Idea for Classified section!
 

I've noticed a lot of people being "scammed" at the moment, and it seems there has been more and more adverts going on Oople from people with very few posts against their name.

This idea is from another Forum i use for real car stuff, but how about this:

Each Seller must provide a Picture of the actual product and next to it must include a piece or paper with their User ID written on it.

This at least shows that the seller does in fact own the product, and hasn't just take a random pic from the internet or even provided no pic at all??

Also, what about you're not able to place classifieds until you reach a post count of 100 or so?

good idea

i think the photo should have their name and address on it (and perhaps a utilitiy bill or similar to prove this)

address i all i need and ill get my money back myself !

Agreed with this, but would make is more than this.

OCUK has a good for sale section

any body can do that but still not send it nick the best way is when people join up they must give full address phone number and mobile number for the admins to see ONLY and if any body get scammed they can involve the police give the police a admin name to contact to gain the said seller details to take further action as to putting a post count to 100 that will kiil the for sale section for sure as i know this has been tried on a fishing forum i go on it killed it within a week so now the sellers must have a icon next to there name which means they have provided the details b4 selling on the forum and if any seller defaults on more that three items in a 2 months period they lose there icon and the right to sell for the next 6 mths they they have to provide all the info again to gain there icon back but a different colour which means they been warned b4

Scam
 

The idea of a photo and e is really good. I myself have a low post count as im new on here but have been on ANOTHER forum for years (seen the light)!
The problem with putting a high amount of posts needed before you let people post on the trade section is that people will just write crap about anything and fill up threads just to get the post count up.

It was used on another forum im on and users only had to post 10 times before being able to trade.

works on MSUK, no picture = thread deleted by admin

should be do able on o0ple

works on other forums so again it could work on here

don't think we should have addresses included with pictures

this is why i said when you join there should be a section for addy ,contact details only the admins and the web owner can see it

I can see the benefit of the pic with the username on paper next to it, but I would have real issue with asking for an address or utility bill (ID theft anyone).

Also, as soon as you have to provide 'private' information, like your private address and phone number (which, unless you verify, is pointless), then there is a responsibility on oople to store that data safely.

site admin taking seller details would probably help get rid of some scammers, there would have to be proof of address though as any scammer would try to give a false one. the big problem is avoiding the site becoming involved in the transactions, as this could cause quite a few problems for the people who run it

I think the easiest quick solution is just the Pic idea with a piece of paper (Or even a pic of your PC Monitor in the background with your user-details) - Basically something with your oOple User ID on it, next to the item.

I think with the amount of Camera phones and stuff these days, there's no reason / excuse for people not to put a pic up of the item they have and it's pretty easy to quickly scribble down your User ID on a bit of paper.

Certainly a good place to start anyway??

from MSUK

this from my forum i use

Only members who have been issued with, and currently hold a http://www.carpforum.co.uk/Images/Icons/Smileys/20.gif icon are permitted to post in the classified section and/or to buy, sell, trade or conduct any similar activity on the Forum in any other section (Including by Private Messaging).

Each member is permitted a maximum of one active thread in the classified section for all items that are 'For Sale' plus one active thread for all items that are 'Wanted'.

Agreeing to sell an item is a BINDING CONTRACT. Anyone who agrees a sale with a member, and then sells to a higher bidder, will have their right to trade removed. Similarly, a buyer who backs out of an agreed deal may also be banned from further trading.

Before a member can be issued with a http://www.carpforum.co.uk/Images/Icons/Smileys/20.gif icon they must meet the following criteria;

(A) The member must have been a member of the Forum for at least 3 months
(B) The member must have contributed a minimum of 20 posts that in the opinion of the Moderators have been constructive and have positively contributed to the Forum.
(C) The member must not have been subject to any warnings and/or penalties by the Moderators for at least 3 months (or longer period if imposed as a penalty)

If the above criteria have been met then the member should fully complete their profile page with the following information:

Your real name
Your current full address and postcode
Your current home telephone number
Your current mobile number (optional)
Your current email address

You must ensure every field is completed otherwise the MOD will not be able to see your profile information

I would not think many people would want to
put their home address , phone number and email address online for all to see. This could lead to missuse.

that bit is for the forum owner and admin to see only

I think it's all getting a bit complex now, as you'd have to ask every existing member to go through and fill out this form too...

I thought the whole pic idea would just be a nice quick way to make buying way more secure then it is now, especially as there seems to be a sudden influx of new people ripping others off?

I agree with that, I think it will help people with selling as they'll think about it more before advertising, will hopefully make moderators life easier too.

Name and address details given is not a great idea. I work in industry's that have to take this information there are too many ways that can go wrong. For example even if they have that information they would not be able to pass it to anyone if anything went wrong with the exception of the police as it would be a breach of the data protection act.
To be honest though if someone wants to defraud any system they will find a way name and address won't help the company i worked for last lost 30% of its transactions in east and central london to fraud transactions.

I wouldn't want to see it go too far, if for no other reason because, as has happened on some other forums, if it bemomes too much of a pain in the neck to administer, it might dissapear completely or because so over-rugulated that it becomes pants!

I've had a few great purchases off here and no scams. You've got to remember that it's a forum and you're probably dealing with people you've never met so use a bit of judgement rather that relying on people who run and moderate this forum for free to take responsibility for you.

That said, username in the picture is a good idea.

On a forum I used to visit you just needed your username, the site name, and the date in a photo with the item. This should be compulsory, along with a photo. It only takes a few seconds to write your details down, and if someone can't be bothered to take a picture then they shouldn't be allowed to sell items.

Not having a camera is a poor excuse, as I'd imagine 99% of members here have camera phones, or know someone (a friend, partner, etc.) that does.

Ive not posted much but when ive put items in the for sale section i normally give my ebay id out or a phone number for people to get me on or link it to my clubs web page ( www.southlakesmodelcarclub.com) . If people arnt to sure if there going to get scamed dont buys the golden rule .

who'll be the first to try this out then?

certainly very few of the people expecting to sell stuff on there now!

I was hoping a Mod would have something to say and maybe bring it in if people agreed - Just seems a lot of weird stuff has gone on recently so i thought this would be a quick way to resolve it.

I like the idea of the username in the picture and shall be using it when I next post in the sales section, the only thing I would add is the date as well so you know it isn't a 2 year old picture...

Mark

OK so I've set wheels in motion but know rules as yet

http://www.oople.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45997

As well as Username and Date, think it would be a good idea to also add "Oople.com for sale section" as well. Otherwise someone could use a recent picture from a different forum (which has has those details within the picture) and create a new user profile using the same name, but on Oople.

So it'll look like this:

______________________
Oople.com for sale section
Nige
10th May 2010
______________________

Would this do?

http://www.oople.com/forums/showthre...699#post375699
(Sale post)

Image

http://www.oople.com/forums/picture....pictureid=3089

Don't have the time to photo all the parts individually.

But I do think the custom photo (name etc in photo) is a good idea.

Most of the parts on the list can be seen in the photo, so hopefully that proves to any one looking to buy them that I do actually have the parts.

MiCk B. :-)

your a star

1st one I believe :thumbsup:

but it's a little difficult to see your name

so I used paint to do the attachment you see below

Good idea but still open to abuse. Remeber Tom heath the scammer on many forums. If hammerhead had not spotted it he could have ripped someone off again even though he used a photo of the item.
http://www.oople.com/forums/showthre...033#post374033

No matter what is done, the system is open to abuse. It's just a question of making it a little bit harder so the lazy scammers (and they are, otherwise they'd get a job like the rest of us) give in.
IMO the solution is min 10 posts (easy to check then if they're relevant or junk), 6 month membership and a total ban on paypal gift.

Agree with the gift ban. It was ok at first but now it removes any comeback you have though paypal. I believe paypal can only refund you if the seller has funds in their accounts.
Maybe be also if seller has no previous feedback they can post a name of someone on oople who can verify them as a genuine seller.

if the buyer pays as a gift THERE IS NO COME BACK full stop as paypal will say you paid as a gift to that person if you wanted security then pay our fees but thats not full proof either as only item on ebay will be fully protected as paypal can see the item and desrcription and also they have the seller id on there system then you have protection then

I agree with the Admin taking full details of the Seller. Doing it similar to MSUK seems good to me. Also certainly the paypal gift ban is a good idea, obviously people who know each other can do that, but for those who don't no paypal gifting.

A thing that concerns me a little though is what if the site is hacked/hijacked/whatever you want to call it? a lot of personal info would be in the hands of the dirty little crims.

Ultimately i'll agree with whatever makes the site safer to use. Thats what its all about.

Editing a Photo with MS paint etc isn't really any use, as you could do that to any photo you find on the net.....

I think having a piece of paper / card with your username on, next to the Item is the safest way - Or you could even place the item in front of your PC monitor with your welcome page up on the screen if that makes sense? I've seen people do that on this other forum and it works really well!

i think the photo of item with user id and date is good, even better add contact number or email address. it just goes a little way towards putting people posting dodgy items off. with items i have bought off the forum i have got a phone number off the seller and spoken to them before buying, which they have been happy with,perhaps this could be recommended as well

Yeah good idea with an Email address / phone number - It just needs a sticky note at the top of the For Sale section saying:

"****Does your USERNAME appear in your PICTURE? If not your thread will be REMOVED**** "

just proving a point

I think anyone can tell you've just edited it on a computer though, a piece of paper with the username written on it works fine - but what you've done is a bit obvious i'd say - it just needs to be kept simple.

If people have an issue with doing this, it would suggest they aren't the sort of person to buy from really..... It's no different to putting pics and stuff on Ebay - it's a better way to sell a product anyway!

it only obivious if a person has seen the original piccy to start with if not then it could be taken as the genuine article there is no sure fast way to stop the scams