Sorry to post this here, but a majority of P&S postings are Canon-related, and maybe a few people will see this before it is moved to a forum where no one will see it (at which time I'll just delete it).
After sending a PM with an offer to a seller, is it considered good practice to put in the listing thread "PM Sent"? It seems like a fair number of prospective buyers do this, but many others seem not to (judging from how often I e-mail the seller and he says, "Sorry, you're 3rd [or 5th] in line," even though there are no "PM Sent's" in the thread).
It's probably a good idea, but truth be told, I never do it. I just send a quick PM asking if it's still available. I do that regardless of whether there are many or no "PM sent"s. After all, the fact that a lot of people sent a PM is no sign that the item is sold.
Besides, enforcing such a rule would be impractical. Is a seller supposed to refuse a sale because someone did not post that they sent a PM?
You must not have been to B&S lately (at least not since April 19, 2008). At the very top of B&S is this thread which explains the new feedback system Fred implemented. Part of that thread reads,
"When Member A visits his own "FS: Canon 30D" thread, he sees the feedback button on posts of all the members who replied to his thread. Members B and C who have replied to the OP's thread, will see the feedback button on all Member A's posts on the thread. *Member B or C must reply to the Member A's thread in order to post a feedback for him (And vice-versa) -- So, even if the transaction was conducted via PM (private message) both members must post on the thread. In this example, we will have Member A as OP and Member C as the buyer who closed the transaction."
In other words, replying to a B&S thread is how we leave feedback for each other.
As for "tracking", Fred has a "subscribe" feature that notifies people when posts have been added to a thread. It works very nicely and eliminates the need for the goofy posts like "tag" or things like that just to help people look through their history.
Hopefully a moderator will move this thread to F&M where it belongs.
Scott Sewell wrote:
You must not have been to B&S lately (at least not since April 19, 2008). At the very top of B&S is this thread which explains the new feedback system Fred implemented.
True, Scott, but I was wondering about the "PM Sent" posts not wrt feedback but to any other good reasons people have (personal tracking, alerting others that you've made an offer on the item, etc.).
I avoid posting at all in a B&S thread that I'm interested in dealing with until everything is all worked out. There are a few people here with neutral or negative feedback from transactions that never occurred but those involved got their panties twisted around enough to still leave feedback for each other, complaining about the other's lack of professionalism/communication/upfrontness. It doesn't matter how many people don't like you around here, it only matters if you let them talk about it by posting to their thread.
It does not matter, it could be an e-mail or PM but I think that there should be an entry in the thread. I saw FS that there was trace of any interest and item sold. This is not right. I always ask interested buyers for an entry in my FS.
mfurman wrote:
It does not matter, it could be an e-mail or PM but I think that there should be an entry in the thread. I saw FS that there was trace of any interest and item sold. This is not right. I always ask interested buyers for an entry in my FS.
i'm not sure why the fact that an item sold and there was no post of an interest is problematic. if i want something and want it badly, why should i have to let everyone on fm know that i am interested in the item? a lot of time a pm is not an indication of serious intent to buy" i have had people pm 5 various questions over a relatively short period and not offer to purchase the item...or someone who sends 5 questions only to have someone else make an acceptable offer between questions 4 and 5: am i not suppose to accept the offer because someone else is in the process of asking questions and has "registered" themselves via a "pm sent " post?
mfurman wrote:
It it just to be fair to others. I would not accept an offer from you if you did not enter it in the thread.
i don't see how this is being fair to others as every member has the same ability to scroll or wade through pages of items on the board....it seems to me that the benefit of people posting "pm sent" is actually in the sellers(op's) favor as it will bring his or her item back up to the top of the board...
Of course, the entering of buyer's intention benefits the seller. It allows him/her to show others whose offer was first. At the same time all the buyers see who is interested and how much interest there is. There is nothing worse than "behind the scenes" deals.
mfurman wrote:
Of course, the entering of buyer's intention benefits the seller. It allows him/her to show others whose offer was first. At the same time all the buyers see who is interested and how much interest there is. There is nothing worse than "behind the scenes" deals.
I really can't agree with this at all. It is not an auction, it is a for sale listing on the internet instead of in the newspaper. I just sold a few things and asked for PMs. Most sent PMs some sent emails and a couple called me on the phone. Almost none of them made a reply on the FS listing thread, including the buyers for almost all of the items. I don't even look at the listing execpt to see if someone posted a question there. If someone is serious, they will get hold of you somehow. 3/4s of the PMs are just questions and counter offers anyway. I'm not going to hold up a sale going back and forth with someone on questions. If I get a serious offer, I'll let the person asking questions know that I have a serious offer and will take it if they don't make an offer. And almost never is any of this on the main Forum thread...that would totally inappropriate to show all of that there.
