[Bruno]

Please note that as of today, it is not permitted to delete and then recreate ads just to get rid of other people's comments. Doing so will result in a timeout, and a ban from placing ads in the classifieds section for a long time. The specific duration of those periods will be decided on a case by case basis.

[Philadelph]

Could we maybe have a discussion on this? Seems to me most people delete and repost for other reasons. I personally do it when I have had an item up for a while as a bump. People also do it when their price changes. Also, as it is now, SOLD items do not rotate down to the end of the list as has been suggested. Therefore you could have 12 items on a page all of which are sold yet many more still available much further back. The ability to bump is pretty integral for selling items in this format IMO.

[Bruno]

Deleting and reposting is not an issue in itself, although you shouldn't do this repeatedly for the same item, only to get more views imo. But if there is a legit reason, there is no problem.

The problem is that some people delete their ads just to get rid of comments they don't like.
If you sell an item that is severely overpriced, and someone posts a link to a place where that same item sells for half price, it is childish and greedy to get rid of those comments in the hope that someone doesn't know said item is overpriced and buys it.

This is still a community, where people should be able to perform transactions with a certain kind of trust, instead of expecting to be fleeced.
People trying to game the system for the sole purpose of maximizing profit in an unfair manner have no place here.

[Philadelph]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Deleting and reposting is not an issue in itself, although you shouldn't do this repeatedly for the same item, only to get more views imo. But if there is a legit reason, there is no problem.

Problem solved! Thanks!

[gugi]

Originally Posted by Philadelph

People also do it when their price changes. Also, as it is now, SOLD items do not rotate down to the end of the list as has been suggested. Therefore you could have 12 items on a page all of which are sold yet many more still available much further back. The ability to bump is pretty integral for selling items in this format IMO.

Just thought I'll note that any update in a listing can be done w/o deleting and reposting it.
Sold items do expire in few days, but not immediately.
The left panel pulls random ads, so even if an ad is not on the first page it will still be seen.

[Ditch Doc]

Originally Posted by Bruno

The problem is that some people delete their ads just to get rid of comments they don't like.
If you sell an item that is severely overpriced, and someone posts a link to a place where that same item sells for half price, it is childish and greedy to get rid of those comments in the hope that someone doesn't know said item is overpriced and buys it.

This is still a community, where people should be able to perform transactions with a certain kind of trust, instead of expecting to be fleeced.
People trying to game the system for the sole purpose of maximizing profit in an unfair manner have no place here.

I completely agree. However, I was reprimanded by a mod for pointing this exact thing out in the comments of an item for sale.

[Bruno]

The classifieds is a relatively new piece of infrastructure for us, and we are trying to deal with things as they come along.

An outright discussion of prices is offtopic.
But it would be perfectly ok to post a comment, linking to e.g classicshaving and asking the seller if that is the same razor.

I know: we are talking about semantics here, but we are trying to find a compromise between keeping price discussions private (after all: supply and demand set the final price) and allowing a reality check to prevent newbies from falling for outrageous prices, as has sadly happened already.

As I said: we are still trying to determine a good compromise, but this is not something that is 100% correct at the first attempt. If people have questions or concerns, they can either post them here or send a PM.
This topic is actively being talked about among us, and we value all input.

[Ben325e]

How would you suggest approaching this type of situation when there isn't a similar razor to be found? If you find a pitted wade and butcher with a few water and rust spots and cracked scales, with a tiny chip in the toe being sold for 90 bucks - or a no name razor in similar condition - what should the protocol be for this type of posting? As far as I know, classicshaving doesn't have this type of stuff for sale...

I feel that newbies should not be ripped off in this type of situation just because it says "wade and butcher".

[JimmyHAD]

Going back to the original BST forum would be the best solution IMHO but I suppose that is a moot point.

[Chris L]

Why do I always miss all the good stuff? I've heard mention of razors being listed for exorbitant prices in the classifieds in the last few months but I haven't seen examples of that. Goes to show I have HAD more than RAD. Maybe someone can PM me and bring me up to speed on some examples? I don't approve of gossip unless I'm privy to it.

Chris L

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by JimmyH-AD

Going back to the original BST forum would be the best solution IMHO but I suppose that is a moot point.

Yeah...
Not anythime soon.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Ben325e

How would you suggest approaching this type of situation when there isn't a similar razor to be found? If you find a pitted wade and butcher with a few water and rust spots and cracked scales, with a tiny chip in the toe being sold for 90 bucks - or a no name razor in similar condition - what should the protocol be for this type of posting? As far as I know, classicshaving doesn't have this type of stuff for sale...

I feel that newbies should not be ripped off in this type of situation just because it says "wade and butcher".

They way we see it now (but feel free to add your thoughts) is that the description would have to match the item. And that would be where the room for discussion is.

If you see a razor that looks like smurf, it could have a description like
'Old crappy razor. The scales are worth smurf, but the bolsters are in good condition, and the blade can be restored by someone who wants to spend the time. 50$'
If the blade indeed looks like it could be restored AND if the description is truthful, then the price is not up for discussion because people can ask what they want, and the potential buyer knows what he is getting into.

Otoh if that same razor gets advertised 'great collectors item. a valuable addition to anyone's collection, so sharp it cuts paper' you are free to point out that that razor has issues.
Descriptions should be truthful and are open to discussion.

And if the seller then removes and recreates the ad because of those comments, we will have alook. We count on you guys to bring such an even to our attention because we obviously don't have time to monitor the classifieds in realtime.
And if we have to conclude that this was wilfully done by someone who knows better, then we will take action.

[Utopian]

A recently notable ad that has been pulled and re-posted repeatedly seems to have lost the comments that were with it. Is there now a way that the comments can be pulled or are moderators pulling off comments addressing price objections?

[Bruno]

We are only pulling comments that are discussing price directly. The price is up to the seller and the actual buyer, just as in a retail shop or an actual classifieds ad in the local newspaper.
comments about accuracy of the description are allowed, as are links to identical items somewhere else.

[Utopian]

Originally Posted by Bruno

We are only pulling comments that are discussing price directly. The price is up to the seller and the actual buyer, just as in a retail shop or an actual classifieds ad in the local newspaper.
comments about accuracy of the description are allowed, as are links to identical items somewhere else.

Yup, that's what I figured.
I realize it is not the moderators job to babysit inexperienced buyers and it has been clearly stated that the Classifieds are subject to caveat emptor. I hope that point can be made clearly enough to new members.

I'm just disappointed that last week a new member fell for paying $180 more than the retail price for a razor that was still commercially for sale at the time.

[Bruno]

It's not that we moderators are sitting in our secret lair all day, thinking up new rules for the fun of it
We try to leave things covered under the blanket rule of 'gentlemanly behavior' as much as possible.
We only resort to 'rules' if the other approach doesn't work.

It was the incident you mentioned that triggered this rule. We did take that incident very seriously, but at the time there was nothing we could do under the classifieds policies as they existed at the time, and the sale was made before we had the time to think about it.

The difficulty for us is to find a way to walk the line between allowing free market, and still providing a place where people don't have to watch over their shoulder.
By allowing comments on the accuracy of the description, and comparison with identical (or as near as possible) items at other places, we hope to enable this without breaking our hands-off policy.

Atm, the way I described it so far is how we envision this to work. As this rule is put to the test, it can be fine tuned or amended as the need develops and we get more experience with the dynamic of the classifieds. The goal is to prevent active moderation (other than as needed for things not related to the selling) and still inspire trust so that none gets fleeced.

[Ditch Doc]

Originally Posted by Bruno

We are only pulling comments that are discussing price directly. The price is up to the seller and the actual buyer, just as in a retail shop or an actual classifieds ad in the local newspaper.
comments about accuracy of the description are allowed, as are links to identical items somewhere else.

I merely posted a link to an identical item at a popular dealer at half the price, and received a reprimand. I have no emotions attached to this, however, I do like to see consistency and accuracy.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Ditch Doc

I merely posted a link to an identical item at a popular dealer at half the price, and received a reprimand. I have no emotions attached to this, however, I do like to see consistency and accuracy.

When was this?
This new 'rule' was only made 2 days ago, and there was some initial confusion.

[Ditch Doc]

There was a couple of comments about a razor that was for sale that was the same model as one being sold at CS. I do believe it may be sold out at this time though. They went quick. In any case, someone asked if it was the same one as at CS, the OP stated he wasn't aware, and I provided a link to said razor. Now, this razor is one that many have been paying very high prices for, and considering that trend, the OP wasn't out of line. It just happened that CS had a lot of NOS,something about liquidation sale, and put them up for sale at half the asking price of the SRP poster. One of the mods sent me an email stating my post was out of order and had deleted it. The ad is still posted, however all comments have been removed.

P.S. This occurred yesterday I believe.