I caught a glimpse of an exchange over in the classifieds that got the gears turning again.
This happens more than we would like. Sometimes I want to wade into a FS/FT post and throw my .02 in there, not to be "mr know it all" but to keep someone from buying something that it IS NOT what it is listed as.
In my opinion, most inaccurate item descriptions usually come from shear ignorance of the OP. He buys or trades into something he knows little about from an either equally ignorant or deceptive seller to begin with.
You first have to decide, does this guy really just "not know" or is he trying to take advantage of someone? I look at OP's feedback and it's double digits positive, then I figure ignorant probably fits. If he was a snake in the grass he would probably not have double digit positive feedbacks.
Next is: Do you want to get involved? How do you get involved?
This is a two edged sword that I usually try to avoid altogether by not commenting or attempting to educate the OP concerning items and/or inaccurate descriptions.
90% of the time, I tell my myself, it's buyer beware and we are all grown folks. It's up to the buyer to do the homework before purchase.
The other 10% of the time I will send a PM to the OP being as nice as possible and "offer my opinion". This can be sketchy too, as I am an expert in very little on this planet. However there are certain types of firearms that I am intimately familiar with and will occasionally be able to say with confidence that ___________ is/is not correct.
Now, my belief that inserting this into an active FS/FT thread is NOT the way to go. PM the OP; you will get one of two reactions generally:
a) YOU ARE WRONG STAY OUT OF MY BUSINESS
b) I appreciate you telling me this and I'll research it a little more.
One that I felt I "had" to get into was on another site where a guy posted a Norinco AK-47 for sale for a nice <high>price. Only in his pics it was home built Romy G kit that was put together with machine screws. Now is there anything wrong with a home built kit with machine screws? No, sir. I've built one myself and it was a fine rifle. But what the OP listed was NOT a norinco in anyway shape, form or part.
I felt I needed to "warn" potential buyers that this was not what it was listed at.
I posted in the OP thread that it looked like a screw-built Romy G kit and what was in the photograph was NOT a norinco.
When he posted a nasty reply I PMd him and told him whoever sold him that as a Norinco did not know what they were talking about.
Well, he said it was and it got nastier. I ended up PMing a Mod and asking them to remove my posts in the guys thread. I got a warning about that for commenting on the guys stuff. It also turns out that the Mod I spoke had told the OP via PM (before I did) the exact same thing I did. OP didn't want to hear it from the Mod, either.
This is the two edge sword I was talking about:
Right here on the ODT I've had this happen several times but the last one is the freshest in memory:
I had an M44 or two for sale; a Mosin Nagant M44. In good shape these have been running 200+ lately.
I had several well meaning members PM'd me and tell me the reason my rifle was not selling was because you could "buy them all over the place in crates for $99.
If this gets posted in the thread, it makes other people look at it and say, you know that Billrube guy is trying to gouge people with his prices.
There was no malice intended by the posters and they thought they were educating me. After I returned the PMs with lengthy responses, pointing out the differences in the models of Mosin Nagants. Most of the responses were: "oh OK...I didn't know that".
But if they had made their original post in my thread, the damage is done.
So back to the point. When (if ever) should one get involved in thread to "correct" someone's in-accurate listing?
My opinion: if you have to offer an opinion or education to the OP, keep it private. If you really believe someone is being deceptive on a scale that merits intervention, ask a Moderator about it before you do anything.
Occasionally the OP will ask for opinions in his post; to me this opens the door and there's nothing wrong if you give an opinion when asked by the OP.
Buyer beware...it's on the buyer to do his homework before buying...
Anybody else have thoughts on this?
This happens more than we would like. Sometimes I want to wade into a FS/FT post and throw my .02 in there, not to be "mr know it all" but to keep someone from buying something that it IS NOT what it is listed as.
In my opinion, most inaccurate item descriptions usually come from shear ignorance of the OP. He buys or trades into something he knows little about from an either equally ignorant or deceptive seller to begin with.
You first have to decide, does this guy really just "not know" or is he trying to take advantage of someone? I look at OP's feedback and it's double digits positive, then I figure ignorant probably fits. If he was a snake in the grass he would probably not have double digit positive feedbacks.
Next is: Do you want to get involved? How do you get involved?
This is a two edged sword that I usually try to avoid altogether by not commenting or attempting to educate the OP concerning items and/or inaccurate descriptions.
90% of the time, I tell my myself, it's buyer beware and we are all grown folks. It's up to the buyer to do the homework before purchase.
The other 10% of the time I will send a PM to the OP being as nice as possible and "offer my opinion". This can be sketchy too, as I am an expert in very little on this planet. However there are certain types of firearms that I am intimately familiar with and will occasionally be able to say with confidence that ___________ is/is not correct.
Now, my belief that inserting this into an active FS/FT thread is NOT the way to go. PM the OP; you will get one of two reactions generally:
a) YOU ARE WRONG STAY OUT OF MY BUSINESS
b) I appreciate you telling me this and I'll research it a little more.
One that I felt I "had" to get into was on another site where a guy posted a Norinco AK-47 for sale for a nice <high>price. Only in his pics it was home built Romy G kit that was put together with machine screws. Now is there anything wrong with a home built kit with machine screws? No, sir. I've built one myself and it was a fine rifle. But what the OP listed was NOT a norinco in anyway shape, form or part.
I felt I needed to "warn" potential buyers that this was not what it was listed at.
I posted in the OP thread that it looked like a screw-built Romy G kit and what was in the photograph was NOT a norinco.
When he posted a nasty reply I PMd him and told him whoever sold him that as a Norinco did not know what they were talking about.
Well, he said it was and it got nastier. I ended up PMing a Mod and asking them to remove my posts in the guys thread. I got a warning about that for commenting on the guys stuff. It also turns out that the Mod I spoke had told the OP via PM (before I did) the exact same thing I did. OP didn't want to hear it from the Mod, either.
This is the two edge sword I was talking about:
Right here on the ODT I've had this happen several times but the last one is the freshest in memory:
I had an M44 or two for sale; a Mosin Nagant M44. In good shape these have been running 200+ lately.
I had several well meaning members PM'd me and tell me the reason my rifle was not selling was because you could "buy them all over the place in crates for $99.
If this gets posted in the thread, it makes other people look at it and say, you know that Billrube guy is trying to gouge people with his prices.
There was no malice intended by the posters and they thought they were educating me. After I returned the PMs with lengthy responses, pointing out the differences in the models of Mosin Nagants. Most of the responses were: "oh OK...I didn't know that".
But if they had made their original post in my thread, the damage is done.
So back to the point. When (if ever) should one get involved in thread to "correct" someone's in-accurate listing?
My opinion: if you have to offer an opinion or education to the OP, keep it private. If you really believe someone is being deceptive on a scale that merits intervention, ask a Moderator about it before you do anything.
Occasionally the OP will ask for opinions in his post; to me this opens the door and there's nothing wrong if you give an opinion when asked by the OP.
Buyer beware...it's on the buyer to do his homework before buying...
Anybody else have thoughts on this?
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