The For Sale/ Wanted boards - update from M Towers and post your ideas/thoughts here

[JustineMumsnet]

As you may know we have in mind a complete overhaul of the For sale/ wanted boards as they seem to be making many folks' lives (ours especially) a misery.

Clearly it makes sense for us to have classified ads - why not re-cycled used stuff? That should in theory be good for buyers and sellers alike (and it's very green too). But equally clearly, at the risk of understatement, it is not functioning well at the moment.

However, complete overhaul is going to have to wait a wee while as Tech's got quite a lot on... (We are hopefully bringing you improved local listings, blogs and more in the next few weeks and months).

In the meantime do give us your ideas for how you'd ultimately like to see For sale/ wanted working. (I know some of you have already posted some sensible (and not so sensible thoughts around and abou but we'd be super grateful if you'd re-post the best of them here so everyone can see, discuss and refine.)

So... what rules would be fair/enforcable and assist in the smooth working of the thing? (nb we are never going to enforce a no huns policy I'm afraid, so do be realistic - MN is for all parents even those with poor grammar and spelling.)

Should we re-house somewhere off Talk? And will it be used/useful if we do? Can we make it work on Talk if not? What would make it easier to use/ more functional?

Should we charge and if so how. What would you pay to use and how would you like to pay it?

Which other boards do this successfully and what are the best ideas/functionality should we pinch?

To ease the pain of waiting for overhaul, next week we will introduce a couple of quick fixes that might hopefully smooth the operation a little, namely we're going to insist that everyone who posts a for sale notice pays a CAT and we'll break down the boards into categories so things are more easily searchable.

In the meantime, please hang on in there and if it all gets too much there's always the hide thread/topic option .

Thanks for your input and your patience.

Peace and love,

Mumsnet Towers

but selling something for 6 quid when you could take it back to the shop for the full value is bonkers whatever way you look at it

if you want to be generous then give the money to charity after you take it back to the shop surely? much better use of resources

It wasn't bonkers, I was just feeling in the Christmas spirit. I'm lucky I don't need to worry about finances. I recently gave away a £40 ink cartridge aswell for free. It is kind of charity anyway, I'm giving it to less well off mumsnetters (on the whole).

true, zippi, if you're wanting to give to charity, do so. but twotimes could at this stage very well have sold it to a trader who thought she was an idiot and sold it for £25 on ebay...

but how do you know you're giving to less well off mners? that's the whole point.

So, what kind of gear do you have to sell, Zippi?

well, I know this wasn't the case and the mnetter was v happy. Have some faith in others ladies!

And so twotimes' generous spirit is exactly what is causing professinal sellers target the board, under a mumtocaesarandcleopatra like name.

aitch - you can often tell by addresses and by email exchanges. Of course, not everyone is 'less well off' but it's often possible to judge those in need. PS I'm not suggesting my last transaction was! Now and then it is possible to be scammed but I think 99% don't.

books,clothes,an unused shower door for a quad shower tray,a pc, furniture, bathroom fans, metal toe cap boots, a mans bike..to name but a few of the top of my head

bump

any wee housewares? throw pillows, wall/window deccies and the like?

am looking to tart up this place a bit on the cheap as it's a temporary move here.

Quint - are you now suggesting it's my fault??? How can you prove all these accusations of professional traders anyway? If you use your common sense you can avoid dodgy ones.

what like ornaments and decorative stuff babe..i mmight have ..we allowed to sell on this thread then

yeah, like wee ornaments and such.

i suppose it depends on what you mean by professional, at the end of the day. you could be 'less well-off' and therefore a worthy recipient of charity but still effectively taking and selling it professionally on ebay, iykwim? so in a way your gift is in cash.
is that the sort of thing that should go on? i don't know, actually, it's an interesting question and i'm not sure of the answer. it wouldn't make the person any less deserving of a helping hand...

if i can deliver them in person expat hunni you can have anything you like..i'll bring my climber with me we are looking for remote places to hang out

i think i am in danger of getting deported to the for sale boards

sure, hun, ill swap u lodgng 4 gear.

so long as Bree/LGJ doesn't see us on here, Zippi, we're in the clear. She walks softly and carries a big stick .

lol ZippiBabes I could as well

"is not really reassuring to those who prefer to keep this as a parenting forum and not a market place!"

99% of the items I sell are baby & child related ie: toys & clothes that my little ones have outgrown, this is a contributing factor to a parenting forum, these are the places people will look to buy baby related pre-owned items, that in turn will bring more people to parenting forums.

Most shops do not accept returns after 1 month, so it's not always possible to return an item, I always stock up in the sales, but sometimes they fit in the wrong season, so I sell them on.
I think it's very wrong to accuse people that have a lot of items for sale as either being stolen or bought from ebay and resold, thats a very condescending view in my opinion and only reiterates the them & us way of thinking

Twotimes -Yep, You are to blame. Only you. Joking!

I am sorry if it came out that way, but that is not what I meant. What I am saying is that the sales boards is a place that used to have community spirit, people were doing eachother favours, you buy stuff of me cheap, I buy cheap stuff, etc. It is so busy now, and people have been scammed. I think it is because other traders have noticed stuff go cheap, and they flock here. It is like one big sales hup where second hand buggies are flying like that famous flying windows toaster screensaver.

Magicdragon.

Yes, but I think still there is a big difference between a parenting forum where the members use all parts of the forum including the sale boards, and a parenting forum where one proportion come and only trade because it is the "right market place" as you say, and the other proportion stay away form the trading boards in quiet disbelief.

These statements, about parents coming to sell becausee there are other parents to sell to, just pronounce the divide. People come here only to sell. And are referred to amongst themselves as sellers.

If people use common sense when purchasing items from the for sale boards, it shouldn't be a problem, if everyone avoids these people that are obvious traders and do not buy from them they will soon disapear

But how can we know? Many people venture in on the sales boards for the first time, think this is mumsnet, these are all fellow mums, I wouldnt be "had" here... But what if they are "had". Who do they complain to? Who can help them put it right?

It's very difficult to generalise, I use several of the other boards, I haven't actually used the for sale boards for a few months, but I do have quite a bit of time on my hands as I am a sahm, some people work full time, look after children, have housework, washing to do, maybe even look after elderly parents etc and still can't make ends meet, so will only post on the for sale board to make a bit of extra money, I am sure these people when they have money and time will join in more with the other boards, some people only have one computer to share between the whole family so have to 'fight' the children to get a turn, some people are shy, I am more of a reader, rather than a poster, I enjoy reading the debates for example, but I rarely join in, but hey thats me, everyone is different

People should not be judged without knowing their circumstances