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dunlustin

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I wonder how others would feel about businesses advertising their wares through the forum?
Would it be a really useful service or more a question of hitching a free marketing ride on other people's enthusiasm?
My view:
Why stop at accordion related stuff - golf tees, tap washers, wallpaper paste - anything useful really?
 
Yes Dunlustin, I’m with you there: joining a forum with the sole aim of hawking ones wares is not on in my view.

Mind you, canny members can see right through such a ploy & will choose to ignore such a post; I note that the most recent ‘advert’ has received no replies to date.
 
For me personally. i come here for very specific reasons, none of which apply to purchasing wallpaper paste or anything else. Was I obliged to wade through tons of useless posts, I would prefer to leave or make my own forum where this was strictly forbidden.

I come here to talk accordions, not toilet plungers and when I need something, I will go to a local store and support a local merchant, not be forced to look at the wares of a person located on the opposite site of the world when I have no interest in doing so. :mrgreen:
 
I take it you're referring to the posts about accordion apps? I don't particularly like them, but figured that some forum users might find those posts interesting and useful. To me, that kind of posting is not much different than somebody who joins only to post about his own achievements without ever commenting or chatting in general - i.e. off-putting but not offensive enough to remove.
 
Anyanka said:
I take it you're referring to the posts about accordion apps? I don't particularly like them, but figured that some forum users might find those posts interesting and useful. To me, that kind of posting is not much different than somebody who joins only to post about his own achievements without ever commenting or chatting in general - i.e. off-putting but not offensive enough to remove.


Ohhhhh, where's the like button.
 
I didn't have a problem with the accordion app posts, but I think such things should go in the For sale forum. Whether a separate "Commercial" for sale section is needed, time might tell. It's important that the heading is honest and doesn't try to disguise what it's about. If commercial posts are "banned" there's more likelihood of people trying to slip them under the radar by dressing them up as general interest. Partly a question of what's easiest for mods - if there's a separate section I assume it's easy and quick to shift them there, and warn the member?

There's also the question of relevance creep - accordion apps, ok that's pretty direct. Cases, bags, parts, accordion music, all fine. Music with melody and chords that could be played on accordion? "Accordionist's music stand"

Shouldn't this discussion be in "The Forum" section? :)
 
There is a big difference between a regular member offering a no longer needed accordion to fellow members, and someone who joins the forum for the express purpose of flogging something. (and there are recent examples of this practice)

I would not like to see this site turned over to unscrupulous commercial dealers, nor do I feel that deals that go wrong (as they undoubtedly will) will do anything to enhance the reputation of this forum.

Perhaps a six month moratorium for new members advertising accordions would help to filter out the "chancers", as it would give existing members an opportunity to assess their credibility. It would also deter people who just want use their membership to turn a quick profit.

The forum moderators may wish to consider the damage which could be done by allowing potentially dodgy deals to sully the reputation of this site, and the bad feeling which may well be the result of a member of this community buying a lemon through this site.

Kind Regards,

Stephen Hawkins.
 
... or a minimum post amount? One cannot post to the appropriate section until "X" number of posts are made. My guess is somewhere between at least 50-100 posts, unless they are known as a reputable source, and this could be lifted in that case.
 
I don't mind selling, if it's accordion related. I've bought and sold on the site. There are members who joined to sell and stayed to chat. There are those in the music business on here whose expertise is invaluable. Also, there have been a couple of cases over the last 3 years when sellers making doubtful claims have been challenged due to the experience on the forum. I don't feel that "adverts" have got out of hand over the 3 years of the forum. Usually I just don't buy the stuff. Finally I feel inclusiveness is a good thing and (hopefully) a strength of the forum, I have my doubts about newcomers having to prove themselves. These are just my thoughts and there is no intention to insult or get in a fight with anyone through these comments. (Though, to be honest, inclusiveness is something I feel strongly about). A forum that was overrun by ads would be rubbish, but it hasn't happened so far.

Edited to add: an extra level of policing would also give the admins and moderators an extra burden, which they may not want.
 
JerryPH said:
... or a minimum post amount? One cannot post to the appropriate section until X number of posts are made. My guess is somewhere between at least 50-100 posts, unless they are known as a reputable source, and this could be lifted in that case.

Not only minimum post requirement but minimum membership period, say 1 month.

Lastly, any ad that does not include the item location gets deleted.
Like the recent ad by some dimwit from Canada who got angry when senior members politely asked where the item was located. :hb
The ad appears genuine enough but the posters unreasonable response would make me wary of dealing with him/her.
 
Perhaps some kind of opinion poll would better represent the views of this community.

All I can say is that I distrust anyone who simply rolls up on here and uses their first or second post to advertise. If all they care about is flogging some tired old accordion, they should not be allowed to prosper in that way.

Maybe I'm a bit old-fashioned but, then again, I don't believe that ethical behaviour is ever out of fashion.

Kind Regards,

Stephen Hawkins.
 
Just thinking this over, I would like to add a couple of things to my previous post. There are "adverts" that I would be positively glad to read about - for instance, a new teacher has set up, a new accordion CD has been released, there's a gig on, there's a box for sale that I'd like, there's a box for sale that I'm interested in hearing about, there's sheet music for sale that I happen to be interested in, there's a business selling restored vintage boxes (cos I like the sounds and the history), I would see these as "good adverts". And we won't all agree on what catches our interest. One of the best young players in the uk joined hoping to sell a top quality instrument and has stayed around from time to time - what a potential resource for the future, just as well I think that we didn't turn on him as an outsider. Anyway that's enough from me.
 
The question this thread has touched on has come up before: I'm happy to see accordions being offered for sale on here, even if someone has joined with that express purpose and only that; if they've got an accordion they've inherited and they don't want to/can't play it, why would they want to hang around on here posting inane comments for a month to qualify to post it up for sale?
It would also be a bit unfair to delete them for failing to say something pertinent when we don't publish any guidelines for sellers. It'd be good if we published guidelines on listing items for sale... And publish guidelines for buyers; and publish disclaimers for the site if the transaction goes pear shaped... and a report button for junk & spam & scam. But we're probably not busy enough for admin to see it as a problem... yet.
So other than the odd bit of junk that I see only occasionally I'm pretty happy as it is.
 
Orma said:
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? -Juvenal
That is also a question that comes up in practically all other forums, the answer is simple... he/she who owns the board (or to one or more trusted souls that were given administrative rights), always have final say. Those that are not happy with that are free to choose to follow whatever those rules are or they are free to not come visit.

I find the open nature of this forum appealing, but this same nature leaves busier forums in ruins. I myself took over another forum and had to do a lot of cleaning house, wrist slapping and even had to ban several key users before order was restored. Today it is the main source of information for one of my other hobbies. Thankfully, this forum is absolutely nothing like my forum was, but is a lot like what this forum is today... its a fun place to come learn and meet some good and amazingly knowledgable people!
 
I agree with Soulsaver: anyone should be allowed to advertise their second-hand accordions. It's in our own interest! I bought my lovely CBA via this place, from someone who does not post much normally. Ditto with accordion events. Other than that.... if you complain about it, I might remove it. There's a 'report' button somewhere; feel free to use it.
 
Anyanka said:
There's a 'report' button somewhere; feel free to use it.
It's the small white exclamation point in a grey square box just left of the "QUOTE" button that is at the top right of every post... just sayin'. :D

... and now that "policy" has been set, I'm good with the decision. :ch
 
I have to say the amount of people on here asking the same old question can be rather tiring, but then I don't see any harm in it. There will always be someone with an old 20s box from the loft who thinks it's top of the range and worth a fortune because it has a nice celluloid finish and sparkly bits. Maybe the best thing that we can do is use this as an opportunity for Accordivangelism. As long as people don't just turn up and try and flog any old crap then I don't mind too much. Maybe we could create a special non accordion sales thread on the 'The Pub' page where members can sell things that may be useful, but aren't directly accordion related. As long as we don't get people like the new user a few months back who tried to sell dodgy paperwork then it's all good, and the more people we can get interested in accordions, the better. If someone can benefit from a new showerhead at a bargain price from a fellow club member, then that's got to be a good thing, as long as it's safely tucked away in it's own section.
I don't think we could feasibly have a policing system, as it is an international site, and it would just mean that new members would be deterred. The cycling club that I am a member of has it's own phpBB forum like this, and they had so many spam users that they had to create a policy whereby the only way to create an account was to ask the head moderator in person for an account and give him your details, but this only works because the club is primarily a physical entity with a physical HQ and frequent meetings etc. As this kind of system is impossible, unless we all want to fly to Almeria (which wouldn't be too bad I have to say), then we are better to just stick to open access and put up with the odd nuisance member. It is still a great forum, and I think that if we make an drastic changes we run the risk of changing the open, free and positive atmosphere of the forum.
I didn't plan on writing that much... Time flies eh... {}
 
Let's not try to solve a problem which hasn't happened yet (the worst kind by the way). If the forum becomes inundated with one off chancers selling any old stuff then we should reconsider.
 
james_from_stoke said:
I have to say the amount of people on here asking the same old question can be rather tiring but then I dont see any harm in it....
That is the #1 issue facing most any forum out there. I try to avoid it by being an anonymous lurker for a few weeks, then join... but yet I still will ask something that was asked 2 years ago or post something that was posted 3 years ago... lol

Some people join to ask that #1 question without even reading at all... it happens, its not meant to be a PITA, though some may feel it is, but we can lessen this happening by having a FAQ (frequently asked questions) section or do what was done for me... paste a link showing that it was already mentioned (in which case I simply apologized). That is an unavoidable fact of life in online forums, one is going to see a lot of repeat questions coming back again and again.

james_from_stoke said:
There will always be someone with an old 20s box from the loft who thinks its top of the range and worth a fortune because it has a nice celluloid finish and sparkly bits. Maybe the best thing that we can do is use this as an opportunity for Accordivangelism.

Perfect attitude, and one sets an example for this person to do the same when they become a board veteran and another new member asks that same question for the 101st time.

james_from_stoke said:
As long as people dont just turn up and try and flog any old crap then I dont mind too much... If someone can benefit from a new showerhead at a bargain price from a fellow club member, then thats got to be a good thing

You see, that is where my personal feelings kind of draw a line. I dont want to read about showerhead sales as I dont come here for that, there is a special forum that specializes in those kinds of things and people looking for showerheads should go there, not here... lol

Anyways, not super important, because I doubt that would ever happen, and if it does, people higher up in the administrative chain will handle it in the way they best see fit, and I can always just add that annoying showerhead selling user to my foes list so I dont have to read their posts. :)
 
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