Well-if someone posted 100 smiley faces,and then put up a 8 inch TAK refractor for two hundred dollars,would you buy,Chris???
I think people are just making suggestions,Chris.
It would appear that some people,like Leon and the chap that does music,have
unfortunatly been duped,Yes-Chris your right-no matter what safe guards are put in place,someone honest will be dis advantaged and fraud will take place.
I personally believe that 20 posts,before you want to sell something is not unreasonable.
I have sold everything from a$1500 telescope mount to strange furniture items on this site.and all of the buyers,that did'nt know me=checked out my posts.and asked a few questions,It soon becomes apparent to anyone in the know,-that if you cant answer simple questions on the item been sold,its usually a good indication something is'nt 'right'.
Such a shame some people have had bad experience on buying and selling on this forum,its the first I have heard of it.
For me the real world situation is that I personally know quite a few people on the IIS forums and if I were ever to do a dodgy deal on someone I would loose overnight some of my most valued aquaintences. And quite rightly so.
That I couldn't have happen as I've had more than a few great laughs and memories at star parties and dark night go-aways than I would ever jepardise for a few dollars. Some friends you don't want to lose.
I have bought and sold quite a bit of gear through IIS and have never encountered a single problem. The only rule I use is to buy from people I have had conversations with on the forum and who have been around a while and I always request registered and insured post. If I am selling I go out of my way to present the item warts and all in the ad and will only post the item once the money is deposited and showing in my account. Again I will only ever send goods by registered and insured post and spend a little extra to make sure I recieve notification when the item is delivered. I let the buyer know when the item is sent as well as the registration number. That said I still think it would be a good idea to have some sort of registration system in place to allow people to sell on the forum and I think this would be far better then restricting people based on post count.
Just thought of something re the 100 posts also, what's to stop someone just posting a smiley on a thread 100 times or on 100 threads to bring their count up? nothing, so therefore the 100 posts isn't really a deterrent.
Cheers
Chris
well it has made my count thread add up and it has made people here know that im a happy person Would you purchase something from me
I dont think the thread count thing if it was 5 posts or 100 would make much difference, there is nothing to say that if you are a member that you have to post in the forums. i know i could spend hours in here just reading stuff without posting one post But you can see when they logged in last and there recent activity on IIS
I think as a buyer and a seller just do your homework first
Couldn't agree more Jen (how do you find all those emotions, is that what they are called??), basic homework. It is a small tight-knit community, and even if you are new, normally someone here already knows you. We were all new here at one time or another.
The other thing that helps is that one smelly deal is always remembered, and the 100 sweet ones rarely recalled.
If in doubt, ask someone, via PM, if the person you are looking at buying from is on the level.
Contrary to what Mark does I have often sent the item well before the money showed. Yes, one of these days I will get burnt, but until then, I believe.
Gary
But then again some people do not acknowledge that they received the money which to my mind stinks..
After I have received the goods I acknowledge that I have received them with thanks
On other forums we've had a 'trader rating' system where traders can leave honest feedback about someone they've either purchased from or sold to etc ...
It is a great system (much like the ebay ratings) that allows people to make decisions based on minimum ratings etc for the relative dollars and risk they are taking.
Generally speaking you can spot a 'too good to be true' scenario - but this system can help you know if there is a genuine 'lost in the post' scenario or a rip-off in progress and react accordingly.
Attached is my trader rating from another forum.... a rating summary is displayed with your username and personal info when posting - so people can see quite easily and quickly how long someone has been a member and if they've built up a history of being an honest buyer/seller.
How about a seller verification system that is displayed as 'sellerverified' when their add is posted. If the seller isn't verified, then it wouldn't display someone as verified.
How to verify someone's details to the forum is an entirely different matter. Any information supplied by someone to become verified would be held in confidence and not openly available to the public or forum users unless needing the intervention of the forum administration (for obvious fraud reasons)...
Suggestions could include: a copy of a driver's license (if available), or a copy of a passport?, a copy of a utilities bill?, a declaration of identity by a commissioner of the peace?
Being realistic - something simple that could be provided by someone to prove identity, along with a contact phone number etc.
We rely on honesty in all these types of transactions, and there has been ample evidence of late to suggest that a few dishonest people ruin everything (from cheapskate behaviour, rudeness, failure to pay, dissappearances etc) for the majority of forum users.
I think you guys are making a "Mountain out of a Molehill"
The amount of DUD transactions on iceinspace is Miniscule as far as I am aware, so why are you people carrying on as if it is Wide spread
Do your ****** homework and use your Common Sense when you see something for sale, or someone contacts you to purchase something.
The system is working OK so stop Trying to make it more complex
Ron,
The thing to remember is some of the stuff we are trading is very expensive. i.e. not miniscule.
If something simple can be done to make it safer, then it should be done.
James
Do your ****** homework and use your Common Sense when you see something for sale, or someone contacts you to purchase something.
[/QUOTE]
Would you sell an expensive article to someone who joined iceinspace the day you put the article for sale without finding a few things about them
I don't want to tell you how to suck eggs
A few of common sense things to do would be
(1) GET A PHONE NUMBER AND TALK TO THE PERSON
(2) Make sure the money is your the bank before sending.
(3) NO Post Office Boxes without the person signing for it( registered mail).
If you are buying something from someone who has just joined iceinspace to sell some thing, then Number (1) APPLIES.
Ps before this thread was started no one as far as I am aware,had come forward to say they had been ripped off,WHY
Cheers
I've read this thread with interest...just to see where it might lead.
While there have been several great suggestions on how a site might be made "safer" for buyers and sellers I think they all miss the mark.
IIS was not set up to be a "trading post" but was established as a forum where like minded enthusiast could come together and discuss our hobby (and occassionally a few other things too).
The buying/selling come up later and was added (from my recollection) as a convienence to members and also to keep the forum threads "pure".
To my understanding (and way of thinking) this site was never intended to become a marketplace.
There are many marketplaces and their purpose is to facilitate the buy/sell/trade and swap goods transactions.
I think of the buy/sell section here as nothing more than an announcement board with little difference to its purpose than to act as a telephone or light pole for us to hang our for sale signs on...if people see my sign and want to buy great...I would not expect a bulletin board (or pole) to provide anything else except a place to make my sign visible to people passing by...and in my opinion that is no more or less what IIS does (and should continue to do)...
The site is working just fine as it is and imposing a post limit on members posting an item in the "for sale" sections just gives the mods something else to police.
If any IIS'er is thinking of buying second hand gear, whether off another IIS member or Fleabay, they just need to use some common sense. I think most of us have some idea of the relative worth of used equipment and can make up our own minds about the prices being asked for goods on sale. No one is being forced to do anything.
Maybe it is time the "for sale" section to be removed. It would stop all the problems in its tracks. This is as much of an answer as all the other suggestions, as the section may be getting too big for the site and management to control.
I'll repeat what I said before--the particular transaction that seemed to create all the angst-I think-it turns out was perfectly legit..the seller did not have any posts before and probably will never again-but I happen to know the buyer and last I saw him, he was grinning from ear to ear because of how happy he was with his buy...all I say is, exercise caution by all means, but just because someone has been haunting the forum doesnt mean they are more scrupulous then someone who has dropped in to get rid of an unwanted astro item
faces,and then put up a 8 inch TAK refractor for two hundred dollars,would you buy,Chris???
But you can see when they logged in last and there recent activity on IIS 
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