The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Posting prices in Classified ads?

Can the admins make it so ads in the Classifieds MUST include a price? There's nothing more irritating that seeing something you're interested in, and then having to post "Price?" or "How Much?" or "Interested. Send price."
And then see the reply by the seller "PM'd Price." or "Sent Message." Or how about reading where someone else has already asked about the price ("Price?") and then reading the seller's reply ("Sent Message") only to ask the same question yourself.

And if you're the guy interested in the item, waiting around for the poster to get back to you with a PM or reply on the post is annoying. Especially if the guy doesn't check in here every day.

I would think it'd also be good for the people who run this board, as it would save bandwidth by cutting down on un-necessary postings and replies. When six guys send the seller the same message ("Price?") and the seller replies to six different people ("PM sent"), it seems like a lot of un-needed clutter.

Just never could figure out why people would post an add, and not let everyone know how much you're looking to get. It'd save the posters a lot of hassle too, I would think. Why tell 12 different people the same thing, when simply including it in the post would elinate the hassle?

-Brad

Brad,

Thanks for the input!

Unfortunately, with this bulletin board software, there's not much we can do to make price (or anything else) a required entry beyond asking posters to include the price (which we do). When we had the classified ad software, we could do that, but then we had completely separate log ins and passwords required for the Swap Meet (different from the discussion forum) and it was a tremendous hassle for all involved.

I don't understand either why people don't include prices when they are trying to sell something. To me, either you want to sell it or you don't. And if you aren't up front about the price then it seems to me you are playing games and trying to hide something.

Sorry I can't make it a mandatory entry here. And getting separate software for a real classified ad set up is not an option (been there, tried that -- huge pain in the patootie). So other than that, I am open to useful suggestions.

Thanks,
John

I am on other forums that have policies as robin58 described. A sticky is placed in each section and a moderator reminds people of the rules. If a poster refuses to comply, the ad is deleted by the mod.

Most of the other forums that I am on only require vehicles to have a price posted. People selling parts often are unclear of the value of a part and simply ask for offers.

in NJ and maybe other states, vehical for sale ads must show the price and mileage.

I think it's a good idea, though maybe it should not apply to everything, like mentioned previously, some people are not sure what to ask. Maybe if you post a high price, nobody will show interest in it.
I have not noticed this as of late. Almost all of the parts I've looked at recently in the parts for sale section had a price or said best offer or make offer. A few guys are parting out trucks and it would be impossible to list prices for ALL
parts on the truck if this was a mandatory rule.
If I sell a single part I will list what I want for it and post a link to a picture. All in all,
the swap meet is a great board and I like doing business with fellow bolters.

You know, people don't put prices in there sometimes because they either know they want too much money for it, or they really don't know how much they can get for it, and don't want to sell themselves short.

It sucks, and whenever I see something listed for sale without a price, or 'call for price' or some other such thing, I just move on to the next ad.

I can't believe there isn't a classified ad mod for UBB Classic simular to what I use here .

If someone is parting out a truck, and says "Part out truck, send me a list of your needs or call or....." then no, I don't think anybody would expect them to post prices.
If someone doesn't know what something is worth, how about "Make offer"?
But even then, if someone is selling something (gas tank, transmission, set of wheels) and they say "Make offer," they have a price in mind. Don't think so? For sale: 4Spd manaul trans. Good synchros, granny low. Make offer.
Now go ahead and offer the guy $25 for it. He isn't going to sell it for $25. Chances are, he has an idea of what he wants to move it.

Obviously, if someone is trying to get something out of their shop, or has decided something is for sale, 99 out of 100 times they now how much they want for it. For the 1 percent that doesn't, I think people would understand a post that says "I've got this, I don't know what it's worth, taking reasonable offers." Or, how about a post on the general page saying "What's the going price for this?"

If it were me, I'd put a post up that all ads must include a price or discussion of the price. If it doesn't, it gets deleted. Like a trip to the dentist, it'll be painful for some for a little while, but in the long run, it'll be nice.

That sounds like a good idea. If you're serious enough to post an ad for an item to sell it, you outta be able to include a price.

I know what the Original Poster is saying.. lots of stuff listed for sale in the swap meet, lots of things have no prices, or location.

Will they ship the item, or is it pick up only? Where is the item located? How much are they asking? Where can we see pics? These are the common questions that get asked numerous times on swap meet items.. and is stuff that outta be posted with the listing from the get go.

John suggest a while back to also include location (state) in the header as well and some follow that. no use in me looking at vehicles in washington state couldn't afford the shipping.

I agree Brad
Sorta like ****** on a lectric fence
Painful for some.......
But mebbe they,ll learn LOL

location would be nice to calculate shipping but posting the price might kill the sale for someone in new york needing a 60#+ door that was in montana. if why not make it a rule to post your private e-mail as contact so bandwidth on site was not wasted?

Even worse to me is that very few folks have the consideration to delete obsolete posts. Then you get to ask for prices only to find it was sold a long time ago. All for sale and wanted postings should be automatically deleted after 2 weeks. You can then repost it if still in need.

Well, we posted the rules in the swap meet forums -- gotta include price. The folks with big lists of parts should still itemize and list prices. If you're going to use this Swap Meet as your online catalog, what's a few more key strokes?

So bottom line is if you don't list a price (or at least say "make best offer") don't be surprized if we delete your ad.


Thanks for the input everyone!
John

Why do certain people do certain things? Good question. I agree people should post location and price and they ought to have pictures available.

My why do certain people..........question is:
Why do people respond to the for sale ad in the forum? Man, if you're interested in the item go directly to the source. Click on his name and you can find his contact info. Most people check their email everyday. Like someone said, the seller may not get back to the ad every day. And in the case of someone posting a for sale ad on their first post, he probably posted the ad on multiple forums and may never get back to check them all.

The one thing I would add is to please include your zip code. As I ship stuff I find out that it depends on what side of "Texas" you live on as to the actual cost. Most sellers want all they can get.....buyers want to pay as little as they can. The bottom line is what will you sell it for? How bad do you need the space? A lot of times I give it away just to help another bolter who, by the way, has or probably will, help me along the way. Thats what it is all about. Helping and caring for one another while sometimes giving a dollar and sometimes getting a dollar. My daddy always said what we loose in cotton we will make up in corn!!

The guy in New York is going to pass on the door regardless of when he finds out how much the price is...why not save him the hassle of having to find out the price. Maybe a guy in Minnesota reads the same post, sees the price and thinks "Hey, I can afford that." And he doesn't have to send the same question the guy in New York did.
OR, maybe the guy in New York thinks "That's really cheap for a door...even with shipping, that's a good deal."

Glad the mods made the change. I, for one, will enjoy shopping in the classifieds even more than I already do!

-Brad

Along the same subject: Please dont waste peoples time saying you want the item, if your not going to follow though with the deal. We've had several that have done this. It takes time to take/send a picture, haggle the price, get the shipping weight, box the items, and when its ready to go, the person just disappears. If you decide that you dont need/want someones item, at least let them know this, and dont leave them hanging.