For Sale...MN please force sellers to list a profile, so regulars can make a judgement call as to whether or not they are reliable....

[TheTwelveDAISYOfChristmas]

...there have been too many scammers around, and too many regulars duped out cash that they can ill afford.

at the very least an icon on the post header showing how long that poster has been registered.

Oh yes please anything, i have been scammed tonight i am very upset about it i have been on mn for about 4 years & feel really put out some arse has just stolen my money.

Here, here

keeping this bumped.

oh, and notice that the three posters so far have a profile!!!!

Me too!

Really riles me this does!

What difference will a profile make?

If you don't know the poster, don't buy. Simple.

agree completely

Can we submit them to a basic literacy screening test too? To filter out the Army of Attila?

i'm not sure a profile will help, how long they've been a mnetter is really the only useful bit of info you can get from it, rest could easily be made up. i think the safest thing to do if someone is selling something you want is to do a search on their name and see how much they post and in what topics, if they were just posting in selling & buying, i'd steer clear.

I can find this -

Note The For sale topic is intended for Mumsnet members to sell used or unwanted goods. Ads and any responses to them, will be deleted after 30 days. Mumsnet does not accept responsibility for goods bought or sold, or for any part of the buying and selling process. We recommend that anyone using these boards to sell gets a proof of postage receipt to prevent any disputes over lost goods. If you are a small business there is a Small Business classified topic where, for £30, you can advertise your company or products for 90 days. If you are a larger business and wish to advertise on Mumsnet please email [email protected].

Not sure if there is anything else though?

I totally agree having been scammed out of £100 myself.

But it puts MN in a difficult position - if you buy a lawnmower off a billboard from a co-op, and it's broken, is the co-op responsible?

From what I can see from a web development/cost/legal perspective (that being my job and all), there are these options:

1. Resurrect the feedback thread.

Pros - cheap, quick fix cons - name changing is very easy on MN, historical data is lost

1. Facilitate buying and selling with MN into an actual shop/auction/forum format, with guidelines and rules, with buyers and sellers entering into an online contract, and thus MN allowed to pursue/ban dodgy sellers

Pros - makes MN a safe place to shop Cons - the legal and web development costs of this I would think are way beyond the reach of MN

1. MN creates a separate feedback forum held and maintained by MN.

Again, I would imagine there are legal implications here for MN. Data protection, and the remote possibility that MN could even be held liable.

1. Remove sales threads altogether thus forcing people to buy and sell in a 'safe' environment.

To be honest it is much safer for MN to take the stance they have - provide the forum and advice but to not get involved.

If they begin to get involved it could be very costly for them.

Best advice I have is buy from ebay or usednappies.co.uk or any dedicated sales site, and avoid these 'friendly forum' sales like the plague. Far too easy for scammers to rip people off. I learnt the expensive way.

Get rid of the for sale boards. IMHO.

I agree with SaintGeorge and LucyKate, among others - if you know a poster, it should be Ok, if you don't know them don't touch it with a bargepole.

It is fairly easy to recognise regulars who post in other topics, imo. We need to get smart and protect ourselves.

I don't think there is a lot MN can really do - length of reggo might be an idea, but other than that it's up to us as a community to police ourselves and not take risks.

It should persuade the people who use just classifieds on here not to bother. Though there are a few I know are genuine and mainly use for sale. They are also easy to recognise.

I agree with Fury and most of the other posts - the only way is to do a search on poster.
Poor old MNHQ, they've probably only just got in for the day!! Im sure they'll post at some point.
It would have been good though re one particular lady recently, where numerous threads were started, if MN told us if she had been banned etc.

Agree with lucykate.
I don't have a profile, I prefer not to, but I know people can check and see I have posted on here lots and for a couple of years so they know I am genuine. I do the same when buying from others.

Yes, and it had never even occurred to me to check people's history really before buying here - though I don't normally buy - so if we make it a well known rule that this is the safe thing to do, it might save a few people getting conned.
I did check a user's history before selling to them one time, and found it very reassuring to know she was a regular poster.

Surely this is the whole point of having classifieds on MN - to enable members the privilege of buying from people you know and trust, rather than on ebay where it could be anyone. I think we need to remember the whole ethos of this and therefore, only buy and sell with people we DO 'know'. It makes sense really!

I'm so sorry some people have been conned, very unpleasant

Two things:

1. Don't buy from people you don't recognise.

1. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Hmm, I can see both sides of this...obviously it's not in mnhq's best interest to stop anyone coming on these boards, but from a community point of view these people aren't welcome.

I'm not sure a profile is the most affective way to prevent scammers or time wasters. But I'm not sure what is...

maybe a limit to the number of FS posts per month?

a minimum registration period or minimum posts before being able to sale? This obviously isn't fool proof.

If you have been scammed then you should make a post so that when people want to buy something they can search and see that post. Though sometimes there may be genuine mistakes, and I guess posters can name change, though that wouldn't be in their best interest if they want to build up a good reputations. Hmmm, tricky one...

ive got a message for sale and on for swaps i'm a genuine person would never stitch anyone up! have sold on here many times and have always been honest and had really good feedback even a picture of their dc in an outfit i sold to them!

Hunker, I don't see the problem if a newbie doesn't really get much business on here - surely that is the whole point, you earn a reputation before you are able to sell? Otherwise nobody knows who you are, and it isn't fair to expect people to buy from you straight off if they don't know you.
Do you see what I mean?

Like real life...if I was buying from an old friend I'd have no qualms. A new friend/acquaintance, well, it might be dodgy, you just don't know do you?

I think this is the whole point.

I think it is a case of just being really careful, and not being afraid of putting "sell to only MNetters I know/use Talk regularly" type comments. MN classifieds was great way back when, but now it is full of people who only use MN for buying/selling and it has spoilt it. Also means lots of people no longer have buy/sell in active conversations so things easily gets missed.

I really hate it when you get multiple threads, started days after one or another but for same item, and lots of self bumping.