Change needed at Audiogon

This thread will soon drop off the "New Today" page. I would like to thank everyone for their thoughtful replies. I believe that a few of the readers didn't quite "get" my first sentence regarding NON-MEMBERS & HOTMAIL. That is my complaint. The verified status I spoke of was simply an attempt to raise the comfort level of everyone involved.

That being said, it comes as a surprise the ability to become verified is a U.S.-only opportunity. The only reason I would not sell to Jeffloistarca is that I don't have a clue about the trappings of taxes, duties, extra shipping fees and the like. Other threads posted here detailing packages held for customs inspection only make me more nervous of international business. If Audiogon wishes to become an international site a method of verification world-wide will need to be implimented. With only a few pieces of personal gear to sell I have decided that the possible grief is not worth the risk of selling international.

I got slammed (in a polite way) by several Hotmail users who are members. Once again, it is the NON-MEMBERS that I was complaining about.

It was just last fall when I made my first purchase here at Audiogon. Prior to contacting the owner of the items I purchased I first registered and in my email I explained that this was my first attempt here at Audiogon to purchase goods and assured the seller of my genuine interest in the products. Perhaps it's just me and my sense of being polite but I figured that this fellow didn't solicite directly to me and since I was, in a sense, invading his email inbox that I ought to take care with my correspondence.

This world is made up of folks that over-communicate, under-communicate and everthing in between. Personally, I tend to favor the over-communicate method. I recently got an email from a life long friend with this being the email text in it's entirety:
Pat,
I bought a Jag today.
Bill
Well, being a car guy I assumed it was a Jaguar and wrote back asking what model and year it was. He replies that it's a Cataraft. How was I to know? I'm not a mind reader.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that (leaving the malicious people out) without the privelidge of face to face negotiations we, as buyers, have a moral obligation to provide a minimum ammount of information to the seller. I sense that some of the posters here wouldn't agree with me on that one and would counter that it's the sellers lot in life to deal with it. That's true. Once it's (an email) in your inbox you must deal with it in some fashion. I don't believe it's unreasonable for users of this site to register. That's Audiogon's call, not mine. It's my choice to use this site or not and I will continue to do so because it's the finest site of its' kind on the planet.

Thanks again to EVERYONE that posted. This is a wonderful group of people with opinions as varied as our systems. It's interesting to note that every poster here IS a member...........

Happy listening,
Patrick

I too have been frustrated by non-member inquiries, but I also have sold some things to non-members. I have had members ask questions that are already answered in the ad, so I don't think closing the site to non-members is a solution, unless you want to limit your customer base. I know it's frustrating, but that's all part of selling. I'm also sure that, on occasion, I've asked a dumb question or two myself, or missed something already stated in an ad. I do like the "verified buyer" idea, but be cautious of a labeling process that is accomplished by the use of a credit card and the submission of the personal information of the card holder. The amount of stolen credit card numbers out there is overwhelming. Imagine, if you would, an e-tailer's files being hacked, and all of the personal and credit card information for card holders stored in their computers now accessible to criminals. The card holder doesn't know his card is being used because it's still in his or her wallet. If the purchases are small (such as ad purchases), the card holder may not notice these charges for some time. This isn't a fantasy. It's already happened to several internet businesses that I know of.

The use of feedback has always been my guide to a seller's or buyer's integrity. But now there has been a number of stolen identity cases where a username with excellent feedback is high-jacked and used to post a fraudulent auction. There is an article about it on Cnet, if you're curious. Education is the best protection for judging buyer and seller integrity. There is a wealth of information at www.theauctionguild.com, www.fraud.org, www.nw3c.org, and www.ifccfbi.gov. Read and be familiar with all of the warning signs for internet fraud, and the tactics used by criminals to accomplish it.

Lately I've seen a couple of threads bashing Audiogon for one thing or another. I don't mean to imply that this was the purpose of this thread. Quite the contrary, this seems like constructive criticism (and ranting:)). But I would just like to say this about Audiogon: Having recently been involved in investigating internet auction fraud, I have found that Audiogon is a site where your safety from these characters is a primary concern of theirs. They are very supportive and communicative. I haven't had the same response from other audio or auction sites. There was a time not long ago when the entire first two pages of one audio site was nothing but bogus ads. It took weeks for them to pull these ads after being notified. In the meantime, someone was victimized. It seeems like some of these sites won't pull ads or remove members until an actual fraud has occured, regardless of the evidence of the ad being fraudulent beforehand. Audiogon is the ONLY site I have worked with that is proactive with this type of fraud. As far as settling non-fraud related problems, they also initiated a dispute resolution process soliciting member feedback that no other site has. Even though everything can be improved upon, I think Audiogon is the best sales site for audio equipment, and is the only one I will now use.

Sorry if I got off the track a bit. I had to rant some as well. By the way, I have a Hotmail email address. Where do I turn myself in:)?

Okay, I'm going to swallow hard and appologize to the Hotmail users. It's the anonymous non-members that get my Nubian Goat. I'm sorry. Any Hotmail users want to accept my apology?
Patrick

I think Audiogon already has a "verified buyer" program. I'm sorry to hear about your negative experiences. I have not personally had experiences like this.

I also "verify" buyers by discussing audio with them. It's fun and clarifies their real level of involvement with the hobby.

Art

I accept it, but no need to apologize. I read your previous post, and just mentioned it for fun. Didn't mean to rub it in.