I’m a member of a comic book forum. On the BST there most sellers put a caveat that “I’ll take it” posted in the for sale thread would take precedent over PM negotiations. The prospective buyer normally quotes the portion of the original thread or wherever in the thread the item they want is listed and posts “I’ll take it” or something similar below.
Curious if anyone has thoughts.
Personally, I feel that may be a bit redundant. In most of my dealings, on this forum at least, it has worked on a “first come, first serve” basis anyways. I also feel it will make comments more messy. May I ask what the pros are from your perspective?
That is how things operate on a music forum I’m on. Records sell quickly and it’s often easiest to reply to the thread with a “pm with intent to purchase” vs an actual direct message. It also prevents inbox auctions as it’s clear in the thread who responded first.
FWIW my buying on this forum has been nothing but positive. Everyone I’ve engaged with has been kind and honest. Some folks are especially generous too - answering questions, chatting yoyos, etc. Things seem to work just fine as-is.
I like the idea. It very clearly shows who responded first. Folks can also respond with their intent should the first buyer fall through for some reason.
As a buyer and a seller the current system works. You operate on principles that people are acting in good faith (require prices, photos to prove you own it, stating condition, seller/buyer are responding in a timely manner. Etc.)
Any changes to say “PM’d” in main post still require that same good faith behavior but adds another unenforceable & unnecessary event with the potential to foster a negative environment.
I don’t want to have someone messaging me “I called dibs first! Why’d you sell it it to (name)?!?!?” I wouldn’t want to be in a world where whomever posts FIRST as a reply wins, especially when selling multiple items in a single post. People should know what they want when they message you. E.g. I don’t want to wait around for someone to finish shopping in a store before letting the second guy in line inside to see what’s still in the shelves and decide. I also reserve the right to not sell to someone. I owe nothing to someone because they say “Me first!” and then proceed to lowball you or just take 12 hours to reply confirming what they want. I’m not your mom. I’ll still reply politely no thanks and keep moving on regardless.
Messages are timestamped and come into my inbox in order already. I also don’t want to spam forum with unnecessary thread bumps which perhaps don’t happen in the same way on other FB bst or BBS boards.
Yea, not sure I feel about the “I called it first!” thing.
In this scenario (in my opinion) it should be up to the seller to choose who they want to do business with.
But hey, that’s just me…
Hypothetical scenario:
If I had something listed on here for $100 shipped, and someone commented “I’ll take it”
…and then that person PM’s me saying, “Any way you can do $80 shipped on this?”
…and then no one else PM’s me because everyone thinks that person has dibs on it…
I’d be kinda mad, and then I’d have to make a note saying it’s still available. Would also just be too messy and clog up the feed with waayyy too many “I’ll take it!” posts.
On the other forum that does this this scenario wouldn’t happen. Saying “I’ll take it” means at the listed price. No haggling.
I think the pro is actually an advantage to the seller. By listing the items this way potential buyers may be less likely to try to lower a price if they know an “I’ll take it” in the thread trumps any lower price negotiations they are pursuing.
I’ll say also that the comic forum requires a price to be listed. Even if the item is for trade, they make you list a price in case there is a cash buyer.
For the record… sellers in the comic forum aren’t required to have this feature in their BSTs, it’s just that most usually do.