Criticism of Forum Members - Warranted or Unwarranted?

[Bruce]

I have to agree with Jerry and others the TM Forum is full good and ethical collectors sharing advice. But there are some dark and dank corners out there with unethical members waiting to crawl out of their hole and cause a disturbance.

I am not a great buyer or seller. I tend to pay too much for items and don't sell items for any thing that could be referred to as profit. I am a collector who likes the hunt and to restore my prizes, but my boss ensures that I sell on occasion to prevent falling into her definition of a hoarder. So when I do sell items I am always amazed at how many people are simply rude and on occasion say or do things that ruin it for other buyers.

Almost every craigslist seller whom I have dealt with has a story of being harranged by other potential buyers, who were upset that I already made a deal and they were just being vexatious. Some sellers have been so upset that they did not want to ever sell anything that way again.

I like to follow the principle of "always treat everyone the way you would like to be treated", even if that means you do not get the deal. I hope that if nothing else we on this forum can spread that message and at least among the phonograph collectors there is some minimum standard of behavior.

Bruce

[Benjamin_L]

I've been a member for more than a year now, and I only have the most positive remarks for the forum and the members.( I've practically given up Facebook for this as my major social media.) My fellow members here are only the greatest/nicest collectors around. I've never had a bad reaction with all my silly posts.

I was a little wary of joining for just starting out, but everyone was so welcoming and helpful. So I think a lot of it is unwarranted. I eavesdropped awhile before I made an account, and the only major dilemma/irritation for everyone was the British men who shall not be named. Which I think that situation made a lot of people a little critical to the forum and some members.(But that's just my opinion from what I understand.)

[startgroove]

In my 40 years of phonograph collecting and talking with fellow collectors, I have heard at least a hundred times about the fantastic deal a person got on a phonograph. To me, part of the thrill of the collecting is finding something that was priced under market value, especially a scarce piece.

As to informing a seller that they are under pricing something could be an attempt to be a good Samaritan, or it could be a malicious act to prevent another person from getting a good deal, or it could be a selfish way of protecting an investment someone has made in a similar item.

I would never inform a seller that they are priced wrong. I'd rather let the market go where it will. Influencing the market value by that method is just plain wrong in my mind.

Offering a higher price to a seller who has already committed to a sale has two issues for me. 1. I've heard of collectors in my area doing that, and I've heard other collectors in my area talk about how unfair it is. We know who it is, so they are on the list of "not to be trusted". It may not be illegal to make offers in that manner, but it is unscrupulous in my opinion. (No wonder some collectors feel they have to play their cards "close to the chest"!) 2. The seller is also unscrupulous in this instance, and may be liable in a legal sense. To me, when a seller commits to a sale, they are bound to go through with it (barring circumstances where the buyer would agree to back out). For a seller to respond to another offer after the sale price is agreed upon, is just as much the seller's fault as anyone else.

[phonogal]

I have contacted sellers on CL that have listed an item for sale with a listed price to ask if the item is still available only to have them tell me that they have had a lot of interest and the highest offer so far is ? more then the asking price and would I like to make an offer. I just tell them "no thank you". I definitely owe one forum member on this board a debt of graditude after he talked me into purchasing a very nice phonograph after I had noticed it on CL and listed it on the board. I called the seller and he agreed to sell it to me. I had to travel quite a distance to pick it up the next day. In the mean time, someone else contacted the seller and offered them more than twice the amount. I was very lucky the seller honored our agreement. I want to think there are many more honest and helpful members on this forum then the other type. I don't know how many times I have purchased things from members that have listed something for sale in the Yankee Trader section and had them mail the item out to me before they even receive my payment. And since I'm a collector on a modest budget, I have to find those bargain buys if I want to add something to my collection. IMHO the hunt is part of the fun. If you could just buy whatever you want that might be fun in the short term but, you would soon tire of it.

[Valecnik]

I had lunch will a collector friend recently. When I mentioned the Forum he immediately became critical of Forum members in general. He said it is common for collectors to see a craigslist item that is priced really low so they do one of two things. If the item is a long distance away they contact the seller and suggest that they raise the price. If the craigslist item is close they will call in hopes of making a purchase. If it's sold they might offer more money to help get the seller closer to market value for the item.

Would you ever call a craigslist seller and inform them that their asking price is a fraction of the true market value?

If you called on a craigslist item and were told the item was promised to a buyer, would you make a higher offer and justify that by saying you are helping the seller get closer to real market value?

Any comments would be appreciated. Jerry Blais

Rarely have I seen anything on CL at a fraction of it's value. Much more common is the Silvertone or Victrola VI for $5000 or some crazy amount. I think what you may be describing Jerry is a collector taking things a little too seriously. I've contacted sellers many times only to find out the item is already sold. Oh well can't own it all.

[Talkophone]

How about a forum member. I was trying to sell an item and a fellow member said mark it sold. I did and a month later I still haven't been paid for the item. Not even man enough to say he didn't want the item any more. Won't answer PM.


Larry Strong

[Hailey]

Pertaining to the "good samaritan" mentality...so, it would be safe to say that when you pick up your Craigslist purchase, or are the winning bidder on eBay or at a live auction, or you choose something at a tag sale, and in any of those cases you won your phonograph item at 15 % of it's true value, that, because you are a good samaritan and you would be inclined to do this if you noted something on Craigslist that you are unable to compete for by making your call to the owner bringing it to their attention that the item is way underpriced, that you would do the same honor by forking over the difference between the bargain amount you paid and what the true value is on your own purchase??

I didn't think so.

[JerryVan]

To answer both the original questions;

1. No
2. NEVER!

[stevenhman]

Well this has me reconsidering all the Craigslist posts I make in case some knuckleheads start harassing the sellers! Although I was able to scoop up some nice items and send them on to a forum member.

I would never do any of the things your friend mentioned Jerry. I have been on the receiving end of some attempts at CL 'bidding wars.'

Apparently I missed out on quite a bit of drama regarding a local club. It looks like the drama has passed, but I wasn't able to make it to the meeting and see for myself.

I've had 90% good experiences with forum members. The other 10% I'll chalk up to something I did which I can't seem to pinpoint, nor did the other party care to explain further. Some forums have a 'Vendor Feedback' section which has worked out well, but at times can require some heavy moderation.

[marcapra]

I found this example of an Edison Opera for sale way below market value. I was tempted to call and tell them to raise the price, But I fought it off.

https://www.amazon.com/1911-Cream-Ediso ... B00LGZA23S