Can you lock for sale posts?

[Kenich]

If you advertise a car on here, can you lock the post to stop people from commenting?

It blows my mind seeing some of the negative comments on people's adverts. There are posts from people with no intentions of even buying these cars. I know it's a forum which is great for discussion etc, but I find it rather poor etiquette.

[enuff_zed]

I know what you're saying, but forum rules are that a buyer has to express an interest on the thread first, for clarity, before then taking discussions off line if required. That way there is no accustation of gazumping, or underhand dealing.
If you lock it you don't have that facility.

[Scubaregs]

If you lock the thread the OP will be continually answering the same questions via PM.
A thread provides a lot of transparency also.
Ludicrous valuations will always attract comments.

[Kenich]

I know what you're saying, but forum rules are that a buyer has to express an interest on the thread first, for clarity, before then taking discussions off line if required. That way there is no accustation of gazumping, or underhand dealing.
If you lock it you don't have that facility.

I understand, thank you. I guess I'm not used to seeing owners club / forum members chime into for sale posts with negative comments.

If you lock the thread the OP will be continually answering the same questions via PM.

Ludicrous valuations will always attract comments.

Which is fine, if its from interested buyers. The seller could use the multiple similar PMs as an indication to update the advert with that info.

Also, I appreciate high valuations may attract comments. But, that was more what I was aiming at. If your not interested in buying that item, keep your comments to yourself surely?

[coldel]

I think ultimately first and foremost its a forum of owners, to talk cars.
The for sale section is an added bonus, and a free one at that, to potentially target buyers.
The best thing for a seller to do is answer the questions calmly and rationally, accept people have opinions on what is an opinion based forum, and just move on. Having rants on the thread is not a good look.

The bigger issue I think really is when people with hardly any contribution to the forum come on and slap a lazy advert then get upset if people comment on it. They are using it as a free sales site after doing nothing to contribute to the continuing existence of the community. On other forums there are minimum post limits for people to post cars for sale i.e. 100 quality posts, to stop this sort of thing.

[Kenich]

The bigger issue I think really is when people with hardly any contribution to the forum come on and slap a lazy advert then get upset if people comment on it. They are using it as a free sales site after doing nothing to contribute to the continuing existence of the community. On other forums there are minimum post limits for people to post cars for sale i.e. 100 quality posts, to stop this sort of thing.

Your right, no one likes a lazy advert. Especially off a new member / trader only using the forum for their sale.

For me a forum can be a great place to find owners cars for sale. Cars which have often been well tendered by the enthusiast. It was the 1st place I went looking last year.

----------------------

Thanks for the replies, question answered. You can now lock the thread

[pvr]

As a forum community of people that know Z4s, you could also see it as a protection for new potentional owners.

What if:

- A part being sold does not fit the vehicle being mentioned
- A second hand part can be obtained new cheaper elsewhere
- A car being sold has items listed in there that are either incorrect


If I did not know a car model particularly well, I would appreciate it that forum owners would either endorse or reject it based on their experience

[Kenich]

As a forum community of people that know Z4s, you could also see it as a protection for new potentional owners.

What if:

- A part being sold does not fit the vehicle being mentioned
- A second hand part can be obtained new cheaper elsewhere
- A car being sold has items listed in there that are either incorrect


If I did not know a car model particularly well, I would appreciate it that forum owners would either endorse or reject it based on their experience

That is a positive side, agreed.

[Pondrew]

I think ultimately first and foremost its a forum of owners, to talk cars.
The for sale section is an added bonus, and a free one at that, to potentially target buyers.
The best thing for a seller to do is answer the questions calmly and rationally, accept people have opinions on what is an opinion based forum, and just move on. Having rants on the thread is not a good look.

The bigger issue I think really is when people with hardly any contribution to the forum come on and slap a lazy advert then get upset if people comment on it. They are using it as a free sales site after doing nothing to contribute to the continuing existence of the community. On other forums there are minimum post limits for people to post cars for sale i.e. 100 quality posts, to stop this sort of thing.

Absolutely spot on IMO.

If sellers don't like opinions on their adverts, they can always actually PAY to advertise it elsewhere.

[Pondrew]

It blows my mind seeing some of the negative comments on people's adverts. There are posts from people with no intentions of even buying these cars. I know it's a forum which is great for discussion etc, but I find it rather poor etiquette.

If a car is advertised on here well and for a reasonable price, there are rarely any negative comments (if ever).
Generally only unrealistic asking prices, poor adverts and people signing up just to sell their cars for free receive any negative comments. One man's negativity is another man's helpful advice.

It can also work the other way. Many cars have been sold by established members partly due to the support and positive comments posted by others on their ads.

I have sold two cars on this forum (and one on another) without any problems at all from negative comments. I would hope that was due to putting the effort in with the adverts, asking reasonable money and the cars being good. I know it wasn't because I am universally loved on here!

[tiglon]

Personally I like the negative comments. Useful buyer protection.

I agree it would be good to have a minimum posts rule before selling. The whole point of buying from the forum is generally that you're buying from an enthusiast.

[Kenich]

Personally I like the negative comments. Useful buyer protection.

If so, remind me to chip in on any of your for sale threads

[tiglon]

Personally I like the negative comments. Useful buyer protection.

If so, remind me to chip in on any of your for sale threads

Please feel free too. I've only had one for sale thread, which did get a few negative comments - they were completely fair and I had no problem with them at all.

This is a free forum, not a classifieds page. The whole point is for people to share opinions, and that includes for sale threads.

A forum is a community. Buying something on here should be like buying from your neighbour, where you'd expect a greater level of openness and honesty, and for another neighbour to pipe up if they think you're being ripped off or there's an issue you hadn't noticed. When a random stranger walks onto your street offering a car for sale, especially at an unrealistically high price and with a vague advert that doesn't mention any of the flaws or imperfections, he's going to get some comments...

When I bought my car from a forum member his priority was clearly making sure that I had every possible piece of info about the car, rather than trying to hide things and get as much as possible as quickly as possible (like you'd expect buying from any other source). When I tried to sell it, I aimed to do the same.

When someone doesn't, it's perfectly reasonable for other forum members to fill in the gaps and point out the imperfections.

If anyone wants to sell without being 100% open about their car, then they can accept the comments or, in my very humble opinion, feck off to autorader/ebay.

[N4LLY]

If anyone wants to sell without being 100% open about their car, then they can accept the comments or, in my very humble opinion, feck off to autorader/ebay.

Exactly this ^^^^

[Kenich]

If anyone wants to sell without being 100% open about their car, then they can accept the comments or, in my very humble opinion, feck off to autorader/ebay.

Oh of course. And I completely see the points of views raised here. I mean I still whole heartedly disagree with negative comments from people on someone's for sale thread. I'm also not talking about the good people pointing out sinister issues or dodgy dealers mind you. More unwanted or needed opinions from those that have no intentions on buying that item, I think that's just rude.

However, I appreciate that the forum wants open discussions on all threads, even for sale adverts. The original question was just to ask if you could lock the for sale posts. That was answered with the 1st post, thank you.