For Sale Section: How about mandatory pricing in all ads?

[XS29L9Bxxxxxx]

I have been thinking about this more and more and frankly am surprised it is not already policy, but how about a MANDATORY listing of an asking price in the for sale section(s) 

Posting a price would help keep tirekickers at bay (sellers benefit)    and help a buyer know if it is priced in their ballpark (buyers benefit). 

Thank you for your consideration 

[Tilar]

I think that's a good idea, along with what part of the world the cars or parts are.  Problem is some one would have to police that section to enforce it.

[skip68]

I agree.   Great idea.   

[Budnicks]

I would tend to agree for the most part, having pricing on every part/car etc., the only problem with that is sometimes, people including me, I don't know what some parts are worth here in Ca. or Back in Va. you could have a totally different geographic price structure {were you are} you could price yourself out of selling anything.... The ability for people to "Make an Offer" or for "Trades", makes it fare for both sides, "I too like to see pricing on parts", but also can understand the ,"Make an Offer" side of the argument also... "I would like to see, Maybe have 2 different sections", 1 being  "TRADES & OFFERS" & the other "SALES" or what ever you choose to name them... I have a bunch of take off parts from a couple of cars, I wouldn't have the slightest idea how to price them, I usually will tell someone if they want the part, 'make me an offer', if it's reasonable & cover my time to wrap & take it to a shipping hub, "I will end up selling it to them", with out doing a ton of research on pricing, it's sometimes really hard to put a price on some stuff, like steering parts, suspension take offs, old sway bars, brake parts, spindles, some engine parts, interior parts, body panels, etc., Someone that really needs 1 will pay what they think it's worth or at least make an offer, someone who doesn't need the part may think "is this guy kidding, that part isn't worth shit", so I hope you see my side of the argument, "I want it both ways", some parts are especially hard to put a price on, it really depends on the person needing the part, to someone needing them & can't find it, "it's priceless", to someone who doesn't need them it's maybe "just over priced junk"......

[hemigeno]

Troy has spelled out what people are "supposed" to do in their posts, in a stickied thread at the top of each F/S section:

The Classified sections are provided to the community as a way for members to buy/sell/trade cars, parts, and just about anything else of interest. The goal is to help members find what they are missing or to unload what they don't need. These sections are not discussion forums so all comments, criticisms, and irrelevant posts will be removed. With that in mind, here are a few tips for posting an ad:
1. Provide some sort of contact information. This would normally seem obvious but it's often overlooked. You don't want to make life difficult for the person trying to buy your items OR for the person who may have that elusive part you've been searching for. Recommended methods of contact include email, phone, or private message through the site but be sure to state which one you prefer.
2. Provide as much detail as possible whether selling or buying. This greatly improves your chances of buying/selling and cuts down on the amount of questions you'll have to answer.
3. List a price or budget. For the same reason as above, you don't want to waste anyone's time - including your own. If you don't have a specific price in mind then try to come up with a range or specifically state that you don't have a set price.
4. When selling, provide pictures if possible because you'll likely get bombarded with picture requests if you don't. It's easier to upload them once than to email them 50 times.
5. Classified ads are removed on a regular basis. Most ads are available for 60 days after the last update. Keep this in mind of you've been looking for a long time or trying to sell for a while. Update your ads and the timer starts over. If the item is no longer for sale or you've found what you were looking for then please update your ad or notify a moderator so it can be removed.

Thanks,
Troy

(emphasis added)


I'm with Budnicks on this... even though I haven't personally listed anything for sale yet, there are a number of extra items sitting around here that I probably don't need but wouldn't know how to price them either.  If I did list them and was forced to post a price, I'd probably be way off on at least a few things - which would enrage some of the regulars who would assume I was trying to gouge the members... when the real issue is I have neither the time nor the inclination to ferret out what each extra part should be worth.  At the moment, I'd rather keep it than worry about selling stuff, which is why no F/S ads for me yet.  At least Troy gives guys like me the option of saying we don't have a clue what the price should be.  With that said, it WOULD be a waste of everyone's time if I neglected to post a price but had an unrealistic estimate of what a part should be worth in the back of my mind.  I don't know how often that situation would come up, maybe frequently - I dunno.