Being a buyer on Tamiyaclub

[snollan]

To be honest I don't know if this is the right place to put this.

I don't know if this goes for the rest of you but this is starting to drive me nuts!!!

Everytime I go to sell something, I get a emails about the item. Most people are very nice and try to haggle a little.(Such is the buy/sell process) However I get emails from members who start off with "I'll take it" or "let's trade for this". I'll reply with a yes, no, or counter offer and then get no reply. After a while then I'll get another email saying "let's go I'm ready to buy". It's even gone as far to say "I will paypal you in a couple hours." Once again nothing happens.

Or how about this:

I had a person ask for time to get the money. Being a fellow member I thought I would be nice so this guy could buy it. He needed a week and I never heard from him again.

Here's an example of how it should work:

Theo emailed me asking about my B2B while he was on vaction. We haggled back and forth. Once he got back home(and too a faster ISP), he saw that it wasn't what he wanted. I got a nice email stating such. He even went as far to say that we could work something out since it dragged out so long. <--How simple is that.

I understand that people change their minds, or things come up, etc etc. If this happens then email and say so. I also understand that emails get lost, or you forget to reply. However this is going way beyond that. This isn't ebay/or a newspaper ad, show a little more respect to fellow members!!

[netsmithUK]

I agree, even though I haven't actually had this problem yet (although I think me and snollan had a deal which just faded out, but I think that was in the days before TamiyaClub (was there such a time?), so I hope he is not talking about me [] )

I think park of the problem is that the club is growing so fast both the main site and the forums and gone are the days we 'knew' everyone. If anyone has any ideas how to get it back that way let me know - I don't think closing down membership is an option though, any site needs new blood to keep it going, its just a question of how you sort out people that will be good members and those that won't

Anyway back to the topic... We don't want this to become another faceless, 'self' orientated site like ebay, so please have the curteousy to show fellow members a little respect, where ever you might be dealing. That said I would like to think most of us already do []

Chris

[Whitewalls]

what about a points system chris???

run, say quarterly or monthly, with the top points earner getting a prize of some description (wouldnt have to be much) & a full page write up about them & their cars,"member of the month" type of thing.......

points could be awarded to members by other members who have benefitted from their posts/deals, etc.....the better they perform & give good advice, answers to queries, the better they do......keep it anonymous so u cant see who has given u points.....

i have seen this type of loyalty scheme work on other forums........

just an idea....

Paul

[snollan]

It wasn't you chris at all.

I got an email saying that they would buy my item. Then nothing for about a week. Then another email saying that they needed time so I gave them time. Then another email saying paypal in a couple hours. Then nothing and finally another email asking if I still had the car.

and then

and then

and then

-AND-

NO AND THENid="red">id="size6">

[Shodog]

Sean I think this is indicative of selling on any message board. I get the same wishy washy responses when I post on the RCMT board. People will haggle around try to trade you something you don't need or generally offer you pennies for you item. A few days ago I posted a whole bunch of stuff in the trade sell section. I probably answered 15 emails from people. I only sold two things. Really and I hate to say this but if you need to sell something, your best bet is still Ebay.

Jim

[RETRO R/C]

Spot on Jim - well said.

p.s Jim - what happend to our little deal?[][] I honestly cant remember.....

I think things sometimes just genuinely fade out.....however communication is the key.......some people have it - some dont.

Cheers

Darryn

[snollan]

The funny part is that 99% of the time I never need to sell something. It's usually just to shore up capital for another toy. Or I'll run out of room. I feel compelled to offer things up here because well it's tamiyaclub but in the end you're right ebay is the only way to go.

[netsmithUK]

makes me sad to here this guys. One of the founding ideas was to set up an alternative for people to ebay. Sure if you want to whack for something then ebay is the best place - kinda hoped we'd get out own market going here for traders that 'knew' each other. Hopefully lower prices all round for all concerned and just generally more personal than ebay. Shame its not worked out.[]

[scienceguy]

It all really boils down to the means of selling. With eBay you have stringent guidelines, a numbering system for individual items, auction time limits, a feedback scheme and deadbeat bidder reporting options to keep things well in check.

Here at Tamiyaclub it looks to be just the honor system for buying and selling, and whereas things usually work out well in this manner, those who take advantage will always be out there. We all wish it weren't this way, and in time it may begin to foster an extra sense of caution, but this still shouldn't keep the trustworthy among us from keeping things on the straight path for the sake of ourselves and for the club.

-John

[Whitewalls]

as far as i can see, its all down to common decency & good manners........if you start a deal with someone here, whether you are a seller or buyer or doing a trade, you should reply to emails swiftly & honestly & if you change your mind...LET THEM KNOW!!! If you dont, they wont be too helpful in the future , will they?? We shouldnt need a feedback forum here cos we are a small community & we should be able to rely on each other to act in a respectful & polite way, i.e. treat others how you would like to be treated!!!

From my own experiences, whilst being fairly new to the club, I have done a few deals with other members & can honestly say (& they will know who they are) they have been top guys who I would willingly deal with again!!! (Like to hope they could say the same of me).

I have also tried to help others who have been looking for things by directing them to others who are selling or trading the things they want....if you see a post asking for something that you dont have but know a man who does......SAY SO!! We all read the posts & get to know who has what so lets help each other out a little..

Anyway, I am probably boring you sh*tless, so I leave you with a few thoughts hopefully....[]

Paul

[trabbi daz]

Heres a suggestion.....

Why dont ppl put a time scale on things eg advertise it here lets say after a week if you dont get any replies but it on the 'bay ...same goes for the ppl who have expressed an intrest in the part(s) for sale if they havent got back to you or completed the deal in a week for example then of course put it up on the 'bay.

Just a thought.....

Daz

[WillyChang]

Here in Australia we sell houses via both private sale & auctions. Its pretty much the same dilemma, but on a larger scale.

On private sale homes, yes you'll be getting a lot of wishy-washy offers, most of which are ridiculously below 'market' and just about all would have some buyer's exit clause eg "subject to finance". There's no deadline to all the negotiations and sometimes it just drags on forever.

Putting your house up to auction has benefits such as a definite closure on the deal if your house sells. There's no backing out post sale! But to realise a good price you've gotta have enough real buyers bidding, and to attract enough interested participants you have to start at a decently low opening bid.

[gingerboy98]

Putting another slant on it, what about the instances where a seller is contacted on something they have offered up for sale and they don't respond. Even if they no longer have the item, surely it would be nice to be told either way?[]

By the way, this is not pointed at anyone in particular, just a passing thought, kind of like all my thoughts really[]