Hey guys,
I was talking with Jason the other night, and we were thinking about posting a few simple community guidelines for selling and trading on the forums and wanted to get everyone's view on the subject.
One of the things we feel detracts from the spirit of selling items, especially in a collecting community, is posting items for sale without prices.
For example, user ABC posts a list of items for sale, but does not indicate the price he/she would like for them. The would-be buyer then must make offers, hopefully guessing what the would-be seller wants as proper compensation. I feel strongly that this scenario is a no-win situation for the buyer and seller.
What I would propose is that if anyone decides to list an item or items for sale, that he/she must post a price they would accept as the purchase price. This is not to say they can't take offers on the items; in fact, I would encourage the seller to accept offers. If the seller is unsure what to charge, it's acceptable to ask for more than they think it's worth -- this, at least, puts the burden on the buyer's shoulders as to whether or not they'd like to purchase the item.
Think of it as a type of classified ad where the sellers says, "$xx.xx or best offer." The would-be buyer can either take it, leave it, or counter-offer, but at least there's a rough price to base this decision on.
Trades:
I don't see anything offhand that is wrong with how trades are conducted on the site. If anyone has anything they'd like to mention, please do.
I look forward to your thoughts on this subject, as the goal here is to better the community without being too restrictive.
-Dain