Morris Minor Owners Club

Would it be possible to make a rule that Classified Ads, especially "For Sale" must include an asking price and the sellers location?There is much frustration at seeing something advertised for sale with no indication of its' whereabouts.Some of the other forums I use have this as a condition and remove any item that doesn't comply.I realise this might mean more work for the mods but something needs to be done.Another idea would be to not allow any advertising at all until the member had made several postings.This would stop the cancers that join purely and simply to advertise to a captive audience for free.Surely the forum is here for enthusiasts?

Don't know if its possible but maybe in the relevant sections when you press "New Topic" a template is brought up which you have to fill certain fields for the post to be advertised?

We check the ads regularly to make sure location/price is present. I have PM'd many sellers requesting more info. Sadly many don't reply for days. We are waiting for the site to be rebuilt as part of the MMOC new computer system and these ideas will be taken into account. As yet we do not have a date as to when this will be installed.

A one off ad may well be what someone here is looking for, I wouldn't be too keen on stopping them. One of the mini sites has this trick up it's sleeve, I wasn't able to advertise some parts that might have been of use to their members. My loss and theirs! Location is another matter, I'm well behind that being a condition, it's hardly controversial.

Irks me to see a genuine forum user advertise his car on here for £3500 to get a new sign up(that signed up on Dec 26th and posted on the 27th then hasnt been on the forum since)asking him if hes interested in a P/EX against his £11500 Range Rover!

I agree, it's a bit rich but the odd clown can be ignored surely, we can't let one or two chancers deny this forum a potential bargain or hard to find part. You never know someone clearing out a garage or shed with no interest in minors might be inclined to post rather than dump stuff, that's how I look at it.

I have suggested the 'asking price' in the past, and surely location is obvious.... But just ignored. It doesn't need a new computer system to put the rule in place - just put it in at the top of the section for all to see! And remove any that don't comply!! The miniforum put in the 'many posts' rule because of a bunch of spurious sales posts - for non-Mini items.

It would be easy for Mods to remove any posts that didn't have a location or a price, but then a lot of members on here would loose the opportunity of buying something they really want which is why we try to chase vendor's for this info.

There's an announcement at the top of the 'Cars for sale' forum, and 'stickies' in both the cars and parts for sales forums, asking advertisers to include their location and price but not everyone advertising here looks at those. Also, some people may not have advertised on the internet before so I think it's a bit harsh to automatically delete their message without first prompting them to include these details. Most comply when asked.

And as for not letting people post adverts without posting a certain number of messages first, there are lots of club members / Minor owners out there who don't feel the need to join in with internet forum discussions. Just because someone advertising on here hasn't posted previously it doesn't necessarily mean that they are less of an enthusiast, or less 'genuine', than someone who has.

Well I suppose it might be looks upon as being too harsh to remove posts for omitting location etc. So to avoid any potential embarrassment to these people, when filling out an advert a location field and price field could be starred as mandatory boxes to be filled before being able to proceed, that would be a better reminder than a 'sticky' message that can just be ignored. I don't think this remedy is beyond the capabilities of officials.

I was simply stating WHY theminiforum had to make it a condition of 'many posts' - they were being ripped by sales adverts of non-Mini items. That doesn't seem to be a problem here - fortunately! However - I do wonder if that rule should be applied to 'Car sales' - to prevent 'dodgy dealers' who may have picked up a Minor coming on here and advertising the car for sale to innocent buyers who think they are dealing with a fellow honest enthusiast.

bmcecosse wrote: However - I do wonder if that rule should be applied to 'Car sales' - to prevent 'dodgy dealers' who may have picked up a Minor coming on here and advertising the car for sale to innocent buyers who think they are dealing with a fellow honest enthusiast.

But the number of messages someone has posted isn't necessarily an accurate indication of whether a seller is a 'fellow honest enthusiast' or not. I've bought two Minors advertised on here by people who had not previously posted here, both of whom were honest enthusiasts and club members, not 'dodgy dealers'. The best way to find out whether a seller is 'honest' or an 'enthusiast' is to speak to them, rather than make assumptions based on the number of messages they've posted.

I'm not suggesting every 'low poster' is a dodgy dealer - but there have been some around !

LouiseM wrote:The best way to find out whether a seller is 'honest' or an 'enthusiast' is to speak to them

Doesn't always work!

I bought a gearbox from a supposed 'honest ,fellow enthusiast' locally -( with over 5,000 posts to his name) - it turned out to be faulty, and despite an agreement at the time of purchase for a refund if faulty, and numerous promises that I would be refunded, that was the last I saw of my money

ps Anyone want a faulty gearbox

Are you saying hes a forum member?If so I think the majority on here would appreciate the details if only to save a similar occurence.Could there maybe be some misunderstanding?If not I suppose a trawl through the members list of 5000+ posters would do it?As long as their location is on here.

XWL61 - There is a 'sticky' in the For sale forums providing guidance of what to do in the case of disputes between buyers and sellers stating:

In the event of a dispute not being resolved please contact the site moderators to make them aware of the issue rather than post details on the messageboard.

So if you haven't already done so please contact one of the moderators to provide details. Thank you.