Reply With QuoteHoovers keeping a low profile?
Has anyone else noticed that Sales Corner seems to be in serious decline? There's only been about 6 posts since lunchtime and the number of people viewing is often in single figures. Wonder if there is any reason for this.
Hoovers keeping a low profile?
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
As a wise member said to me, SC is slower than a week in a Scottish prison 😂
Last few items I have listed, not a sniff, ended up selling on e-bay in the end and every Rolex listed seems to turn into handbags within minutes.
It's handy if your looking for a second hand mobile phone, but not too good for watches.
What’s the point in listing up a watch at a decent price when the odds are that it’ll be snapped up by one of the forum hoovers.
Might as well cut out the middle man and list it on eBay or sell to a grey dealer.
Last edited by CaptainSlow; 1st April 2019 at 18:12.
Occassionally there are good there such as Henks BLNR, however I have noticed a number of items (not necessarily watches) listed there that can be purchased new for less than people are asking (and I'm not talking about desireable SS Rolex or PP). For a lot of people price is king.
I’m not so sure, there has been some great watches over the last few months, lots of other stuff like jackets and shoes but the overall watches on offer has been quite high I think..
I think SC could benefit from a dealers section where dealers pay a yearly/monthly/per sale fee into the FR, it would encourage them to come out the shadows and offer us plenty of nice watches.
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Last edited by murkeywaters; 1st April 2019 at 19:38.
I think Sc is all about timing,I’ve just sold 2 on eBay that never got a sniff on Sc ,one went for a bit less but one went for more
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Sold my Aerospace on there not long ago, admittedly lower that I might have got elsewhere - but when you take into account ebay / paypal fees it evens out.
Yea, those guys suck!Originally Posted by CaptainSlow
Ive only recently gotten access to SC but cant say ive been blown away by it. Lots of odd things up there, jackets, torches etc etc. It can be a bit of a trawl to find decent items, but I guess most nice watches will be on the first few pages and be gone in minutes if its priced well.
I log into the watch forum a few times a day but might only scan a page or two of SC once every day or two.
The last watch I sold on here was bought so quickly it made my head spin. Three minutes, if memory serves.
Nothing that people want and is priced to sell hangs around for long.
Relative newcomer so can see but not post for now... have to say I think there's an interesting turnover of items including many lovely watches in the time I have been paying attention.
Trainers that I put on yesterday didn’t hang around for long.....maybe they were too cheap
Would be interesting to know how many members the site has V's the number who can a)see SC and b)post there.
I get the idea behind hiding back new members on posting but I personally think the amount of posts needed hampers the market a little.
Hopefully there'll be some interesting pieces on there once I get visibility of it :D
If so, then it will have achieved its aim. TZ-UK is meant to be a community forum, which also happens to have a sales area attached to it.
Eddie has closed SC in the past, and it's entirely possible that he may choose to do so again in the future.
I think there are a few factors to why stuff hangs around.
Some of it is either niche (knives,boots,clothing etc),or overpriced or out of a lot of members price range.I know I don't have 3k to buy a watch or need an xxl jacket,some size 7 boots,a new torch etc so some things have a very limited market and appeal to very few on the SC.
Or else its low end watches which most members maybe don't wish to purchase I think.
Anything that is perceived as a good price,value for money or cheap usually goes quickly.I expect most stuff ends up on ebay if it hasn't sold within the month,as that's what I have done.
But even having the facility to post sales in the Forum,for free, is greatly appreciated!
I’ve been viewing the sales corner recently and reading the discussions and arguments surrounding it (sometimes even on people’s sales threads!) It’s very entertaining. The prices seem ok in some cases but if you sell on eBay, then you will have a good amount of fees to pay - so good for the buyer and seller on this platform if the price is right. I think the idea of watches being bought and sold back to the members on the forum is great, then it can be cost efficient to try different watches.
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I find the Rolex threads very entertaining!As a wise member said to me, SC is slower than a week in a Scottish prison
Last few items I have listed, not a sniff, ended up selling on e-bay in the end and every Rolex listed seems to turn into handbags within minutes.
It's handy if your looking for a second hand mobile phone, but not too good for watches.
I keep a close eye on Sales Corner, but nothing I am looking for has come up for a while.
Very true. When I list something, I always check the usual sites before arriving at a value. In some cases, it means I've hung onto watches I wanted to sell as there's no way I'd get enough for it.
Sounds like you need to go to the WTB thread then..
Ebb and flow
A few more TK Maxx chancers than there used to be perhaps.
I've been thinking of posting some used underpants and socks up - apparently there's a market for that
Gray
I'm guessing people need to remember this isn't eBay and a little patience goes a long way. Since I've had access to sales corner I've purchased plenty of nice things that I've been after from iPad, to straps, to great watches, and also sold a couple of Rolex. Yes, many days there will be nothing of interest but soon enough something great will come along.
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I think the figure for people viewing SC can be misleading, I usually only click on 'New Posts' to see what's going on, rather than clicking on individual forums, I wonder if other people do too.
There's been a general slowdown in interesting vintage stuff since prices have risen, which means we don't get to see a continual stream of sales threads for pre-moon Speedies, Heuers, old Subs, Tudor Snowflakes and everything else that used to make SC interesting.
There are certainly members whose SC posts I ignore because I've either had personal experience of their goods in the past or they've besmirched their reputation by pissing off people. I would never buy from Sweepinghand, for example, and Hugo with his Omega bracelet is currently making a name for himself. There's a seller who's been trying to flog a non-working watch that will likely cost a LOT of money to repair - he regularly has watches for sale but by ignoring everyone's advice on the thread he started about his broken watch and by continuing to offer it for sale at an unrealistic price his user name is now lodged in my list of ones to avoid. Just some examples, I'm sure there are many more.
Once you ignore all the shoes and coats that don't fit, and straps people are selling because they're not actually that nice, there's not much left.
And going back to the slowdown in vintage pieces now prices have gone through the roof, along with unrealistic prices for Rolex and even new Omega prices rocketing up, perhaps there just aren't the new hobbyist collectors coming in and all of us who've been here since before prices started going up are less likely to flip? I know I am happy with most of my collection.
On the other hand I've bought two cars, many watches, a coat, headphones, bags, cameras and camera gear and who knows what else through TZ and sold everything from sunglasses to 1970s Porsche posters too. Maybe we all need to forget about Brexit for a while and all try to sell some interesting stuff there.
"A man of little significance"
As of 1030hrs this morning:
14218 members.
50 posts/60 days required to view: there are 8960 members with less than 50 posts (including 4293 members with zero posts!).
250 posts/180 days to post items for sale: 11447 members with less than 250 posts.
I can't be bothered working out how many have fulfilled the 60/180 days requirements, but the figures demonstrate that it's a very small marketplace.
Any arithmetical errors are mine!
______
Jim.
There does seem to be a reduction in the number of posts etc in SC, usually there is a number of things I would be interested in buying (watch and non watch related!) however recently there seems to have been little I am interested in. Annoying when I actually have some funds I can use to make a purchase! Have both bought and sold several things via SC but nothing in recent months.
May well be a reluctance to sell things at present-I have had a WTB for a week or so for a fairly common item and have had no replies offering anything/PM's whatsoever whereas before I have had replies within a few days for rarer things.
As a newbie, i like the SC... i wish i could comment on some of the items or ask general questions, without sending a PM, but it'll come in time...
Same as any forum, it will have peaks, but if something is priced right it will sell.. (Yesterdays blue Santos is a good example)
The reason it's a bit slow just now is the bills are hitting after Christmas and a very poor showing by rolex at baselworld. This has led to a decline in "I just bought a watch from a rolex AD to get on their list but have immediately decided to sell this £5k watch as I don't want it".Sarcastic.moi?
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And this topic on WT because . . . ?
As it happens I'm actually looking for a coat, some shoes and a torch so I personally can't wait to get access
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Probably priced sensibly.
If you wear size 7 shoes and XXXL jackets, you'll be well catered for.As it happens I'm actually looking for a coat, some shoes and a torch so I personally can't wait to get access
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Although no trees were harmed during the creation of this post, a large number of electrons were greatly inconvenienced.
As I’ve only registered a month ago and currently below the 50 post threshold I’ve got a little longer to go before I can view it. In this world of instant access some won’t want to wait and choose to browse ebay (caveat emptor). It’s a good thing to weed out some but I think it should be reduced to 30 days
You can write a PM to Mr Platts with your suggestion as it's his forum.
Ask yourself why? What are the benefits of reducing access terms for anyone except yourself (and other newbies)?
At the end of the day, it’s a watch discussion forum, not a free eBay. Join in the discussions and you’ll gain access soon enough.
SC definitely down on numbers, in Nov 18 when I was looking for my sub typical no’s would be 70 viewing. I know because I used this fact to persuade my wife to release the funds! Couple of time in late March I have seen sub 20 Watching/ online.
I thought it was a Brexit / Baselworld type response, folk waiting to see what happens, but traffic is still down.
As a guide 19:15 Tuesday 8 viewing!
Last edited by higham5; 2nd April 2019 at 19:15.
I can't even imagine what that guy looks like but it's not me
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I remember when it was shut for a while to stop all the non watch related stuff clogging up the sales corner
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Nothing wrong with the watches on there presently; the other stuff adds interest in my view.
That wave dial Omega is luvverly...
Do people viewing via Tapatalk or the TZ UK app get included in those figures? I don't know if I'm representative, but in the last couple of years my forum engagement has moved significantly over to the app.
we’re still waiting though.
Primarily for discussion of watches and accessories but no hard and fast rules
It’s all about the price, obviously. I remember a time on SC when prices were always under market value, for a quick and convenient sale in a trusted quiet corner of the internet - this worked great because ‘You give a bargain, you get a bargain’ which kept prices down, and the restrictions on new members worked as a deterrant to keep muppets out.
Nowadays this place has well and truly been found out; companies and grey dealers with sneaky accounts buying stock and people selling to people over RRP because ‘its the market value, the going rate’, well here we are, like the rest of the internet/marketplaces; if there is no profit, whats the point.
Im just glad that deals still take place between members of old who just bypass SC/WTB and message each other with deals based on their previous deals - the last of the ‘forum spirit’.
I run a big forum for bass players and we had the same issue to face about five years ago. Do we continue to let new members post sales, and risk some of them being scammers/untrustworthy, or reduce the number of ads with a gateway of some sort?
The opportunities and benefits were weighed up.
Limiting access for x days or x posts:
+ Means only members with a 'track record' can post items - trust?
+ Hopefully encourages people to post and 'join in' more
- Higher chance of speed posting/pointless messaging to bump post count
- Often untrustworthy sellers aren't identifiable by their participation in a thread on a forum
So we decided the best thing to do was to charge a sub to use the sales area.
+ It has almost wiped out scammers overnight (nobody will pay to list a scam item)
+ Means the seller is serious and trustworthy
+ Raises funds to pay for the site and keep it up to date and user friendly (Think TZ could use an update!)
+ Means more items offered to our members by 'newbies' who aren't necessarily untrustworthy because they don't use forums (a lot of bass players are old and socially and technologically challenged!)
- Might put off some casual chancers (also a +)
- Some people believe everything should be free
- Payment gateway requires significant development and ongoing support
Given that TZ isn't a fund raising business I assume the host just wants a quiet life and for things to just carry on, rather than use the forum as a revenue stream and/or ambition to grow it further. That's absolutely fine, and as such I think limiting the numbers through an arbitrary number of posts/days is OK - but it absolutely reduced the number of items offered. It's a bit like a TZ outing to a watch warehouse where we're only allowed to look at watches owned by each other, rather than the millions of items owned by other enthusiasts who don't necessarily want to talk about their hobby online.
If a buyer does their due diligence then an item listed by someone with no posting history is absolutely no more risk than one with thousands of posts.
So it boils down to that, really - yes SC is quiet and 'niche' but that's because the host wants it like that. Personally I can't get with that logic and would definitely put things on a more progressive plan but it's not my forum and perhaps it's different 'vibe' to my own forum.
Anyway just some thoughts - I like it here either way :)
Cheers
I've been on almost a year and need to thin my collection but havent got enough posts and have no wish to spam the forum to remedy that , bit of a shame really but at least I can buy stuff
This, fundamentally. Some of my more fringe-interest / random vintage watches have failed to sell over the years, but the more mainstream stuff goes quickly as long as it's sensibly priced. And occasionally I get my browsing timed correctly and grab something I really want before someone else gets to it (see: Sinn 356 UTC, last Friday). I guess it depends how one views SC; to me, it's a great way of buying, selling and trading interesting watches with a community of likeminded and trustworthy people, and it's enabled me to try out a bewildering range of different styles and brands (yes, I'm a flipper), but it's also an adjunct to the main purpose of this place. Anyone who sees it as a way to offload large volumes of stuff for profit ,and doesn't engage elsewhere on the forum is always going to be disappointed IMO.
Who did it sell to, though..? Did it stay on the forum? Or end up on ebay?
If trades can be done at lower than (grey) market prices for the buyer, but higher than (grey) market offers for the seller, and there remains a very high level of integrity between members, then there will always be good deals.
The trust between members and assurance of integrity is worth a considerable amount.
“Traditionalists” with unrealistic expectations that no profits are allowed (but presumably losses are), won’t do Sales Corner any good in the long run IMHO.
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Agreed, the indecent thread crapping on sales listings of one particular brand is totally shameful.
What you appear to be missing is that the forum IS a discussion forum first and foremost. Sales corner is an add-on to allow members to sell bits and pieces to each other as they see fit.
Allowing strangers on to sell their wares in order to give us more choice is unnecessary, we all know of plenty of other places where we can buy anything we may want.
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