Observation and question about the buying-selling rule

CarlosD

Folks,

I joined the forum a long time ago but didn't get active until recently when I was figuring out which new fronts to buy for my HT. I appreciated the "reviews" and found I liked the conversations and have chimed in on a few threads on different topics.

Meanwhile, I wasn't interested in buying anything used, but I saw a couple of things for sale that I was just curious to read about. But I was unable to even look at those items because I didn't have 100 posts.

It's understandable why club members would want to prevent crashers from selling gear on the forum, but why stop those of us less talkative types from even checking out something for sale? And why prevent legitimate club member-sellers from reaching the widest possible universe of potential buyers?

As a point of reference, there are other forums one can visit, including a cycling forum I belong to, where you don't even need to be registered to view the for-sale items, much less meet a posting minimum. You have to register to reply to the poster but that's about as high as the hurdle gets.

I like this forum and its members, but this policy is not very welcoming. PS: Does it count that I have *read* over 100 posts?

thanks, Carlos

treitz3

Hello, Carlos. The Flea Market here at Club Polk and its rules were put in place for a reason. It is a privilege for being a contributing member and not a granted "right" to be able to view, buy and sell here at Club Polk's Flea Market. In other words, the Flea Market is earned and not a given. Join in on the conversations and you'll be there in no time, otherwise, there are plenty of other forums and avenues available out there for anybody who has not met the minimum requirement needed for the privilege of the Flea Market here at Club Polk.

You might want to start here... http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?146395-AudiogoN-Alternatives-The-Master-List

Tom

hosedagain

Agree with you 100%, makes no sense as the restrictions reduce the members viewing the for sale items and the possibility of the item getting less exposure and in turn not sell as quickly. Wouldn't the members want more exposure when selling an item.
To get more points I guess I could go to 100 posts and type in "bump" a hundred times.

falconcry72

Carlos, you're not the first to bring this up, and you won't be the last. The wind will blow, the sands will shift, and the Flea Market at Club Polk will stay restricted to members with 100 posts.

CarlosD

hosedagain wrote: »

Agree with you 100%, makes no sense as the restrictions reduce the members viewing the for sale items and the possibility of the item getting less exposure and in turn not sell as quickly. Wouldn't the members want more exposure when selling an item.
To get more points I guess I could go to 100 posts and type in "bump" a hundred times.

+1 on this. I have no doubt that plenty of people have pumped worthless stream of consciousness into 100 posts to make the grade. And why 100? Why not 50? Why not 37? How do you measure the value of a club member?

kevhed72

Honestly, I think the 100 post rule could even be increased. The vast majority of folks buying and selling here are very honest IMO.
Case in point - at one time I had an issue with something I bought that was the fault of the shipping company. The seller here went OUT OF HIS WAY to make it right. So...there is always Ebay for those folks who don't have 100 posts.

treitz3

To Carlos and hosedagain, I understand what you guys are saying but the rules have been set in stone from the Polk Management / Administrators and are not subject to debate. We get threads like this all the time here at Club Polk and nothing will change. Like I said, the Flea market is a privilege and not a right. I've had well over 100 or so transactions through the years without even so much as a hiccup. Why? It's a well protected area and we'd like to keep it that way.

Complaining will do nothing but cause yourselves grief. How about joining in on the conversations and let us know what gear you have, what you are listening too, tell us what album you recently got and how good or bad it sounds, tell us about a recent system you heard that blew your socks off or feel free to join in on any of the other thousands of conversations going on. Trust me, you'll get there in no time and you might just make a friend or two doing it. There is a lot to learn here from the collective knowledge here at Club Polk. Embrace it and enjoy it. Your ears just might thank you.

Tom

CarlosD

Thanks for the thoughtful replies. I'll just put in one more thought here and get off my soapbox. I own 9 Polk speakers that I'm still listening to, plus an HTIB that I gave to my son ... I'll wager that's more business (at least in units) given to Polk than a good number of the 100+ folks here.

And I think that demonstrates some skin in the game for this "privilege" of merely reading/appreciating what a fellow member is selling. Let me emphasize that: I just want to read these items, I'm not selling; not buying (God forbid); just looking at an item, i.e., appreciating. Who knows, maybe that would be worth a non-transactional post - another reason to join in the conversation!

And Tom (treitz), you can look to see that I have engaged in other conversations, including an HDMI cable thread, and a who-cycles-here thread, and an old-time-stereo-store thread, and a couple others. I'm just not as talkative as some other people. My shortcoming.

Unfortunately I have other interests competing for time in my life. I guess I will just have to wait another few years to meet this arbitrary and un-welcoming threshold.

If you've made it this far, thanks for letting me vent.

ken brydson

Carlos, not to pile on but here are my thoughts. The Polk forum is indeed owned and operated by Polk but the FM is PROTECTED by the forum members. We buy and sell with confidence at prices usually below what you would find on CL, Ebay, Agon, etc. This is because (IMO) of the trust and friendship, sometimes just online but many face to face as well, of contributing forum members. We don't NEED the exposure from outsiders to buy and sell our gear. If it's a good deal it will sell, if not they usually move it on to another outlet.

Getting to 100 posts is not that difficult. A few Birthday wishes, post links to a CL or Ebay ad that looks interesting, post a picture, what are you listening to, etc. Post your gear and ask for suggestions on improvement. Hell, jump into an Emo or cable debate and you'll be there in no time.

I've been a member for 10 years and only have a little over 2K posts. I also do more reading than posting. Many others with less time have 5X the posts.

Off my soapbox now.... I see you have LS70's. I have every other model in the line except those.

tonyb

Carlos,
Like others have said, it's for forum members who participate. It's not about reaching the most people to sell an item. Thats what Ebay is for. It's more so about members giving other members good deals.

There are plenty of other avenues to pursue selling or buying open to anyone, ours just isn't one of them.

CarlosD

Tonyb and ken brydson,you did not read my messages closely, or you weren't paying attention. Let me be clear, please excuse the caps: I'M NOT TRYING TO SELL ANYTHING. OR BUY ANYTHING (in fact, my wife is a germaphobe and has a real issue with bringing other people's household items into our home). Go back and read my posts. I do not want to soil or cheapen your holier-than-me temple of purity here. To repeat: I'm just an honest-to-God Polk enthusiast (as demonstrated by multiple purchases) who *OCCASIONALLY* is INTERESTED in APPRECIATING some old pair of speakers or a great Marantz amp or Sansui receiver, or whatever.

I'm not interested in trolling the eBay or whatever sites. I enjoy this forum, to see what people are saying about speaker wire or replacement drivers or carpet-vs-hardwood or something completely off-base and then, occasionally, Oh, here's a neat-sounding item for sale, I wonder what the story is there. And your stories -- I have to imagine -- are generally better than the information I would get from an eBay posting. IF I WANTED TO BUY SOMETHING IN THE FIRST PLACE.

I don't want to offend anyone but y'all take yourselves too seriously if you think it's a good policy that sub-100 members cannot even LOOK at a for-sale item.

ken brydson

I read your posts and thought I had responded nicely. I'm out, good luck...

xdfireguy

I'm in the same boat. While I understand and agree with the rules, I am longing for the day when I have enough to contribute to be able to be part of the privledged class. It is difficult though to contribute when you are so new to the field.

It is a complement to all those who have bed active here for years. Every question that I have been tempted to post has been thoroughly answered when I have searched first. You guys are a great wealth of knowledge that I feel honored to have taken advantage of.

So my first post here, after many hours of reading (and looking up at the time, finding it to be the wee hours of the morning more than a few times) is not nearly as profound as I had hoped. It will undoubtedly be quite some time before I ever come anywhere near 100, but I am very glad I found this forum.

ken brydson

xdfireguy wrote: »

I'm in the same boat. While I understand and agree with the rules, I am longing for the day when I have enough to contribute to be able to be part of the privledged class. It is difficult though to contribute when you are so new to the field.

It is a complement to all those who have bed active here for years. Every question that I have been tempted to post has been thoroughly answered when I have searched first. You guys are a great wealth of knowledge that I feel honored to have taken advantage of.

So my first post here, after many hours of reading (and looking up at the time, finding it to be the wee hours of the morning more than a few times) is not nearly as profound as I had hoped. It will undoubtedly be quite some time before I ever come anywhere near 100, but I am very glad I found this forum.

As I said earlier it's not that tough. Welcome to CP!!

cfrizz

So ask your questions anyway, some one will usually answer you. As for wanting the story behind something that is for sale...again ask about it, even if you can't see it, I'm sure who ever is selling it would be happy to tell you about it, they might even send you a private email with a picture attached so you can see what they are talking about. You can then go on to tell us about your gear etc. And before you know it, you will have a hundred posts.

For those that spam the board just to increase their post to 100, if they are trying to sell something, the vast majority will simply ignore the FS posts since they tried to skirt the letter of the rule just to get a leg up.

I'm not saying that this is any of you, it simply is what it is.

F1nut

I don't want to offend anyone but y'all take yourselves too seriously if you think it's a good policy that sub-100 members cannot even LOOK at a for-sale item.

Most, if not all of the audio forums restrict access to their buying/selling areas. That is, they are completely invisible until one reaches a certain time/post requirement and I know of one forum that you have to pay $25.00 to be able to look. So, if you think we take yourselves too seriously, good because we try.

PolkieMan

I just think if we didn't have that rule we would have someone joining just to unload his (junk) stuff.
As far as buyers there could be someone (dealers) that would come here to get a good deal only to flip it
somewhere else.
The rule was set to entice (or require) someone to be an active part of the forum before he could
begin buying selling with others members. At only 3 posts a day it does not take very long.

inspiredsports

We all know life is not fair.

I hope if this thread has any effect on flea market policy, it's that we RAISE the threshold.

It's already enough of a blessing folks can read the general words of wisdom in non flea market threads without even being a member or posting 1 time.

tonyb

Carlos,
Dude...chill out, crack open a brew and relax. I never said you were here to buy or sell anything. You questioned the rules, we gave you the answers, done....let it rest. The world has rules no matter what you do, where you visit. We get you don't like the rules, cool, you can abide by them, or not and move on. The sun will still come up tomarrow.

Btw- welcome to the club in case I didn't say that yet.

zane77

F1nut wrote: »

Most, if not all of the audio forums restrict access to their buying/selling areas. That is, they are completely invisible until one reaches a certain time/post requirement and I know of one forum that you have to pay $25.00 to be able to look. So, if you think we take yourselves too seriously, good because we try.

+1:cheesygrin:

mrbigbluelight

Carlos, it's obvious that you're not a "drive-by dumper". It's clear that you're not looking to sell Nokia phones, DVD ripping software, or wedding dresses.
As you've mentioned, you've been here a quite a while, and haven't necessarily posted a lot. Nothing wrong with that.
A reasonable person could think that since you've bought a number of Polk speakers over the years, it would not be a bad thing to allow persons in that situation to see/buy/sell in the Flea Market. Sounds reasonable,
But: that sort of translates into Polk saying, "Hey, we don't care how long you've been here or how much you've contributed in all of the threads that are available, you can have access to the FM if you buy our stuff.".
And that isn't, IMO, who Polk is. And that's a good thing.

Now, you've been on Polk for about 6 years, so a post a MONTH would have almost put you at the 100 post mark.
And, although we don't discuss religion or politics :rolleyes:, there has to be SOMETHING that gets your interest up or generates a question or thought on your end.
One of CP's members is in a contest to win some tubes. Voting via a link in that thread and then posting "I voted, here's what the total is now" would've added to your post count and helped out a fellow Polkie. That Polkie, thsmith, does have the coolest rig in the contest, IMO (although I admit I've thrown a few votes to "Have a Idea" cause the gal's cute).

There's a difference between CP and Ebay or CL. The 100 post thing kind of helps support that difference IMO. It's really not a holier-than-thou thing. Heck, they allow people from Canada in here, not to mention people from Arkansas :eek: !

So while it's reasonable to be frustrated, it's reasonable to understand why there's a 100 post rule. And, in the end, it's their turf so it's their rules.

P.S. I don't want you Canucks or Arkansas-ites sneaking across the border tonight and giving me a lawn job just because I called you out. I'll be watching !

PSOVLSK

mrbigbluelight wrote: »

Carlos, it's obvious that you're not a "drive-by dumper". It's clear that you're not looking to sell Nokia phones, DVD ripping software, or wedding dresses.
As you've mentioned, you've been here a quite a while, and haven't necessarily posted a lot. Nothing wrong with that.
A reasonable person could think that since you've bought a number of Polk speakers over the years, it would not be a bad thing to allow persons in that situation to see/buy/sell in the Flea Market. Sounds reasonable,
But: that sort of translates into Polk saying, "Hey, we don't care how long you've been here or how much you've contributed in all of the threads that are available, you can have access to the FM if you buy our stuff.".
And that isn't, IMO, who Polk is. And that's a good thing.

Now, you've been on Polk for about 6 years, so a post a MONTH would have almost put you at the 100 post mark.
And, although we don't discuss religion or politics :rolleyes:, there has to be SOMETHING that gets your interest up or generates a question or thought on your end.
One of CP's members is in a contest to win some tubes. Voting via a link in that thread and then posting "I voted, here's what the total is now" would've added to your post count and helped out a fellow Polkie. That Polkie, thsmith, does have the coolest rig in the contest, IMO (although I admit I've thrown a few votes to "Have a Idea" cause the gal's cute).

There's a difference between CP and Ebay or CL. The 100 post thing kind of helps support that difference IMO. It's really not a holier-than-thou thing. Heck, they allow people from Canada in here, not to mention people from Arkansas :eek: !

So while it's reasonable to be frustrated, it's reasonable to understand why there's a 100 post rule. And, in the end, it's their turf so it's their rules.

This. Except maybe minus the Canada/Arkansas thing:razz:

treitz3

How about back country West Virginia and Kentucky? You know, where an entire family collectively can make a full set of teeth when they ask their uncle dad to chip in on the contribution?

Tom