Buyers Advice on Classified Ads

[Hairy]

Not sure what happened to the "Petition: Bring Back the Classifieds Comments"

But I see this as a thread to address any adverts that are BLATANTLY incorrect or misleading.

 

[117]

Great idea hairy

[Matt]

If you spot something blatantly incorrect or misleading on a classified ad the best route to address it is to hit the report button on the advert itself.

 

If a buyer is keen on something from the classifieds they'd like some input on we'd encourage them to rather start a new thread in this same forum: https://forum.bikehub.co.za/forum/30-buyer’s-advice/

Like the many "Bike A vs. Bike B" type threads we see, this would be a far more organised and helpful approach to tap into the insights of the community rather than a single, wide ranging discussion.

[Showtime]

Here's a summary of the previous attempt.

 

 

 

[Thermophage]

43 minutes ago, Hairy said:

Not sure what happened to the "Petition: Bring Back the Classifieds Comments"

But I see this as a thread to address any adverts that are BLATANTLY incorrect or misleading.

 

Agreed. Bring it back...This forums is here to serve US, the users. There seems to have been massive interest in ensuring the community is self regulating after the comments section on classifieds was removed. Clearly something is up, but mods don't appear to care.

[Hairy]

48 minutes ago, Matt said:

If you spot something blatantly incorrect or misleading on a classified ad the best route to address it is to hit the report button on the advert itself.

 

If a buyer is keen on something from the classifieds they'd like some input on we'd encourage them to rather start a new thread in this same forum: https://forum.bikehub.co.za/forum/30-buyer’s-advice/

Like the many "Bike A vs. Bike B" type threads we see, this would be a far more organised and helpful approach to tap into the insights of the community rather than a single, wide ranging discussion.

I may have missed it, but what caused the previous thread to be dropped?

There was a bit of banter, but we also caught many a dodge add.

[Matt]

13 minutes ago, Hairy said:

I may have missed it, but what caused the previous thread to be dropped?

There was a bit of banter, but we also caught many a dodge add.

Here as a repost of the closure note for the benefit of those who missed it. 
 

Quote

This thread was intentionally left open to hear out the arguments in favour of comments and any points of view that we may not have considered.

A long time ago it stopped serving that purpose and devolved into glorified universal comments section. It reinforces many of the reasons we decided to remove comments on ads and much of the activity here has eroded the credibility of any arguments in favour of comments on ads.

It’s apparent that many of the comments here are more about a few members having fun at the expense of other people as opposed to wanting to be genuinely helpful. That’s not a culture we want to foster. It resembles the gang-like bullying we’ve seen in forum in the past. It's not okay.

We’re not going to allow the behaviour exhibited to continue here or in other threads on Bike Hub.

If an advert violates our Terms of service or is otherwise problematic in your eyes please report it to us for review. We receive numerous reports from eagle-eyed or concerned Hubbers each day and do act on issues of concern.

 

[Hairy]

37 minutes ago, Matt said:

Here as a repost of the closure note for the benefit of those who missed it. 
 

 

The thread did however identify many a dodge add / item being sold, and it did identify many a person who should have been registered as a dealer (That is actually why I was looking for the old thread to start with as I picked up on something and wanted to share)

Good old Zaras as an example, there were some peaches he was trying to flog that were shocking. He got called out, improved his information and photographs on his adds, starting asking for feedback on his items being sold and tried to grow himself as a seller. That I really really respect.

Was there really bullying going on, and if there was it must have certainly been very limited, and something that could have been resolved.

Personally I have really settled on the motorcycling thread, UCI DH and XCO and the old classifieds threads as all I really look out for anymore. But that is me.

I will always be a strong voice for the comments on classifieds. But again, that is me.

 

[Hairy]

So how do we report an add where, say for example, an old beaten up bike worth at best 5K is being sold for 15K ......... would you as admin approach the seller with advice that the price is well off?

Why would one want to approach a seller with a hugely over priced item to get this person to bring the price down?

Simple, newer riders do not necessarily have the knowledge or experience to spot an add like this, and they do fall for these adds.

I have helped a few friends out who found themselves in this exact position. You get a link with them ready to drop the cash because the see a specific brand and model that is meant to be good, then you see it is really old and well over priced and save them from loosing money / making a bad decision.

If they were not my friends, and did not reach out to me, that would have been a hard learnt lesson for them.

The community aspect of looking out for each other has clearly been lost. Be this as a direct result of the comments being removed, or that some persons who made comments may have gone over board.

These are the options when you want to report an add currently

[Dicky DQ]

They will close this one down soon as well. I lost count of how many the canned recently. 

[Hairy]

1 minute ago, TDFN said:

They will close this one down soon as well. I lost count of how many the canned recently. 

Surely not if it is kept clean and above board RE comments?

[Dicky DQ]

Well in the past it lasted less than 1hr, so you are doing well.

[cadenceblur]

well done for raising this Hairy

 

What about newbies coming across the hub and being dooped into overpaying etc.

As was mentioned, the comments were there to protect both seller and buyer

[ChrisF]

50 minutes ago, Hairy said:

Surely not if it is kept clean and above board RE comments?

And therein lies the rub ....

 

A few members had a good go on commercial members .... 

 

Calling out technical faults in an add is one thing, and can be easily dealt with by reporting the add.

 

 

Commenting on the asking price .... whole different can of worms ... it IS a free market.  Re.sellers can try their luck .... buyer beware and all that.

 

A prospective buyer CAN start a thread to ask advise .... couple of these threads

[Danger Dassie]

1 hour ago, TDFN said:

They will close this one down soon as well. I lost count of how many the canned recently. 

How many? One a day, a week, a month? 
Hairy makes some really good points and imho I don't agree with a fair bit of how/why some threads are binned, as opposed to locking them rather. At the same time it is a quick solution to what can rapidly get out of hand. 
This kind melodramatic statement is a case in point, it actually strengthens Matt's argument more than anything. And on this thread he has gone at lengths to provide feedback. Given the history of classifieds comments it is understandable, some here will remember a certain Francois who got banned after tracking down a lady, threatening and sharing her personal details. 
At the end of the day it is Admin's prerogative as they are legally liable and given the history, likely the lesser evil.

[Eddy Gordo]

I have started to use hub less and less because of the type of moderation. There was another thread similar to this one and it disappeared after one post.

I hardly check the classifieds anymore either. Tired of seeing 20 ads in a row from a bike shop. If the bike has a website, then I use that website. Dealers also repeat ads almost daily making it hard to find ads that are not commercial related. One would have to use the search function, but I like to browse whats new.