shithole for rats and thieves.

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