I have been reading this forum daily for the last 3 months.

I recently bought my first boat and had absolutely no idea where to look for fish or what to do when I found them. You can only ask the poor guys at the tackle shop so much so I come here and read and research, and try and try and then do some more reading and research.

This is my first post as I don't want to sound stupid asking a stupid question (instead I use the search function) and also don't want to waste peoples time. But does that mean if someone has some gear they want to offload, and I want that gear, i shouldn't be allowed to buy it? Maybe I need to start asking some of those silly questions.

 As in the other thread, i suggested that to use buy and sell you should at least have a proper email address, not a free yahoo etc. Perhaps even to join full stop which might weed out some of the "ghost" accounts of posters from another forum who avail themselves of the benefits here while whining over there about what wankers would join FW.

deepwater I think that is a great idea would certainly stop all the one hit wonders that merely drift by

would soon sort it out.

Some good points there, I will have a think about what can be done as I know there are a few who are utilising the site to their advantage whilst not putting anything back.

That a fee might entail - charge a fee and your legal responsibilities may?? increase but it would certainly help offset site running costs which are not peanuts - food for thought none the less   

 I remember a few years ago on another site they went that way, it was a ten post limit. I honestly did not have ten worthwhile inputs so could have just posted ten bland boring posts but chose not too and could not buy some high end gear on that site.

i shortly found fishwrecked and here I stayed.

the buy and sell forum. Is working great for pick ups, met some great people and bought and sold some great gear.

i would pay a subscription probably, but would be hesitant at first years ago. It would deter new people connecting through fish wrecked I think.

Catchalittle has the name of them spot on, öne hit wonders" they only join the site to stick something in the for sale section then disappear, never to be seen again.

I check the for sale section daily and like to see what bargains are going up. Making it harder for people to advertise would not be good for the site. Sorry to hear that people got ripped off.

a fee isnt the answer to grow the forum and to provide ID would mean alot of work for Adam plus liabilities.

Post limits just mean people post crap to get their # up - please no.

Whilst I respect the view I don't agree with that one. I only post when I've got something that people might find interesting... which isn't very often. I look at several sub-forums including the for sale section daily and have bought a few items. Sorry to hear that low-lifes are causing grief but I don't think limiting the scope of the forum is the answer. 

Theres no silver bullet. Maybe instead of minimum No. of posts for sellers it could just be a minimum amount of time as a member (i.e. must be a member for a few months before selling)

I have both brought and sold items through this site.  I think it should be buyer beware. If in doubt do the cash/goods exchange in person or don't do it!!

if like me you live too far away (in SA) and need to have the item posted then only buy from members who have some credibility on the site.  Its pretty easy to check the members contribution and if they have only just joined or given little imput then "beware" you may get bitten..  Same as buying off ebay and other sites but its easier to check someones cred. (that is its harder to fake credibility and imput).  Simple as that..

Minimum time as a member or minimum posts the scammers will just sign up and sit for two months or post crap to get to the required number and then do the rip offs.  It won't stop them.

Cheers

Paul

 i can guaruntee if u bought off one of these guys u will be 150% safe n securr.

The failsafes already exist:

- PayPal

- Only transact face-to-face

Like the little fish you could have a 'validated' status... Whereby other members can nominate you as being a 'valid' member I.e. having met a fellow member or bought/sold something from a member and all has gone well. Once you have maybe 2 or 3 nominations to be validated you then have a status of 'validated' next to your sign in name... Much like the little fish, but different

So who's actually been ripped off before? Just out of interest. The 'size' of the issue might help determine roughly the amount of input needed to find a solution.

I've bought through classifieds only a couple times, and had  little anxiety while waiting for stuff to arrive but so far have been all sweet.

hi i have been viewing this forum for about 3 months and have recently just started posting and thnk its a geat forum, im also part off another forum todo with birds(finchs mainly) and was part of the moderators and we had the same sort off deal with scammers and people tending to just post in the forsale section so we made a decision to make some parts off the forum limited to new member including the classified section untilthey made atleast 10 posts before being able to see the classified section and has helped alot with scammers and so on maybe this could be idea  just thought id put my idea forward

thanks chris

*only just saw the 'skirts for sale' fiasco. Poor form

 IMO, this is a fishing forum not gumtree. Hence when you wanna get something is all done on goodwill. It's a chance for two forum members to meet up and do a trade. If not possible to meet at least have a chat on the mobile before organising something. I've always had fun buying stuff from here, all of the people I've met are great. When I sell my stuff I do the vice versa, make sure it's only pick up so the other member knows who I am and what he is getting.

There are always people out there trying to name a quick buck. Just have the 'buyer beware' attitude at all times. This site is a great site and I reckon there is nothing wrong with it, just don't want changes like minimum post, it may be full of pointless posts just to get the numbers up.

cheers

I originally became a member so i could buy a reel which i did with no problems.After that i have stuck around cause its an informative site.I am also a member of another site that i wont mention in case anyone gets upset,both good forums you just have to pick and choose what you comment on and dont take it to heart eh Rob h LOL. I wouldnt change anything its great the way it is.

Good point, But i think a lot of people just want to read threads and aren't comfortable starting Threads, Posting Comments, Pictures etc.

off topic

i think people should be posting comments more often on the reports that people go to the time and effort to write for everyones benefit and enjoyment, its not hard to say something like "great fish, nice effort" or something along those lines i see reports with over a 1000 views and maybe 10 comments

 Of the majority being punished for a few doing the wrong thing.........I think the best thing is surely just to remove them / or the offending buy/sell ads from the site and leave the rest of us the .... alone.