This thread is not about the gouging itself, so please don't immediately move it to the pasture without at least considering it.
This is about coming up with some sort of mechanism that gives members at least SOME latitude at "self policing" when there is clearly something shady going on, which I would put blatant price gouging on that list.
I realize that we aren't supposed to post anything negative on someone's listing... that even a popcorn smily gets you a slap on the peepee by a mod.
We have a "like" and "great deal" button. Why CAN'T we have something on the negative side?
We clearly have people price gouging. I understand the "anyone is free to charge whatever they want and if someone is desperate/ignorant enough to pay it, that's the free market at work"...
However, when so many people are now listing things WAY ever retail, it has a lingering effect. It's not a simple case of, if that insane lister lists it at a crazy price, it will sit there and he will either have to come down or have it not sell...
Other people, in trying to decide what their "custom" rig is worth, scour similar listings, and see some truly high prices, and suddenly their Glock that they rattle canned with Krylon is listed at $750...
It makes good deals harder and harder to come by, because each time someone lists something way overpriced, it adds to this false "market value" perception and continues this madness.
An AR pistol that was at DG&P not 4 months ago for under $500 new, being listed used for $2,000? $225 pistols going for $450?
Many of them are "new" members, but you can tell by the wording of the listing that they are senior members with spare accounts, listing them there so that people won't give them heat for price gouging. I would like to not get into flame wars withing the listings and things like that, I get why the mods don't allow it. But there should be some recourse for us to help keep prices and things at least within the realm of sanity, no?
This is about coming up with some sort of mechanism that gives members at least SOME latitude at "self policing" when there is clearly something shady going on, which I would put blatant price gouging on that list.
I realize that we aren't supposed to post anything negative on someone's listing... that even a popcorn smily gets you a slap on the peepee by a mod.
We have a "like" and "great deal" button. Why CAN'T we have something on the negative side?
We clearly have people price gouging. I understand the "anyone is free to charge whatever they want and if someone is desperate/ignorant enough to pay it, that's the free market at work"...
However, when so many people are now listing things WAY ever retail, it has a lingering effect. It's not a simple case of, if that insane lister lists it at a crazy price, it will sit there and he will either have to come down or have it not sell...
Other people, in trying to decide what their "custom" rig is worth, scour similar listings, and see some truly high prices, and suddenly their Glock that they rattle canned with Krylon is listed at $750...
It makes good deals harder and harder to come by, because each time someone lists something way overpriced, it adds to this false "market value" perception and continues this madness.
An AR pistol that was at DG&P not 4 months ago for under $500 new, being listed used for $2,000? $225 pistols going for $450?
Many of them are "new" members, but you can tell by the wording of the listing that they are senior members with spare accounts, listing them there so that people won't give them heat for price gouging. I would like to not get into flame wars withing the listings and things like that, I get why the mods don't allow it. But there should be some recourse for us to help keep prices and things at least within the realm of sanity, no?
