Has the BST had it?

[Sid James]

A lot of members put gear up for sale both here and elsewhere, is the general consensus that elsewhere is a better marketplace?

Yes.

 

[ManicDee]

Yes.

. Sharp as ever Sid .

 

[Stonec0ld]

I've found it difficult selling here and on Facebook. Unless it's a set of some hard to get US artisan.

 

[Chris]

we're mostly old hands here who know what we like and have a good stock of it already... Notable exceptions used to be high end badger brushes, stainless razors and US artisan software but we're so saturated now and newbies have no access to the classifieds so even these are sitting there indefinitely.

This for me. I think the only thing I have on my want list at the moment is a .68 Timeless and even with that I'm in two minds over whether it'll end up just sitting and looking pretty. I only really use two or three razors and brushes and with all the soap I've got I still keep going back to Speick.

 

[wintoid]

It comes down to price, ultimately though. Let's say you bought a razor that would be hard to sell on the second hand market, say a Feather ASD2. You pay 160 quid. After 3 months, you decide you don't get on with it. What price are you prepared to sell at?

If you sell at 120 quid, you've got a long wait
If you sell at 80 quid, losing 50%, someone will probably buy it fairly quickly

My point is that we may all have to revise our expectations of how much we're going to lose when we sell second hand, which may mean we all have to slow down a bit.

 

[morr]

...and newbies have no access to the classifieds so even these are sitting there indefinitely.

I think this one is a big part of the problem. New members not being able to even browse the BST section without 100 posts is much stricter than other forums (where sales are going on just fine imo).

 

[Rowlers]

I think this one is a big part of the problem. New members not being able to even browse the BST section without 100 posts is much stricter than other forums (where sales are going on just fine imo).

We may need to rethink this then... Thoughts Gents?

 

[Benz3ne]

Yup - I know smellies aren't the focus of this forum, but are a part of it. I've a load of great, mostly difficult to come by, scents up for sale at big losses and not even a nibble.

 

[Blackmass]

We may need to rethink this then... Thoughts Gents?

Maybe revise it to 50 posts? I still think having a post count before you can use BST is very important though.

 

[morr]

I still think having a post count before you can use BST is very important though.

Agreed.

We may need to rethink this then... Thoughts Gents?

Keep the quota for opening a new BST thread, but allow all members to freely browse the BST section and contact members (after reaching the PM quota of course). Perhaps also allow new members opening a WTB thread only.

I think it's important to keep in mind that many new members here are veterans somewhere else and just don't have the time to be fully active on all forums.

 

[Chris]

It comes down to price, ultimately though. Let's say you bought a razor that would be hard to sell on the second hand market, say a Feather ASD2. You pay 160 quid. After 3 months, you decide you don't get on with it. What price are you prepared to sell at?

If you sell at 120 quid, you've got a long wait
If you sell at 80 quid, losing 50%, someone will probably buy it fairly quickly

My point is that we may all have to revise our expectations of how much we're going to lose when we sell second hand, which may mean we all have to slow down a bit.

+1

I generally expect to lose 30% for a second-hand item that's in near-new condition. I have seen items listed for what you'd pay from a vendor less postage, I realise we want to minimise losses but as most sellers are also wanting the buyer to eat the Paypal fees that increases the price further. The buyer is then in a position of not making much of a saving and losing vendor support in the case of a problem.

We may need to rethink this then... Thoughts Gents?

Agreed. There should be a limit on the number of posts, although that unfortunately will not prevent scammers. Sadly I think it's always going to be an element of caveat emptor when dealing with someone new. 100 does seem to be a lot though. I like @morr's suggestion above.

 

[Rowlers]

+1

I generally expect to lose 30% for a second-hand item that's in near-new condition. I have seen items listed for what you'd pay from a vendor less postage, I realise we want to minimise losses but as most sellers are also wanting the buyer to eat the Paypal fees that increases the price further. The buyer is then in a position of not making much of a saving and losing vendor support in the case of a problem.



Agreed. There should be a limit on the number of posts, although that unfortunately will not prevent scammers. Sadly I think it's always going to be an element of caveat emptor when dealing with someone new. 100 does seem to be a lot though. I like @morr's suggestion above.

I'll look into this later then...

 

[sɐǝɹpu∀]

Not sure if the forum software can do: 30 posts and 30 days. Posts in the Welcome forum don't count.

 

[Nisse]

So reasons for selling on ATG rather than Ebay might be no fees (and no buyer protection) and possibility to use PayPal F&F no fees (and no buyer protection)?

 

[Boycie83]

A bulk of the buying power will come from the newbies to the 'sport' during that initial first year of big spending on the new hobby. Many of you veterans will be at the other end of this now having settled on your preferred equipment and just making the occasional purchase out of interest. I'm not sure what the right balance of input is before access but I currently have no access to BST despite being an active member for over a month and >100 messages. Easing restrictions on the ability to view posts and letting the seller decide on whether the sale is safe or not does seem like a good way to go.

For all I know there could be some poor soul in BST wanting to shift their unloved Vector for £25 and I'm unable to help them due to access!