Expanded Rules/Suggestions for Swaps and Sales

[PseudoScot]

I have sort of a concern/suggestion for the swap board and thought I'd mention it here. I have a couple of questions.

Would it be possible to elaborate on the rules of the swap board with some suggestions? I do use ebay now and again and I guess some of the thoughts/practices there might be a good guideline for here.

For example - by far the best transactions I have on ebay are from sellers with clear communication practices, those who do things like a] notify me when they ship an item and b] let me know when they leave feedback - you know, give you status updates. Reversely, some of the best transactions on ebay when I've sold stuff is when the a] buyer tells me they got something either by a message or with confirming with positive feedback they are happy. I always tell them when items have shipped, I have left feedback, etc. Ebay is not a perfect place or example but they do have a greater system of accountability.

Here we have a much friendlier setting for selling/trading/swapping etc -and that is, in its way, awesome. But with that I think we lose some of the more formal, and considerate steps in the trade process. Some people have to ask if people got the items, or some people have to nag to find out if they have been sent. It's sort of like we are so friendly here we forget that we also owe each other the courtesy of a quick and informative transaction. [Yes of course you have to nag people on ebay but its an issue here, too].

I'm not saying the swap board is terrible, gosh no - it's a great resource. What I'm explaining is just some thoughts I have had over time.

What I mean by putting suggestions in the swap forum rules, I mean adding something like this:

- Please consider informing your buyer when you have shipped the item
- Please consider telling the seller when the item has arrived
- Please remember to leave feedback.

You know, stuff like that. People should sort of 'get' what it means to have a good transaction but some friendly reminding of what makes a good transaction might smooth out a few bumps. Like I said, I think we're so friendly here sometimes we all neglect to be informative, quick and considerate sellers/buyers etc.

My only other request or question would be about adding in a neutral feedback option. Is that an option? ETA: Um OK, we have one. My bad. It's really tough here, as say, to ebay, because we all 'know' each other and no one wants to leave bad feedback, that can make bad blood. We don't have the luxury of anonymity here. There are times [though I have not experienced this personally] where negative feedback is deserved. There are times when neutral is deserved. There's a huge amount of pressure on the buyer usually to leave good feedback because if you leave bad feedback, you're the one that looks like a jerk.

Perhaps adding in a neutral feedback option might allay this problem some? You could then be honest and say, 'I didn't get this item, it looked crap etc' but not totally slam the other person. Or, it actually can just be what it is - neutral.

So... these are just some thoughts. I don't mean to suggest we need to micromanage each transaction, but sometimes in a group of 'friends' we get lax about what good seller/buying transactions are like. Both sides deserve to be informed along the way, there shouldn't be any of this lingering wondering about where items are. It can be especially frustrating when you see sellers/swappers/buyers roaming about on the boards with open transactions and yet they don't mention what's going on with their transactions.

I do not currently have any transactions or feedback or anything in the works so would clearly like to state this is just some generic thoughts on the whole swap board process. I am sure I'm not the only one who's noticed this but I feel it does deserve some discussion.

I only mean for this to be helpful a helpful suggestions/discussion.

[lora410]

All my sellers have told me when they shipped and as soon as I got the item I have left feedback and vise versa. Then again, that is what I am used to doing. It's sad if some people don't do this. I do think this should be a policy though; that way everyone is kept in the loop on items shipped and received.

[Ursula]

From what I remember, this has been discussed in the past.

The mods decided against setting up any rules, since having rules or guidelines could possibly get Steph and LHC legally involved in the transaction. What woudl the requirements be for enforcing the rules? What would the recourse be if someone violated the rules?

Right now, it is pretty much a private transaction between the swappers. Having rules would change that, and not for the better, at least from the perspective of people running a discussion forum who want to avoid having commercial obligations.

[PseudoScot]

Ursula - I do see what you are saying. I guess I just considered the few suggestions I made as that, suggestions and not formal rules. That's why I worded them 'Please consider...' not just 'do this'. But it's an interesting point.

[angelthadiva]

The swap board is kind of like the wild west.

I don't particularly like the idea of OP (not you PS), but the swap board OP being able to modify their posts at will. I totally understand keeping the original post updated as to what has been sold and what is still available, though.

I almost got burned during a transaction because I responded to an offer on the swap board, then went to PM to work out the details, and the OP changed the offer w/o telling me...I tried to go back to the original post, to see if I had misread something but when I did, the entire entry was so modified it didn't reflect the original post, or the deal that was getting worked out through PM.

Ultimately, I walked and don't regret it. Swapping/Selling is an AT YOUR OWN RISK--Most likely I won't ever buy or swap anything from this person either...A very valuable lesson learned, cheaply!