I've suggested this before but I think it got under... As the classifieds section is very busy and always growing, it is hard for the sellers and buyers to keep track of what's happening.
My suggestion is based on another forum I'm active, which sells photography equipment. Most of that stuff is much more expensive than the average sale on here, and it has a successful track record.
The system is as follows:
1) Seller puts the ad in a thread, including a price
2) All communication, "bidding" etc. is done on the thread
3) PM will only be used once seller and bidder have agreed on price to exchange payment/address.
4) Seller states when item was collected/handed over/posted
5) Buyer states that item is paid for/item received.
This way, the whole process is much more transparent. People will be able to see who bought what from who at what price and everybody knows who the successful buyer is (in case someone goes awol).
I think the dibs system is useless and it's very annoying if many people dibs in the thread, some PM, some only PM, some email... Argh. Hard to keep track who was first, especially on very sought after items.
Hope that make sense!
though it seems quite cumbersome, i quite like the idea of this. Would take it to another level of seriousness. On the other hand, I think it's fair play that friends go before unknowns even if the unknown pm'd first.
Also like the idea of keeping prices in posts, great to have a record of what things have sold for before
though it seems quite cumbersome, i quite like the idea of this. Would take it to another level of seriousness. On the other hand, I think it's fair play that friends go before unknowns even if the unknown pm'd first.
Also like the idea of keeping prices in posts, great to have a record of what things have sold for before