Feedback for buyers/sellers?

[Fruitysloth]

Hi, I've recently joined this group, but was Jhungate96 on the tromboneforum. I've bought and sold multiple items, and was scammed once before, by my mistake. Is there any idea to create a sub-forum to provide feedback on buyers/sellers? I know that Reddit has similar threads for feedback like this, and it seems to go a long ways in preventing scams/bad reputations, etc. Just a suggestion, and I'm open to criticism/discussion of the idea!

[Matt K]

My only concern is policing it in the event of something negative. I too have been scammed in the past and also posted about it, though the person wasn't a user of any trombone related message boards, merely Facebook. It was a rather clever and intricate plan that I had others contact me about privately as well. At any rate, I'm not opposed to the idea but I'm not sure the best way to implement it without causing problems like that or organizing it. E.g. The only thing that is immediately coming to mind is having a thread for each user and then having others comment on them. Which could work, frankly. Would still be more useful than eBay rankings, for example. But that could also be cumbersome and might complicate searching for other subjects. But it's a good suggestion. Any other thoughts from anyone?

[Neo Bri]

I'd be pretty worried about some petty people trying to sully one's reputation for unrelated things. My general rule of thumb is "caveat emptor."

I've been scammed, too, and more than once.

[GroshovTC]

Ill try that when i get home from work. Im using XP. Thanks for attempting this, ffb is something that I was very disappointed in Reunion and TC.

[paulyg]

There was just a flap where someone was trying to turn the thumbscrews on a longtime forum member by "loudly" posting about a shires neckpipe that arrived damaged. The thing looked like it had MAYBE $50 in damage (pipe was bent).

The buyer apparently wanted a refund, but had contacted USPS to report the seller for "insurance fraud." So where's that refund money coming from, out of pocket? The behavior of the buyer in this case was decidedly not cool...

Buyers can be unreasonable too. Several recent posts on a variety of topics have exposed that some people on the internet expect private parties and cottage industry businesses to have customer service/return policies equivalent to WWBW or Amazon. A little reality check might be in order- slow responses to emails or issues with shipping are more likely than not attributable to misunderstandings or unforeseen circumstances, as opposed to being scams.

[Mv2541]

There was just a flap where someone was trying to turn the thumbscrews on a longtime forum member by "loudly" posting about a shires neckpipe that arrived damaged. The thing looked like it had MAYBE $50 in damage (pipe was bent).

The buyer apparently wanted a refund, but had contacted USPS to report the seller for "insurance fraud." So where's that refund money coming from, out of pocket? The behavior of the buyer in this case was decidedly not cool...

Buyers can be unreasonable too. Several recent posts on a variety of topics have exposed that some people on the internet expect private parties and cottage industry businesses to have customer service/return policies equivalent to WWBW or Amazon. A little reality check might be in order- slow responses to emails or issues with shipping are more likely than not attributable to misunderstandings or unforeseen circumstances, as opposed to being scams.

I have actually learned (with help from my professor who knows the other party) why this happened, and it is one of those things you couldn't even make up if you wanted to. If anyone is interested in the story (or for some reason anyone thinks I am a scammer) you can email or message me; I do not believe in posting my side or blasting him in a public space like this. I would say all the positive encounters I have had here far outweigh one bad one.

That all said: be careful who you deal with!

If someone is looking to buy or sell pro gear the odds are they are an involved (and good) player, and therefore have connection to an institution and other musicians. There's a good chance then you can get to them in a few steps- a la the 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon.

[Thrawn22]

I used to play a game called heroclix. The feedback system they used was pretty good. Hcrealms.com is the site if you wanna look.

[Thrawn22]

I'm going to suggest that this site SERIOUSLY look into a ratiing system for transactions (buy/sell/trade). A recent topic has pushed some forum members to make it their personal mission to berate another member over a transaction that doesn't concern them. If there's a problem from those involved in the transaction, then it is they who should be discussing it, not members who have no involvement in the transaction. A rating system where positive/negative/neutral feedback can be given by those involved with the transaction will allow forum members to decide for themselves if someone is worth buying from or not and may prevent other members from getting their panties in a bunch over matters that ultimately don't involve them.

[harrisonreed]

And ages. People would probably expect different things and ask different questions if they knew they were buying gear from a minor. Same thread as above. They also might not blast someone as hard if they knew it was a kid.

[Neo Bri]

Like I said above, the problem with a rating system attached to users is manipulation, among other things. it would be a bummer to get a downrating just because someone wants to downgrade.

I like the idea in principal, but I'm uncertain of it's practicality.

I'm also not in favor of people posting on other peoples' Classifieds ads without very good reason. If someone asks to email them for more information, email them. If you don't like their price, move on. If you have questions, contact them. If you have serious concerns about a listing, like ethical concerns, accuracy, scams, etc., report the post.

[Thrawn22]

Like I said above, the problem with a rating system attached to users is manipulation, among other things. it would be a bummer to get a downrating just because someone wants to downgrade.

I like the idea in principal, but I'm uncertain of it's practicality.

I'm also not in favor of people posting on other peoples' Classifieds ads without very good reason. If someone asks to email them for more information, email them. If you don't like their price, move on. If you have questions, contact them. If you have serious concerns about a listing, like ethical concerns, accuracy, scams, etc., report the post.

The site i used as an example only allows for the people involved in the transaction to leave feedback. So i couldn't leave feedback for you unless we did a transaction and when leaving the feedback we have to give a link to the thread showing where the transaction occurred.

So its sorta like ebay feedback but the seller can give positive/negative/neutral feedback.

[mrdeacon]

Like I said above, the problem with a rating system attached to users is manipulation, among other things. it would be a bummer to get a downrating just because someone wants to downgrade.

I like the idea in principal, but I'm uncertain of it's practicality.

I'm also not in favor of people posting on other peoples' Classifieds ads without very good reason. If someone asks to email them for more information, email them. If you don't like their price, move on. If you have questions, contact them. If you have serious concerns about a listing, like ethical concerns, accuracy, scams, etc., report the post.

The site i used as an example only allows for the people involved in the transaction to leave feedback. So i couldn't leave feedback for you unless we did a transaction and when leaving the feedback we have to give a link to the thread showing where the transaction occurred.

So its sorta like ebay feedback but the seller can give positive/negative/neutral feedback.

To back up thrawn I'm apart of multiple subreddit and forum trading/marketplace groups that use a similar system.

There's basically a feedback thread where both the seller and buyer confirm that a positive experience happened and the mods confirm this. The mods give the +1 in trade count. So no phony fake trades that way.

Another way is for each person to leave feedback on each other profiles. The original thread needs to be referenced in the feedback. If negative feedback is left a stink will happen but maybe that's not a bad thing...

There's always the giant feedback thread option. Just one big old thread of positive and negative experiences. Just make sure posts reference the original thread.

Im fairly certain that this specific forum has the capabilites for trade feedback. I'm apart of another which uses this same forum and it has trade feedback.

People are welcome to not used this system but like eBay they'll have a big old 0 feedback next to their name. A good feedback system is a good thing. Shoot I bought a new ThinkPad laptop on reddit because the guy had good feedback and I couldn't have been happier.