Imposing a post limit before being allowed to sell?

[guest3040]

I've noticed a few people signing up on here purely to sell something.
I personally don't think this is a good thing, one of us could end up getting ripped off.

Would it be a good idea to impose a post limit that people would have to reach before allowing them to sell items on here?

[Garyman]

Have to agree with Steve.

Most forums have a certain criteria before members are allowed to access and post on the Classified sections.

Saying that, as long as seller and buyer disclose their full details (full name, contact numbers, address etc), then neither party should lose out- but guess thats just common sense really.

[RichardA]

This is something I'll have to look into.

[chrisc]

And you have to figure whether they are genuine sellers of scam artists.  In SA, Gumtree is a hotbed of scam artists, forgers and crooks.  Many people have been conned into letting people drive their cars, been held up in their homes by not exercising common sense when dealing with strangers

[RichardA]

OK, I've figured out how to add post-based forum permissions (don't tell anyone I have an IT-related degree! ). There are now two member groups:

New Member - Anyone with less than ten (10) posts
Approved Member - Anyone with ten (10) or more posts.

To post a new topic in the Classifieds (For Sale/Wanted) forum you must be an Approved Member. To become an Approved Member, you must have at least ten (10) posts, excluding posts in the Moderation Forum. This will happen automatically when you pass that threshold.

Please do not circumnavigate this restriction by posting your adverts as replies to other poster's topics.

At present there are no restrictions in allowing New Members to post replies to topics (and therefore 'buy' goods) in the Classifieds. We could in the future introduce an intermediate group (for those with between 5 and 9 posts for example) that can buy in the Classifieds but not sell. I'm willing to reconsider this should there be demand to do so.

[RichardA]

And you have to figure whether they are genuine sellers of scam artists.  In SA, Gumtree is a hotbed of scam artists, forgers and crooks.  Many people have been conned into letting people drive their cars, been held up in their homes by not exercising common sense when dealing with strangers

I had a hit-and-run accident with a uninsured driver last year. Knowing I had his registration number he put his car up for sale on Gumtree the next day, in spite of him not having the V5C for the vehicle as it wasn't registered to his address.

What is the V5C?

The V5C, commonly known as the ‘logbook’, is a certificate that is issued when a vehicle is registered with the DVLA. The V5C is sent to the registered keeper who is the person responsible for registering and taxing the vehicle. This may not be the owner of the vehicle.

The information it shows includes:

- vehicle registration number
- vehicle keeper’s name and address
- other important information about the vehicle (the make, vehicle identification number (VIN) and number of previous keepers)

The V5C is not proof of ownership as DVLA records keepers and not owners. While the V5C doesn’t prove ownership you shouldn’t buy a vehicle without one.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/BuyingAndSellingAVehicle/RegisteringAVehicle/DG_189329

[guest3040]

Nice one Richard.

I find it really annoying that some people only sign up to sell something.
The 10 post limit sounds about right.

[Garyman]

I would say more but that's just me

[chrisc]

When I get to sell something I'll include the air-ticket!  My neighbour is the GM for British Airways operations in Cape Town and gets lots of perks which are sometimes passed on to me.  Eg:  Pay for a economy class ticket and go business class.

Good on yer, Richard for this idea.