Proposed Changes in Swap Forum Rules

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by Lew

As for posting an asking price for a sale items. I belong to a few other collector sites and they are pretty clear on this matter you must post a price if you are selling an item. So if these other forums use this rule why is it such a big deal here? Btw email addresses should be optional IMO.

Gav

Since you are a dealer which one of the purposed rules do you have issues with?

Lew,

Rules are rules and I have no problem with rules, dealer or not if they be put in place, they must however be clear.

My initial thoughts were expressed to Lee and I am sure here has bought them to the table internally as I have seen one point expressed above.

I'm pretty easy going Lew, my philosopy is simple, what comes will come, what stays will stay and what goes will go. The rules may come the rules may go, thats life, but saying that, I like all things to be equal and everyone to be on an even playing field in a shared enviroment, I am like that and very fair with my own employees in my own role as a State Business Coordinator for a large rail company, no one has the upper hand and we all share the same open office plan, nothing is hidden.

What is the definition of a dealer by the way? Is it some one who makes their living out of dealing? I ask cause that aint me. Mine is a hobby, I buy and sell and have a point of sale for the benfit of others to find what they want and to grow my own personal collections, nothing more, it doesn't line my pockets or build me ivory towers.

Look what has happened with the Keris swap forum, sure there was a need to do something but now Keirs swap has dried up, people don't bother. IMHO the people being the issue in the Keris forum should have been handled, not the Keris swap forum, it 'appears' to benefit no one but the moderators now.

Is there a need to do something about the ethno forum? Obviously or there wouldn't be this discussion going on. Tell us what the issues are , this makes proposed change easier to deal with for some I am sure.

I feel that after seeing the keris swap 'die' in 'absolute' rules, this ethno swap might too. If the people are an issue, talk to the people and get a resolution, if dealers post to often in a style thats not to taste talk to them, if single sellers (who I still call a dealer depending of frequency) are bumping to much to often talk to them.
The issue I see in these proposed changes is not seeing the clartiy of the 'whys', the full picture. Is there dealer or Ebay resentment out there? I don't know? Is there? I know I do a lot for free for a lot of people here and they are the only ones who see this, recently I helped ISPN dispose of his Dha to a non member, nothing for me. Will I take an interest in the swap forum and the other people within its pages if I am closed out because I have a website, probably not, just another step closer to the keris forum in my eyes and others I know. Will I be missed in the swap forum, I think not. Will it bother me? Not really. Will I continue to converse in the forum pages, of course, life goes on.

But I put to you Lew as a moderator rep;
Why the proposed changes? The full picture.
What are the becauses behind the proposed changes?
Most of all, what are the expected benefits from the proposed changes? To change anything there must be a benefit???

Originally Posted by David

Is the swap forum really a major reason for anyone to visit these forums? Isn't it the intensive and well-informed discussion of ethnographic weapons which, AFAIK can't be found at this level anywhere else on the Internet? The swap forum was originally begun to allow our collecting members a way to dispose of items they no longer wanted and offer them to other collecting members who might have a place in their collections for such an item. It was never intended to be a clearing house for dealers or a place for competitive auctions.

I am confused about this reasoning. Naming a price in no way means that the seller cannot settle for a lower price in negotiation with a buyer or decide to trade with a potential buyer if the buyer offers a piece that interests the seller. It does set the price that the seller expects and keeps the swap from becoming an auction house with competing bidding. It also give a potential swapper an idea of the value of the piece in the seller's eyes and some idea of what might be an acceptable item to offer in swap to the seller.

It has always been a problem to discuss particular items that are currently up for sale or auction. I believe the same would be true of captured images if the item is currently up for sale.
In terms of regular dealers making people aware of their websites, websites can always be posted in a member's profile page. Perhaps dealer members could have a dealer designation on their avatar so that other members would know to look in their profile for their websites. As for updates, i would assume that active dealers are always updating their websites and that interested parties would check in from time to time anyway.

Originally Posted by David

Well Gav, i did a bit of that in my post #13, to which no one seems to have responded to other than other moderators.

David,

I do see part of the picture expressed about where it was and were it is, this is nice to have it suggested. If these are the reasons at to why this is proposed great, spell it out loud and clear, put a sticky in the swap forum and monitor it. Too easy.
For me points 1,2,5 all good but points 3&4 all good too but the statements are non clear proposals. I have trouble getting my head around the word 'may', too vague. What is it? It either will or it wont, this is my question about the use of this word 'may' in points 3&4. Answering this may add a little more clarity. The rest of the content I see as just 'what to do' notions not why reasons.

Gav