*** A BST ALERT *** -- All members please read before continuing ***

[castlecraver]

Gents,

In the interest of keeping the BST safe, fair, and for all members to be fully informed in making their trading decisions here the mods would like to issue the following alert:

All members should be aware that there have been recent instances of banned members re-registering with new accounts and participating on the BST. These members have been banned specifically for BST misuse and failing to complete transactions. The mods are doing everything in our power to uncover and investigate these re-registrations quickly, but please be advised that such accounts are subject to immediate banning without regard to the status of any active BST transactions.

The thread recently posted by member drewmac describes an example of this having occurred and the unfortunate consequences.

As such, we recommend members consider potential BST purchases and trades with members that they are unfamiliar with, who approach you unsolicited or "off the record"; or have low post counts very carefully. The vast majority of activity here remains safe and honest, and although we understand this admonition may cause newer and unfamiliar BSTers increased scrutiny from potential buyers, we believe our members' safety and the integrity of the BST to be the most important consideration. Traders may wish to consider exchanging phone numbers and verifying information as necessary. Furthermore, we remind all members that the vast majority of a users' posts should be in the topic areas of the forum and that excessive use of the BST may be seen as a "red flag."

The BST remains a "buyer beware" forum and as always, we encourage users to be vigilant and weigh price, reputation, and "gut instinct" when considering any purchase. If any user has questions or concerns about pending transactions, please do not hesitate to contact a moderator.

Thanks for your understanding,

-Pat (on behalf of the B&B moderation team)

[talibeard]

Thank you for the warning.

The disadvantage of growing so fast as B&B does is that it also atracts less gentlemanlike people.

Great that you mods are on alert!!

[Strikermike]

On other forums that I visit, mostly airgun forums, where a lot of trading goes on. They have a thread specifically for feed back on the traders. It might be a good idea to start that here.

[FiveOhNine]

On other forums that I visit, mostly airgun forums, where a lot of trading goes on. They have a thread specifically for feed back on the traders. It might be a good idea to start that here.

An excellent idea! And though I know it will make it more difficult for new honest folks to sell, perhaps it makes sense to increase the minimum post count for eligibility to sell in the BST? I know I have sold things, and I have under 100 or 200+ posts - so I'm shooting myself in the foot here, but this might help. I don't know how many scammers would be willing to stick around for a few months just to pull off a one or two time deal before they are found out.

Just a thought.

Or maybe, 200+ posts -OR- a senior member who can vouch for you?

[Follicle Genocide]

I like the idea of a minimum number of posts over a certain time period. You're right, who is going to commit a couple of months just to get one or two razors?

[vitaman]

Thank you for the heads up Mods!!

[SJBFIRE]

Strong work Mods. Great job keeping the BST fair and honest. I have found myself a little addicted to it and its good to know we have people looking out for it. Planning on making a donation in the near future.

[Groundhog]

Thanks for the heads Pat (and all you other Mods watching the back door).

Sounds like we need to crank up a B&B hit squad.

[The Knize]

thanks, you are appreciated!

[Mr. Imperial]

thanks, you are appreciated!

Roger that!

[Uncle Erik]

Another vote for the creation of a feedback subforum. I belong to another board with a feedback subforum and it works quite well.

Recently, I purchased two razors from a member here and was disappointed to find that there was nowhere to leave feedback for him. The transaction was great and I wanted to thank him publicly.

[Jooky]

Along with a forum dedicated to trading, I think it would be nice if B&B itself kept track of peoples trade record. Sort of like how most other boards have a reputation system. If you trade with somebody and it is a positive trade, they get a +1. If the trade is a negative experience they get a -1. Sure, it is always going to suck for the first guy to discover a bad trader, but at least this way there is some kind of record.

A similar setup is in use here. I have traded games with a ton of people over there and it is nice knowing that there is a record of me being a good trader. I was actually quite surprised with the last trade I made there about a month ago. I told the guy I was trading with that it would be a week or so before I could get his game packed up and taken to the post office. He told me that was no problem and that he was going to ship mine later that day. He felt confident in my high trade rating and knew that I had worked hard for several years to get it. I think B&B would benefit greatly from this kind of system, not only for traders but also buyers and sellers.

[djh]

Thanks to the Moderation Team for keeping an eye out for the rest of us. I am involved in Watch Fora where a much larger amount of money is involved in buying/selling/trading and where references are exchanged before a transaction is entered into. While I think that that idea would be overkill here, the opportunity to post feedback in a dedicated area would make things easier and quicker for all concerned.
Thanks again!

[D/ELong Handle]

Thank you for the notification and your working diligently to correct this.

[Loner16]

The Moderators here are a great group.

They may not be able to catch everything, but they sure try. And when the rare occurance does happen, they try to put it right!

Can't ask for more than that!

[Engine]

Another vote for the creation of a feedback subforum. I belong to another board with a feedback subforum and it works quite well.

Recently, I purchased two razors from a member here and was disappointed to find that there was nowhere to leave feedback for him. The transaction was great and I wanted to thank him publicly.

Same here. I've had some outstanding transactions with wonderful folks on BST and wouldn't mind a place to give them their due compliments and recommendations to other members to buy from them.

[_JP_]

Feedback is something that has been brought up often and is always denied. This forum has existed for a very long time and has performed very well without any sort of feedback system in place. My vote is still against having a feedback system. Problems are very rare.

[htownmmm]

Feedback is something that has been brought up often and is always denied. This forum has existed for a very long time and has performed very well without any sort of feedback system in place. My vote is still against having a feedback system. Problems are very rare.

Especially w/ all the hard working mods and knowledgeable members in place.

Isn't it amazing that those who get banned from here seem to always return in some shape, form, or fashion? Yet, if they had followed the rules in place, there would have been no need to get banned in the 1st place.


marty

[SJBFIRE]

I have been a member since June of last year. In that time I have made quite a few transactions via the B/S/T. I have had no problems what so ever. Everyone had been very gentleman like and all of my transactions have been smooth as butter. I have experienced nothing but fair and honest folks on the B&B. I have been very impressed with this forum since I started. Keep up the good work!

[castlecraver]

Feedback is something that has been brought up often and is always denied. This forum has existed for a very long time and has performed very well without any sort of feedback system in place. My vote is still against having a feedback system. Problems are very rare.

A hard-coded feedback mechanism brings its own host of problems, and probably wouldn't have had much effect in situations like the one described. It gets suggested just about every time a public "caution flag" goes up.

Members should be aware that the board has a fairly robust search function -- you can search for all posts made by member X in the BST forum, dig up their old sales, look at their activity around the board. In addition, there's no reason you can't leave feedback in the original sale thread. We don't go around locking 'em after stuff gets sold. A simple "thanks, got the razor today, everything seems great" would get the job done just fine.

Isn't it amazing that those who get banned from here seem to always return in some shape, form, or fashion?

What can we say? Not many would try to sneak in the back door at a "From Justin to Kelly" screening. We're like Avatar, baby.