anyone else annoyed with the classifieds around here?

[bob338]

i've listed a couple of things in the classifieds lately. one was a lens for $1400, the other an M3 for $650 and neither sold. not a big deal, i can understand if noone wants to buy my stuff. but i had half a dozen people reply about the camera saying 'i'll take it!' only to change their minds later. i ended up putting it on ebay and getting $699(buy it now) for it in less than an hour. the lens didn't get any bites, so i put it on craigslist. no luck there, but photo village emailed me offering me $1350 for it. i shipped it to them last week and got a check in the mail today.

yesterday, someone posted a 50mm nokton to trade for a 50mm skopar. i PM'd him right away with my phone number and email and have never heard back. i have the exact lens he was looking for in exactly the condition he wanted, so what happened?

is anyone else having the same experiences on this board? i know we're supposed to offer things to each other before going over to the evil ebay, but i don't think i will again...

 

[michaelging]

I bought a 50mm Ziess Opton Sonnar from a member a few weeks ago , he emailed me right back , sent it the next day, I am very happy with the deal. I don't think you can generalize that there is a problem with the classifieds from any one deal. There are good and flakey people everywhere.

 

[raid]

I find things OK here. Nobody is perfect, but having the classified section is far better than not having it. It helps a lot if people know you from your posting here. This way, trust builds up over time,and sales go faster through. I am glad that you in the end sold your equipment. It is unimportant where/how you sold it.

 

[photobizzz]

I personally would much rather buy here as I am 95% sure I am getting someone's equipment that was used recently and not something that was sitting in a box in someone's attic and then put on ebay. I just got 2 bangin' deals off of the classifieds in the past 2 days, a M6 TTL w/ deluxe luigi case & strap, and a CV 35/2.5 P II. I am much more confident that a purchase made here will end with a good transaction than over on the auction site.

 

[myoptic3]

I have had very good luck buying and selling here. Dealt w/ some really great people. But I have also come to understand that if I email someone or PM them I may, or may not, get a reply back. It bothered me at first, but now it doesn't. I don't know why it is like that, but it is.

 

[raid]

I recently sold a few items here, and even though my message box was not full, two messages [as claimed by RFF members] never made it to my message box. There may be a computer bug in the pm section here.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

One bad deal doesn't mean a thing if it ain't got that nasty swing...

In other words, just one relatively negative experience shouldn't make the whole process unacceptable. If that were the case, I wouldn't drink coffee or beer, wouldn't photograph anything, wouldn't get near a car or a computer and wouldn't even be married.

 

[planetjoe]

I've also had generally good experiences with the Classifieds here; in fact, my last couple transactions (both buying and selling) were really great. That's mostly due to the kind of folks we've got at RFF, I think. There's a fantastic lens winging its way to me as we speak as well, so I'm doubleplus happy.

That said, I have had a few items posted that drew no attention, but upon review I realized that I was trying to move equipment no-one was interested in. Sometimes it's hit or miss in that respect, but what marketplace isn't? All in all, RFF's Classifieds are a better bet than any other internet bazaar I've been part of so far.

I do find, however, that the new Classifieds interface makes getting in touch with the seller a little more difficult. Maybe I haven't gotten the hang of things, yet.

Don't let it get you down - it's only the Internet.


Cheers,
--joe.

 

[Bill58]

Maybe you've never tried to sell a car through the newspaper. Zillions of people tell you they're "coming right over" and never show up. A lot of peoples' eyes/ mouths are bigger than their wallets. It's human nature.

My only beef w/ the classifieds is there should be some way of paying cash/ MO for maybe 10 ads minimum.

 

[bob338]

Maybe you've never tried to sell a car through the newspaper. Zillions of people tell you they're "coming right over" and never show up. A lot of peoples' eyes/ mouths are bigger than their wallets. It's human nature.

i'm pretty used to this behavior on craigslist, but i am surprised by it happening here. i guess i'm just annoyed at wasting my time, i spent an hour looking for the box and paperwork for that lens last night. i know i didn't have a deal hammered out yet, but it's still annoying.

 

[wray]

The only problem with the classifieds here is the v-e-r-y large temptation induced!

 

[sockeyed]

My only complaint is that the really good stuff usually gets sold before I see the ad!

 

[JonR]

I have bought a number of things here on the RFF - cameras from Taiwan and Japan, lenses from Italy and the US, a camera bag from the US etc and have felt very good about all transactions - honest people, good information and very straight forward. I do not use E-bay but have no hesitation to do transactions here at RFF.
Jon

 

[dazedgonebye]

I've lost count of my transactions on the classifieds here, buying and selling.
I've never experienced a buyer or seller backing out. Of course, I've sold relatively inexpensive items, priced like I'd like to see them if I'm buying them, so buyer's remorse is unlikely.

I love having the classifieds. Sorry your experiences haven't matched mine...but I would not give up on them were I you.

 

[oscroft]

The only thing that annoys me about the Classifieds is that people keep advertising lots of lovely stuff that I can't afford to buy 😀

But seriously, I've bought and sold a number of things through the Classifieds and have never had a problem - I think it's a great resource (even if occasionally not perfect).

 

[funkaoshi]

I've bought both a camera and a lens here, and both experiences were great. I'm not sure what it is like from the sellers side of things, having never sold anything here. I would be annoyed to if someone said, "I'll take it!" only to back out later because they were spending money they didn't have. That said, I think you should give the classifieds another chance. I'm surprised your stuff didn't sell. $650 for a M3 sounds like a deal.

 

[tbarker13]

I've had pretty good luck buying and selling here. Probably 80 percent of the things I sell are done here. In my experience, there are some items that tend to generate more interest (meaning higher prices) on ebay or on the L-camera forum.

I do have one pet peave -- I think it is bad form for someone to reply "PM Sent" and then fire off a low-ball offer for the item. It leaves other potential buyers with the impression that the item has sold.

 

[oscroft]

I do have one pet peave -- I think it is bad form for someone to reply "PM Sent" and then fire off a low-ball offer for the item. It leaves other potential buyers with the impression that the item has sold.

That's true. But at the same time, there is a chance that the PM might not get through so you'd want the make sure the seller knows about it - I would have lost an item I bought from Raid recently if I hadn't posted a "PM Sent" reply, because he didn't get the PM (it wasn't a low offer, but the principle is the same).

If I'm interested in an item, I'll send a PM to the seller even if there's already a "PM Sent" reply, saying something like "If you don't sell it to xxx, I'll take it" - I'll never assume it's sold unless the seller says so.

 

[Jamie Pillers]

No PM's seen for my ad!

No PM's seen for my ad!

I'm the guy that was supposed to receive a PM from the original poster about my lens trade offer. I did not receive the PM. I wonder how many others didn't get through? Hmmm..

 

[Al Patterson]

i've listed a couple of things in the classifieds lately. one was a lens for $1400, the other an M3 for $650 and neither sold. not a big deal, i can understand if noone wants to buy my stuff. but i had half a dozen people reply about the camera saying 'i'll take it!' only to change their minds later. i ended up putting it on ebay and getting $699(buy it now) for it in less than an hour. the lens didn't get any bites, so i put it on craigslist. no luck there, but photo village emailed me offering me $1350 for it. i shipped it to them last week and got a check in the mail today.

yesterday, someone posted a 50mm nokton to trade for a 50mm skopar. i PM'd him right away with my phone number and email and have never heard back. i have the exact lens he was looking for in exactly the condition he wanted, so what happened?

is anyone else having the same experiences on this board? i know we're supposed to offer things to each other before going over to the evil ebay, but i don't think i will again...

I haven't had any problems, but so far I've only purchased things here. It's up to you obviously whether you wish to sell here or elsewhere, but keep in mind a lot of folks don't check in daily, or may want the item but then find they can't afford it. It does seem rude to say they will take something and not buy it, but you can always build a list of users you choose not to do business with if you need to.