Okay I started this thread some 4 years ago and Audiogon has grown by leaps and bounds and probably beyond anything the owners of Audiogon ever imagined.
But now it is time to vent a little. Not only with the membership but the retailers on this site.
I buy,sell and trade a lot on this site and most all need to improve the way they do business.
First of all pictures on Audiogon. We have some good photographers, though not many of them. If I can't see what your selling, I am not buying or bidding, no matter how much I may want that product. There are plenty of digital picture editing programs, - GET ONE or loose the sale. I am tired of looking at black blobs!!
Second, ad descriptions are getting just awful. You don't have to be Hemingway, but you should be knowledgeable enough to write a decent description, after all you own it,tell me about it. Include the dimensions and what voltage it runs on is always a help.
Third, this item just irritates the crap out of me and that is Pay Pal fees. First of all I never charge the customer a user fee of Pay Pal. It is the cost of doing business. When I had a retail store I never charged a user fee to the customer. And when was the last time you went into a retail establishment and were charged additional to use a credit card?? Most likely never and I never have and I am an old fart now. If you feel you need that paltry 2.9 percent include it with asking price.
Fourth is the shipping charges involved. No one makes a nickel out of this but the shipper. To haggle on shipping is like going to Dennys on the highway and trying to negoiate a deal on breakfast. Shipping is shipping, get over it!!
As far as I am concerned, in the future I will deal only with members and dealers that can take decent photographs,with enough ad copy to peak my interest and do not charge a Pay Pal fee. And yes I will pay all reasonable freight and insurance.
Fifth ripping off someone's picture,ad description or product review is getting out of hand. If you do at least be courteous enough to give the owner a heads up or at least mention the author in your ad. Have had my pictures,ads and reviews ripped of many times without even a courtesy menetion. Just remember if you rip off a copyrighted item, you will have lawyers down your back in a hearbeat. So be wise and ask permission before you do this.
The Audiogon site is maturing quite quickly now and we all need to be more professional in what we do here.
