Images with username and date as an object in at least one picture, not as some post-processed text. At the ham radio forum people must put their license and date in the item image.

Link to item images allowed, as opposed to on-forum in-thread images. Photo hosting to this forum at various sites is a known and long-standing point of confusion and some extra work. A shared photo album link to a hosted photo site should be acceptable (such as a google photo account). However, "e-mail for pictures" is not acceptable, since all interested parties may not see the same images.

No prices in the ad title. Only in the thread text.

No editing of original ad, after some time certain. The ham radio forum allows 30 minutes, I think, to get the ad (original post) right. This prevents anyone from changing item description after the original post.

Price changes as time progresses only in thread replies by the item owner. Interested parties can read the entire thread to see the current price.

Minimum post count of 50.

Subforums within classified would help some folks. The ham radio forum has a separate WTB forum, with all sorts of warnings about putting your e-mail in the WTB, getting scammed, etc. Sub-forums might help reduce thread bumping to the top as a seller of a revolver would not be competing with the seller of a P-series, and the subforum front page would be longer-lived. Subforums would be pistols, revolvers, rifles and shotguns, edged weapons, watches, holsters and belts, and of course, services rendered (NFA trust, car transport, etc.)

Continue with prohibition of thread dumping, commentary, etc. Continue with prohibition of auction-like questions about item value.

I thought replying in a WTS thread was already a rule, "I’ll take it”. Making it a rule for WTB ads would be appropriate.

The latest issue is the scammer has been granted membership and specifically chosen another member’s profile that does not have an email address in his profile to pretend to be.

Requiring listing an email in your profile in order to participate in the classifieds would have prevented today’s excitement. The buyer could have looked at the supposed seller’s profile and seeing no email address listed, automatically assumed the seller to be a scammer if such a rule were implemented.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
I thought replying in a WTS thread was already a rule, "I’ll take it”.

'tis not. Policies are not the same thing as rules, at least not here.

After taking in and evaluating all of this well intentioned advise, and using your lifetime of experience in all this forum stuff, I'd do the following:

1. Close any of the previous threads at the top that deal with this subject.

2. Create a new locked post with the rules that you determine to be the rules. It can be updated as needed as scammers seem to always figure out new methods. But keep just the one single post.

3. People who participate in the classifieds will be required to agree to read and follow those new rules.

4. The older threads have a lot of wisdom but reading through pages and pages just isn't going to happen with many people.

5. Accept that at some point you've done all you can to protect people from themselves, but perfection in that area is an impossible task.

6. No reasonable person here, and that's pretty much everyone here, truly believes you haven't done everything possible and then some, to protect people from themselves.


I'm not a particularly religious person but this task you are trying to do to perfection, whatever that is, makes me think of this great phrase.

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference".

I am on QRZ dot com a lot, it's a ham radio forum.

To sell anything, when the seller takes pics of whatever he/she selling, per the rules EACH pic must include a small sign, or note, whatever, of the sellers call sign. This helps prevent scammers from using internet stock photos.

Nothing is fool proof, thieves liars and scammers are always coming up with new ways to cheat and beat the system.

Let's say you want to sell a pistol. You HAVE to take something like a 3x5 index card and clearly write your ID on it in EACH pic you post next to the item. We could do something like here and modify it as needed.

Thanks Para, I appreciate you.
.

I also disagree with the pictures mandate in some circumstances. If you are selling a used product, you should post pics to show wear and tear. If you are selling a new product like a knife or magazine, and the description is correct, why the picture? For example - if I see an ad online at Top Gun Supply for a brand new 226 Legion SAO, do I need them to send me a photo of the actual gun they are going to ship to my FFL or is the stock photo sufficient?

Minimum post count or time will not make a difference, scammers will build posts counts or let accounts sit idle until able to use them.

Requiring a picture with user name and date sounds like a good idea. It would make it easy for the mods to just nuke ads without pictures in them.

If the forum software supports not being able to see the classifieds without being logged in I think that would reduce some risks.

Requiring an e-mail address in the public profile might be a good idea. It would raise flags if they used a different e-mail.


This cannot be idiot proofed, all Para can do is make it more difficult for the scammers. we the members need to be less idiotic.

Making it so that a member must have X number of posts and a certain length of membership seems redundant. After all, it will take a member some time to put up X number of posts. If we make that number, say, 200 posts, a new member can't legitimately reach that number quickly, because if they try to do so, it will be obvious what they are doing and why they are doing it.

That being the case, 50 posts is too low. I think 200 posts is more like it. At an average of two posts a day, that's 100 days.

quote:

Originally posted by Green Highlander:
I would recommend a pic of the item that includes a piece of paper showing the sellers Forum ID and date. This eliminates the use of stock or pirated photos.

I like and agree with this !!! God Bless !!!

Shut it down for a couple of days/weeks in order to get new rules established.
3 Sub Forums: WTS. WTB. VENDORS. Specific rules for each.

Also, the suggestion that all correspondence came only from a member's email address is a good one.

We used to have a “rule” that a member who doesn’t want to do business with the seller or buyer is NOT supposed to post in the thread. Asking legitimate questions is fine.

There has been a lot of piggybacking in WTB threads recently, and that should be discouraged. If a member wants to buy the same item as the OP wants to buy, he should start his own thread. Horning in on another member’s thread should not be acceptable.

Definitely, an unqualified “I’ll take it” should prevail. Not an “I’ll take it but need some pictures first,” or an “I’ll take it pending answers to my questions.”

“Email sent” is not “I’ll take it.”

I don't know if its possible, but I like the prior suggestion of making the Classified Section unviewable to non-members. I would think that would help deter scammers from simply scanning the classifieds looking for opportunities. The post count to participate in the classifieds also seems like a valid idea.

Just a damn shame a small group of jerks are making things so difficult for the membership to deal with each other on sales.

quote:

Originally posted by 2Adefender:
There has been a lot of piggybacking in WTB threads recently, and that should be discouraged.

You think I haven't been doing so?

https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...Type=1&search=Search

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:

quote:

Originally posted by 2Adefender:
There has been a lot of piggybacking in WTB threads recently, and that should be discouraged.

You think I haven't been doing so?

https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...Type=1&search=Search

Not at all. You have been! I just suggested it should be in the rules.

I like the idea of having a member's name and date handwritten somewhere in the picture but it may be difficult to include on closeups. Perhaps require it for most pictures but give a little leeway if someone is providing closeups that can't fit that information in.

I like pics, and no matter how much of a pain it might be to post them, I think it’s worth seeing what you are buying or selling. Adding a note with username, etc, could be a nice addition that could weed out some scammers.

I agree classifieds not viewable and or available for members under a certain post count would make it difficult for thieves. They will not put effort into entering the classifieds they will go elsewhere to easier targets. If they do put the effort in we would be able to look at what their posts look like and we would be able to see that their posts were just posts to raise their count.

I disagree with the pictures in all instances. Maybe if you want to sell anything over $X it must have pictures, but do we really need pictures of “im selling this used glock mag for $10?” It’s a used glock mag… maybe that’s just me

It’s a small pet peeve but if we are going to be permitted to continue WTB ads along with WTS ads can it be made mandatory that WTB: and WTS: are clearly listed in the title of the post?

I keep seeing people just list an item name in a post title, you think they’re selling it but then you find that it’s a WTB post.