Selling boats: why is this?

[JC6275]

Nope....no way to allow members to lock posts.

I just thought that locking the comments in the classified section would save some unnecessary posting AKA BICKERING, one guy saying too high and another trying to justify his item to someone who probably would not be a buyer in any case. Just a thought maybe the next time all the admin has the "super secret" meeting this can be discussed. LOL

 

[xoomer]

I used to buy and sell cars and boats as a sideline with a friend who owned a car wholesale business. We could find as many deals as we wanted that were thousands of dollars under the lowest value found in the blue books. It's always a buyers market with boats--so many people have one to sell and many are willing to give their boat away if it doesn't sell right away. Boattrader.com has eleven 2013 242LS models for sale from $48.9-$53.5k--I imagine if someone tried hard enough he could get one of these somewhere in the low $40s. Of course that doesn't mean you won't get what you are asking but it would go against the trend.

Good luck...

 

[Julian]

I just thought that locking the comments in the classified section would save some unnecessary posting AKA BICKERING, one guy saying too high and another trying to justify his item to someone who probably would not be a buyer in any case. Just a thought maybe the next time all the admin has the "super secret" meeting this can be discussed. LOL

I understand what you are suggesting, but some might want to have their boat classified open for discussion. We'll have a super secret "cone of silence" meeting to discuss this @Bruce @txav8r @Murf'n'surf @OperationROL what think you of:

1) We should post sticky in the classifieds asking people not to post negatively about peoples pricing - unless the seller specifically asks for pricing opinions

2) Let sellers know that if they'd like a "Locked" classified where no comments can be made to just hit the "Report" button and request the post be locked

 

[DCB-270]

Good luck on your sale even though I am sorry to hear you are selling. I was hoping to see that beauty some time in the future,

 

[JC6275]

@Julian , I am not one of the above tagged, but I think option 2 would serve very well. If someone wants it locked it can be, if they want it open it can be. I love how the " super secret" meetings are rite out in the open on here. LOL

 

[Bruce]

I think #2 would work well.

@txav8r 's 230 is the best example I can think of of a seller asking a premium price for a premium boat, holding out and getting it. Some chimed in to say it was overpriced others said it was worth the price. In the end he got the price and if I had not bought a 230 a month earlier I would have paid the asking price. I don't believe that the negative comments hurt the sale. They bumped the listing back up and the buyer saw the value in the boat.

 

[GTBRMC]

I suggest that the members of the site be self-policing on this.

If someone jumps all over a sell ad (or any post) in a manner that is out of line, the regulars nudge that person back in line. If a given thread appears headed for a flame war, mods push the offending parties back in line with a couple of direct, yet polite, PMs.

This would not work in many online communities, but this group can handle most situations. MHO, anyway.

 

[jonw9]

Rules from one of my other forums:
"You are not the price police for the for sale forum. It is not up to you to determine what something in someone else's ad is worth. If you don't think it's a good deal, don't buy it. If you truly believe someone is blatantly trying to rip someone else off, PM one of the Mods about it. We'll look into it, and make a decision if the thread should stay or go. We will delete anyone's post in the for sale section if they are bashing someone's ad. Negotiation is encouraged, and if you post a for sale ad, and some one makes you an offer that you feel is too low, respond politely, and they just may come up with the money you want. If you don't have something to contribute to a for sale post, don't post in the thread! If you truly "just want to help", then handle any communication with the poster via PM's, not publicly on the forums."

 

[Murf'n'surf]

I don't think there should be a lock option. The great part about our classified section is the ability to negotiate in an open format where it's less likely for someone to take advantage, and that works for both sides of the sale. It is up to our members to be polite and base questions on fact.

 

[Ronnie]

"You are not the price police....It is not up to you....We'll look into it....We will delete" between the lines reads, too me, We (site administrators) are the price police, it's up to us to look into and delete posts.

Per Webster's on-line dictionary, a censor is a person who examines books, movies, letters, etc. and removes things considered to offensive, immoral, harmful to society, etc. Whereas a "forum" is defined as a meeting at which a subject can be discussed and a place or opportunity for discussing a subject. I didn't see any qualifiers for either definition.

Censorship is censorship so the real questions, too me, are:

1. Will it be allowed here?
2. If so, to what degree?
3. Who is / are the censors?
4 . Will their practices / perspectives on censorship help or hurt the forum?
5. Will it change the way I participate on the site? That is, a) Can I live with it? b) If not do I just become a reading instead of posting member of this site? c) Will this practice be limited to sales ads?

Looks like this subject has grown some legs. I'd say start a poll or conduct a vote but this site Is not structured like a democracy so the results of a vote, like a poll, are persuasive not binding. Thankfully I don't have decision making power on whether responses to sales ads on this site will be subject to censorship nor would I be a censor if censorship is allowed. I do not envy those in such positions but for now I will wait to see how this unfolds. What else can I do?

 

[jonw9]

"You are not the price police....It is not up to you....We'll look into it....We will delete" between the lines reads, too me, We (site administrators) are the price police, it's up to us to look into and delete posts.

Look into reported posts of flagrant or misleading adds. I don't think there is constant, continual policing of the ads.
And deleting inappropriate posts seems kind of commonplace, and not a sign of a police state.

If censorship is not allowed here, then I eagerly anticipate the off topic porn picture thread!

 

[Glassman]

If censorship is not allowed here, then I eagerly anticipate the off topic porn picture thread!

Um, uh, get out much?

I'm pretty sure we have one of those....

 

[jonw9]

Um, uh, get out much?

I'm pretty sure we have one of those....

Sorry, I must have mis-interpreted your "Big Ass Fan" thread as something else!

 

[txav8r]

I also vote for #2. It is a double edged sword. If you restrict the negative comments, you also restrict the positive. I had a number of people make comments both positive and negative when I sold my boat. I can tell you that of the positive comments, probably 50% of the respondents had not only seen the boat, but discussed at length with me, the things I had done to correct deficiencies, add improvements, upgrade existing equipment, etc. 100% of those negative comments had no idea what I had, and based their assessment on numbers off a chart, having never seen my boat. While those charts may be a guide, they are flat out wrong IMO when it comes to buying something. There is just too much difference between a product that is well cared for vs one that is neglected and abused. And those charts have both! Some things listed for sale are junk, and others are a diamond. You can pay too much for junk and absolutely steal a diamond. This is a tricky question. We have guys asking all the time about boats they have found and wanting an opinion from the masses, and many too are asked via PM for their opinion. Nothing wrong with these discussions, but when the item in question is in an ad in the same forum as the thread asking about it? It can get dicey boys (and girls). I vote #2.

 

[xoomer]

I don't really understand the problem or the need for censorship. I just looked at several pages of the classified ads that had threads with boats for sale. Out of all the follow-up posts I saw there was only one person who said he thought the price was too high--and that was for a boat someone was selling for a relative. I think any censorship will be overkill.

 

[txav8r]

@xoomer , I don't see a guy locking his own thread as censorship. If he chooses no comments, or allows them, it is up to him.

 

[Bruce]

I believe that the most popular plan is not to censor the classifieds but to allow members to request their ads to be locked if they do not want discussion of their ad. Doing so would likely be harmful to the members ads as any additional posts bumps the ad back up to the top.

 

[xoomer]

@txav8r Personally, I would rather know if people thought my boat was priced too high so I could re-think my pricing. It's not a major issue for me but I think the board would lose some of it's value by not allowing the members to give their opinions on pricing--95% of which I have seen say "...that's a great price for that boat".

 

[JC6275]

Thinking more about this question, I am leaning more towards the admin not being involved in any action regarding it. It can be handled very easy by each member. The content each of us post is ours, if I post an item and would like to only receive pms that is my choice ,I can ask for it to be locked or leave it open. I do find it interesting that some want it open only so no one can "take advantage" of someone else, but other threads I have read have multiple posts saying "it's worth what someone will pay". I will support whatever is decided on this question because I know there is no "censorship" intended here. The fact we are having this conversation proves it's quite the opposite.

 

[davel501]

I say leave it open. If someone makes a negative comment you can call them on it while providing support for your price point. Hopefully the next person selling will read your thread before setting their price and go from there. The exchange of ideas is meant to make everything better even if getting to better sucks a bit personally.