post count and the classifieds

[partsman]

lately i have been seeing allot of people posting in classifieds that dont have any post count at all, 90% of the forums i am on you have to either be member for several months or have so many posts or enough rep before your allowed to use the classifieds.
maybe it is just me but i think it is taking advantage of the system if all you came here to do is use the the classifieds, i can think of one member in particular she has been a member for over 2 years an all her posts are f/s. i would never buy anything from her for that reason.
to me if your only going to do that maybe buy some add space or something.

[mpan72]

Originally Posted by partsman

lately i have been seeing allot of people posting in classifieds that dont have any post count at all, 90% of the forums i am on you have to either be member for several months or have so many posts or enough rep before your allowed to use the classifieds.
maybe it is just me but i think it is taking advantage of the system if all you came here to do is use the the classifieds, i can think of one member in particular she has been a member for over 2 years an all her posts are f/s. i would never buy anything from her for that reason.
to me if your only going to do that maybe buy some add space or something.

I am also put off a little by people who have few posts outside the classified section and I would not even consider buying from them. I don't see PAFOA as a place to buy stuff anyway. I do check the for sale section and would buy from a member who I can check out by reading some of their posts. I would be comfortable buying from a handfull of members on here but if I was looking for something I would be more inclined to use a source that uses a system to hold seller and buyer accountable for their transactions or buy from a quality online seller.
But as long as people follow the rules laid out by the Dan I don't care too much. Besides maybe some of them will become contributing members at some point.

[D10]

This actually came up a bout 2 years ago (I posted a similar question) and it is (IMO) up to you whether you like to buy from a member with a low post count or not. All the people I dealt with are good people and I would do business with them again in a split second.

[mauser]

I really don't care how many posts a person has, if they're offering to sell something I want for a price I'm willing to pay and they don't have red dots instead of green dots I'd buy from them as quickly as from someone with a high post count.
I thought I knew who you're talking about but the one I'm thinking of has been a member less than a year and a half. I'm not even sure "she" isn't a guy. I've looked ah her feedback and see no negative comments. If someone always has items for sale and no negative feedback they can't be all bad. I personally think a lot of her prices are a bit on the high side but that's her business, I've seen enough of her items marked "sold" to know she can't be too far out of line, if even at all.
I see others in the classifieds with very low post counts, more than a year membership, no negative and who always have something for sale or trade.
As far as I'm concerned the more ads we have in our classifieds the more traffic will be directed to our site. The greater the selection the more attractive we are to shoppers. I know for a fact that people search the Internet in general for things they want to buy and find it here and join to make the deal. Some stay as loyal members, some never return.
There are also long time members here with very low post counts who never post in the classifieds but check them out regularly. They come here for advice and information or to find a deal, maybe both. They're savvy and patient enough to find information they want without starting yet another thread about a question that's been answered many times already. Would you ignore their input on a subject because they have a low post count? There's one member in particular who has been here longer than I have and he only has 36 posts. He was just here about 2 hours ago. You'd think that someone who has been a member more than 5 years would have more than 36 posts. He doesn't get into discussions that are opinion oriented, doesn't post in the lounge and doesn't give anyone a hard time, but when he sees an unanswered question that he knows he can help with he'll chime in. He's very knowledgeable about C&R, especially Mosin-Nagant. He's a great guy and gave me a lot of good advice via email and PM as well as questions he has answered in threads. It turns out he lives less than 30 miles from me, we both visit one particular gun shop and we've had opportunities to chat there.
His low post count didn't bother me when he gave me advice a few years ago because I could tell he knew what he was talking about.
Someone in the classifieds with a low post count doesn't bother me either, different people have different personalities and different styles. Some with high post counts are jerks who would gladly overcharge someone. You won't know until you look at feedback or contact them about an ad. You can usually tell the difference pretty quickly.
Ignore anyone you want for any reason you want but you might miss a good opportunity by doing so.

[Emptymag]

Originally Posted by partsman

lately i have been seeing allot of people posting in classifieds that dont have any post count at all, 90% of the forums i am on you have to either be member for several months or have so many posts or enough rep before your allowed to use the classifieds.
maybe it is just me but i think it is taking advantage of the system if all you came here to do is use the the classifieds, i can think of one member in particular she has been a member for over 2 years an all her posts are f/s. i would never buy anything from her for that reason.
to me if your only going to do that maybe buy some add space or something.

What part of "the system" are they taking advantage of?

The part where they post something for sale and I say "OH, CRAP! I've been looking for one of THOSE!"

Should I feel "used" for buying from someone who doesn't post much?

[johnfritz]

I always considered the lack of barrier to entry on our classifieds to be a nice feature of the site. Hey, we're not looking for babysitters for our kids. Buying and selling stuff, all parties free to engage in whatever manner they see fit.

[D10]

I totally agree with "Emptymag" here. Not because I like to brown-nose but because his answer make a lot of sense. Like I said in my previous post.......no one is putting a gun to your head and forces you to buy from someone with a low post count.
It is up to you whether to buy from that member or not and if the deal goes south, then you have only one person to blame................yourself. Personally, I'd rather buy from the PAFOA members then from GB or GA (for example) because I can inspect the purchase in person. If you buy from online auction sites like Gunbroker, Gun Auctions or Guns America (just to name a few) you never know what you are going to get.
Buying sight unseen from an online auction site is a major crapshoot, while buying from Pafoa puts you in the drivers seat.

my 2c

[DonM55]

A friend just asked me the other night about selling a handgun she got from her dad as they closed out his house to move him into assisted living. My first thought was to tell her to join PAFOA and post pictures in the want to sell area.

Figured it might give my fellow members a chance to pick up a nice gun cheap even though it would most likely be a one time post. She didn't know the make but it's about 20 yrs old, 32 cal, chrome short barrel revolver. Only shot 6 rounds and put away.

[ar15jules]

I once sold a rifle here to a man with zero posts. He found the listing searching online. He was from Georgia. He then joined to PM me.
Jules

[Shadows]

I had lurked here for a while, probably a few years before I registered or posted. I had 0 rep and 0 posts and made a deal with a member here, I don't feel I did anything wrong. I joined three years ago and all of my 17 posts have been in the last month or so. I don't always have something to say that hasn't been said or that will be constructive so I don't usually post. I have been on forums where there is a minimum post count or time as a member. It just keeps someone from listing something you may want where you will find it. The commercial spam bot posting can be moderated and if someone causes issues they can be dealt with.