Requiring 'dibs' on an item in the market place forum in the thread...

Can we make it mandatory in the market place section, where if you are going to purchase the item for sale, you have to call 'dibs' on it FIRST in the thread BEFORE you PM the seller for details?

I hate having to loose an item from some one who didn't post in the for sale thread and PMed the person directly. Grant it, I was late on the item, the person PMed the seller first, yes, but didn't post in the FS thread.

This has the potential of not wasting people's times, especially the seller in notifying other people the item has been sold and anyone else reading the thread can see that the item has already been taken because someone has called dibs on it first.

Thanks.

 

Hmm, I see where you're coming from but to be fair I don't think there's anything wrong with people PM'ing directly and not posting in the actual thread. For the seller it's also a lot easier.

What do others think about this? It would be interesting to see what people think.

yakumo

 

Well, I could argue on both sides.

I see the merits of what MH is saying. It would be easier for everyone if someone just replied with "interested in x - will PM you" or said such in the open. Some things could be said without filling the seller's inbox - granted we now have a plentiful capacity. If the seller were just PMed, then only he can see who asked first for something. Not saying it would happen, but this could lead to favouritism - a noob PMs him after something, then 10 mins later Yakumo wants it. The seller decides he'd rather sell to Yakumo, so says to the noob that someone else got there first. That wouldn't happen if all interest was made "in public". It also makes it easier for us to see that 10 people already asked and not to bother.

That said, it is the responsibility of the seller to update the post with ON HOLD or SOLD. However, this doesn't account for interest registered whilst the seller is offline.

The other thing that could be said is that some people will show their interest in PM, others in the thread. This means that the seller has to look at both and work out who put in the first offer, assuming we're operating a "first come, first served" system here.

Another point is that if you're going to ask something in PM, if it is relevant to the sale, the seller will have to repeat himself. "Is the driver disc included?", for example. A lot of things don't really need to be said in private with regard to an initial offer. I don't even see the harm in making offers in public, really. A lot of us do it. That could also lead to some friendly competition - Say an item is $300, someone offers $250 but someone else wants it so offers $275 - or even the full amount! Doesn't hurt, heh.

So my opinion is that initial contact in public would be a good thing all round.

 

What I normally do is just write PM'ed in the thread then send a detailed PM. I sugest that others do this as well.

yakumo

 

I almost always pm followed by a post. I don't think there's any way to enforce the rule or make it required. The buyer should update the thread though as items are sold/placed on hold.

 

Isn't it up to the seller who he sells to? If someone new to the boards makes an offer for something and then two minutes later someone you have dealt with on numerous occasions and is well trusted makes the same offer, then surely it's the sellers decision who he/she wants to sell it to. Risk losing out and a load of hassle or have a smooth and easy transaction.

Personally, i sell first come first served as i very rarely sell anything of real value and i couldn't care less who buys what.

 

Same here. The first contact either via PM or in the sale thread counts.

 

I can't see how this can be enforced or the seller actually held to account if he sells to someone else. I understand the frustration, but it's hardly possible for the mods or site owner to nanny every sale and establish whether protocol or such codes have been observed.

When people post on a number of websites and someone from a different site contacts the seller ahead of someone here for example?

Can't see any way of enforcing it.

 

I can see the frustration in wanting an item and not knowing someones already sent a PM to the seller but there is no way you can make sure people post that they PM'd all the time.

I think its upto the seller how he/she is notified as sometimes you'll get PM me or sometimes you'll get post in this thread becuase many people like to be PM'd while others like to check their sale thread and some people like both.

The easitest thing to do is PM the seller and ask is it still available as i'm interested and if its on hold you could ask the seller to update the thread to include on-hold after each of the relevent items.

 

Whilst people are having their hands held during a sale, can I opt to holder their wallets please :thumbsup:

 

I think it should be up to the seller. If he has two willing buyers you can't tell me he won't take a buddy or a well known good trader over someone who filed a paypal chargeback against another user here.

Just a random example I came up with in my head.............

 

I have no problem with the fact that the seller can have a preference to who he sells to. What is cool with the marketplace is that it is simple and direct. I won't be saying that adding this rule will make it too complex, but I don't want it to become ebay. I would prefer it to stay the way it is (just my opinion btw).

 

the fact is, the owner is allowed to sell to whomever they want. So.....yeah....

 

I am strongly against this idea.

 

Often you don't even want to make it publicly known that you were the one who purchased X unreleased proto/nude pic of Miyamoto for $2000, so I would PM and probably not post in the thread at all.

Shiggsy

 

So you're the one who bought those pictures....

 

I want to clarify that I did no way meant that the seller is obligated to sell the person that calls 'dibs' on the item. The seller can pick and choose who they want to sell to of course.

So, for those who thought that it required, that, then I apologize.

Also, when it comes to items that are very rare, like Saturn Shenmue code or Virtua Fighter 3 Saturn or Resident Evil stuff, I'm sure Assembler will handle the privacy of the sale like he did with Sonic Xtreme so that no one knows who bought and sold what. That I know will continue to happen.

I'm just talking about mundane stuff like consoles, imports, etc. Stuff you find on ebay, basically.

 

If the seller is not obligated to sell to the "dibs" guy than why did you start this thread? What is the point of "dibs" if it means nothing?