Blade forums New Selling Policy and Standards ~ Hope this is the Right Place ~

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evergreensSequoiaseucalyptusandOaks

evergreensSequoiaseucalyptusandOaks

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Aug 5, 2016
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1,271
I would like to express some concerns regarding recent procedural changes on BladeForums.

The practice of locking threads restricts members from clarifying statements, correcting misunderstandings, or providing additional information. When these locked discussions remain publicly accessible, it can leave incomplete or misinterpreted comments permanently displayed without the opportunity for revision.

Additionally, the updated selling requirements — including handwritten, dated notes in listing photos — place a significant burden on all sellers. While I understand the goal of preventing fraudulent activity, these measures seem to penalize the broader community for the actions of a small minority. The policy that prevents the deletion of completed transaction threads further limits members’ ability to maintain privacy regarding their purchases or sales.

I respectfully ask that the administration consider whether these rules could be adjusted to better balance security with member autonomy and privacy.


​

As someone who values this community, I wanted to share a few concerns that have been on my mind.

When threads are locked, it becomes impossible to clear up misunderstandings or add context to something you previously wrote. It can feel discouraging when a conversation is frozen in place, especially if comments are misinterpreted or left unresolved. Keeping these locked threads visible without allowing updates can also feel uncomfortable for members who want to clarify their contributions.

The new selling rules have also been difficult for many of us. Requiring handwritten, dated notes in photos may help prevent fraud, but it also adds extra steps for honest, long‑time members who have never had issues. And once a transaction is completed, the fact that the listing and communication can’t be removed makes it hard for people who prefer to keep their purchases private.

I know the intention is to protect the community, but these changes seem to impact everyone because of a few isolated problems. I hope there might be a way to address fraud without placing such heavy requirements on the majority of trustworthy members.
 
Well to create a for sale post takes plenty of time so realistically, adding a handwritten note takes maybe 10 extra seconds.

For unlocked sales posts can't both the seller and buyer edit their posts to delete content?

I - think - for a locked post you can at least ask a mod if it can be unlocked for you to add another entry - up to their discretion.
 
evergreensSequoiaseucalyptusandOaks said:
I would like to express some concerns regarding recent procedural changes on BladeForums.

The practice of locking threads restricts members from clarifying statements, correcting misunderstandings, or providing additional information. When these locked discussions remain publicly accessible, it can leave incomplete or misinterpreted comments permanently displayed without the opportunity for revision.

Additionally, the updated selling requirements — including handwritten, dated notes in listing photos — place a significant burden on all sellers. While I understand the goal of preventing fraudulent activity, these measures seem to penalize the broader community for the actions of a small minority. The policy that prevents the deletion of completed transaction threads further limits members’ ability to maintain privacy regarding their purchases or sales.

I respectfully ask that the administration consider whether these rules could be adjusted to better balance security with member autonomy and privacy.


​

As someone who values this community, I wanted to share a few concerns that have been on my mind.

When threads are locked, it becomes impossible to clear up misunderstandings or add context to something you previously wrote. It can feel discouraging when a conversation is frozen in place, especially if comments are misinterpreted or left unresolved. Keeping these locked threads visible without allowing updates can also feel uncomfortable for members who want to clarify their contributions.

The new selling rules have also been difficult for many of us. Requiring handwritten, dated notes in photos may help prevent fraud, but it also adds extra steps for honest, long‑time members who have never had issues. And once a transaction is completed, the fact that the listing and communication can’t be removed makes it hard for people who prefer to keep their purchases private.

I know the intention is to protect the community, but these changes seem to impact everyone because of a few isolated problems. I hope there might be a way to address fraud without placing such heavy requirements on the majority of trustworthy members.
Click to expand...


Are you talking about sales THREADS or sales POSTS?

As far as I know, if a sales thread is locked by the seller, he can unlock it.
If a sales thread is locked by a mod, the seller cannot unlock it.

A sales thread locked by a moderator is probably not going to be unlocked, because the only reason a mod locks a thread is that something about the thread itself is inherently bogus.

It is also my understanding that the OPENING POST in a thread gets automatically locked by the software after 30 minutes. Changes required after 30 minutes can be added in an additional post to the thread. You have 30 minutes to proofread the post. If you later find an issue, report the post and next time a moderator is online, he'll look at it.

Regarding the handwritten note requirement:
Knifemaker members selling items they have made are not required to post time stamps.
Knifemaker members selling items made by others still need to post a time stamp.
Items made by a knife maker are normally unique enough that a scammer won't spoof them. And since a knife maker has a business, we make the assumption that they are smart enough not to use the same account name and password elsewhere. Has not been a problem so far.

As far as your concern that a handwritten note is just too hard. Sorry. You have not had to communicate with the several dozen members who have been scammed on this site. We have. It sucks. The amounts of money lost are not chump change. BF will do whatever we can to protect our members. Deal with it.
 
evergreensSequoiaseucalyptusandOaks said:
I would like to express some concerns regarding recent procedural changes on BladeForums.

The practice of locking threads restricts members from clarifying statements, correcting misunderstandings, or providing additional information. When these locked discussions remain publicly accessible, it can leave incomplete or misinterpreted comments permanently displayed without the opportunity for revision.

Additionally, the updated selling requirements — including handwritten, dated notes in listing photos — place a significant burden on all sellers. While I understand the goal of preventing fraudulent activity, these measures seem to penalize the broader community for the actions of a small minority. The policy that prevents the deletion of completed transaction threads further limits members’ ability to maintain privacy regarding their purchases or sales.

I respectfully ask that the administration consider whether these rules could be adjusted to better balance security with member autonomy and privacy.


​

As someone who values this community, I wanted to share a few concerns that have been on my mind.

When threads are locked, it becomes impossible to clear up misunderstandings or add context to something you previously wrote. It can feel discouraging when a conversation is frozen in place, especially if comments are misinterpreted or left unresolved. Keeping these locked threads visible without allowing updates can also feel uncomfortable for members who want to clarify their contributions.

The new selling rules have also been difficult for many of us. Requiring handwritten, dated notes in photos may help prevent fraud, but it also adds extra steps for honest, long‑time members who have never had issues. And once a transaction is completed, the fact that the listing and communication can’t be removed makes it hard for people who prefer to keep their purchases private.

I know the intention is to protect the community, but these changes seem to impact everyone because of a few isolated problems. I hope there might be a way to address fraud without placing such heavy requirements on the majority of trustworthy members.
Click to expand...
I'm sorry, did you actually just state "Writing a small note for my listing photos places a significant burden on all sellers", and mean it unironically? Just looking for clarification, thanks!
 
knarfeng knarfeng - “It is also my understanding that the OPENING POST in a thread gets automatically locked by the software after 30 minutes. Changes required after 30 minutes can be added in an additional post to the thread.”

That doesn’t appear to work. It doesn’t matter to me, just saying. Both title and opening post appear to be editable long after 30’, and sellers routinely do so.
 
I will be honest, it is harder to sell on Bladeforums than anywhere else, and though I'm a long-time paying member and this is still one of maybe three sites I habitually look at all day, it is harder, mainly because of the limits of forum software. On Facebook I can rapidly upload pictures and video directly to the site. Here, I have to use an intermediary file host, and it takes a while. Sometimes it hardly seems worth it, especially given the state of the resale market these days.

But selling as a private individual is just a feature of the forum and not its main purpose. If I were a knifemaker with a hosted forum I might feel differently, but several makers do quite well with most of their presence being here, so it must not be that much of a burden.
 
Even if it was locked immediately after posting, there are ways to mitigate the issue. You can write your post in a word processor, double or triple check it and then cut and paste it into a new post. Easy and no mistakes to correct.

That said, I see edited posts all the time since posters can go back and delete the prices.

Since BF does NOT take a percentage of each sale, you can hardly make the argument that the hand written note is a huge burden.
 
madcap_magician said:
I will be honest, it is harder to sell on Bladeforums than anywhere else, and though I'm a long-time paying member and this is still one of maybe three sites I habitually look at all day, it is harder, mainly because of the limits of forum software. On Facebook I can rapidly upload pictures and video directly to the site. Here, I have to use an intermediary file host, and it takes a while. Sometimes it hardly seems worth it, especially given the state of the resale market these days.

But selling as a private individual is just a feature of the forum and not its main purpose. If I were a knifemaker with a hosted forum I might feel differently, but several makers do quite well with most of their presence being here, so it must not be that much of a burden.
Click to expand...
FB is also had the most scams. People are constantly making new/fake accounts and getting people to pay with unprotected methods. You'll even get series of them giving each other "vouches" to look legit. There is no protection there.

BF has more rules/requirements so is harder to get scammed. It is easier than reddit, but reddit also has better protection. If you think BF is hard, lolol never try knife swap on Reddit.

Ultimately it's a series of decisions on tradeoffs between protection and ease. Protection adds burden.

If we're giving opinions I'd say BF still leans too far towards ease. (Easy for me to say not being the owner or a mod.)
 
At one point we were all working with PayPal G&S and fraud was well in check. Then the Biden tax scheme started up and our effort to get everyone on the tool faded. It doesn’t help that PayPal often has issues with gun and knife transactions. It’s not ideal, but it is what we have come to, and it helps to keep the fraud claims down.

N2s
 
Just for clarification it was my understanding that you could no longer remove photo's or close a sales listing when posting in any other sales forum other than knifemakers, such as "Individual" "Old Timey" etc. Manufactured Knives, maybe this is not the case - this is what my main concerns were ~ people appreciate their anonymity and sellers and customers do not appreciate a listing stuck in space for eternity ~ also when making a request being the creator of a thread in and around the "Water Fountain" if the creator foresees the outcome of being unconstructive and requests the post to be deleted, would believe it is the "governors" of this site and obligations to do so" for the best outcome of a community, not to simply disregard the request let it escalate words and opinions be thrown around and then when they see fit close and only then locking it - without simply deleting it in the first place ~ this is seen more than not on here as well ~ this doesn't build friendships it divides and separates community ~ and friendships even possibly ~ think this is bad practice ~ thank you everyone ~ just something to consider ~
 
evergreensSequoiaseucalyptusandOaks said:
I would like to express some concerns regarding recent procedural changes on BladeForums.

The practice of locking threads restricts members from clarifying statements, correcting misunderstandings, or providing additional information. When these locked discussions remain publicly accessible, it can leave incomplete or misinterpreted comments permanently displayed without the opportunity for revision.

Additionally, the updated selling requirements — including handwritten, dated notes in listing photos — place a significant burden on all sellers. While I understand the goal of preventing fraudulent activity, these measures seem to penalize the broader community for the actions of a small minority. The policy that prevents the deletion of completed transaction threads further limits members’ ability to maintain privacy regarding their purchases or sales.

I respectfully ask that the administration consider whether these rules could be adjusted to better balance security with member autonomy and privacy.


​

As someone who values this community, I wanted to share a few concerns that have been on my mind.

When threads are locked, it becomes impossible to clear up misunderstandings or add context to something you previously wrote. It can feel discouraging when a conversation is frozen in place, especially if comments are misinterpreted or left unresolved. Keeping these locked threads visible without allowing updates can also feel uncomfortable for members who want to clarify their contributions.

The new selling rules have also been difficult for many of us. Requiring handwritten, dated notes in photos may help prevent fraud, but it also adds extra steps for honest, long‑time members who have never had issues. And once a transaction is completed, the fact that the listing and communication can’t be removed makes it hard for people who prefer to keep their purchases private.

I know the intention is to protect the community, but these changes seem to impact everyone because of a few isolated problems. I hope there might be a way to address fraud without placing such heavy requirements on the majority of trustworthy members.
Click to expand...
All the effort that Spark and our long suffering mods have put in to reduce/stop scamming you want it all reversed??? :rolleyes:

You are the only person who has complained about this. If you don't like it exercise your right to do your sales elsewhere.
Maybe Facebook or Reddit suits you better. But no doubt when you get ripped off by one of their many scammers you will be back here bitching and moaning about it. 😑
 
evergreensSequoiaseucalyptusandOaks said:
Just for clarification it was my understanding that you could no longer remove photo's or close a sales listing when posting in any other sales forum other than knifemakers, such as "Individual" "Old Timey" etc. Manufactured Knives, maybe this is not the case - this is what my main concerns were ~ people appreciate their anonymity and sellers and customers do not appreciate a listing stuck in space for eternity ~ also when making a request being the creator of a thread in and around the "Water Fountain" if the creator foresees the outcome of being unconstructive and requests the post to be deleted, would believe it is the "governors" of this site and obligations to do so" for the best outcome of a community, not to simply disregard the request let it escalate words and opinions be thrown around and then when they see fit close and only then locking it - without simply deleting it in the first place ~ this is seen more than not on here as well ~ this doesn't build friendships it divides and separates community ~ and friendships even possibly ~ think this is bad practice ~ thank you everyone ~ just something to consider ~
Click to expand...

You appear to be laboring under the misconception that Bladeforums is a sales trading post first, with a forum attached. In fact, it's quite the opposite. It's a forum first, with a sales area built and granted us by Spark, and policed by his Admins and moderation staff.

Thousands of people on this forum have made plenty of friends just by coming in and being active and participating in all of the sections that have nothing to do with the Exchange, so I'm not sure how locking threads or deleting posts puts a chilling effect on that.
 
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