Using the forum as a free sales platform

Here you can post stuff that is not related to Christopher Ward
User avatar
robert75
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 1963
Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2011 10:03 pm
CW-watches: 2
LE-fourb: yes
Location: The frozen north

Re: Using the forum as a free sales platform

Post by robert75 »

This is not really a forum that has a lot of traffic especially regarding sales so anyone who is using this place to sell only is probably going to have a long wait. I personally think trying to extend it to 100 posts 500 posts is going to make little difference, if people want to use a forum to buy and sell that's what they will do.

I am not aware of TZUK charging people to sell for business purposes I only know that if you sell more than 3 a week you are considered a dealer and should contribute 10% to a charity listed by the forum owner. That being said, its not stopped an almost regular meltdown of accusations of people not contributing or being underhand dealers so even that system is not fool proof.

I don't think watchuseek has any post limit before you can buy or sell and in the end it really comes down to buy the seller. I have sold to people with at the time low post counts without a problem and I have not personally met a single person I have sold a watch to or bought one from. While on watchuseek I have had PM's from potential buyers with a post count of 1 or 10 or whatever trying their luck I just ignore them.

Its strange, I often see the argument about buyers and sellers coming up on other forums but then when the numbers of new members drops people soon complain they have nobody to sell their watch to.

In regards to the person in question who presumably this is about, wasn't he given the green light a while ago to sell his stuff by the mods?
User avatar
Thegreyman
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 12066
Joined: Sat May 21, 2016 3:45 pm
CW-watches: 6
Location: Edinburgh

Re: Using the forum as a free sales platform

Post by Thegreyman »

It's an interesting one. I understand the concerns raised and the possibility of dubious sellers selling dubious "franken" watches or even possibly decent watches but just using the forum to avoid the large ebay fees.

A couple of good points made about either increasing the number of posts before you can sell or even multi tiered whereby say you can buy after 50 posts, sell CW after 100 posts and sell other brands after 200 posts...that might be a slight improvement.

As a relative newcomer to the forum, I've now bought a couple of watches on the site (haven't sold any) and I think it is fairly obvious that you look for the provenance when buying an expensive item like a watch. So if you are buying from one of the longer term forumites who have a long time on the board, and possibly also a number of recommendations from those who have dealt with them, then that gives you confidence and builds trust. As a buyer I am handing over quite a bit of money with no buyer protection but the history of the seller on the forum counts for a lot.

I myself have been registered on ebay for c. 14 years or so and have c. 500 feedback, all positive, just from buying odds and ends and selling spare stuff lying around the house...so as with a long time forumite that will give confidence to buyers that I'm a genuine seller with a track record of honesty, and good experiences from buyers.

At the end of the day, regardless of the number of posts or whatever, you would be a brave man to hand over a few £k for a watch from someone only just on the forum with no history or dealing you could refer to.

Anyone like to buy a Rolex :lol:
Patrick

C60 Pro 300, C60 Sunrise, C63 Sealander Lucerne blue LE, C65 Dartmouth, W11 Amelia (wife), C63 Sealander (son)

Some others + a few on the way
User avatar
blowfish89
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 7402
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2014 6:45 pm
LE-three: yes
Location: Toronto

Re: Using the forum as a free sales platform

Post by blowfish89 »

robert75 wrote:This is not really a forum that has a lot of traffic especially regarding sales so anyone who is using this place to sell only is probably going to have a long wait. I personally think trying to extend it to 100 posts 500 posts is going to make little difference, if people want to use a forum to buy and sell that's what they will do.

I am not aware of TZUK charging people to sell for business purposes I only know that if you sell more than 3 a week you are considered a dealer and should contribute 10% to a charity listed by the forum owner. That being said, its not stopped an almost regular meltdown of accusations of people not contributing or being underhand dealers so even that system is not fool proof.

I don't think watchuseek has any post limit before you can buy or sell and in the end it really comes down to buy the seller. I have sold to people with at the time low post counts without a problem and I have not personally met a single person I have sold a watch to or bought one from. While on watchuseek I have had PM's from potential buyers with a post count of 1 or 10 or whatever trying their luck I just ignore them.

Its strange, I often see the argument about buyers and sellers coming up on other forums but then when the numbers of new members drops people soon complain they have nobody to sell their watch to.

In regards to the person in question who presumably this is about, wasn't he given the green light a while ago to sell his stuff by the mods?
WUS has strict rules now - 100 posts and 3 month wait before one can post a watch for sale. TZ has a $1500 fee if you list more than twelve watches for sale in the course of one year. No restriction on purchasing a watch listed by someone else in either forum.
User avatar
paw3001
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 2798
Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 8:50 pm
CW-watches: 4
LE-two: yes
Location: Berlin - Brexit Refugee!

Using the forum as a free sales platform

Post by paw3001 »

I would go with what Tyke suggests, 30 to view then X number to be able to post for sale threads.

I would also add a time limit of say 3 to 6 months on top of that to stop speed posters and then limit to 2 or 3 for sale posts a week.

I mean who sells more than 2 or 3 watches a week unless they are a dealer?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Watches - Too many but not enough!
User avatar
gaf1958
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 12431
Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2012 6:24 am
CW-watches: 24
Location: ɐᴉlɐɹʇsn∀ 'ʇsɐoƆ ǝuᴉɥsunS

Re: Using the forum as a free sales platform

Post by gaf1958 »

paw3001 wrote:I mean who sells more than 2 or 3 watches a week unless they are a dealer?
Well I tend to let the collection reach bursting point and then sell off 6-8 all in one go. :) But then that generally happens only once or twice a year.... thank god!
CW C1+2xC3+6xC6/60K+C7+C11+3xC60T+2xC65+C90+2xC600
Omega Ω 11xSpeedy+14xSeamaster+4xConnie+DeVille
Cartier+2xPanerai+2xFarer+2xOris+Sinn+11xSeiko+ManyVintage
B&R+Halios+5xVisitor+TagH+6xTissot+2xZelos+4xCertina+more
Family12xCW+2xΩ+Cartier
User avatar
gwells
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 7642
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2012 4:02 am
CW-watches: 1
Location: falls church, va

Re: Using the forum as a free sales platform

Post by gwells »

MarkGraz wrote:I check the board several times a day, but I guess I am just not a serial poster, and sometimes my pics aren't that great. I like the attitudes of the members here for the most part and enjoy the watches. Like others, I originally thought 30 posts would take a while and it did for me, just because it's not my style to post often, I am more of a reader.

I'm not sure how I feel about limiting the sales board. I am usually adverse to having more rules vs. less in most cases. I probably would allow CWL category sales as that is the main interest here, and if someone wants to unload one there might be a special interest on the board. As far as the other brands, that might be different.
to be honest, you're averaging more than 1 post a day (405 in 375 days), so i'm not sure it would be that much of a wait for you if you started over now.
the "g" is for Greg...
MarkGraz
Senior Guru
Senior Guru
Posts: 601
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2015 2:18 pm
CW-watches: 15
Location: Maine, USA

Re: Using the forum as a free sales platform

Post by MarkGraz »

gwells wrote:
MarkGraz wrote:I check the board several times a day, but I guess I am just not a serial poster, and sometimes my pics aren't that great. I like the attitudes of the members here for the most part and enjoy the watches. Like others, I originally thought 30 posts would take a while and it did for me, just because it's not my style to post often, I am more of a reader.

I'm not sure how I feel about limiting the sales board. I am usually adverse to having more rules vs. less in most cases. I probably would allow CWL category sales as that is the main interest here, and if someone wants to unload one there might be a special interest on the board. As far as the other brands, that might be different.
to be honest, you're averaging more than 1 post a day (405 in 375 days), so i'm not sure it would be that much of a wait for you if you started over now.
You're right, but most of my posts are in the "watch of the day" threads. I'm still learning about styles, cases, movements and such so I don't make a lot of serious comments in the more complicated watch threads. I have bought a few here and sold one and appreciate being able to do so.

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk
CWL:C30,C5FLE,C60(2),C60GMT(2),C8(2),C9JH,C11Tit Ext,C11MSL,C9SS,C95D,C9GMT,C9FLE Proto, C60 Chrono
Ebel Chrnon,Stein NavB DLC,Hanhart Minos,Nomos Metro,NomosAhoi ATL,Panerai 351,Omega Spdmstr Mk2,Halios Tropic B,,JLC Master Comp Chrono, Tudor GMT.
The Naf
Senior
Senior
Posts: 89
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 5:31 am

Re: Using the forum as a free sales platform

Post by The Naf »

I come here just to get the C ward goss. every now and then and occasionally contribute on other topics if I find them stimulating enough. To be honest I've had my fill of over contributing (at WUS) before I took a bit of a hiatus from watches. These days I'm usually reading more than contributing. I think if you have a problem with a seller then don't buy from them. But I've seen enough posts (on WUS anyway) from members with very few contributions that display a depth of knowledge a lot of the forum regulars don't seem to have. So quality over quantity I guess...

At the end of the day it doesn't really bother me as I do most of my selling (which is not much at all lol) over at WUS.

The Naf
User avatar
robert75
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 1963
Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2011 10:03 pm
CW-watches: 2
LE-fourb: yes
Location: The frozen north

Re: Using the forum as a free sales platform

Post by robert75 »

blowfish89 wrote:
robert75 wrote:This is not really a forum that has a lot of traffic especially regarding sales so anyone who is using this place to sell only is probably going to have a long wait. I personally think trying to extend it to 100 posts 500 posts is going to make little difference, if people want to use a forum to buy and sell that's what they will do.

I am not aware of TZUK charging people to sell for business purposes I only know that if you sell more than 3 a week you are considered a dealer and should contribute 10% to a charity listed by the forum owner. That being said, its not stopped an almost regular meltdown of accusations of people not contributing or being underhand dealers so even that system is not fool proof.

I don't think watchuseek has any post limit before you can buy or sell and in the end it really comes down to buy the seller. I have sold to people with at the time low post counts without a problem and I have not personally met a single person I have sold a watch to or bought one from. While on watchuseek I have had PM's from potential buyers with a post count of 1 or 10 or whatever trying their luck I just ignore them.

Its strange, I often see the argument about buyers and sellers coming up on other forums but then when the numbers of new members drops people soon complain they have nobody to sell their watch to.

In regards to the person in question who presumably this is about, wasn't he given the green light a while ago to sell his stuff by the mods?
WUS has strict rules now - 100 posts and 3 month wait before one can post a watch for sale. TZ has a $1500 fee if you list more than twelve watches for sale in the course of one year. No restriction on purchasing a watch listed by someone else in either forum.
And neither do anything to prevent scammers or people who are only there to sell items. From what I have seen all they do is give a platform for the curtain twitches to have a moan at newcomers and their new fangled ways. A number of long term members on WUS got their accounts hacked by a scammer selling watches and as I said, I have been PM'd by "buyers" clearly on a scam.

I honestly have no idea why it annoys people so much what people sell and in what quantity or who they are selling to. I have had very good transactions with people with very few post counts and got stung by so called "stand up long term" folk too.

I get why people were cheesed off with the Lewis Hamilton thread getting dropped as it just seemed like harmless fun from what I could see but now "Can we have a politics and religion restricted section" "Can we somehow restrict sellers or just certain sellers" Why cant we just get back to discussing watches on a watch forum?
User avatar
Helix Von Smelix
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 4002
Joined: Fri Sep 10, 2010 4:41 pm
CW-watches: 108
Location: Berkshire

Re: Using the forum as a free sales platform

Post by Helix Von Smelix »

Just to point out that almost any CW watch for sale on eBay will also be advertised on here, so..........
User avatar
Bahnstormer_vRS
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 35163
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2012 3:06 pm
CW-watches: 34
LE-three: 1
LE-foura: 1
LE-fourb: 1
LE-six: 1
Location: Hertfordshire, UK

Re: Using the forum as a free sales platform

Post by Bahnstormer_vRS »

To get back to IAJ's original question, IMHO, the simple restrictions that we currently have are fine.

Ultimately, it is the buyer's decision whether to buy a particular watch and part of their decision making will likely be the seller's details/profile. If you don't like anything about the watch and/or the seller then don't buy it.

Simples! eek!

PS> In the meantime I have a lovely C9 FLE available again in the Sales Corner due to an abortive sale on ebay (buyer withdrew as he'd bought something else). :problem: Apologies for the shameless plug. :silent:

Guy
In small proportions, we just beautie see:
And in short measures, life may perfect bee. - Ben Jonson (1572 – 1637)

Inscription on the Longitude Dial
Hatfield House, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 5NB, England
Hicksmat
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 1327
Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2013 6:02 pm
CW-watches: 4
Location: Manchester UK

Re: Using the forum as a free sales platform

Post by Hicksmat »

It'sAliveJim wrote:Is it right that members who contribute nothing to the forum should still be allowed to post endless items for sale?

Should there be some kind of time or post count cut off point whereby the member's access to Sales Corner is revoked for a period of time, i.e. if all of their posts are in Sales Corner over a period of, say, two months, they could be denied access for a month?

And to the mods, can we please leave this open for discussion as I think it's a worthwhile topic for the forum to discuss. We might find that nobody cares, or it might be that it annoys other members as much as it annoys me :D

What do we think?


I think this is a good point well made.

Often I would only buy and sell from posters (on any forum) where they had a lot of posts and looked like they would hang around beyond buying and selling watches. I feel a little more secure doing it that way but I understand this is a totally subjective feeling as nothing is ever 100% safe and secure but I feel better about buying/selling to long time posters on here more than anywhere else.
User avatar
ItsAliveJim
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 7667
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2012 4:07 pm

Re: Using the forum as a free sales platform

Post by ItsAliveJim »

Bahnstormer_vRS wrote:
PS> In the meantime I have a lovely C9 FLE available again in the Sales Corner due to an abortive sale on ebay (buyer withdrew as he'd bought something else). :problem: Apologies for the shameless plug. :silent:

Guy
Burn him :lol:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What the hell is he building in there?" Tom Waits
User avatar
reggie747
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 6560
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 7:17 pm
CW-watches: 1
LE-foura: yes
LE-fourb: yes
Location: The Mersey Riviera

Re: Using the forum as a free sales platform

Post by reggie747 »

Helix Von Smelix wrote:Just to point out that almost any CW watch for sale on eBay will also be advertised on here, so..........
Yeah, we noticed that. Choking up the front page and keeping Ferg and PaulWB in a job at the same time.
Fluffy cuddly kittens and little puppy dogs.......????
User avatar
reggie747
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 6560
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 7:17 pm
CW-watches: 1
LE-foura: yes
LE-fourb: yes
Location: The Mersey Riviera

Re: Using the forum as a free sales platform

Post by reggie747 »

Bahnstormer_vRS wrote:To get back to IAJ's original question, IMHO, the simple restrictions that we currently have are fine.

Ultimately, it is the buyer's decision whether to buy a particular watch and part of their decision making will likely be the seller's details/profile. If you don't like anything about the watch and/or the seller then don't buy it.

Simples! eek!
Yeah but the snake in question - his particular profile/details would probably look fine. The dodgy watch flog, if/when it arrived may not have been fine (as was pointed out by a number of sharp eyed barrack room lawyers on another forum)

Not that simples then........ :thumbup:
Fluffy cuddly kittens and little puppy dogs.......????
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post