bka20d wrote:
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...
Agree, and it shows others that there is interest. But it is meaningless in terms of the seller getting something meaningful. Most PMs are not offers, just questions or counters.
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. a pm often does not constitute an offer. additionally other than "pm sent" the amount of any offer is not disclosed, so no one has an idea as to whether the first guy who pm'ed sent a wackey lowball offer, or asked where did you buy it the item from, or would you consider sending it to mars... if the third guy who pm's gets the item, am i obligated to disclose on the forum the contents of the other two peoples pm's and the reasons they were not successful? if the first 3 people who pm ask questions and the fouth person makes an acceptable offer , are you suggesting that the offer not being considered until, the first 3 people who pm'ed have their questions answered and respond? if a person pm's and your reply and they don't get back to you or they decide they are no longer interested, are they suppose to post, "i'm no longer interested" in the thread?
as far as "behind the scenes" deals, given how much you don't know about what is in any communication, in the absence of "full disclosure", there are a lot of things which people are not privy to in any transaction. this is especially true of people doing business on the internet with people they personally do not know.
bka20d:
are you suggesting that the offer not being considered until, the first 3 people who pm'ed have their questions answered and respond
No, I am not suggesting that at all. I am only saying that I always request anyone, who sends me an e-mail or PM saying that he/she wants to buy, to enter that in the thread ("I take it"). Otherwise I do not sell to them. I want to have that recorded for others.
The above is also a clarification of my position (and explanation) for MSC.
I do pm or email sent (if they want mails instead) as a common courtesy. To the seller, may not be in their e-mail but in the forums (my real mail account I use to register for this site is webmail while away at work, not always on it myself don't expect others to be as well) . To another buyer, lets them know there is a line to be honest. Someone selling a great lens at a great price with with 10 pm's sent, good chance sending yet another pm or mail gonna be annoying for the seller since a good enough deal that lens is gone in the first 3 pm' sents anyway Either wait for a post saying still available or put "I have cash and I want" as obvious as possible in the message to cut through the 20 question buyers pm's. Someone doesn't post pm/mail sent, ehh no biggy. They just miss out on a case of legitimate post whoring . Personal choice as always. No right or wrong about it.
Downside as mentioned is not everyone pm's like me though. I pm/mail, I have 2 questions. Do you ship FPO AP and if so...what's your addy. I want a lens review, I'll hit up the review section here and elsewhere (like you would say as the seller the lens sucks, I also know you are selling to buy new stuff or because you need money for unforseen circumstances). I don't low ball either, if your stuff is too high, hope they find a sucker or I'll wait till a dose of reality takes effect for the seller lol...
Either wait for a post saying still available or put "I have cash and I want" as obvious as possible in the message to cut through the 20 question buyers pm's. Someone doesn't post pm/mail sent, ehh no biggy. They just miss out on a case of legitimate post whoring 
. Personal choice as always. No right or wrong about it.