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Change needed at Audiogon

Dear members,

I don't know how others feel about stupid inquiries from non-members about items for sale but I will no longer even bother to answer them. I take great care to word the ads as accurately as possible and include enough photos to properly show the listed item. I also try to be realistic with pricing.

I certainly don't mind being asked to soften my price or to do something a little special for an interested party. But when I list the item as being sold only in the U.S., including original box and manual, and the price is firm with the buyer paying for shipping and then an UNKNOWN person with a Hotmail account asks if I will ship to Canada, lower my price and inquires if the equipment includes the original box and manual I get angry. Can't these people read??

As a verified member I would like to see the owners of this website make two changes. We sellers should ONLY receive emails from registered users that have a REAL email address. I don't mind a buyer's real identity being hidden from me during the initial correspondence but feel strongly that Audiogon should know who they are. I would also like to see Audiogon institute a verified "buyer" service for a reduced fee. I know, as a seller, if a buyer were verified I would take even the lame inquiries more seriously. A verified buyer fee could be quite low and upgradeable to full verified status for the monetary difference.

The benefits would help everyone have a little more confidence with each other. It would provide an influx of revenue to Audiogon. It would save all the sellers the grief of crank inquiries.

I want to close this rant with expressing how much I value my association with the fine folks that provide this service and the community involved. All of my sales and purchases through this site have left me feeling that I have made friends. It's just a few anonymous jerks that need to be filtered out.

Feel better now,
Patrick
lugnut
angela100
435 posts
 
Lugnut, first of all, this reply is in no way meant to address you personally or directly. You have brought up a point that has been discussed many times here in the past.
So my reply is to all of those discussions, not yours in particular.

The way I see it, if we have something for sale, we'd like lots of people to see the ad and that gives us more of an opportunity to sell it. These discussions have taken place by folks many times before, usually when they have just gotten one too many emails asking the same stupid questions. IMHO, that's part of the deal when we choose to sell our gear on line - I think we just have to deal with it.

I don't believe that this site is here to protect us, it is simply a vehicle for us. It is our own responsibility to know who we are dealing with and make our own choices.

The proposal to close off emails, bidding, communication to ONLY members feels WAY too snobby and too isolated for me and I for one, don't wish the site to go that route.
There are people everywhere that are either having a bad day or just don't read all the detail, but that's just the way it is. If we can't deal with it, then we probably should get out of selling gear on line.

just my two cents,
aj
lugnut OP
1,190 posts
 
Angela,

I respect your position. Perhaps I should have done a search before posting this thread. In any event, it's hearing peoples opinions that help me wade through the many variables. I don't agree with your characterization that Audiogon is not here to protect us. They have my credit card number, email address and home address which is protected. They also have some sort of resolution process for disputes which offers a certain amount of protection. It's just a matter of how much protection that is offered. I agree that if one can't stand the heat to simply get out of the kitchen but the owners of this site have implemented features that were discussed here in the forums. At least nobody is getting bent out of shape on this particular topic.

Marakanetz,

The verification process is one in which the billing address of your credit card matches your physical address. It at least shows that a person isn't doing business out of a P.O. Box.

I'm going to drop out of this and absorb the input. I thank everyone for their views.

Patrick
sean
6,231 posts
 
Glen and Angela, is it possible that we were triplets separated at birth ??? We seem to be sharing the same thoughts. One way to tell might be to find out if we all have something in common genetically. Let's try this: I don't have a hairy back. How about you Glen and Angela ? : )

Marakanetz, verification involves a credit card. They charge you a small amount and run it through. This verifies your billing address. I can't remember if there is something posted about this somewhere or not to list alternative means of verification. Sean
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glen's avatar
glen
714 posts
 
I never realized that non-members could bid at an auction. Is this true? I've never had one at any of my auctions that I can remember anyway.

One negative thing I can say about non members is they can't leave feedback on a transaction. DANG!!!

As far as the verified member thing goes, I like it. True, a good scam artist could minipulate it but for the most part it's a nice feature.
angela100
435 posts
 
Sean, no hairy back here and I LOVE margaritas! Ring any bells?
Lugnut, thanks for your reply and thoughts and thanks for being open to other ideas and ESPECIALLY letting me know where we intersect and don't.

Bottom line, here's how I see it for moi
At the end of the day, I am the ONLY one that really cares about my a$$ and I keep that in mind every day in every way. No co-dependency here (or at least I really try to keep it that way).
cheers,
aj
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