Suggestion for this forum

[Jim Besser]

I was impressed with what Geoffrey Crabb had to say today:

 

Where advice is sought regarding a suitable price or possible value of a concertina, I believe that this would be better placed in the General Discussion Forum and that any advice given should be carefully thought out with due consideration to the overall effect that advice may have.

 

This spurred me to make a modest suggestion about how we should be using this great buy and sell service Paul has provided for us.

 

Perhaps it would be best to confine this forum simply to "for sale" and "wanted to buy" postings.

 

Other topics -- discussions about instruments currently for sale, observations and arguments about the prices of available instruments, scam alerts and the like -- can easily be accommodated in other forums.

 

Paul describes this forum as a "service" to bring buyers and sellers together. For me, at least, it would be best if we confined ourselves to using it in than manner, not as a discussion for anything and everything relating to concertina sales.

[s2maur]

I was impressed with what Geoffrey Crabb had to say today:

 

Where advice is sought regarding a suitable price or possible value of a concertina, I believe that this would be better placed in the General Discussion Forum and that any advice given should be carefully thought out with due consideration to the overall effect that advice may have.

 

This spurred me to make a modest suggestion about how we should be using this great buy and sell service Paul has provided for us.

 

Perhaps it would be best to confine this forum simply to "for sale" and "wanted to buy" postings.

 

Other topics -- discussions about instruments currently for sale, observations and arguments about the prices of available instruments, scam alerts and the like -- can easily be accommodated in other forums.

 

Paul describes this forum as a "service" to bring buyers and sellers together. For me, at least, it would be best if we confined ourselves to using it in than manner, not as a discussion for anything and everything relating to concertina sales.

 

Jim,

 

I quite agree as I have previously posted, ".....my how we do go on in this forum."

[tombilly]

Why? what's wrong with discussing prices of concertinas - that's information that is useful to many people here who might like to purchase instruments. These are relatively expensive instruments in many cases and some are obviously worth more than others for all sorts of reasons. Such debate helps to educate and inform people - what's wrong with that??

 

As far as I perceive, the only people who might be upset by this are those that are seeking to sell - but then maybe they are chancing their arms in some cases and asking overinflated prices? Things do fall in value as well as rise - the graphs always rise and fall...

 

So, are you saying we shouldn't upset the sellers for fear they won't sell?!!

[Jim Besser]

So, are you saying we shouldn't upset the sellers for fear they won't sell?!!

 

No. Upset sellers all you want -- but I am suggesting perhaps it would be best to do it in other forums.

 

This forum originally ran in parallel with a "for sale" listing on the main Concertina.Net page.

 

When it became apparent that all the action was in the forums, not on the main page, Paul and Ken shifted the buy-and-sell focus to the forum.

 

But I believe the intent was the same: to have this as a place where buyers and sellers could list their wares.

 

I'd be interested to hear Paul's views on the subject; it's his site, after all, so who am I to tell him how to run it? I'm incredible grateful for the service, and whatever he wants is fine with me.

Edited December 30, 2008 by Jim Besser

[KerryFrank]

I was impressed with what Geoffrey Crabb had to say today:

 

Where advice is sought regarding a suitable price or possible value of a concertina, I believe that this would be better placed in the General Discussion Forum and that any advice given should be carefully thought out with due consideration to the overall effect that advice may have.

 

This spurred me to make a modest suggestion about how we should be using this great buy and sell service Paul has provided for us.

 

Perhaps it would be best to confine this forum simply to "for sale" and "wanted to buy" postings.

 

Other topics -- discussions about instruments currently for sale, observations and arguments about the prices of available instruments, scam alerts and the like -- can easily be accommodated in other forums.

 

Paul describes this forum as a "service" to bring buyers and sellers together. For me, at least, it would be best if we confined ourselves to using it in than manner, not as a discussion for anything and everything relating to concertina sales.

 

Why NOT use this forum for everything related to buying & selling concertinas? It's a very general title. Maybe have it divided down into more specific sub-forums; such as a "wanted" listing, a "for sale" listing and a "related to" listing. But I think the overview page already does this.

I can peruse the Buy & Sell forum for subjects that might draw my interest. As a buyer, seller and restorer, of vintage concertinas, I'm interested in what current prices are. Who might be interested in a concertina I might have and which buyers & sellers I might want to avoid.

The forum (set up as it presently is) offers a range of specific subjects, all related to the subject of concertina buying & selling. The overview page affords us the luxury of bypassing subjects or reading those that draw our interest. I think any improvements might want to center on those listings that are NOT on the subject of buying & selling of concertinas. (Like the person who had the extremely long listing, for instruments for sale, not a ONE of them a free reed! It appeared someone wanted some free advertising, for unrelated instruments.)

I too am VERY appreciative of Paul providing us a forum to discuss my favorite subject! Concertina.com provides a wealth of information, on vintage concertinas, but lacks the free exchange of member feedback that concertina.net provides. Residing in the US handicaps most concertina players here. (Although there are regions where instruments & repairs are easy to find.) I scoured Michigan and Ontario (Canada) for THREE YEARS, before I found my first, half-decent concertina! This forum, in it's present form, is an invaluable aid to me. I find it neither confusing, nor too inclusive, on the stated subject. Just my opinion, though. <No concertinas, nor concertinists, were harmed in the production of this opinion piece>

[tombilly]

Well, all I can add, is that I've personally learnt lots about concertinas on these Buy&Sell threads. I now have some understanding of the many and various models, various makers and eras, why some are more sought after than others. Why some apparently similar instruments from the same maker vary in value and so on.. I've learnt some about scamming practices and how best to use eBay etc. I've learnt some about the various people here who seem to regularly buy&sell etc.

 

There's a lot more to buying and selling than simply making listings of instruments wanted or for sale. BTW, I haven't bought or sold anything here!!, though I've made a few attempts. I got my Lachenal from Chris Algar.

[david robertson]

Other topics -- discussions about instruments currently for sale, observations and arguments about the prices of available instruments, scam alerts and the like -- can easily be accommodated in other forums.

 

As far as I'm concerned, the eternal vigilance of c-net members in the spotting of e-Bay scams is one of the most valuable features of this forum. On one occasion a year or two ago, one of my listings had been cloned, and naturally enough, my first thought was to post a warning. But when I came to do so, a sharp-eyed member had already beaten me to it! Now I never bid on e-Bay without checking the forum first.

[Dave Prebble]

Let sleeping dogs lie - works just fine I would say.

 

Dave

[Ptarmigan]

Let sleeping dogs lie - works just fine I would say.

 

Dave

 

Hear Hear ...... if it ain't broke, why try & fix it?

 

I tried adapting the format recently & found that there really is no need.

 

Cheers

Dick

Edited December 30, 2008 by Ptarmigan

[Dirge]

Let sleeping dogs lie - works just fine I would say.

 

Dave

 

Me too, it is called a 'discussion forum'.

 

It gives the Anglo boys somewhere to express their outrage at the price of the latest Ebay Jeffries, too.

[Azalin]

I would agree, in theory, that the sellers should be able to list whatever they want at whatever price. The only thing that makes me feel uncomfortable about this is that there are many beginners, new to the concertina world, who might be desperate to get their hands on a good instrument. Even though it should be their responsability to make sure the price is right before buying, sometimes it's not that easy and I feel like we should be able to give a bit of a warning in a "sell" thread for those people who might not have a clue and might make a mistake. I personally would appreciate any comments on a price as a buyer from more experienced concertinists.

[David Barnert]

I don't usually read posts in the "Buy & Sell" subforum. I read this one because of the provocative title and because I know Jim, who started it.

 

Now I wonder what I've been missing...

[d.elliott]

Let sleeping dogs lie - works just fine I would say.

 

Dave

 

 

Sorry Dave,

 

I take a different view, I think the mass of 'opinion' gets in the way of people advertising both 'for purchase' or 'to purchase' instruments. What I find particularly annoying is the 'yipee here's another one on ebay' type posting. If someone can get onto c-net, then they must know how to, and probably do, look at ebay anyway.

 

I rarely look at his forum now, because such a low proportion of the threads relate to members trying to sell or buy concertinas. Furthermore, there is a lot of opinion which is relatively uninformed, if not exactly misleading. There are other areas of the overall forum where general discussion, instrument types & identification, questions on values etc can be addressed on a wider scale and where more expertise may lie.

 

We also need to remember that part of the purpose of this particular forum is to enable a voluntary commissions to Paul, to help financially support the overall concertina.net facility. Again If the 'clutter' is getting in the way then it is defeating that objective as well.

 

I know that my view may not be popular with some members, and for that I am sorry, however this is my personal view on the topic.

 

Oh, and a happy new year to all!

 

Dave E

[Gerry]

I was impressed with what Geoffrey Crabb had to say today:

 

Where advice is sought regarding a suitable price or possible value of a concertina, I believe that this would be better placed in the General Discussion Forum and that any advice given should be carefully thought out with due consideration to the overall effect that advice may have.

 

This spurred me to make a modest suggestion about how we should be using this great buy and sell service Paul has provided for us.

 

Perhaps it would be best to confine this forum simply to "for sale" and "wanted to buy" postings.

 

Other topics -- discussions about instruments currently for sale, observations and arguments about the prices of available instruments, scam alerts and the like -- can easily be accommodated in other forums.

 

Paul describes this forum as a "service" to bring buyers and sellers together. For me, at least, it would be best if we confined ourselves to using it in than manner, not as a discussion for anything and everything relating to concertina sales.

 

Shouldn't this topic be in the "Forum Questions, Suggestions, Help" Forum?

[Warcorrespondent]

I was impressed with what Geoffrey Crabb had to say today:

 

Where advice is sought regarding a suitable price or possible value of a concertina, I believe that this would be better placed in the General Discussion Forum and that any advice given should be carefully thought out with due consideration to the overall effect that advice may have.

 

This spurred me to make a modest suggestion about how we should be using this great buy and sell service Paul has provided for us.

 

Perhaps it would be best to confine this forum simply to "for sale" and "wanted to buy" postings.

 

Other topics -- discussions about instruments currently for sale, observations and arguments about the prices of available instruments, scam alerts and the like -- can easily be accommodated in other forums.

 

Paul describes this forum as a "service" to bring buyers and sellers together. For me, at least, it would be best if we confined ourselves to using it in than manner, not as a discussion for anything and everything relating to concertina sales.

 

On the contrary it has been both insightful and extremely helpful for me, as a potential concertina buyer, to be made aware of scams. The opinion of more experienced concertina players and purchasers is also most valuable. If the information were otherwise embedded in several related forums, potential scammers will consistently exploit the weakness.

[David Levine]

The issue of scamming is very different than a public discussion of the price being asked by a seller. Geoff's point is that we should keep our noses out of other peoples' business. It's one thing to alert us to a possible scam. I think we all approve of that.

It's quite another thing to ruin somebody's sale. What seems a high price to one person may seem appropriately priced to another. In the end it is the market that determines whether or not a price is fair. If a price seems so high that a bystander must say something then I think a private message to the seller would do.

[tombilly]

It's quite another thing to ruin somebody's sale. What seems a high price to one person may seem appropriately priced to another.

 

Ah! but this comes back to my point above - there seems to be a concern about upsetting the seller perhaps at the expense of the buyer.

[Chris Timson]

I'm one of those who like this forum as it is, and I speak as one who has sold, I think it's three concertinas but it may be more, plus a melodeon through this forum. I would always use this in preference to eBay any day, and the chatter that goes on here does not, in my experience, get in the way of the serious business of buying and selling. In fact I think it enhances it by creating a friendly atmosphere. Leave well enough alone, I reckon.

 

Cheers,

 

Chris