I have bought and sold LOADS on here, facebook, ebay and other places.
I do loads of sales and purchases this way. A bit of a hobby almost i think.
I have been scammed on facebook(lost £100), scammed on ebay, losing various amounts and various ways of it happening. But i have not been scammed on oople. I have had a couple of items i purchased never arrive, but thats not the sellers fault, its the crap postal service, even with a trackig number things dont always get where there sent!!!!!
I like to think i am pretty security/scam aware, by my job/training/history i am like this, but you can still be cought out. NO one can escape the seasoned scammer. Thankfully there few and far between and with a few extra checks and hoops to jump through, the normal scammers as mentioned will give up and move onto another easy target.
I like the idea of a "badge of trust", maybe after 5 positive sales/feedbacks etc, or after 1000mposts, or as the person is a known member of whatever etc, that will help many buyers and sellers new or old to see they can trust this seller. BUT, A fee(i dont mind paying), will defo put off the occasional seller of just the odd item etc. this will make the trade section less attractive to sell on/buy from and as mentioned by a few people will sadly make it a no longer great busy part of an awsome forum...... Awsome Forum, i like that saying.... I digress....
I think maybe a little more policing, of the trade section would help. A stricter policy of who can/can't post for sale items. A link to trader feedback for each person on there profile section/pic etc. Insisting on a picture of the item. Also the persons postcode(1st part) is a good idea so people know where there located. A ban on gift payments WONT work. as people that know one another prefer this method as saves everyone money from the paypal fees etc. I happily pay gift to ooplers i have previously used/dealt with as i am sure many have done the same.
I NEVER insist gift, and normally my listings are including the paypal fees if cheap items. The more expensive items i list plus fees as again, if the buyer knows me, gift is fine. I always sent items tracked/recorded etc and if value is high, then insured as well(as mentioned, the post office cant be trusted either).
So, Its not an easy decision for Jimmy to make, or for Admin to police.
But either way. keep up the great work and we will all just go with what happens. Personally i say no fee, more rules/policing, better checks on new people etc. Thats my 2 pennies worth, althou looks like i have written a fivers worth lol.....
TARTMAN............
