Lack of emails coming back from the OGR for sale forum.

Yes. I've had that happen quite a bit. You email a seller, sometimes multiple times, and either he never checks his email, or else just doesn't bother to respond, even to a direct question. It's very discourteous.

Have to agree...had it happen twice....still like the forum.....

I have had  guys curse me  for selling the item to the first person who responded and paid. 

If you curse at me you have lost the right to ever buy anything from me.

Dave

Although it hasn’t happened to me yet (I am sure it will someday) I agree with everyone above but I think the title of this thread should be: Lack of emails coming back from Forum Members using the OGR For Sale Forum. The way it is titled now I thought OGR wasn’t returning emails. 

This is why I'd like to see us be able to respond directly to the seller here on the Forum.  That way, if you tell the seller you're interested and want to buy his item, the whole world can see it.  You and everyone else can clearly see if and when an item is no longer available.  You're not left hanging, wondering whether or not the seller got your e-mail....did he even read it....did it accidentally go into his SPAM filter.  It's all right there on the Forum....who responded first, Who wants to buy it, etc. etc.  It's all fairly transparent.  (Just an opinion.  )  Admittedly, even if we could respond on the Forum, a seller can always say "Oh another guy e-mailed me off-line just before your post. "  There is no perfect system.

I you want a quick, reliable response, call or text.  I always give my number in my for sale posts and 99% of the time, the deal is made via text. If you don't have a cell that is capable of text or don't want to post you're number on the forum....well all I can say is get with the modern times. No one is going to steal your number here or sell it to marketers. It's 2018....email is old technology. instant message, text...there are many other ways to get a hold of someone than email.

Do you know for sure your email went through to that person??? No you don't  

david1 posted:

I have had  guys curse me  for selling the item to the first person who responded and paid. 

If you curse at me you have lost the right to ever buy anything from me.

Dave

Dave your absolutely correct.
I started this thread and if a seller (like yourself) states that it has been sold it is sold, no questions asked and at least you contacted that person with the sold info.
For me it is easier to move on as there is so much out there and a item will usually come up again.

Laidoffsick posted:

I you want a quick, reliable response, call or text.  I always give my number in my for sale posts and 99% of the time, the deal is made via text. If you don't have a cell that is capable of text or don't want to post you're number on the forum....well all I can say is get with the modern times. No one is going to steal your number here or sell it to marketers. It's 2018....email is old technology. instant message, text...there are many other ways to get a hold of someone than email.

Do you know for sure your email went through to that person??? No you don't  

Good idea, I will add my cell phone number to my profile page for text/calls.
My Land line is already listed from the beginning and never never had a problem.

I wish that all posts in the for sale forum could be set within Hoop.la to automatically self-destruct after some period of time like say 48 hours.  If the item sold, the listing disappears. If it's a dead listing, it disappears. When it's bumped, it disappears. When people reply directly on the forum, it disappears. Problem solved. With this scheme, sellers must prove they have a pulse and take positive action to maintain their listings.

I hate it when I list something and it doesn't sell.

superwarp1 posted:

I hate it when I list something and it doesn't sell.

I hate it when I can't buy something that's overpriced

GregR posted:

I wish that all posts in the for sale forum could be set within Hoop.la to automatically self-destruct after some period of time like say 48 hours.  If the item sold, the listing disappears. If it's a dead listing, it disappears. When it's bumped, it disappears. When people reply directly on the forum, it disappears. Problem solved. With this scheme, sellers must prove they have a pulse and take positive action to maintain their listings.

I had a new in box including shipper Villa with lot that I got no response for until 5 weeks later, sold all.
With that I might of been lucky or a person did a search for the items, sent a email if they were available, then sold them. So cutting all out could be a problem, plus you can always do a search to see what a items is being sold at to set a fair price. The originator of the post can always delete it if they choose to do so

RonH posted:

GregR posted:

I wish that all posts in the for sale forum could be set within Hoop.la to automatically self-destruct after some period of time like say 48 hours.  If the item sold, the listing disappears. If it's a dead listing, it disappears. When it's bumped, it disappears. When people reply directly on the forum, it disappears. Problem solved. With this scheme, sellers must prove they have a pulse and take positive action to maintain their listings.

I had a new in box including shipper Villa with lot that I got no response for until 5 weeks later, sold all.
With that I might of been lucky or a person did a search for the items, sent a email if they were available, then sold them. So cutting all out could be a problem, plus you can always do a search to see what a items is being sold at to set a fair price. The originator of the post can always delete it if they choose to do so

I resemble that remark.  And Ron’s villa isn’t the only item I’ve purchased by searching old listings.

I am willing to make up for most all the deficiencies listed above.

Here is an ad  https://ogrforum.com/topic/lionel-for-sale-3

If you email me at the address in my profile, I will certainly tell you if an item is available.  If you want it, I will also hold it for you while your payment arrives.  If the item has been promised already,  I will be glad to let you know if the first buyer backs out.

Some months ago I did have a member who emailed me that they "might" be interested in some items (for about half the price).  The next day I got an email from a different buyer saying they wanted the stuff for full price plus shipping.  I gave them my address and sold the items.  For two weeks I got hate mail with bad words from the "might be interested at half price" person saying they had first call on the items.  I disagreed.  "I want it" trumps, "I'm thinking about it or might be interested" everytime for me.  The same thing goes for items at train shows.  It is rare that I will take an item off the table and then only long enough for you to get to the ATM.

As for pricing, if you don't like the price, make me an offer.  Most of the sprung truck cars I think are priced in the range of the cost of the sprung trucks.

I am glad the posts don't automatically go away, because I have also sold some items way after I thought the ad had floated into the history books.

This forum can't be all things to all people.  Just enjoy it and be glad we're free in this country and have some spare change to spend on these toys.

If you don't like rules, you can always take your train and go home. I have bought and sold a lot of items on this forum following the rules and the sun still comes up in the morning.

John H posted:

If you don't like rules, you can always take your train and go home. I have bought and sold a lot of items on this forum following the rules and the sun still comes up in the morning.

Can I get an AMEN???

If you sell something edit your post and mark it sold!!

Better yet, if there are no replies, you can delete it yourself. You'll get an A+ from the moderator for that one.

For some reason the search function never works for me, I can't even find my own ads with search.  Its probably me

Hi Clem, I searched for sale ads by you and came up empty.  So either 1) you tell your wife you're trying to sell stuff and really don't or 2) you don't exist and considering it's Halloween that's entirely possible or 3) nope, sorry I'm out of ideas.    

Farmer_Bill posted:

Hi Clem, I searched for sale ads by you and came up empty.  So either 1) you tell your wife you're trying to sell stuff and really don't or 2) you don't exist and considering it's Halloween that's entirely possible or 3) nope, sorry I'm out of ideas.    

 

That first one made me laugh out loud.

My growing pile of boxes will make it difficult to try that excuse with my wife.

No reply means Sold.

Mikey

No reply also means rude. It's not like you have to put a stamp on and walk all that way to the mailbox.

I must have missed the replies for a Chicago & Northwestern F-7 AA set Lionel shipped a few years ago.  Still looking for it.  I should check my junk mail.  Seriously, my experience has been favorable for the most part.

Thank you farmer Bill....I have three or more for sale ads and a couple of wanted. Thats one of the reasons bumping got out of hand. If you could just type in what your looking for in the for sale forum only or wanted only, it wouldn't matter what page your ad was on. Only what your looking for should come up not something that is kinda related.

If I'm looking for Weaver UP 4 bay hopper in the for sale  forum, only that should show up not what somebody's train looks like, not a real train and not Mr. Hopper. 

John H posted:

No reply also means rude. It's not like you have to put a stamp on and walk all that way to the mailbox.

thats the world we live in! how many people actually call you back when you leave a message these days????

clem k posted:

For some reason the search function never works for me, I can't even find my own ads with search.  Its probably me

Farmer_Bill posted:

Hi Clem, I searched for sale ads by you and came up empty.  So either 1) you tell your wife you're trying to sell stuff and really don't or 2) you don't exist and considering it's Halloween that's entirely possible or 3) nope, sorry I'm out of ideas.    

 

Here is a link for Clem's For Sale ads.

Here is the Wanted to Buy.

Go to Advanced Search, then change "Everything" at the top to "Forums".  You can then choose which forum you want to search.  I have it spit them out in date order, but you can also do relevance (not sure what effect that has if searching by the specific sub-forum and your forum name only, since they will all be just as equally relevant.; ) )

I did not exclude replies in this search, but if you click the links and then Hit the link that says "Show Search Query", you can deselect that checkbox.

As to your much more specific search (Weaver 4 bay UP hopper), I would probably just search with the terms weaver and hopper in the "contains all of these words" field.  Anything more and you may be excluding based on different ways of writing the same thing.  Depending how good the search is, it may or may not know the difference between UP and U.P., or 4 bay vs. 4-bay vs. four-bay, but you would probably want to see as many as possible and not care how the seller wrote it.  Just hope they spelled Weaver and Hopper correctly in their listing.

-Dave

mikey posted:

No reply means Sold.

Mikey

"No reply" = rude, unless the listing header is clearly marked "sold".  Someone took the time to reply, so it's only right to spend a few seconds to respond.  How long does it take to hit reply, type "sorry, sold", and hit send?

Does the forum have a policy for suspending / banning members who send abusive emails to another member?

On a non-train forum of which I'm a member, it allows people to add a rating and feedback comment regarding buyers and sellers, and the rating is displayed under the user's name.  Really helps with identifying the miscreants on both sides of the transaction.  Too bad it's not turned on here.

Thank you DAVE45681

Clem

railbear601 posted:

Thought I would chime in with my 3 cents.  I am guilty sometimes of not answering an email.  It is very sad when several people answer one of my ads and never follow through with a check or I do not want it after all.  People write to me and just give me an email address and want to the know the cost of shipping.  For me to give you a shipping price, I most go to the post office which is 4 miles away and have the item weighed to make sure it is not too big for U S Post Office Standards.  It takes several emails to seal the deal on an item AND I have never made a cent profit on my trains because KIDS are not interested in trains and many people on this forum are inquiry only.  Then I have the people who tell me they will offer this amount of dollars for my item.  If you read the rules and guidelines of this forum it states -- THIS IS NOT AN AUCTION SITE.  Enjoy your trains   railbear601   

DAVE45681 Thank you for your input.

I totally agree as I have sold items too. If one thinks the price is to much they should just move on.

It does take some work to find the lowest cost of shipping and I usually add the insurance on the item and do not charge the buyer for this. It makes me feel better that all will be protected.

I as a buyer would never try to offer a lower price. Sometimes I would wait and the seller may drop the price, if not I keep looking. There is a lot of trains out there.

Do you fellas understand that this forum is for suggestions about things that we can change in order to do something different for you? All this talk about for sale forum emails falls on the seller, not us. We can’t change how sellers respond (or don’t respond) to for sale posts.

You’re just preaching to yourselves with all this.

railbear601 posted:

Thought I would chime in with my 3 cents.  I am guilty sometimes of not answering an email.  It is very sad when several people answer one of my ads and never follow through with a check or I do not want it after all.  People write to me and just give me an email address and want to the know the cost of shipping.  For me to give you a shipping price, I most go to the post office which is 4 miles away and have the item weighed to make sure it is not too big for U S Post Office Standards.  It takes several emails to seal the deal on an item AND I have never made a cent profit on my trains because KIDS are not interested in trains and many people on this forum are inquiry only.  Then I have the people who tell me they will offer this amount of dollars for my item.  If you read the rules and guidelines of this forum it states -- THIS IS NOT AN AUCTION SITE.  Enjoy your trains   railbear601   

Before I list an item for sale, I box it up (all packing materials, but unsealed), take it to the post office self-service machine, and enter a zip code for the farthest point in CONUS.  This gives me a worst-case shipping cost that I factor into the asking price - keeps it simple.

And re this not being an auction site - that simply means you can't ask for the highest offer without setting a selling price.  There's no prohibition on making a lower offer, and it's unreasonable to expect that a sale between private individuals won't involve some negotiation.   Personally, I won't lowball someone, but if the asking price is within about 20% of what I'm willing to pay, I see no problem in making an offer.  And if I get an offer I don't like, it's easy to just say no.  

"No reply" should be a few things before it means that it's sold.  What's worng with it is..

....hey, I'll tell ya later.

Mallard4468 posted:

railbear601 posted:

Thought I would chime in with my 3 cents.  I am guilty sometimes of not answering an email.  It is very sad when several people answer one of my ads and never follow through with a check or I do not want it after all.  People write to me and just give me an email address and want to the know the cost of shipping.  For me to give you a shipping price, I most go to the post office which is 4 miles away and have the item weighed to make sure it is not too big for U S Post Office Standards.  It takes several emails to seal the deal on an item AND I have never made a cent profit on my trains because KIDS are not interested in trains and many people on this forum are inquiry only.  Then I have the people who tell me they will offer this amount of dollars for my item.  If you read the rules and guidelines of this forum it states -- THIS IS NOT AN AUCTION SITE.  Enjoy your trains   railbear601   

Before I list an item for sale, I box it up (all packing materials, but unsealed), take it to the post office self-service machine, and enter a zip code for the farthest point in CONUS.  This gives me a worst-case shipping cost that I factor into the asking price - keeps it simple.

And re this not being an auction site - that simply means you can't ask for the highest offer without setting a selling price.  There's no prohibition on making a lower offer, and it's unreasonable to expect that a sale between private individuals won't involve some negotiation.   Personally, I won't lowball someone, but if the asking price is within about 20% of what I'm willing to pay, I see no problem in making an offer.  And if I get an offer I don't like, it's easy to just say no.  

I do the same thing for ebay; I wrap it and box it but do not seal it until sold. I like to include a copy of the seller's name and address in case the package gets separated from it's label. It's never happened but you never know.

After weighing I select zip code 90210: easy to remember and it's clear across the country from 08753 - NJ. That tells me  the max shipping cost.

You should always know the shipping weight when you are selling something for two reasons: you can tell the buyer upfront and you will not have any surprises at the post office. I've made that mistake before.

FORMER OGR CEO - RETIRED posted:

Do you fellas understand that this forum is for suggestions about things that we can change in order to do something different for you? All this talk about for sale forum emails falls on the seller, not us. We can’t change how sellers respond (or don’t respond) to for sale posts.

You’re just preaching to yourselves with all this.

Have you considered turning on the feature for giving a feedback rating and comments about buyers & sellers? 

I've seen such a feature on other sites, so I'm assuming it's an option on the package that OGR uses.  I don't know how they keep it from being abused, but it seems to stay on point. 

This forum works very well as it is, and the moderators do not need any more police work. "Abusive email"? Delete it and block the sender. "No reply" seller? Ignore any more posts. We are "mature" adults; we should be able to deal these problems ourselves without having to have someone else do it for us. Remind me again as to how much we pay for this whole thing.

Mallard4468 posted:

Have you considered turning on the feature for giving a feedback rating and comments about buyers & sellers? 

I've seen such a feature on other sites, so I'm assuming it's an option on the package that OGR uses.  I don't know how they keep it from being abused, but it seems to stay on point. 

You know what they say about using the word "assume." 

There is no such feature available to us to do this.

railbear601 posted:

Thought I would chime in with my 3 cents.  I am guilty sometimes of not answering an email.  It is very sad when several people answer one of my ads and never follow through with a check or I do not want it after all.  People write to me and just give me a zip-code/email address and want to the know the cost of shipping.  For me to give you a shipping price, I must go to the post office which is 4 miles away and have the item weighed to make sure it is not too big for U S Post Office Standards.  It takes several emails to seal the deal on an item AND I have never made a cent profit on my trains because KIDS are not interested in trains and many people on this forum are inquiry only.

My chime in 4 cents..      Then I have the people who tell me they will offer this amount of dollars for my item.  How about if I offer you  "X" amount of dollars post paid and it usually is about $100 to $200 dollars below my  low prices that is offered in my ads.  How rude to insult my intelligence that the price I put on my trains is not low enough for their tight pockets!!! You read the rules and guidelines of this forum it states -- THIS IS NOT AN AUCTION SITE.  Try Ebay or go to one of the Big Train Company Ads and tell one of these guys you will offer your price for their trains.  I think not.... 

I have been selling trains on this Forum for about 1 year and I have had some success.  Do you know who makes up all of my ads?  It is little ole me.  Then I have the lazy guy who wants me to photograph my stuff in my ads.  I recently had an ad that had 70 items in it.  You really want me to photograph 70 items.  Think of all the boxes  I would have to open up and pose the item for its pretty little picture -- when you could look up on the internet in sites like Legacy K-Line, etc and find pictures of said trains. End of my 4 cents.

 My problem is I guess I am a compulsive buyer of electric trains.  You know, some people gamble, drink, etc to excess.  With me, it was the trains.  I have been buying 3 rail trains since 1975 and stopped purchasing them when Legacy and ProtoSound-3 came on the scene.  When I was a little boy, I begged my father to buy me a Lionel Train Set.  He bought me a train set, but it was a "Marx"  UGH!  I played with that electric train until the wheels fell off and Dad said "NO MORE TRAINS".  So, I fixed ole Dad, I bought as many trains that would fix the train need in me --But the trains never fixed me.  So now I am clearing my inventory of trains and have a much better life.  Yes, I am working on building a small layout of Lionel, etc trains and selling off the rest.

Enjoy your Trains -- if you can        railbear601  

  Funny. I always viewed the "not an auction" as is a seller holding out on an agreed upon a CLEARLY stated agreement or listed price and going for a "scalpers" higher bid. 

   After a deal is closed, it's closed. Timely agreed upon delivery of funds and items are after facts. I don't care if it worth 10 times an agreed upon price, I'd deliver to keep my word.  I might let you have an earful if I didn't know the value, but I'd pack it well. 

 If I low-ball you, maybe it's a dream buy and all I can manage... or I figure you need it badly and it's all I can manage? ....or I'm telling you what I'd honestly like to pay. Maybe I'll pay full soon, maybe not. It's still an open deal, not agreed. "Ok thanks I'll let you know" is not a closed deal.

  I wouldn't expect a hold unless it was specificly mentioned and agreed. If You agree to a price and later payment, to sell the item to other before the end of the timeline is fraud.. or theft... Breach of contract Or something .

 I'll thank you for the consideration and drop it...Thank you!...or buy it. Thank you!    It doesn't irk me on selling.  Persistence after a no irks me.

This is wild chance offer/ mild haggle and not an auction .  An auction is a competative, high price winner based sale among a number of potential buyers. It has all kinds of legal trade implications, and without transparency it's happening, just plain bad business ethic.

   Haggle isn't my stongsuit or fun, I do it because for many other folks it's a way of life; and expected.  Some price accordingly; and some mix flexibility on certain items, not others.

If you don't like to haggle " $xx.xx firm" let's folks know.

OBO (isn't an auction if honored by seller) ..and use and omission together of both terms in large listings let's folks know where you might or might not be flexible.

There is also a family tradition of sorts that says if you wish to buy back your train at the price I put into it, I will if it was sold as a need or super duper deal to sell vs a want to sell.  I'm only a caretaker, not a wheeler dealer.