Things that annoy and bug us in the Exchange forum

[The Fort]

Votes are in! Great idea, Gary!

 

[jimmyd1982]

One more pet peeve of mine are sellers that don't use PayPal. I always skip those.

 

[Steven65]

Gary all the above irritate me. However I am now at the point where when I see a sales thread without the correct info, proper pics, clear payment terms, shipping details etc......I just move on. It is laziness and sloppiness and a portent of things to come.

If a seller can't be bothered to put the necessary info and pics into the thread, what else will they not bother to do or tell me in the completion of the sale? Life is too short......move on!

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Good addition guys, and I understand the problem when people don't accept paypal, I'm one of those guys, but just never wanted to get mixed up in on line finance like that, so for many years now it's been US Postal Money orders and I see a lot of people are taking those too. So if I lose on a sale or miss a sale because of that, that's the way it goes.

Old fashioned plain and simple, just ask my kids, they'll tell you
G2

 

[SpySmasher]

All of those are slightly irritating but I find that they can be corrected by asking questions and being proactive in communication. If I have to ask for pictures or something, so what?

The only one that really bugs me is the F&F. I dislike it on ethical grounds and that, for better or worse, sticks in my craw.

 

[Barman1]

My guess is that the reason this poll/thread hasn't gained the traction it deserves is that every selection on the poll is annoying to most of us.
If it were titled as "what bs annoys us the most", fill in the blank...
We'd break the forum.

 

[Lapedog]

I've seen several threads about problems and issues that people are just upset about, so, that made me upset to see so many people upset, it's contagious sometimes so I wondered just how big an issue is it and one way to judge that is having a poll.

These are not all my issues, lord knows I have many, but just from things that I've seen recently. You will be able to select multiples, so it is not limited to one choice.

Warning to keep it civil, best to just cover the main problem and not personal problems and keep it clean, so it stays visible and not moved from here.

G2

Can’t fault you on not packaging the knives you sell well.

You went totally above and beyond when sending me that Katsu framelock!

 

[Gary W. Graley]

My guess is that the reason this poll/thread hasn't gained the traction it deserves is that every selection on the poll is annoying to most of us.
If it were titled as "what bs annoys us the most", fill in the blank...
We'd break the forum.

Good idea
G2

 

[RayseM]

OK I'm in

No particular order - I voted for all on your list.

• No photos - providing links to other hosting sights or WORST - "email for photos"

• Stupid big photos. Don't show the knife bigger than it is. Enlarged close ups of the actual knife does not do the knife justice or enhance the thread...

• On the other hand Not providing close up details photos showing real
conditions of user knives.

• Not providing any specs. - like we are all supposed to know. Are you asking me to google it? Bloody hell, damn'n blast ! (Just sugar coating my sentiments on this one )

• NET to me sales

• F&F sales

• Not providing feedback. I am now in the habit of sending a follow up email after I know the knife has been received and ASKING for feedback, providing the link to the sale thread, and offering a brief tutorial on how to proceed. Only have been stiffed about 3 times.

• Knives shipped in envelopes - padded or otherwise - especially - especially when not in a box in the envelope.

• Other carelessly prepared shipping packages - fortunately I have missed real bad ones. I guess I have been lucky to buy from caring intelligent people.

• Finally one more photo gripe - bad color rendition. Is the knife green or black? Are the stag scales white or yellow. I would like to say - "if the color doesn't look right to you it's not right" BUT my brother is color blind and the laughs we have had over this help me to be more patient and understanding - Still - I have been disappointed on this score

• AND - drum roll please - last but at #1 on my list Offering incredibly beautiful knives that I can't afford.

Oh well... Hope this thread serves to educate. Thanks Gary, for asking.

Ray

 

[madcap_magician]

I've ranked these in the order I find them annoying.

1. Using Friends and Family as a payment choice: Auto-ignore, especially if of the "Net to Me" variety.
2. Not including a price or details in the sale thread: This is dumb and annoying but usually a quick fix with regard to price. If it were just price, this would be last on the list, since people do occasionally forget to put that in the thread, and a quick reply to the thread fixes it. But insufficient or inaccurate details about item condition are the worst. A knife is not LNIB if it has been used. Your description should include whether you are the original owner- you can't sell a knife as NIB if you are the second owner. You should clearly describe what you've done with the knife- did you open the packaging and flip it open a few times? Did you cut a few envelopes? Did you baton it through a steel I-beam? You should clearly describe its condition. Does it have snail trails? Has the edge been touched up or reprofiled? Are there voids in the carbon fiber, scuffs on the G10, scratches on the blade or pocket clip?
   
3. Poor packaging: This one is blessedly rare for me but is a potentially critical failure. Knives should ship with some padding in boxes with all the seams taped with shipping tape. Fixed blades without sheaths should have tactical cardboard sheaths made and securely taped. Padding can be crumpled paper, bubble wrap, etc, but should fill the box and prevent significant movement of the knife. Ideally knives should ship in their original boxes or pouches inside the actual mailing box.
   
4. No feedback left, even after I provided feedback: This one goes with #4. I don't have a ton of transactions since the feedback system was put in place. If you have a good transaction with someone who has low numbers of transactions, you should always leave feedback, because some people won't deal with people who don't have a a certain number of positive feedback reports.
5. No communication after a sale: This goes with #3, but is very annoying because I seldom put knives up for sale without wanting that money for a specific purpose, and if I don't hear from a buyer the same day USPS says the package was delivered, my terms of payment say I have to escrow the funds for three days after delivery in case the buyer is unhappy. That's the best system I've come up with, so that it's clear that I don't want to hear your complaints in three months after you've monkeyed with the knife, but will be responsive for buyers who are unhappy when they receive the knife.
6. Not having your own photos in a sale thread: I won't buy anything I can't see. I don't mind a ton if photos are posted later, or if I have to post a request for pictures in the thread. But I'm not e-mailing you for pictures.
7. Not changing the title of the sale thread after the item is sold: This is no big deal as long as it's marked SOLD someplace readily visible, although the best practice is to edit the thread title, if the original post has SOLD prominently featured or the last post in a short sales thread by the OP says SOLD, not the end of the world.
   
8. Not putting several knives into one thread aka dumping in the sales area: There is one member who is grossly offending at this and sometimes has an entire page of threads he has bumped from the grave of just his sales threads that should be consolidated by subforum. But since it's just one guy, not the end of the world.
9. Not being able to see who is on line and looking at your sale thread: I never used this feature, but it would have been handy.
10. Chatting in a sales thread, but not buying: Seldom annoying because it seldom rises to the extent of clutter. Would be more annoying in higher volume or in a thread that has a lot of knives for sale simultaneously with a lot of replies, but even then, minimally annoying.

I find that a lot of these things are related, and generally if I see more than one of the things on this list, I am likely to see at least one or two more during the course of the transaction.

The overwhelmingly worst thing on the Exchange is the "Net To Me" variant of Paypal Friends and Family. It's a passive-aggressive way to encourage F&F transactions that doubles down by making people who want to do the right thing actually calculate the seller's price for him or her. You should not have to calculate a price, much less down to cents. The seller should have a price tag for everything all inclusive. If shipping is extra due to package size, destination, or special insurance, the cost should be posted.

I would add "posting a sales post with pics to be added later."

This one is not just annoying but also stupid on the part of the seller. FSOT threads get buried so quickly that if you put it up without pictures and add them the next day, you're probably on the second or third page of thread results already, and a lot of people have passed yours by.

 

[RayseM]

^ Well said Here, Here!

Ray

 

[blanco112]

This one is not just annoying but also stupid on the part of the seller. FSOT threads get buried so quickly that if you put it up without pictures and add them the next day, you're probably on the second or third page of thread results already, and a lot of people have passed yours by.

I would agree except where I see this most are with collectible items like GEC or some Chris Reeve. I don't play when that happens so I haven't quite figured out if it's mostly deliberate laziness ('it will sell anyway so I don't have to bother with pics') or dishonesty and not wanting to actually show condition. I'll never forget the thread where guys were fighting to buy a GEC and not only were there no pics the seller wasn't clear on what he was selling. In all these cases I actually blame buyers though for being too zealous to get the next best thing and not holding sellers accountable.

 

[GermanyChris]

I'm not e-mailing you for pictures if you can't be una$$ed enough to figure out how to post pictures how am I supposed to trust you with packaging, proper postal, insurance, or any other thing.

The rest of the list doesn't bother me much

 

[RayseM]

Here's a perfect example of an annoying sales thread - TO ME .
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/wr-custom-wyvern.1582406/

Guys got 3 feedback - selling a nearly $ 4,000.00 knife - 1 photo, foreshortened view of the blade and that's it, with no specifications as to blade length or steel type. .

I wouldn't buy a $ 100.00 knife with that degree of limited info. Yeah, I know - I can just pass on it - and so I will - just sayin'.

Is this bad form to link to a guy's sale thread? Sorry - I won't do it again .

Ray

 

[madcap_magician]

Here's a perfect example of an annoying sales thread - TO ME .
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/wr-custom-wyvern.1582406/

Guys got 3 feedback - selling a nearly $ 4,000.00 knife - 1 photo, foreshortened view of the blade and that's it, with no specifications as to blade length or steel type. .

I wouldn't buy a $ 100.00 knife with that degree of limited info. Yeah, I know - I can just pass on it - and so I will - just sayin'.

Is this bad form to link to a guy's sale thread? Sorry - I won't do it again .

Ray

I would agree. Single photo is not always a killer, but single photo that does not actually show the whole knife definitely is. "Net to me" violator. No description of use or provenance. A $3,850 knife should certainly have a lot more photos and description than that. A used $100 Spyderco PM2? Maybe not. But a $3,850 custom? Uh, yeah.

 

[Yonose]

I have always tried to leave positive feedback when due, but have never been able to figure it out, without starting a new thread in gb&e and I apologize to those sellers I haven’t given positive feedback to.(which is most)

 

[RayseM]

I have always tried to leave positive feedback when due, but have never been able to figure it out, without starting a new thread in gb&e and I apologize to those sellers I haven’t given positive feedback to.(which is most)

Not that difficult but not intuitive either with the new BF format. Here you are:

1) Go to the sale thread.

2) Copy the URL of that thread - this part in the bar at the top of the page https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...e-exchange-forum.1578452/page-2#post-18076082

3) You will see under the avatar of the seller Rating numbers ADD FEEDBACK - Click on that.

4) You will now be on the feedback page for that seller/buyer. Here just follow the prompts - starting with pasting the copy of the URL into the designated space. Fill in the info as requested and you will be done in 30 seconds.

Your sellers and you will appreciate the effort.

Ray

 

[Gary W. Graley]

A lot of good tips for new and old users in the Exchange forum !

G2

 

[mr2blue]

I hate to guess the blade steel. It seems people assume you know everything about the knife they are selling.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

That's a good one and sometimes I am lacks about filling in all the info myself, falls into the I expected them to know a well known knife but there may be people that are not familiar with all the products out there, steel is pretty important these days!
G2