Just have to say...

I find it VERY rude when someone posts a price for something they are trying to sell... and then someone just has to Google it... and posts a cheaper price.Mostly a wrong product or price,but who the hell am i to say.

If you have no interest in the product,why research it? Bored?

Lets mind our own business...unless we are genuinely interested in a post/product...seems simple to me.

Sorry for the rant...but I see it all the time on here. Like 1 minute ago!

So you enjoy watching members of this site get ripped off by people who are either too lazy to research the pricing on their own equipment, or just are unlucky to be selling their gear when a sale is going on?

Although, I do agree that it's very annoying when people post the wrong items at a lower price.

Strange post...

Can you explain what ripped off means?

It is pretty simple,when a person posts an item up for sale at a given price...why would they care what someone else is selling it for? They own it,they can sell it for what they want.

Do you really think a person needs to match REI,etc. ????

Max, Pony up or shut up! It costs very little money ! You sure have a strong opinion and VERY few posts !!!!

This has been discussed before, and I think I remember that Ryan Jordan (and thus BPL) came out on the side of supporting posts providing a better price for the equivalent item. The desire for the community to benefit from the best possible price outweighs the rights of the individual seller to make a little more money, or something along those lines. EDIT: Use the "Search Forums" on "Price Policing" and you'll find his post.

That said, if you are going to post a "better" price in response to a gear swap item, make SURE the item is available for purchase, is exactly the same item, includes tax and shipping, and all that. Also, it is most respectful to simply post the item and price and location in a response, not anything else editorial.

This doesn't happen often it seems, because most BPLers (at least those that have been around for a while) seem to post items that are well-cared-for at very reasonable prices. In any case, the key concept here is respect, something lacking in the communication in this thread above.

Edited by DaveT on 05/01/2009 19:34:19 MDT.

My goodness.

I for one appreciate postings that remind others of different going prices for items (though they should of course be accurate). If someone wants to buy an item at an inflated price, he or she is still free to. If I were shopping with a friend who saw an item and was interested, I would say something if I knew it were on sale somewhere else. Wouldn't you? Moreover, this is a site with an ethos of friendliness, courtesy, and cooperation (with some exceptions, such as this thread). Refraining from 'price policing' would harm that ethos, while courteous and accurate 'price policing' actually serves it.

Telford

What the heck are you babbling about? This site is free to use and maybe he doesn't post a lot because he has a life!

I'm from the midwest, so I've done the "Minnesota Nice" thing if I've noticed a price that's out of line from what you'd expect due to a sale somewhere, and I've PM'd the OP letting them know. This was so they would be aware why other buyers may not seem interested. Personally, I probably wouldn't drop this into somebody's thread because it's not my style, but that said, I also don't have any problem with somebody who would put that into a thread. I like to think that we look out for each other here - sellers and buyers. More information = better.

Edited by mn-backpacker on 05/01/2009 19:52:49 MDT.

Michael, I think your comments are out of line and could easily offend someone, you could try to be more polite.

I too have few posts, but I still have the right to comment as does anyone.

Something to think about

"Max, Pony up or shut up! It costs very little money ! You sure have a strong opinion and VERY few posts !!!!"

Not sure what's more annoying, price police or the people that complain about them.

I agree with Dan C. If there is a better price out there, notify the OP in a PM, rather than publicly calling them out and mudding-up their thread.

Sometimes the OP didn't know about the other prices, or thinks their original price was fair, because of factory options or included shipping costs.

Forums are for discussion, and that's the problem here.

How about an auction module instead??...I'm sure that InfoGears could easily build one.

I would hate an auction system here on BPL. I love the current system: "Hey, anyone wanna buy this?". First in, best dressed. No mucking about and time wasting, wondering whether you're going to "win" an item and how much you should bid. Love it.

i don't think commenting on a lower price is "policing" in any way

this is a discussion board among like-minded "friends" - we post to share & help each other

if i were trying to sell something for more than someone could get elsewhere, i'd want to know and wouldn't consider it rude to be told so

however, i do think occasionally people seem to post the price corrections in a way that could be interpreted as accusatory & that doesn't seem appropriate either

we should give some benefit of doubt, but i think we should share *openly* any pertinent information about price, description, issues with gear (positive or negative), etc, that may factor into someone's decision to buy or not

That's easily addressed, you just have a "buy it now" price that shut downs the auction. If you like the price or want it badly enough then you just buy it. If you don't pay within 24 hours it goes to the next "buy it now" person, or reverts to auction if there isn't anyone next in line.

The existing system is totally confusing and inadequate. There is absolutely no way to tell what is for sale and what's gone without doing endless surfing and pm'ing.

E.g. I still have an item for sale that I posted 2 weeks ago...but nobody knows what it is or that it's still available. It's been buried by dozens of newer topics and hundreds of posts.

> There is absolutely no way to tell what is for sale and what's gone without doing endless surfing and pm'ing.

Now that's a different kettle of fish. Some system for marking items as sold/still for sale, and being able to filter posts according to whether they are still for sale would be good.

The "buy it now" option doesn't work IMHO. People know that auctions generate higher prices and usually post a "buy it now" price that is too high to bother with. So it ends up just being an auction anyway.

Ok I have to comment here as I have bought and sold a bit of gear in the swap (More than most I am sure). If I wanted to deal with auctions why wouldn't I use ebay? An auction setting makes it impersonal and even less part of a community building engine. I know you may not think so, but trading gear builds community. I can tell you there are 10 people that I talk to on a somewhat regular basis due to trading gear. We talk about the gear, backpacking, life, our families and so on. Because we started with some little piece of gear in common. If someone want's the best money out of their gear would they not go to ebay with most all of it? I enjoy talking to people about my hobby. Gear that I have used or want to buy is part of that experience.

"The existing system is totally confusing and inadequate. There is absolutely no way to tell what is for sale and what's gone without doing endless surfing and pm'ing."

It is simple, personal and community governed. Easy to navigate? - maybe not, but easy enough. IMHO if we complicate it we lose it. Maybe it's just me, but other than people getting a wire crossed here and there it does what I want it to do.

Edited by anywayoutside on 05/03/2009 20:19:56 MDT.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the way things are set up here. It's a forum first, set up to trade ideas and information, not merchandise. Having said that, I think the swapping part works fine.

I think the difference between how things are sold here on BPL and on EBay is like the difference between an open-air market and a shopping center. I much prefer the open-air market. though it may not always be the most convenient or snazzy.

mmm...Miguel, will you kindly pass me one of those fresh satsumas over there? And you've gotta try some of these home-made pastries from this old-timer across the way.

Great analogy :)