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.