Garage Sale forum moderated?

[+Damin69]

I really love being able to come to the forums for information. This site by far is one of the best and most people are willing to answer questions of all sorts without flaming someone. That being said.

 

I have found from personal experiance that the garage sale form seems to just be loaded with Flameing and hacking. I have seen no rules that say any one has to have any caches found to put soemting up but yet if someone trys to sell that has not been caching for a long time or has not finds they almost always get hacked by someone busting their chops. Now there is the problem that no mater what someone post for an asking price someone has to chime in and flame them about what they are asking. Im sorry we all own something and everything has is value to each person. So what give people the right to publicly attack them on the forum and basicly destry any hope of making a sale on this forum?? I feel the moderators need to start monitoring these attacks.

 

Again I love this forum but the additude in the garage sale is far from the friendly area of the rest of the site. Some of the posts I have seen in the last week or so in here have been far from friendly.

[+Pax42]

Agree 100%. There seem to be a few self appointed "Price Police" on this forum. If you're not interested in purchasing something from someone posting here, it's really none of your business what they're asking price is. It's up to potential buyers to make their own informed decisions of what they're willing to pay. If someone can get $200 for an item that's worth $100, more power to em'. If you offer them $90 and they take it, more power to you.

[+GrateBear]

I agree. What really surprised me is that in one thread, it was a moderator who was making the negative comment. What's up with that?

[+hofy67]

WOW!!! RUDE BUNCH aren't they? You have to wonder who crawls out of bed and is that personally offensive every single day to everyone that they have to piss in everyone else's cheerios! Dang! Remind me NEVER to sell anything here in Garage Sale! Heck, I'd rather go back to our local Kmart and get ripped off paying DOUBLE for something I am only trying to exchange even up! (shaking head) I think its time for a few people to grow up and get a life outside of harrassing others! Even my dear sweet objectionable when he needs to be husband isn't THAT bad

[Keystone]

The GPS Garage Sale forum is moderated by Flying Spaghetti Monster, Hemlock, and me. If one of us is posting in a way unbecoming of a moderator, please feel free to report this to Groundspeak as explained in the forum guidelines.

 

I just checked my inbox and there do not appear to be any recent post reports coming from this forum section. In a forum section like this one, the moderating team relies heavily upon "report this post" messages when readers perceive that the forum guidelines have been violated.

[+user13371]

...I love this forum but the additude in the garage sale is far from the friendly area of the rest of the site. Some of the posts I have seen in the last week or so in here have been far from friendly

Just the past week? Gee, I haven't chimed in much lately.

 

Look - if a regular/long-time member is asking reasaonable (or even a little high) price on something, I'm usually in the same "best of luck to you" camp as most people would be. But...

 

Most recent & bizarre example: If someone just joined, has never posted in any other part of the forums, has never found or hidden a cache, and has FOUR HUNDRED of the same item to sell -- they need to read the guidelines pinned at the top of this section. To recap: Personal sales are allowed, business activities aren't. GC.com does offer ad space for a fee to businesses and those sellers aren't allowed to post in the Garage Sale forum either. Someone claiming to be interested in geocaching or selling dad's private stash of 400 ammo cans doesn't make them any less of a carpet bagger.

 

More common and recurring example: Newbie (or maybe even an old timer) asks a much too-high price on gear that was top dollar a few years ago but not so hot any more. I'll often step in and ask if there are some extras or something special about theirs to warrant the high price. I'll mention what the going prices are on eBay or Amazon, discuss the relative merits or deficiencies of the gear, etc...

 

Haggling is a fact of life in ANY garage sale, physical or online. It's the nature of the game and I really believe it's helpful if a lot of folks do it. It helps the seller set a reasaonable price and perhaps make a faster sale -- and helps other possibly naive buyers avoid getting fleeced.

 

And like everything else, this has been thrashed out here many times. Here's a LINK from over three years ago -- which you might notice is longer than most of the commenters in this thread have been around.

Edited December 29, 2009 by lee_rimar

[+GrateBear]

I only made a comment about the responses in this forum because I don't see the same attitude in any of the others. In "Getting Started" and "Geocaching Topics", we frequently see the same questions coming up, yet the responses are usually those that answer the question (again) or have a link to another thread that covers the same topic. While there very well may have been some nasty "try a search" type of comment, I don't recall seeing any.

And, I do think it is just fine when someone questions a seller about a price. If the seller gets annoyed, it's probably because they know they are trying to profit.

[+hogrod]

While there very well may have been some nasty "try a search" type of comment, I don't recall seeing any.

 

I see these type of comments all the time on the GPS & technology forum section, usually because most people overlook the search function or don't take the time to read the "Collection Of Existing FAQs" that's pinned to the top of the forum.

 

I'm glad that someone calls out overpriced stuff on this forum. I've seen a few things where they were asking more than you can buy the item new for, I will point that out every time I see it. That's great that some of you thinks its ok for others to get blatantly ripped off. I would hope if I was looking at buying an item someone would point out if the seller was asking to much, I'm sure if you were the buyer you wouldn't like getting ripped off either.

 

This garage sale forum is to easily abused & I have to wonder how many people have lost money or received units that didn't work properly. I would never buy from here just like I would never buy another unit from Ebay. At least with ebay you have some protections in place for sellers and buyers, Here is a quote from the forum guidelines:

 

"Those choosing to participate in an exchange on this board take full responsibility for any consequences of that exchange. Groundspeak is in no way involved in the sale of items on this board and will not be held responsible or liable in any way for quality issues, fraud or any default of transfer on the part of the buyer or seller."

 

Pretty silly to use this forum to buy or sell anything, would be nice if Groundspeak just eliminated it altogether to protect their users. There are enough other ways to buy/sell used gps online of otherwise there is no point to having this forum section.

Edited December 29, 2009 by hogrod

[+Pax42]

Lee,

Here's another example: Someone posts a 60CSX for sale and you respond (in a sarcastic not so friendly tone) that you know they just bought that item at Amazon for a great one day sale price so they're just trying to pull a fast one and make some profit. Someone else calls you out on it and the two of you begin arguing in the OP's "for sale" thread. Doesn't seem very helpful at all.

 

I love haggling just as much as the next guy but simply going into a thread and telling the OP they're asking price is too high when you're not even interested in buying the item is not haggling, it's harrassment. If you wanted to truley help the seller, you'd PM them your thoughts on a fair price and not try to scare other potential buyers away. Do you go to Bass Pro and tell the sales clerk (in front of all the other customers) that their prices on GPSrs are too high because you know they paid less for them?

 

And GrateBear, what's wrong with trying to make a little profit. Again, it's up to buyers to do their own homework and make informed decisions. I see people pay way too much for items on Ebay everyday but I don't feel one bit sorry for them. It only takes a few minutes to do a little online searching to know what a fair price for something is.

[+user13371]

...Pretty silly to use this forum to buy or sell anything, would be nice if Groundspeak just eliminated it altogether to protect their users. There are enough other ways to buy/sell used gps online of otherwise there is no point to having this forum section.

Nah, that's a bit harsh even for a cynic like me.

 

Between the moderators and "price police" and other helpful folks here, this can sometimes be a good and safe place to find the deals. There are con artists and uwary types in every forum and closing down this one isn't going to change that.

 

And if someone really wants to buy 400 ammo cans from a total stranger, there's no way anyone can really stop them.

Edited December 29, 2009 by lee_rimar

[+user13371]

...example: Someone posts a 60CSX for sale and you respond (in a sarcastic not so friendly tone) that you know they just bought that item at Amazon for a great one day sale price so they're just trying to pull a fast one and make some profit.

Context, Pax? Do you mean this thread?

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=218717

 

I don't think there was anything unfriendly or argumentative in any of my few posts in that thread. And if anyone wants to review it, the wider consensus did seem to think the seller was asking a bit much.

 

Or did you mean a different thread? If so, please give a pointer to what I said instead of just your interpretation of it.

 

I do try to be polite (at first) -- but some folks do seem sometimes try to pull a fast one and have to realize not everybody is an easy mark. If/when you think I'm out of line, please do report my posts to the moderator.

Edited December 29, 2009 by lee_rimar

[+Pax42]

...example: Someone posts a 60CSX for sale and you respond (in a sarcastic not so friendly tone) that you know they just bought that item at Amazon for a great one day sale price so they're just trying to pull a fast one and make some profit.

Context, Pax? Do you mean this thread?

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=218717

 

I don't think there was anything unfriendly or argumentative in any of my few posts in that thread. And if anyone wants to review it, the wider consensus did seem to think the seller was asking a bit much.

 

Or did you mean a different thread? I usually do try to be pretty polite (at first) -- but some folks do seem to be trying to pull a fast one and have to realize not everybody is an easy mark.

 

If/when you think I'm out of line, please do report my posts to the moderator.

Actually I believe I mistakenly combined two different threads into one, the one you just pointed out and another one in which you and Roddy where involved in. I was just going by memory which isn't what it use to be. My point though, was that your tone was sarcastic and you yourself even pointed out that you were purposely poking fun at the seller and his asking price. When ever I sell an item on Ebay, I try to post a price that the item will sell at but still make me as much money as possible. Not that I would ever sell anything here, but if I did, I'd definately be peaved at someone who wasn't wanting the item but publicly telling others my price was too high. There are guidelines for the forums and that should be enough. I believe in "live and let live" and am not keen on appointing one's self a purveyor of ethics.

[+user13371]

Pax, if I said "I think I remember one time when you were rude to someone" that wouldn't mean much. If you're going to "mistakenly combine different threads" and give an interpretation of what you thought happened, looking up the conversations that actually took place might a good idea.

 

As for the OTHER thread you're alluding to, I think you mean THIS one: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=223334 . There I was not the first to mention or question the seller's price, nor do think I was being rude at all. On the other hand, if someone is offended by "price police" or just anyone holding a contrary opinion, nothing you or I can do in this forum (or any other) will change that.

 

Veering only slightly off topic, has anyone heard from Roddy lately? I don't think he's posted in nearly a month.

Edited December 29, 2009 by lee_rimar

[+Cardinal Red]

snip ... When ever I sell an item on Ebay, I try to post a price that the item will sell at but still make me as much money as possible. Not that I would ever sell anything here, but if I did, I'd definately be peaved at someone who wasn't wanting the item but publicly telling others my price was too high. There are guidelines for the forums and that should be enough. I believe in "live and let live" and am not keen on appointing one's self a purveyor of ethics.

 

We are not ebay. If you are trying to pass on good used equipment at a fair price, come here. If you are trying to unload overpriced dated mercandise, please take it to ebay.

 

We have a lot of newbies coming here without a clue about GPS capabilities or value. I appreciate the effort by lee_rimar to educate them. That's what we do here, mostly.

[+Pax42]

..looking up the conversations that actually took place might a good idea...

You're absolutely right. Unfortunately, in this forum it appears they delete all the threads prior to a certain time frame, in this case 29 November. I honestly didn't feel like going through all of your previous posts to find the specific threads in question.

 

...On the other hand, if someone is offended by "price police" or just anyone holding a contrary opinion, nothing you or I can do in this forum (or any other) will change that...

Absolutely right again so peace everyone. Life goes on.

 

Veering only slightly off topic, has anyone heard from Roddy lately? I don't think he's posted in nearly a month.

SHHH. Let's let him hibernate.

[+user13371]

...I honestly didn't feel like going through all of your previous posts to find the specific threads in question.

Ah, that's easy (says the guy who makes a living by looking up answers). The search funciton here DOES stink but it's not completely unusable. There's always Google and the internet wayback machine at archive.org -- you want a find a old post on any topic here you just let me know...

[+Damin69]

My OP was not just at the Price thing. It was aimed at comment made in this thead.

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=238069

 

Someone looking here to BUY some basic GPSr gets flamed with a comment I feel was really un called for.

[+mertat]

Unfortunately, in this forum it appears they delete all the threads prior to a certain time frame, in this case 29 November. I honestly didn't feel like going through all of your previous posts to find the specific threads in question.

 

Just a quick note on this comment. The posts aren't actually deleted. The default view is, I believe, the last 30 days. If, when you're in one of the sub-forums, you go to the bottom right corner you should see an option where you can change the 30 days to something else - All, for instance.

 

Just an FYI.

[+Pax42]

Unfortunately, in this forum it appears they delete all the threads prior to a certain time frame, in this case 29 November. I honestly didn't feel like going through all of your previous posts to find the specific threads in question.

 

Just a quick note on this comment. The posts aren't actually deleted. The default view is, I believe, the last 30 days. If, when you're in one of the sub-forums, you go to the bottom right corner you should see an option where you can change the 30 days to something else - All, for instance.

 

Just an FYI.

Thanks Mertat. Never noticed that. Something new learned.

[+user13371]

My OP was not just at the Price thing. It was aimed at comment made in this thead....

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=238069

Ooh, I didn't see that one. And yeah you're right - there was a rotter in there. Did you report it to the mods? Edited December 29, 2009 by lee_rimar

[+Damin69]

My OP was not just at the Price thing. It was aimed at comment made in this thead....

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=238069

Ooh, I didn't see that one. And yeah you're right - there was a rotter in there. Did you report it to the mods?

No I did not. But that is the type of Hacking I was refering to. I just feel that we are all human and we should treat eveyone like would want to be treated.

[Rocketsteve]

Pretty silly to use this forum to buy or sell anything, would be nice if Groundspeak just eliminated it altogether to protect their users. There are enough other ways to buy/sell used gps online of otherwise there is no point to having this forum section.

 

I completely disagree! I recently sold a Magellan GPS315 w/ user manual and accessories, that I've owned and used for many years, to a young mother so she could go geocaching with her sons. Because she said her funds were quite limited, I asked her for $20 plus the actual shipping cost, and now she's out caching with her sons, using a gently used GPSr that she never would've gotten on eBay for less than $30. The Garage Sale forum made a young mother's desire to spend more time with her children possible.

Edited December 30, 2009 by rocketsteve

[+rlyindra]

Pretty silly to use this forum to buy or sell anything, would be nice if Groundspeak just eliminated it altogether to protect their users. There are enough other ways to buy/sell used gps online of otherwise there is no point to having this forum section.

I have bought enough items off of here and it is great. If you want to hagle do like I do and PM the person. If you want to tell them about a price to high use the PM and not in open forums.

[+GrateBear]

[quote name='Pax42' date='Dec 29 2009, 10:43 AM'

And GrateBear, what's wrong with trying to make a little profit. Again, it's up to buyers to do their own homework and make informed decisions. I see people pay way too much for items on Ebay everyday but I don't feel one bit sorry for them. It only takes a few minutes to do a little online searching to know what a fair price for something is.

 

I actually didn't mean to say profit. I had written more about someone who was upset on missing out on a good sales price on amazon.com because he wanted to buy up a bunch and sell them for a lot more. But, then I deleted all of that except for the end of it. What I should have said was "trying to gouge someone". But then, I think about scalpers who try to make a huge profit on tickets--and am very glad when they can't sell them.

[+Chi-Town Cacher]

[quote name='Pax42' date='Dec 29 2009, 10:43 AM'

And GrateBear, what's wrong with trying to make a little profit. Again, it's up to buyers to do their own homework and make informed decisions. I see people pay way too much for items on Ebay everyday but I don't feel one bit sorry for them. It only takes a few minutes to do a little online searching to know what a fair price for something is.

 

I actually didn't mean to say profit. I had written more about someone who was upset on missing out on a good sales price on amazon.com because he wanted to buy up a bunch and sell them for a lot more. But, then I deleted all of that except for the end of it. What I should have said was "trying to gouge someone". But then, I think about scalpers who try to make a huge profit on tickets--and am very glad when they can't sell them.

 

Hey GrateBear that was me that you unloaded on in another thread. Just so everybody can know the facts instead of your version let me tell the rest of the story. I kind of half jokingly and half seriously mentioned in a thread that it was to bad I'd missed out on the Delorme PN-40's for $199 on Amazon.com because I'd have liked to pick up 2 or 3 at that price and resell them on eBay for $250 and make a fast $50 or $60 each.

 

I almost replied to your sillyness in that thread, but I didn't want to take it even further off topic. Now this here thread is an appropriate discussion so now I'll give my rebuttal. So I was going to sell them for a lot more huh? I think you're doing some of that new math because you didn't make much sense. You compared me to a scalper and of basically trying to gouge people. Helloooo! The MSRP on those little GPSr's is $399 and that's their normal selling price. How do you figure that me selling somebody a brand new GPSr for $250 when most of the time the big retailers are selling it for $399 is doing somebody wrong. I think it's safe to say that anybody that buys a brand new $399 GPSr from me for $250 is going to be tickled that I saved them $150 off the full price.

 

Now lets do some math the way it was taught way back when I was in school. Ok, I buy at $200 then I sell at $250. I figure that as a 25% profit for me. That's pretty respectable and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again with those numbers. Now continuing on with the old math I learned and not your funny new math if I sell a new $400 GPSr to somebody for $250 I've saved that person 37.5% off the $400 new price. I don't know, but to my mind using the old math I make a 25% profit and the buyer saves 37.5% so that's not sounding to much like gouging to me. I'd say we both got a respectable deal!

 

Heck, compared to department stores my measely little 25% profit is practically charitable. I wonder if GrateBear has ever bought a pair of shoes at a shoe store? If so I've read their profit is a 400% markup. Does he really believe that no stores are making a 25% profit off him when he goes shopping. Surely he doesn't believe car salesmen are looking out for his best interest, does he? If so then I guess the salesmen love to see him coming. I can't help but wonder if every time he pays a 25% markup in a store if he throws a fit and accuses them of price gouging.

 

So anyways I'm out of here now to go look for some more profitable deals.

 

P.S. I did get 4 of the Delorme PN-40s when they went back down to $199 and yep I enjoyed my profit and my buyers loved the fact that I sold them brand new GPSr's at a 37.5%great discount. Not a single one cried about being gouged. I say long live capitalism!

Edited December 30, 2009 by Michigan Cacheman

[+user13371]

Y'know MichiganCacheMan, what you did wasn't half bad -- and really quite different than the bloke I tweaked a few months ago (one of my encounters that Pax was complaining about earlier in this thread).

 

I sure hope most folks here can understand the difference:

 

YOU: Regular and enthusiastic cacher, caught a good deal on several GPS units, turned them around to other folks at a profit for yourself and still offering a savings off retail to folks who missed the sale. Good job.

 

THAT OTHER BLOKE: Not a regular here. Not an active cacher, found two or three caches many years ago. His first ever post on these forums was a note about how he caught a good deal (around half off) on a GPS. His second post was a few months later, trying to sell it for way above the street price of a new one. His third (and final) post in the forums was indignant fury at me and others for pointing out that his asking price was out of whack. Good riddance.

 

I will always poke fun at the latter type. But you helped folks out AND turned a profit for yourself, so again I say good job!

[+GrateBear]

[ Now lets do some math the way it was taught way back when I was in school. Ok, I buy at $200 then I sell at $250. I figure that as a 25% profit for me. That's pretty respectable and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again with those numbers. Now continuing on with the old math I learned and not your funny new math if I sell a new $400 GPSr to somebody for $250 I've saved that person 37.5% off the $400 new price. I don't know, but to my mind using the old math I make a 25% profit and the buyer saves 37.5% so that's not sounding to much like gouging to me. I'd say we both got a respectable deal!

 

Bravo--glad you made a few bucks. That does show just how some people don't do a little research as they still could have bought them cheaper than $250 on amazon.com at the time. And today, you could have made even more as they are up to $319. There's a difference between profit and gouging, but even then, there's a sucker born every minute who does way overpay.

Too bad this topic is now way off--it started because of threads being moderated. Guess I'm partially responsible for that.

So, back to the forums that have nothing to do with selling.

Happy caching to all!

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Yes, we do mod this board and like Keystone noted we rely heavily on the REPORT button as reading each post in each thread isn't really do-able.

 

Please, when you see something that you think needs action use the REPORT button and somebody will look at it and take action when needed.

 

Keep in mind that we don't moderate opinions as long as the comments fall within the guidelines and are on topic. All in all, this section is fairly nice and quiet compared to the rest.

Trust me.

 

Happy New Year all.