As a buyer would you feel better buying and trading with a "verified member?"

[Perthegallon]

Point taken, but why not fix the existing system instead of creating a new one?

Yes so I just mentioned I think something that the buyer can send to a seller to allow for an easy click of the button. (Ovb the seller can access as well if the buyer choose not to)

 

[RedoubtReef]

You're not forced to use any particular company. The rule is that any payment system used must offer buyer protection.

So if I post an ad to sell something and say "hey, pay me thought Gab Pay". We're good?

 

[Cthulukelele]

Point taken, but why not fix the existing system instead of creating a new one?

Considering the banner system already exists, that's a way around it. Some of them are already automated. Having banners like "REEF2REEF ACTIVE SELLER" or "REEF2REEF ACTIVE BUYER" at set levels of review score as both the review submitter and the reviewed party would encourage people to use it. Review 10 purchases, get a banner. Get 10 purchase reviews, get a banner

 

[Kathy Floyd]

I know someone on here already who is 'verified' yet still a scammer.

 

[fishguy242]

Considering the banner system already exists, that's a way around it. Some of them are already automated. Having banners like "REEF2REEF ACTIVE SELLER" or "REEF2REEF ACTIVE BUYER" at set levels of review score as both the review submitter and the reviewed party would encourage people to use it. Review 10 purchases, get a banner. Get 10 purchase reviews, get a banner

"R2R TRUSTED BUYER/SELLER"

 

[fishguy242]

Trust is a big word , must be earned...

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I don't have much skin in the game since I rarely buy or sell here, but anything the mods add will really only benefit folks who sell (or buy) frequently. And for those members, it's pretty easy to look at their post /ad history and determine if it seems safe. As long as a buyer uses the "goods and services" option (or its equivalent), then they are protected. I recently bought something (not from a R2R ad) and asked the seller how much the fees were for g&s so I could add that to the total, simply for the buyer protection.

I think online purchasing has been around long enough, and there are clearly posted rules on R2R; if someone chooses to send $ another way, they are accepting the risk.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Considering the banner system already exists, that's a way around it. Some of them are already automated. Having banners like "REEF2REEF ACTIVE SELLER" or "REEF2REEF ACTIVE BUYER" at set levels of review score as both the review submitter and the reviewed party would encourage people to use it. Review 10 purchases, get a banner. Get 10 purchase reviews, get a banner

So, like ebay. Might as well go a step further and put a "commerce profile" link on everyone's member profile where ratings and comments can be left...

 

[Cthulukelele]

So, like ebay. Might as well go a step further and put a "commerce profile" link on everyone's member profile where ratings and comments can be left...

I do agree with you that for me it's overkill. I only buy from a few folks who I've bought from on and off for years now. I'm mostly just spitballing what I think might be helpful for newer or less active users to feel comfortable spending money and use this place as a resource for buying and selling, and honestly that's probably the same reason ebay includes it

 

[Dave1993]

i'm from the UK so almost pointless to buy on here but if i did i would just tell them to put it on ebay

 

[fishguy242]

dislike the check mark thing , would be nice to see/show you are buying /selling from a trusted person
when that trust is broken , report it. lose your badge ,
sounds simple...

 

[sixty_reefer]

@revhtree, probably won’t be a fair idea to all members, most aquarists that sell on forums are just occasionally sellers that want to pass on equipment that they don’t need or accidentally make new frags during tank maintenance, I feel that those sellers would be in disadvantage over folks who sell often as they wouldn’t have a check mark or a badge of trusted seller and the occasional seller won’t, automatically making them a scammer to many.
I understand the idea as it could benefit some although scammers could easily make several small legit sales to get the badge and not long after that scam someone in the thousands to make it worthwhile. More education on safe and protected methods of payment will always be king for the seller and for the buyer as both can be scammed sometimes not always the seller the scammers unfortunately.

edit: to me a certified seller already has a badge and it’s called a sponsor.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

LOL- By law , these are required voluntary display sources

Only #2 applies in Tennessee. Everyone gets ID'd for Smokes and Alcohol. No "Looks a minimum age" here. But for showing the police.......

Tennessee does not have a stop-and-identify statute, meaning that police can't just ask you for ID out of nowhere. But if they believe that you have committed, are committing or about to be involved in a crime, and have the legal basis to investigate, then they can ask. They must also provide you with substantial evidence that you committed a crime or have been involved in a crime.

Do no crime, be part of no crime, they not getting to see my ID lol.


In regard to this verification thing, I would think that a better rating system or something would be better than verified by a check mark and a third party. To me, it is just another cost, another thing tying up forum resources when we have stuff in place (or are supposed to) for eliminating scammers. The checkmark would just add another thing to deal with and would be the same end result as someone without one scamming someone and then getting banned. Only diff is that someone along the way makes money for a checkmark.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

So if I post an ad to sell something and say "hey, pay me thought Gab Pay". We're good?

No. Because from my research, Gab Pay does not offer buyer protection. It essentially functions like PayPal Friends and Family or unprotected Venmo payment. If they've changed their policies on this, let me know and we can revisit it.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

This seems like a good thread to remind everyone that our selling forum rules already state that:

1) Sellers cannot ask buyers to use unprotected forms of payment. Doing so can result in loss of marketplace privileges altogether (due to the potential risk for scammers to accept unprotected payment and just ghost the buyer, we don't play around wit this rule at all).

2) Any selling fees (other than shipping) must be included in the asking price. Sellers cannot ask buyers to pay extra for protection as this is something that's a cost of doing business.

If someone does either of the above, please report them. We will address it.

Both of the above rules aren't just ours, but also are rules for use of PayPal. If they catch you using PayPal to sell using friends and family option, you can lose your ability to use them.

3) We have a very active marketplace here where tons of transactions are happening at all times. We're always looking for ways to make that experience better and safer (hence, this thread).

 

[mfinn]

In a way it might be good and bad.
One you are paying for the check mark, which I think is way too big. So that's an issue.
The check mark might not be the best thing right now with the recent social media publicity.

The feedback score is kind of muted, being in the list under your name, but it's still there.

 

[Cell]

You could even take it a step further and have different seller levels. This way we could parse new but "verified" (or whatever word you want to use) sellers that you may want to still buy with caution from vs. long established sellers who you don't have to worry about at all.

For example:

Level 1/bronze seller - 10 positive feedback transactions
Level 2/Silver seller - 25 positive feedback transactions
Level 3/Gold seller - 100+
Level 4/Platinum - 250+

 

[sixty_reefer]

You could even take it a step further and have different seller levels. This way we could parse new but "verified" (or whatever word you want to use) sellers that you may want to still buy with caution from vs. long established sellers who you don't have to worry about at all.

For example:

Level 1/bronze seller - 10 positive feedback transactions
Level 2/Silver seller - 25 positive feedback transactions
Level 3/Gold seller - 100+
Level 4/Platinum - 250+

Wouldn’t a gold and platinum sellers be considered comercial sellers? And therefore be encouraged to pay a fee by becoming an official commercial seller on the forum as by the forum rules.
The sales forum is normally considered a privilege from being an active contributor member and not to be used for commercial purposes that’s why I find the hole idea out of place, to me giving someone a badge for selling stuff is encouraging folks to sell more and just use those that have the mark/badge in a way listing them as comercial sellers

 

[Cell]

Wouldn’t a gold and platinum sellers be considered comercial sellers? And therefore be encouraged to pay a fee by becoming an official commercial seller on the forum as by the forum rules.

I'm not familiar with the guidelines for what a hobby seller vs commercial seller is on this forum but the sales numbers to hit certain levels could certainly be adjusted to fit just hobby sellers.

 

[sixty_reefer]

I'm not familiar with the guidelines for what a hobby seller vs commercial seller is on this forum but the sales numbers to hit certain levels could certainly be adjusted to fit just hobby sellers.

Any seller that has a continuous supply of the same item could be considered one and normally those folks would be the ones going through the trouble to become “certified” to generate more sales.

edit: all forums have similar rules, here’s the R2R rule’s

Selling/Trading Forum Rules - Please Read Before Posting

Selling Forum Rules The sales forum on Reef2Reef is available to members that have been a member for 30 days and have 25 meaningful posts (A meaningful post will involve more than saying things like "nice tank" or "I agree." Something meaningful will often be sharing one's knowledge and...

www.reef2reef.com