Heads Up Guys !

[Robbo]

One of the busiest areas of our site is the classifieds i.e. people trading.

And as such, there are always disputes between unhappy parties, a lot of them.
Some resolve themselves and others are brought to our [mods] attention so that we have to get involved to try and help sort out.

All of you guys know the risks involved, we cannot be held responsible for each and every trade here guys; it's ludicrous to assume any site would do that but ... we will do our best to help any genuinely aggrieved members.
I know for a fact our mods have on occasion gone gone round to people's houses [in their own time and at their own expense] to help members out if they have been skanked.

I personally have been involved in over 20 of these disputes where something drastic had to be done .. and here I'm not always talking about paying a personal visit, or even threatening to make a personal visit, I am talking about getting the police involved, naming and shaming ... or whatever, you get the drift here.
Basically, it's not the mod's responsibility but we do it to help you guys out because none of us like to see people skanked out of their money by these idiots.
Mind you, there may be genuine cases of misunderstanding and we help mediate those for people.

And now let's get to it ... I have just received a message to help someone and here it is copied below, I have deliberately taken out anything that could point toward the identity of the person but suffice it to say, please read it and then read my comments afterwards.

HI there i have a problem regarding the condition of my ######, I sold my ### to ####, last week and posted it and it arrived but he is not happy with the condition it is in , he says there are scratches on #######, but before i sent the #### i gave the #### a full cleaning and checking to make sure it was , as advertised in imacculate conditon and as advertised it was imaculate nothing wrong with it , now ##### is claiming there is falts with the #### and wants a refund , i have told him i cannot be held responsible for damage donw during postage and that i cannot accept a damaged #### back as i sent it in perfect condition.

I will ignore for the time being the fact his version of 'spell-check' has gone on the missing list but there is not one introduction of any kind, not one 'please' as in 'please can you help me', not one 'thank-you' as in 'thanks in anticipation' ........ it kinda irks me when I receive emails of this kind and my normal willingness to help was somewhat shy in coming forward on this occasion.

I may be an old geezer and as such have old-fashioned values but manners cost nothing for god's sake ... not a damned bean..... surely if you are asking someone to help, you'd at least use the word 'please', wouldn't you???

And so, if you ever have occasion to contact a mod to assist you in some way, who by the way, doesn't have to help you at all, there is certainly no obligation to anyway other than the mod just wanting to help out a fellow baller here, then please, please be polite and ask for his help nicely.

Anyway, thanks for reading this guys and I'd appreciate it even more if you took note.

I will add however, the vast majority of the messages we do get are polite and so it's only an ignorant minority we are talking about here which always seems to be the case doesn't it

 

[Buddha 3]

Common courtesy seems to be less and less common these days...
Besides that, as the seller he IS responsible for making sure the goods arrive at the buyer's location as advertised, unless specifically stated otherwise in his classified post.

So I'd tell him to please go f*ck himself.*


*But not in those words.

 

[Robbo]

So I'd tell him to please go f*ck himself.*


*But not in those words.

You read my mind ......

 

[Lump]

Pete can you forward me the pm im already dealing with this from the other end Ive told the buyer to ask for the refund.

 

[Robbo]

Pete can you forward me the pm im already dealing with this from the other end Ive told the buyer to ask for the refund.

Lump, the pm is quoted above mate; I have only deleted the object of the trade and also the identity of the purchaser .... as for which way to go on this?

I agree 100% with your decision to tell the guy to ask for a full refund; and as Jay suggests, the seller is wholly responsible for the received condition of the item sent ..... this guy needs to send the money back and he can receive his scratched item back ...... this is what I would say anyway mate.

 

[Lump]

Yep i have pm both of them. Ive said to seller just take them back and resell. Simple as that

Ill keep you posted

 

[john251282]

To help stop too many people using the mods to mediate disputes perhaps it should be a Plats only service. Generally, from what I have seen most Plats are polite and literate.

Or perhaps a pay per dispute model, a payment from both parties is taken at the start of the dispute e.g. £5 each, then if one side is clearly in the wrong then their money is kept if the other side is clearly correct their money returned? If there is fault on both sides they split the charge. Although if it was a service you would be even less likely to have polite behaviour. Failure to pay at the beginning would result in a name and shame perhaps?

Or maybe you are only able to start a dispute once you have some form of track record e.g. a minimum trader level of 10. This would encourage the first few trades to dealt with really well, hopefully meaning that disputes will be much less likely to happen.

Not sure really just throwing a few ideas out to make life a bit easier for you guys.

 

[Robbo]

John, I think that's a great idea actually, let me think about it for a while.

 

[Andy Steele]

I personally think you shouldn't get involved with any dispute. Yeah it's unfortunate when and if something like this happens, but people take advantage of others good nature. They start to disrespect the fact your doing it because it's "the right thing to do" and as such, just expect your help. Whether they say please or thankyou probably doesn't cross their mind.

It's a very hit or miss area buying off forums, and as such, should be done at the buyers and sellers risk. The mods aren't lawyers, they arent the police, essentially they shouldn't get involved. Their not part of the sale in anyway.

 

[Lovetone]

Disputes in my opinion should be:

1 - Only submissable by Platinum members.
2 - Only assisted with by a moderator at their discretion

This benefits the site, as more users will "subscribe" therefore ensuring the future of the site, and as has been pointed out, people are more likely to behave themselves if their membership is at stake.

This also adds the benefit of a robust feedback system to allow either party to assess the relative risk of the person they are buying from/selling to. Personally, I will typically assess an feedback profile on eBay before bidding, and regardless how "good" the deal, if the feedback is variable or bad, I will pass on it.

I dont agree with charging for a resolution service akin to what JohnC says, as then you may set an expectation of a guaranteed resolution or at the very least you are ostensibly employing someone to act on your behalf. If I were a mod I would not be comfortable with that.


Personally I have never had a problem trading on this site.
Then again, having been around for 5 years or whatnot, you get a feel for who is trustworthy and vice versa. If in doubt, ask for a vouch. Ive done this in the past when dealing with minors.
Usually a team captain can offer reassurance.

Also, standard rules apply:

1 - Caveat emptor
2 - ask for all required information before closing a deal;
Full name, address, phone number. Detailed description of the item(s) and photos so you are satisfied with what you expect to receive, or are advertising for sale for the avoidance of doubt
3 - Dont be a pr1ck