Wttaotf...................

[Rollsshaver]

I just want to get this off my chest. Lately I have noticed a few items being purchased by members whose ONLY posts are from buying things on the BST forum. These guys are not here to contribute to the site, but to take advantage of it, the the title of this thread.

Wanting
To
Take
Advantage
Of
The
Forum

Maybe I am out of line, but this really gets my goat!! Us members who actually contribute to the site and strive to make this a place of learning, giving, and relaxation need to take notice to who we are selling stuff to on the BST forum. If it is some guy with five or ten posts, check to see if he is contributing or just using the forum as a store site. Just my two cents.


This message was brought to you from the wacky world of Rollshaver...........................

[R-James]

what is your avatar firstly, and secondly people using this place as a shop only in the BST seems bad to me too.

[Rollsshaver]

what is your avatar firstly, and secondly people using this place as a shop only in the BST seems bad to me too.


My avatar is Smoky the Bear Jr. with a stack of pancakes on his head.....:rolleyes:

[Btheis]

I guess I don't feel the same way at all. If this service wasn't provided here then how many members wouldn't be here in the first place. I see this as a service to anyone who wetshaves. There are more unique items on here than most other sites around. Maybe the people that buy things have nothing to contribute and are here to capitalize on another persons decsion to liquidate some of their personal inventory.

People have different reasons for what they do and why they go to the places they visit. If the administration of the website doesn't see the harm in people using this as a place to pick up a unique item or several for that matter why do you feel entitled to complain?

Also, as someone with three months on the forum, a month longer than myself I might add, I would let those that have been here for years openly complain about this.

Here is a quote from the thread on the role of the bst by suzuki,
"With the increased popularity of B&B, there seems to be an increase in the number of "members" who have joined primarily to sell products/razors in the BST. I say "members", because theses people appear to have no desire to really participate on the board, except to sell products at high prices - but want to be seen as "members", as opposed to being treated as vendors."

Basically what you are complaining about is the exact purpose of the bst.

[deshaveman]

Let's just get the posters who are here only to buy from the BST to buy from the Sellers who are only here to sell razors they bought on Ebay. It's a win-win! :lol:

Seriously though, I could technically have fallen into this category because my first few posts were to buy things in the BST. I was lurking around the other forums at the time but spied a few items that I really wanted. I've since started posting and contributing in several forums here on B&B. If I was turned away on the BST based on an arbitrary definition of being a "contributor" who knows if I would have hung around this forum at all.

Let's not discriminate against potential new members.

[Budrbean]

I just want to get this off my chest. Lately I have noticed a few items being purchased by members whose ONLY posts are from buying things on the BST forum. These guys are not here to contribute to the site, but to take advantage of it, the the title of this thread.

Wanting
To
Take
Advantage
Of
The
Forum

Maybe I am out of line, but this really gets my goat!! Us members who actually contribute to the site and strive to make this a place of learning, giving, and relaxation need to take notice to who we are selling stuff to on the BST forum. If it is some guy with five or ten posts, check to see if he is contributing or just using the forum as a store site. Just my two cents.


This message was brought to you from the wacky world of Rollshaver...........................

Makes you seem a little selfish if you ask me. Some people dont like to chat, contribute, review, etc. Doesnt mean they shouldnt be allowed to come buy stuff. Quite frankly if I sell something, I am looking for a buyer that will do one thing.....hand me some green. Their money spends the same no matter what they post on this forum.

[Luxem]

I agree that we should be careful for people taking advantage of the forums...
but then there are people like me who bought their first fatboy here on the forums (I had like 2 or 3 posts is all), have bought brushes because of the shopping forum, now have a french press and a burr grinder (... ugh, my wallet thanks you cafe'''''''''' forum).

I would imagine there are a LOT of honest people that look through the forums, getting advice and whatnot, that don't post often. (see my measley post count, although I am in no hurry)

The ones that will take advantage -I hope- are few and far between.
Thank you B&B for all the great advice (and new expenses ACK) in just about everything gentlemanly. :biggrin:

[BigBubba]

I don't know about this one.

I've been a member here for quite a while, and I have a reasonably low post count due to the fact that I'm generally a lurker on any online forum.

If I have a question it's usually already answered somewhere and I'll find it by searching.

If I see a question that I can help with, there's a good chance that it's already been answered.

So quite a few of my posts are in the BST.

Who knows, maybe somebody that you see buying stuff here with a low post count has been lurking for years before registering?

Maybe they don't have confidence in their knowledge to answer questions or give opinions yet?

That's a pretty big assumption that they're only here to score a deal.

But what do I know, I have a low post count :tongue_sm

[Stauff]

At least we can unload some of our excess shaving stuff on these buyers. Doesn't bother me. What's next, dismissing people who 'just' lurk instead of post? Or maybe people with, say, less than 1,000 posts? :wink:

[Rollsshaver]

I want to clarify my post guys. I 100% understand that many people just are not the chatty type. No big deal. I just happened to notice a couple who had only joined about a month or so ago, had twenty plus posts, and every single one was in the BST. Hey, maybe they are just getting stocked up and will one day become active mambers in the B&B community. No offense was intended to our non-chatty members. This is not an attack on anyone, just my personal opinion on an observation. If you do not feel the same way, cool. If you do, cool. No matter what though, please, lets not allow this to turn into a slanderfest...........................

[murchmb]

I don't see this as much of a problem for buyers. As for sellers who operate in this manner, I do have a problem. What I find even worse, orders of magnitude more objectionable, are the "new-ish members" that swoop in for a PIF and disappear, never to be heard from again. Not even a thank you, much less continued participation in the forum. The ultimate slap in the face to the PIF'er as far as I'm concerned.

[R-James]

I don't see this as much of a problem for buyers. As for sellers who operate in this manner, I do have a problem. What I find even worse, orders of magnitude more objectionable, are the "new-ish members" that swoop in for a PIF and disappear, never to be heard from again. Not even a thank you, much less continued participation in the forum. The ultimate slap in the face to the PIF'er as far as I'm concerned.

This happened to me once when I gave away a black handled SS and some erasmic sticks. I felt annoyed but what can you do. I offer it they take it, but they don't do it in a gentlemanly fashion all the time.

[Btheis]

My point is and only is, why do you even take notice of something like that? What is the point, to open a complaint thread such as this? Did you ever think about the lack of availability of a wide variety of items that are sold on the bst. Or the fact that tons of people hate ebay? Its not wise to try and judge the motives of others. All in all does it hurt you as to the different reason people come here? The only people that I don't care for, and this goes for many other forums, are those who post troll jobs not unlike this, and those that post spam.
I would rather those people use the forum as they see fit within the rules than post a complaint thread in the wrong forum. There is a site feedback area (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=21). LOL :biggrin:

The only real way around your complaint/observation, would be to set a limit on those that can see the BST forum after a certain amount of posts which can be done easily through the admincp.

[Shaving Galoot]

I want to clarify my post guys. I 100% understand that many people just are not the chatty type. No big deal. I just happened to notice a couple who had only joined about a month or so ago, had twenty plus posts, and every single one was in the BST. Hey, maybe they are just getting stocked up and will one day become active mambers in the B&B community. No offense was intended to our non-chatty members. This is not an attack on anyone, just my personal opinion on an observation. If you do not feel the same way, cool. If you do, cool. No matter what though, please, lets not allow this to turn into a slanderfest...........................

I fall into the category of people who have caused you concern. I don't pretend to speak for any of the others, but here's my story: I have a whopping 16 posts and joined as a 'member' in early August. Three of these posts concern a question I asked regarding whether or not decent shaving supplies could be bought locally (near Memphis, TN). The rest were in BST. I bought a red tip, 2 blue tips, 2 techs (if I remember, I only wanted one, but was talked into taking both), a slant bar, and if the recent superspeed is my birthday razor, I'll get it too. Right now, my go to razor is a Merkur HD barberpole, but I'm trying other stuff to see if I like them better. One thing that I like about wetshaving is the variety of options that are available. I haven't posted reviews or contributed to discussions yet because I don't feel qualified. I started shaving like this in July. Someday, when I have more experience with a wider variety of razors, soaps, creams, etc. I'd like to add to the general discussion. But at this point, I'm in learning (and acquiring) mode. In addition to watching BST for things I'd like to try, I do search and browse the other forums in B&B. That's how I've learned about all these things I'm buying.

If I'm taking advantage of BST by engaging in these behaviors, I'd be happy to stop. My wife would be happy, too. I wouldn't spend most of the evening reading about shaving and spending money on razors. But, as I read the posted rules, this seems to be acceptable behavior.

~Jeff

[scoopster]

Folks, This has been discussed a lot in the two stickied threads in this forum (and a few other places):

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=56516
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=41681

The threads are mostly discussing high prices but invariably the topic of B&B "power sellers" comes up. A number of folks philosophically believe the BST is for occasional sales - a member passing an unwanted item on as a good deal to another member and that this is not a place to set up a storefront to churn razors for profit. However, we have no rules in place that prevent this. Yes, sellers get a pretty sweet deal here at B&B - no fees and a dedicated, trusting audience - and B&B makes no money on this at all. That doesn't feel quite right to some folks but others have no problem with it. Some would like to see members contributing to B&B discussions and not just selling here - and again others have no problem with it.

It is a difficult issue and the Mods do talk about it. But at this point no rules are broken with BST "power selling".

Regarding "power buyers" (infrequent posters that buy a lot) - that doesn't tend to come up as a hot spot very often. This is the first time I've seen this brought up.

I would like to remind that misrepresenting items or overcharging for items is something that Mods and forum members are encouraged to help manage. This also is a delicate, hard to manage issue. Our guidelines do allow comments on price and condition in both the positive and negative direction in the open forum as long as its done respectfully.

[Austin]

This forum is not any different from any other forum. You have members join and glean the information they need and move on. I have done this on other forums myself. More than likely from the 10k members we have there are only about 25% that are active. The rest have moved on or just lurk the forum. That's a fact of life on the internet.

The only problem I have is when members join, purchase products from our members and list them on ebay for profit.

[Island Brian]

This issue has been hashed and re-hashed here (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=41681) on B&B. This is a quote from the sticky at the top of the BST forum:


"With the increased popularity of B&B, there seems to be an increase in the number of "members" who have joined primarily to sell products/razors in the BST. I say "members", because these people appear to have no desire to really participate on the board, except to sell products at high prices - but want to be seen as "members", as opposed to being treated as vendors.

The purpose of the BST is to be a service for members - it is intended to be the anti-e-bay in that people are encuraged to sell products at fair/reasonable prices and auctions are not allowed. This is also one of the reasons whe have minimum time as a member/posts before folks can sell on the BST - so that there is a comfort level in buying off the BST that often isn't present when making an e-bay purchase.

It is not intended to be a venue for vendors disguised as "members" to charge high prices - in many cases, double or more than what is a reasonable price."

I suggest you take a look at the sticky and make up your own minds.

[Rollsshaver]

Mods,

I sincerely hope that it is understood that I meant absolutely no disrespect to anyone with this thread. It was just an observation that I felt like sharing with the members of the forums. If you deem this as inappropriate or otherwise, lock it and throw away the key. The last thing this old man intended was to start a fight. I am just too old for that crap.

[The Zook]

Eh... I know what you mean, sometimes things get out of hand and go to extremes.

I wouldn't worry about it, no harm in expressing your concerns.

[TimmyBoston]

Some members don't feel comfortable voicing their opinions publicly there is nothing wrong with this. I don't consider this abuse of the forum in any way.

[guitarslinger]

Makes you seem a little selfish if you ask me. Some people dont like to chat, contribute, review, etc. Doesnt mean they shouldnt be allowed to come buy stuff. Quite frankly if I sell something, I am looking for a buyer that will do one thing.....hand me some green. Their money spends the same no matter what they post on this forum.

+1, if you're so affected/offended, why not put a buyer requirement in your listings? "Must have 50 posts outside of BST forum":confused:

[Rollsshaver]

what is your avatar firstly, and secondly people using this place as a shop only in the BST seems bad to me too.


***UPDATE***


It is now the infamous BLAAAHHHH Cat..........................

[Crag]

I just want to get this off my chest. Lately I have noticed a few items being purchased by members whose ONLY posts are from buying things on the BST forum. These guys are not here to contribute to the site, but to take advantage of it, the the title of this thread.

Wanting
To
Take
Advantage
Of
The
Forum

Maybe I am out of line, but this really gets my goat!! Us members who actually contribute to the site and strive to make this a place of learning, giving, and relaxation need to take notice to who we are selling stuff to on the BST forum. If it is some guy with five or ten posts, check to see if he is contributing or just using the forum as a store site. Just my two cents.


This message was brought to you from the wacky world of Rollshaver...........................

The rules of the forum are that ANYONE can buy, so I don't agree with you at all. If we want to sell our stuff in these hard economic times then we should be able to sell to whoever meets our price. When I sell, I don't want to go around checking up on whether or not buyers have been posting in other forums, and personally don't care. The purpose of listing an item is to sell it. I know what the item is worth, and if I list an item at half the price then that is my decision, and I don't care if they sell it on Ebay at a huge profit. Besides, 5 or 10 posts isn't enough to see if they are contributing or not, and most with this low a post count probably have nothing or very little to contribute.

On the other hand, Sellers that come here to sell with just a few posts...that irks me because THEY will NEVER contribute anything, and are here only to sell their "Snake-oil" and move on to other places that they can take advantage of. A few come to mind that have been banned from the site for good reason. Slandering and selling go hand in hand sometimes, because to make their product look good sometimes they have to make someone elses look bad.

[The Zook]

I think this is one of those threads that is going to die a slow, painful death.

:a30:

[Crag]

[QUOTE=Btheis;845785

The only real way around your complaint/observation, would be to set a limit on those that can see the BST forum after a certain amount of posts which can be done easily through the admincp.[/QUOTE]

What's the use of trying to sell something to a group of people who already have what you are trying to sell? You will never sell your fatboy to someone who already has 10 of them, not at any price, and that's what closing off the BST to people fewer than say 50 posts will do. So i don't agree with your statement at all.

If the OP doesn't want to sell, and wishes to research the posts of his buyers then so-be-it. Let him, I won't do it and will sell my stuff to the first person to shows interest regardless of their post count.

[Crag]

I think this is one of those threads that is going to die a slow, painful death.

:a30:

+1....:a45:

[Rollsshaver]

I still love you guys........................................ :w00t:

[scoopster]

I think this is one of those threads that is going to die a slow, painful death.

:a30:

How astute - Or a quick one...............

[burnwood]

dont mind Rolls people.

he is old and the internet frightens him.

[Rollsshaver]

dont mind Rolls people.

he is old and the internet frightens him.


Damn Kids!! GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!






:lol::lol::lol::lol:

[Btheis]

What's the use of trying to sell something to a group of people who already have what you are trying to sell? You will never sell your fatboy to someone who already has 10 of them, not at any price, and that's what closing off the BST to people fewer than say 50 posts will do. So i don't agree with your statement at all.

If the OP doesn't want to sell, and wishes to research the posts of his buyers then so-be-it. Let him, I won't do it and will sell my stuff to the first person to shows interest regardless of their post count.

Instead of just complaining about someone's thought I was trying to throw something out there thats all. I realize that a lot of people would be left out and that a lot of people wouldn't come here if that was the case. Still just trying to present something that can be done instead of just being critical.

BTW, you said 50, not me. I would say something like 5-10 and include an introductory post as a mandate. But seeing as how thats not gonna happen either way it really doesn't matter does it?

[Gruder]

Dear thread,

Please die.

(I'm channeling my inner TimmyBoston today.)

[Hoos]

Someone's bitching because people want to buy things? Honest to god. I will never understand some complaints. :frown2:

Anyone can become a contributor and post their stuff in the contributors' forum if some newbie buying things irks them.

Here's one to frost your punkin: I've PIFed to newbies. Who have never posted since. And I don't care all that much. It would have been nice if they stuck around, but that wasn't part of the deal.

Here's what I wish: a subforum for all the complaints, politics, gender, or other bias crap. One where the messages would never show up when one clicks "New Posts". You'd actually have to go poking around to find that forum.

I understand the world and probably a few of us is in some hurt (I know I am). Which can lead to griping. But still. About the fact that people are buying things? :yikes:

[masonjarjar]

Maybe I am out of line, but this really gets my goat!! Us members who actually contribute to the site and strive to make this a place of learning, giving, and relaxation need to take notice to who we are selling stuff to on the BST forum. If it is some guy with five or ten posts, check to see if he is contributing or just using the forum as a store site. Just my two cents.

This message was brought to you from the wacky world of Rollshaver...........................

Even though I don't use the BST forum, I'm in agreement with you.

Oh and what's up with selling KMF or Tom's cream that you bought for $5 and used once. Puhleeze. Either PIF it or pitch it fer gosh sakes. My god, it's like asking someone to buy a Big Mac you took one bite out of.

Sorry I'll shut up now. :lol:

-Mason

[Mickdaman]

This is my 67th post.

Just my 2 cents. :tongue_sm

[Doc4]

dont mind Rolls people.

he is old and the internet frightens him.
:lol::lol:

Dear thread,

Please die.

(I'm channeling my inner TimmyBoston today.)

:lol::lol::lol:

Okay folks, Rollshaver regrets venting, and has requested that the thread be killed or something. I don't have the power, but please, let's let the thread die a quiet death.

[The Zook]

Just thought this would be a good time to post a picture of a self proclaimed 'Real Life Peter Pan'. If this doesn't change the subject, I'm out of ideas... :lol:

And yes folks, rest assured... he has a website:
http://www.pixyland.org/

http://www.pixyland.org/peterpan/palmbeach/pixie2.jpg

[scoopster]

Folks, closing the thread per request of the OP and several others.

People have had their say and I think it will be pretty terrible if someone tries to one up Zook's "Peter Pan Man Boy" :eek: :lol: