question classifieds

**jonboy 69** · June 28th, 2008, 04:01 PM

just tried to notify a member that i sent him a pm in the classifieds. and after not working i read the sticky as to no replys in classifieds. not trying to stirr up a hornets nest or be direspectfull but why not as this seems to be common practice elsewhere? so if you want claification on an item it is done thru PM's or regular email? why did it come to this?
as i say, just trying to understand so please don't yell.
thanks, john

**RocketFoot** · June 28th, 2008, 04:50 PM

Too much trouble happened when the posts were open for discussion! Arguing about price, auctioning...etc. As far as contacting the seller, it's better to use the PM system. Sometimes a member might have their email address unlisted.

**jonboy 69** · June 29th, 2008, 05:49 AM

thanks rocketfoot, too bad it has to happen....

**Brown-Bear** · June 29th, 2008, 06:11 AM

It also just got to be a huge PITA to scrol thru 14 pages to find the final listed price for an item. The PM system works well.

**Garpman** · June 29th, 2008, 03:07 PM

Having strictly PMs work, but I see a lot of cleanup issues, such as items being sold or no longer offered, and the threads are not updated.

I think the thing that works best would be to allow users to post in the ads simply for the rule of "I'll take it". If a user posts an unconditional "I'll take it" for listed item, that trumps all PMs.

PMs should be used for item clarification, questions, offers, etc.

I've seen and participated in this method on a few other forums, and I think it works the best. Then again, it is mainly a member issue to be disciplined enough to not post too much commentary, open bargaining, etc. within the ad itself in order for this to work.

**JayBell** · June 29th, 2008, 09:46 PM

as a note, its up to the ad posters to update thier ads.

further, "I'll take it" posted in a string means squat, as someone may have already PMd or emailed about the item.

the whole thing ended up being a problem as some folks refused to follow the rules, other folks wouldn't bother to follow them, and still others just plain couldn't control themselves and kept turning things into a flamewar over prices and other things

the setup in place is the best policy.