Discussing prices in classifieds..

Yes, on reflection I'm starting to think this is going to be the best compromise.

Yes, this is the thing I guess. I'd never think of abusing it myself, and I haven't seen any abuse here - only the occasional link to a reputable stockist.

But the risk is there I suppose, and I guess there is evidence that when discussion starts, it does tend to proliferate.

I think people use the PM Sent post to alert others to check their messages, I have sent PM's to people in the past that have remained unread for months.

Regards - Steve

I think you are all being a bit hard on Chris. I think if someone is asking a ridiculously high price you should, if you think that, let the rest of us know. Sometimes us newbies could be easily confused by the lack or addition of all the relevent capital letters. It takes a while to learn them all. So if its acceptable to PM the seller, shouldn't it also, at the least, be acceptable to PM any potential buyer, particularly a new member.

No, I don't think that is acceptable at all and potentially open to all sorts of abuse.

I'd be very annoyed indeed if someone was PMing other members telling them I was asking too much for something I was selling.

I said "ridiculously high". Would you do that Ken?

I have PMed a seller before because they were asking £300 for an item I had recently sold for £200. I wouldnt dream of posting on a thread though.

Lets face it, there are some items that are priced too highly in classifieds. Usually they sit there until the seller withdraws them or they lower the price.

Anyone is just a click away from all the info they could want on any item- this is the tinterweb afterall.

On this basis it's hardly difficult to find the right price for most items-

If you part with hundreds of pounds without checking I suggest you would learn that lesson rather quickly.

If it's done by PM there's very little anyone could do about it! There probably are (rarely) occasions where items are very easily confused and one costs much more than the other - SHQ vs DG teleconverters for example. If a seller seemed to be exploiting the confusion, I might think it appropriate to PM a newbie who was falling into the trap and say something like 'do check with the seller that it's actually the SHQ version, because the listing is unclear'. Seasoned members, I would assume, would double check for themselves if there was the slightest doubt

However I would say it's still up to the buyer to decide what they're willing to pay... not a snooping 3rd party. As Japers says, it's not hard to check the going rate.

This is one area in which our good friends at the US based Pentax forum have got it utterly right IMO- their "Marketplace rules" state:
"Public commenting on or comparison of asking prices is not allowed. No public price negotiations; all should be done by PM or email".

Read more at: http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/photographic-equipment-sale/137-read-first-ho...#ixzz1gS6RRfeu
It does happen here from time to time unfortunately and regrettably. There have been complaints about the role of the moderators over the months, but I for one would support strongly the removal/discouragement by them of gratuitous intervention in what should be straightforward dealings between a seller and prospective buyers.

This whole thread is ill conceived, IMHO. There should have been a poll and some pictures to illustrate the issues. (recommended not compulsory)

Negotiations should be done by PM.

A seller posts an item for sale. A potential buyer looks at the new price easily obtainable from umpteen websites, has a quick flick through the classifieds here to look at other recent asking prices and maybe looks at some completed ebay listings and decides to make an offer or not.

Or have I got it all wrong.

The objection, in my case at least, is to people who, without proceeding to make an offer, consider it appropriate to offer gratuitous comment IN PUBLIC on the price asked- seems to me to be completely inappropriate
(A pm to the seller is quite unobjectionable on the other hand.)

Nah, I appreciate opinions, honestly expressed. I'd much rather see what people genuinely feel, indeed if they feel strongly enough to express their opinion strongly, that's fine by me.

I can absolutely see the point people are making, and I'm not really arguing against it. Maybe playing devil's advocate a little, but no more than that.

If the consensus is that a classified ad is exactly that, and not in any way a pub conversation, where those not involved in the buying and selling might have and express a view, then as I suggested earlier, the rule should be simplified further: only the seller can post to the thread, until the sale is complete, in which case the buyer can optionally add feedback. Although of course, whereas positive feedback is usually uncontentious, negative feedback could lead to all sorts of abuse and recrimination.

And if negotiations are completely private, and nothing to do with anyone except the negotiators, this custom of adding 'PM sent' to the thread, as if it implies any right of first refusal, should also be consigned to the bin.

That's fair enough. Although I would expect certain instances to normally be overlooked, where comments on the seller or item are positive and such comments provide a free bump.

Yes, it would be a shame to completely sterilize the threads, and as Stevejcoe points out above, it is easy to overlook waiting private messages if one's attention is not drawn to them on open forum.
It seems to me to be just a matter of maintaining friendly and civilised standards among us in our pleasant and like-minded community, where matters of a commercial nature are very much subsidiary to our main matters of interest (I hope).

There are other forums where all dealings (offers, clarifications, etc) take place on the thread until sale is agreed. This is transparent and I'd much prefer deals to be done this way, than via PM. Think the transparency offers additional protection to both buyer and seller.