TRADE SECTION PROTECTION

[jimmy]

The main problem (just been contacted by someone from maxbashing about him) is that on this forum COL is a god and will ban him. The problem is that he has taken to directly PM'ing people.

I can't stop that - and I don't want to discourage new members to be a part of it all. But if we can start putting in checks and looking at those who wish to become a 'trusted trader' or whatever, then when you get an offer from them it's a small comfort to know I've looked at them personally, and if needed, asked for ID or other proof. I don't wish to upset anyone - but it upsets ME greatly when someone is scammed on my forum that's full to the brim of honest racers.

[TARTMAN]

Originally Posted by jimmy

The main problem (just been contacted by someone from maxbashing about him) is that on this forum COL is a god and will ban him. The problem is that he has taken to directly PM'ing people.

I can't stop that - and I don't want to discourage new members to be a part of it all. But if we can start putting in checks and looking at those who wish to become a 'trusted trader' or whatever, then when you get an offer from them it's a small comfort to know I've looked at them personally, and if needed, asked for ID or other proof. I don't wish to upset anyone - but it upsets ME greatly when someone is scammed on my forum that's full to the brim of honest racers.

Thats the best plan. I think however its done/easiest way, be it a fee, trust badge, posts min, etc etc then I think we can all agree we will be behind whats needed.

[AfroP]

How about Trusted trader badge = £5 per anum. this will allow the shell painters and other regular sellers to have the tag and for new people to buy in safety.

Minimum post count of 50 in order to view the for sale section

minimum post count of 25 or minimum age of 3 months before being allowed to PM.

[mark christopher]

Originally Posted by jimmy

The main problem (just been contacted by someone from maxbashing about him) is that on this forum COL is a god and will ban him. The problem is that he has taken to directly PM'ing people.

I can't stop that - and I don't want to discourage new members to be a part of it all. But if we can start putting in checks and looking at those who wish to become a 'trusted trader' or whatever, then when you get an offer from them it's a small comfort to know I've looked at them personally, and if needed, asked for ID or other proof. I don't wish to upset anyone - but it upsets ME greatly when someone is scammed on my forum that's full to the brim of honest racers.

how will a trusted badge stop him uor others using pm?
can we just not send the oople massive round and kick the poo out of him?

[Col]

Originally Posted by jimmy

on this forum COL is a god

[jimmy]

Originally Posted by mark christopher

how will a trusted badge stop him uor others using pm?
can we just not send the oople massive round and kick the poo out of him?

It won't stop anyone using PM - but the person getting the PM will see their status. Then it's common sense. It always is common sense - but you get an extra filter of protection if they're paid up.

[jimmy]

Problem with restricting things is clubs rely on PM's for entries to their events. Shops want people to PM them maybe to organise orders. You get the idea.

[Danny Harrison]

How about changing the way the for sale/wanted sections works. So that people can respond to for sale threads like they can in wanted threads.

You could charge the £5 still to cover the cost of the extra moderating.

You could then also have in massive bold red writing, do not finalize your sale via PM, please state who you have bought from/sold to in the thread at all times. Or something similar.

This may even work just in the wanted section where the 'I have what you want' Type messages seem to be most common. Raise awareness to offering goods via PM and keep them on the thread. This would allow mods to spot things earlier and people posting wanted ads to have an in your face style warning?

Just an idea, open to being ripped apart

edit, Incorporating the feedback onto the members profile page may also be a good idea. So people can instantly see/leave any trade feedback by clicking on the name.

I think raising awareness and policing is the way to go myself, a small charge is more than acceptable for it too.

[mgdannyk]

with 99% of people having an ebay account why not just demand an ebay id to check them out?, just a small message to confirm that the user is genuine

[Frecklychimp]

Originally Posted by mgdannyk

with 99% of people having an ebay account why not just demand an ebay id to check them out?, just a small message to confirm that the user is genuine

ebay id means nothing and definitely shouldn't be trusted as a safe way of verifying a persons honesty.

for starters you can buy established ebay accounts with lots of feedback!

same with paypal verification... it shouldn't be trusted either as there are very easy ways that are not illegal in uk for setting up both ebay and paypal accounts that cannot be traced to those using them.

The simplest way for a safer trade room is to make everyone wishing to use the trade section, whether buyer, seller or posting wanted ads is that we all pay £5 a year subscription to use the service and have to pass scrutiny by oOple gods as Jimmy is proposing.

Common sense is the key to not being scammed, be wary of new users, be wary of users that just use trade room and don't post elsewhere, be wary of deals that are too tempting/cheap, be careful with international sales/purchases, don't rush into deals and if you are not sure then walk away from any deal with your wallet unscathed.

requesting photos of items being sent to a mobile is one tip, at least you have a mobile number for police to trace if it goes sour

[Benh]

£5-£10 admin fee. One off payment. Send a proof of ID, including proof of address. Jimmy and/or his minions place badge next to user. They become approOved.

It's a voluntary option. You trade with people who aren't approOved at your own risk. This allows newcomers to trade with no or little contribution, but those who have contributed for eons, less 'need' for it.

[jimmy]

Originally Posted by Benh

£5-£10 admin fee. One off payment. Send a proof of ID, including proof of address. Jimmy and/or his minions place badge next to user. They become approOved.

It's a voluntary option. You trade with people who aren't approOved at your own risk. This allows newcomers to trade with no or little contribution, but those who have contributed for eons, less 'need' for it.

This!

[Dazzler]

Originally Posted by jimmy

This!

But could you not end up with all sorts of data protection issues? Just a thought.. I don't profess to know the answer to the problem though..

[Shaun_TLR]

Originally Posted by Benh

£5-£10 admin fee. One off payment. Send a proof of ID, including proof of address. Jimmy and/or his minions place badge next to user. They become approOved.

It's a voluntary option. You trade with people who aren't approOved at your own risk. This allows newcomers to trade with no or little contribution, but those who have contributed for eons, less 'need' for it.

This sounds like it could alienate people easily and quickly. As you'll create an ethos that anyone thats not approved is a risk, which probably isn't the case. I also think you'll struggle to get people to provide"proper personal" details, coupled with the fact that it opens a whole can of worms with data protection. Might prove to be somewhat of a ball ache. But equally, if it works and someone is happy to manage it, then so be it !

[Danny Harrison]

Sounds like you have a cunning plan then Jimmy, with very little ressistance.

I'd say put it into action

Would still be cool to have feedback on our profile pages though, I don't even know if I have any

[Frecklychimp]

Originally Posted by Shaun_TLR

This sounds like it could alienate people easily and quickly. As you'll create an ethos that anyone thats not approved is a risk, which probably isn't the case. I also think you'll struggle to get people to provide"proper personal" details, coupled with the fact that it opens a whole can of worms with data protection. Might prove to be somewhat of a ball ache. But equally, if it works and someone is happy to manage it, then so be it !

That's a good thing, anyone not willing to pay a very reasonable fee or provide personal details to be allowed to use the trade room should be treated with caution in my eyes.

oOple currently do not make a penny from the trade section yet spend hours policing activity for our safety and then have to deal with the fallout and earache if anyone isn't performing fairly or is scammed in trade room... there are also a fair few that obviously make good money on here with regular selling... it's a privilege to be able to get good prices for stuff, direct to market sales as well as being able to pick up the odd bargain and rare kit from fellow enthusiasts.

i would much sooner trade with people that have contributed towards the cause rather than being too tight and rather deal with oOplers that have given some id.

If the tightwads don't like it then they can freely use ebay etc and suffer the scams, low protection, lower values and high fees!

[Shaun_TLR]

Originally Posted by Frecklychimp

That's a good thing, anyone not willing to pay a very reasonable fee or provide personal details to be allowed to use the trade room should be treated with caution in my eyes.

oOple currently do not make a penny from the trade section yet spend hours policing activity for our safety and then have to deal with the fallout and earache if anyone isn't performing fairly or is scammed in trade room... there are also a fair few that obviously make good money on here with regular selling... it's a privilege to be able to get good prices for stuff, direct to market sales as well as being able to pick up the odd bargain and rare kit from fellow enthusiasts.

i would much sooner trade with people that have contributed towards the cause rather than being too tight and rather deal with oOplers that have given some id.

If the tightwads don't like it then they can freely use ebay etc and suffer the scams, low protection, lower values and high fees!

fairplay, I concur. I only raised it as Jimmy was saying he didn't want to alienate people (especially new members).

[dodgydiy]

someone on here to scam someone out of £200 wont think twice about paying a fiver to do so. having to lodge your personal details to place an advert would more likely discourage them, although you cant stop them PM'ing anyone, unless all replies to adverts were on a form sent to a central address with a reference number to the advert and then allocated to the user if seen fit by a moderator or through some other form of filter. thats the safest way, but also slowest and hardest to implement. the problem still remains though, you can never stop fraud, only discourage attempts to do it

[danDanEFC]

When ever I buy something for big-ish money I always check the person out re number of posts, what they have posted and who else knows them.

Not sure what else you can do, but you cant please all of the people all of the time.

[Steven Forster]

Minimum count of 50 or 100 post......!!!

Maybe using your BRCA number when registering........???

What about paying a £10 subscription fee for the year which has to be paid via a debit or credit card so you have the details of the payment from that person.........???