Gold/Silver members vs non paid members

[DogBuster]

Just curious ? Classifieds ?

Are you willing to more often 'make a deal' with paid members vs non paid members ?

I've been a Silver member for years...... have sold a fair amount of stuff in our ads

So this year went 'Gold' for $50 which I think is fair if you use the ads to any extent

Your thoughts ??

Pics are easy to post too.......Living in Utah kool pics are around every corner

 

[Prose]

For sure. Buying in and having equity goes a long way to making sure you aren't getting screwed. Further, to have silver or gold means you've given financial information to the admin which can then be used to hunt down scammers. Positive Feedback that goes back a few years helps, too. There are recommendations in how to make sales on this site. Recommend everyone adheres to them closely.

 

[rijndael]

Are you willing to more often 'make a deal' with paid members vs non paid members ?

Not really. All I care about is if they're following the site's rules or not. But, I do recognize usernames names. If I've found their posts particularly useful, I would be more inclined to dig deeper. On the flip side, if you're one of the people I've contemplated adding to my ignore list, I will freely decline to do business with you - this applies to members or general schlubs.

 

[joshb]

I feel a lot more confident when doing deals with Gold members. The display of site support and commitment gets them big points in my book!

 

[Trophied]

I've sold very few items on the forum since I've been a gold member, but I would definitely prefer to buy from a member. I only upgraded to gold because I thought it was a much more helpful forum than some others I'd visited. It appears that some of the most knowledgeable people in the shooting sports are members here and willing to share their expertise with those of us that are, shall we say, brain cell challenged! Sometimes I think that all mine are in use and if something new is to be stored there then something else needs to be deleted!

 

[JFrank]

Gold members are the cool guys

 

[M-61]

Ok, you asked.
Unfortunately I will no longer buy nor sell unless a member is a contributor. Not saying it’s right nor wrong just what I do.

 

[Adam in WI]

I thought this was going to be a pickup basketball game. Sorta like a shirts vs skins...

 

[dgeesaman]

I thought this was going to be a pickup basketball game. Sorta like a shirts vs skins...

Teams aren’t balanced, some golds will have to flip to silver - you first. Haha

 

[wheelgun7360]

I have been a member for a long time. Always leave feedback for a transaction for the member, but I would like them to leave feedback on me also. Several times that has not happened in last few months and i ask them to leave feedback for me which they did not do!! Suppose everyone is so busy!!!!

 

[Forum Boss]

Please note, for Silver and Gold Members who signed up via PayPal, the Forum Admins do NOT have your PayPal credit card information. However, PayPal does retain this information as required by law. Of the scammers we've seen on this board, I am not aware of a single one that actually upgraded using their own CC info. We've had a couple cases of upgraded members whose accounts were hacked -- because they used shared passwords with other sites. But knock on wood, that hasn't occurred in quite some time.

But yes, the "entry fee" really helps ensure the seller is legit.

I do believe that generally it is much safer to do deals with upgraded members.

Regarding the cost of upgrades -- a SINGLE $500 sale on Gunbroker would incur a $25.50 fee, which is more than our Silver membership.

To repeat that, if you sold just ONE $550 item on Gunbroker, you would be charged a $25.50 fee!

See for yourself: https://www.gunbroker.com/Item/CalculateFinalValueFee

FYI, if you sold a scope for $2000 on Gunbroker, the fee would be $76.25 -- twenty-six bucks more than our Gold Membership which gives you a full 12 mos. worth of sales.

 

[Bill Norris]

I have bought and sold quite abit here on the forum. I feel the Gold Level is only fair for us that do buy and sell often but actually this site is worth much more to all members even if a member never buys or sells anything. After all where are you going to find the quality of this site anywhere else ?

 

[CJ6]

First....I think this site is worth a membership Gold or Silver.
Second.... It was some years before I became a "paid" member and I bought an sold a couple of things during that time with no issues from either paid or unpaid members. I credit that with the quality of membership all around.
Third.... What I look for is time on site and feedback from established members and this does not mean that buyer/seller need to be a paid member.
Fourth.....If someone wants to "give you the jip job" a $25-$50 membership is peanuts to pay when you're scamming them on a $1500-$2500 dollar scope or something else.

 

[rijndael]

Fourth.....If someone wants to "give you the jip job" a $25-$50 membership is peanuts to pay when you're scamming them on a $1500-$2500 dollar scope or something else.

Exactly. Trustworthiness isn't conveyed by paying a fee.

Forum Boss: That is a good point. However, the scammers don't want to give a valid CC number to PayPal. That is a significant deterrent.

 

[Chaotik]

I sold one item on this site in 2014, which was my only transaction. To me, the value of this forum is the knowledgeable and helpful community... that's been worth a lot to me over the years. And if I purchased something from the classified, I would definitely feel more comfortable dealing with a contributing member. (By contributing I mean in terms of a silver or gold membership, or a member who has been consistently over the years willing to share their knowledge).

 

[Shooter13]

First....I think this site is worth a membership Gold or Silver.

This is exactly the reason I did it, didn't know about the "benefits" of being Gold or Silver. I hesitated before doing it because I thought (without looking) it was like $500 or something, $50? That's a bargain anytime anywhere for the information we share here.

 

[gtl1946]

Does not being a Silver/Gold member rather than not, influence my buying/selling something….No ,but it does disappoint me that if you have belonged 3 or more and haven’t decided that it isn’t worth $25/yr, that disappoints me . Not giving feedback is…inexcusable and that’s what I base buying/selling as well as a phone call ,when needed ,on any transaction that I do. Those of us who are members and known ,the payment and the item both leave on the same day… you have earned trust!!

 

[Louisiana Shooter]

Yes it does. For me, Gold and Silver have made a commitment to this site to make sure it stays up and is well formatted. I give special credence to these members when selling or buying. Check or other method they like is fine by me. All others must send a USPO Postal money order for purchases.

 

[Chiquita]

I do it for the education and help out the owner.
There is more than $50 worth of knowledge. IMO, a professional site, with good people and professional comments (without the F bombs) is worth $50. And if I get to sell & buy stuff, even better.

 

[DogBuster]

I have been a member for a long time. Always leave feedback for a transaction for the member, but I would like them to leave feedback on me also. Several times that has not happened in last few months and i ask them to leave feedback for me which they did not do!! Suppose everyone is so busy!!!!

This brings up another question ?

Should the buyer.......or seller leave the first feed back ?

Hmmmmm