Sorry, but no more Group Buys.......

[maxcom]

new rules in the For Sale/Trade forums.......and it's about time

 

[fragarific]

I don't know if this is good or not, I will find out and report back.

 

[dcdomain]

What happened with the other group buys that caused the ban???

 

[xtreme2k]

why not?

 

[heat23]

total [edit]ness

 

You think banning group buys is a good thing?
Why would you say that.
Its all about getting the best stuff for the best price.
I dont see how that contributes to the spirit at all.

 

[John]

Group buys should have been banned a long time ago. Glad to see the MODs finally cracking down on it.

 

[TuffGuy]

why not?

that sucks...

 

[fake]

I've never participated in one, but why are they banned? Seems like a good thing to me as long as people handle them correctly..

 

Whats the reasoning behind that?

Because big sellers lose money?

Any personal feelings on that?

---

The answer to your question is in our announcement in FS/T.

AnandTech Moderator

 

[heat23]

i can see how some group buys are a bit risky...
the person is collecting money and stuff but is unsure how many of a product he can get and stuff...

but theres nothing wrong with the group buys ive been doing for ink jet cartriges...
when i get enough interest from people, i start collecting money. then i order it from a reputable vendor and get it shipped to me. then i ship it out to the people
no problems at all

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

There have been problems all the way around. Some members not coming up with money at the time the product arrives and the seller gets pissed. (Except in prepay) On the other hand, a seller says the product is gonna arrive on a date, then it takes a week longer and the buyers get pissed. Hard thing to control. JMHO.

 

[vi edit]

I organized a group buy with about 30 people. We went in on Drive Image Pro. I asked for money up front, placed an order, and had the orders shipped out within 5 days of receiving the software.

A bunch of people walked away with Drive Image Pro for $30. Not bad considering it would normally cost you over $100 if you were to buy it by yourself.

I can see how they could go wrong, but as with any trade, you have to trust both parties. Does anyone know if one group buy in particular caused this to happen?

 

[heat23]

so whats next??
sellers can only sell 1 thing at a time?
no selling open hardware, only retail shirnkwrapped stuff (to prevent warranty problems and defective parts) ???

 

[fir3wir3]

well...group buys have been banned because people ruined it.

They're too risk for the AT forums to except responsibility for

think about it...
a troll could trade for a few months...getting enough positive feedback for people to trust him...and then he could do "group buy for 75gb IBM Hard drives..only 250 shipped" or something....and certainly he'd sell at least 20 which means he just stole 5000 dollars.


on the other hand...even if the person has honest intentions...imagine if the wholesale source or whoever decides they cant make good on their deal or they send some bad items and refuse to repair/replace them...the seller isnt going to have a chance to refund all those customers.

just my view anyways

 

[heat23]

why does AT have to accept responsiblity??
they dont accept responsibility for ANY trades that take place here.

i dont think they need to be banned altogether...they could put some restrictions on group buy...or take each one on a case by case basis to allow or not allow a group buy to take place..

how about in my case for my ink jet cartriges group buy... these are $5 items, some $250 ones.. and ive already done 3 of them in the past few weeks with no problem, so why do i have to stop doing that now???
-these are brand new items. no chance of being defective (if they are there is a warranty)
-Ive already done 3 of them and havent ripped off anyone, so clearly my intentions are good
- i get the items from a very big company, not some dude thats a friend of a friend of a friend who MIGHT have 20 hard drives or 10 of them, and have not been tested at all...

 

[Rio Rebel]

I'm glad to see this decision. I can think of several reasons why the mods decided this, including the potential for scamming big $$$, among other things. Also, I am glad to see decisions being made which keep the For Sale forums more of a place where we trade or sell our extra hardware, and less of a place where people profit from big multi-item sales. (I'm not saying you're in that category, Heat. I'm just saying this decision is going in the right direction.)

The law can be a funny thing - just because it makes no logical sense that Anand could be accountable doesn't mean that the law agrees. The scope of some of these deals is just too big.

It's unfortunate that some legitimate and reliable members get caught in the net here, but I think it's a good move.

 

[hpkeeper]

group buys will go on... all they have to do is write, PM me if you're interested or something. they'll still go on. Get great stuff for a cheap price, I got my Voodoo 5 in a group buy... best deal I've ever come across.

 

[heat23]

so your saying Anandtech is responsible for all the trades that go on here??
well then
I WANT MY $75.75 THAT I GOT RIPPED OFF FOR. OTHERWISE IM TAKING ANAND TO COURT

 

[heat23]

RIO:
well thats why im sayin there should be restrictions on group buys, not a total ban...such as a person must have 100+ heatware evals, or must be a platinum or elite member..things like that
will stop the potential problems....

and if they were to keep the ban, how about allowing people who have ALREADY conducted a group buys here to continue doing so. like me, ive already done 3 in the past few weeks with no problems at all. So why cant i continue doing so since ive already proved to be a reliable source for these products.

 

[Hawk]

Heat is right, Anandtech takes no responsibility whatsoever (pretty much). Maybe we can get a "permit" to do group buys? Who knows...more than 50 positive selling heatwares and you can apply? =)

 

[compuwiz1]

It's a very good idea to bar them. There was hoards of potential for some serious loss, even if the organizer has good intentions. Also, IMO people are trying to work off of OPM. (Other people's money) What this means, is they can organize a buy, build some profit for themselves and not have any investment of their own. This is not a always a bad thing, but if a person can't provide the product up front, what kind of contingency reserves does he have, in case he has collected and paid all this money and somthing goes wrong with the supply, or there are warranty liabilities? It's too thin an edge for comfort.
It's just not a good idea.

 

[heat23]

the best thing is the mods to take this on a case by case basis.....
i agree some group buys should never happen...because of the supplier of the products...
like people that are getting some $300 part from some unknown dude somewhere who is selling things "as-is" and and no warranty...


but i really dont think this is fair to me..
i am selling like $5 printer cartriges. and getting them from a large company who even warranties them. ive already sold them here before. so whats the problem??

 

[Hawk]

I feel ya heat, I mean my Radeons aren't $5 like yours, but I don't require people to pool all their money together before I can ship their cards out, but my Radeons have been banned too...oh well...maybe they'll figure something out and we'll be okay.

 

[Windogg]

I got in on a few group buys that ended on a positove not but I guess the dangers have out weighed the benefit. While AnandTech is not reponsible for a scam, the reputation of the forums could be severly damaged. If AnandTech get a reputation as a haven for scam and trolls, it will ruin a good place for legitimate traders to swap goods. In the long run I;m sure it's to everyone's benefit. Of course I would like to see some sort of leeway for a groupbuy when a trader with a sterling reputation has a excellent deal.

Windogg