Suggestion that could help LIMIT the amount of SCAMMERS we get on here...

[GreenMarine]

Alright, here we go... Listen up everyone... Admin, Mods, and regular members. I know it has been a while since I have been on here. I have pretty much lost contact with a good portion of the entire Subaru community since I started working last winter and now even more so since school started earlier this week. It wasn't until I got a PM from someone alerting me about a scammer on here that apparently had a similar IP address as mine that I decided to venture back on the boards and try to figure out what is going on... Well, I don't know what is going on, but in my readings I have discovered alittle something and want to share my suggestions with everyone and hopefully get a vote going and see if we can actually implement any of these ideas...

Here's my list of suggestions...

1.) COMPLETE MEMBER PROFILE (look at my public profile as an example)
All sellers should have a COMPLETED member profile. Accurately stating where they live and plenty of ways to contact them (e-mail, IM, and even phone). They should also fill in the little "About Me" and "My Interests" section... Just to make it clear, if it were up to me EVERYTHING would be filled in... This will not only provide a record of where the person lives, but it will also allow buyers to reach them and help buyers feel more comfortable in making the purchase if they feel like they know alittle about the person.

2.) BE AN ACTIVE MEMBER
One web forum I am on doesn't allow anyone to sell ANYTHING or do certian things until that member has reached a pre-set number of posts. Posts in which they contributed to the forum in a positive manner... Certain sections of the forum should have no impact on the members post count. Kind of how the "Off-Topic" section of NASIOC doesn't add posts to NASIOC members post count... The posts that should count are the ones in a regional area, General SVX, Technical Q&A, etc (you get the idea)... As I said, after they reach a certain number of posts (100, 200, 500) it will show that they aren't just on here to make a "quick buck" and scoot (like most scammers)... It will show that they are interested in bettering the comunity through truth, integrity, and professionalism. Those factors, among many others, are things I look at before I buy from someone...

3.) I.D. VERIFICATION
Once all the information is filled out in their profile, I think that they should be required to fax a copy of their drivers liscence to the Administrator... Something that can verify their personal information and will allow the rest of the forum members to trust what this person posts...

** NOTE - Thie person's private information should not be made public, it should only be seen by the Admins so that they can decide wether or not to allow the person to sell to the forum members **

4.) "SELLER ACCOUNT STATUS"
In the same way that the Mod's and the Admin's have an easily identifiable member account (different color user name, etc), so should the verified sellers. Who has the power to do this? The Admins and Mods... That is why they should verify that the seller is who he/she says they are before they are allowed to sell anything on here. Like I said earlier, it is important that the members trust who they are giving money to. And it would be nice to know that there are potential actions that can be taken against a scammer. However, if we have "verified sales accounts" then my bet is that we could cut scamming to almost ZERO...

If we want to make this a safe community for all the members to chat, buy, sell and interact with eachother it is important that we take the proper security steps... Everything I have posted above is 100% possible to do. I am a member of a number of forums that ALREADY do 3 of the things above and I honestly have NEVER heard of one of the members getting scammed out of something...

So, the choice falls to the members of this forum and out "fearless leaders"... Do we protect ourselves? Or continue on in the direction we are going and just hope that when someone gets scammed, it isn't us?...

Please leave feedback on these ideas...

[JaySVX]

Great post, i agree completely.

However, many times the buyer is simply to trusting. Yes, the seller is responsable for acccurately representing what he has for sale, but for a buyer to take it as 100% is a bit of wishful thinking in this day and age. If you are going to make a purchase, know the buyer, get to know him or her, find out everything that you can about the product, request detailed pictures, etc. If you aren't 100% sure that your getting what you paid for, weigh the risk. If it's an acceptable risk your wiling to take, go for it. If not, leave it be. I've taken risks in the past, knowing i'm taking risks, and been burned a few times, but i had no one to blame but myself. I've also lucked out on some pretty sweet deals as well.

Common sense though. Someone who drops in out of nowhere and seems to have a warehouse full parts and is offering to sell everyone posting in the wanted section exactly what they want for cheap, be weary. If origional tom starts up a group buy for hoods or something similar, it's probably pretty safe.

[Hocrest]

Chris,
The biggest problem with all of those ideas, is that primarily the scammers have been doing their business on EBay and just coming here to deny that they are the same guy that's selling on EBay.

Otherwise;
I think it's a good idea to have more info filled out in your profile, but personally if I was browsing the net, and came across a forum that required ALL of my info and a fax of my drivers license, I would never make it back for a second visit.

The multiple colors is a good idea, I think that one of the planned upgrades is a feedback system to show that type of info.

[RSVX]

There is a new eBay like system coming to a SVX World Network near you.

And we have also been reviewing nabiscos selling policy and figuring out what we want to use.

[GreenMarine]

Originally Posted by RSVX

There is a new eBay like system coming to a SVX World Network near you.

And we have also been reviewing nabiscos selling policy and figuring out what we want to use.

Good stuff... Even NASIOC's policy would be satisfactory... I just didn't want to say "Let's be like NASIOC"...

~ Chris

[wawazat??]

While I agree something should be done I think it is a dangerous precedent to have anyone affiliated with this site taking personal information such as drivers license details Chris. Too much liability for the site and the admins. What happens if there is a dispute between parties? Does the Network get involved to sort thigs out? If that's the case, take me from any form of responsibility here. Let the buyer beware is my way of handling on-line purchases. Generally it has worked very well for me. I researrch sellers before I purchase. I doubt the people who have been scammed have done their homework. I don't think the Network or admins should put themselves in a position of responsibility when the buyer chooses not to put himself in one.

Todd

[Manarius]

And what would happen if the faxed drivers licenses got stolen or something....all that information at risk. I don't think the admins want that kind of liability.

[SilverSpear]

Let's add a Facebook link to the profile...

[crazyhorse]

If someone wants to be a "vendor" there could be a application that they fill out to the mods. Not an online form, but a true hardcopy with thier pertinent info. Once all that info is physically verified. Then & only then allow them to sell to the valuable membership.
As for individuals selling to/buying from each other, it's up to them to settle their differences peacefully, and PRIVATELY.
I'm a member of several different forums, and am a mod on one. When members argue publicly it's never good. It forces the mods to settle thier differences for them. This makes the mods look bad & feel worse.
Be nice to your mods, they work hard for you.

[NoSVX]

A computer forum that I freqeunt has a classifieds section, it requires you to have at least 100 valid posts before you can even see the classies section, all items being sold must be accompanied by a picture with your forum name on paper beside it, (handwritten), you also must list your ISP e-mail on file, no Gmail hotmail etc... that way if you are scammed the mods can track you down or forward you to the authorities if neccessary.

[RSVX]

Again, there are new methods coming, like ratings, etc... Thanks for all of the suggestion. Keep em coming as we are working on a policy as well.

[Nomake Wan]

I like the idea of adding ID Verification... but ONLY if it's to SELL on the network. Requiring legal ID just to post around would be silly, and as mentioned before would scare off lots of people. But if you want to sell on here, then it's common sense that you'd better be clean.

I like the teasing that the admins have been giving us, saying there'll be a "new system soon." That sounds good. I have a feeling they've thought this one out for a good long time. I can't wait.

[GreenMarine]

Alright, just to clear a few things up...

As far as the ID verification goes, it could be done any number of ways. And I would only want it done to someone who is going to sell stuff on here. And those people should have Vendor accounts and should atleast be popular with people on the network before they go selling things.

YES, it is ultimately the responsibility of the buyer to realize that buying on the internet is different and scamming is a possibility. However I made these suggestions above because I have seen them used on other forums and haven't heard of any scamming since they (or some of them) have been in force.

ALSO, as far as this whole "people getting scared away because of the forum rules" goes. Look around on the internet. This is the only SVX network that I know of. It should be considered somewhat of an elite club. Not just letting anyone run through our ranks, but people that are going to affect the club in a positive manner. Those that don't should bugger off... Hell, think back to when you were younger. Did any of you have a little club or a tree house? Not just anyone could come into the tree house. Only your good friends / club members. And not just anyone could be in your club right?... Sure we are all alot older now and lots have changed. But the basics are still there.

I have confidence in Chris's abilities and the rest of the Mods on the forum, to make this a safe and positive place for owners of this rare car to interact with eachother.

I know a good deal of you probably have no clue who I am. Hell, I don't know hardly anyone on here anymore simply because I have been away for so long and when I drop in, I rarely post. Lets just say that College and life are occupying about 99% of my brain at the moment. The other 1% gets divided up among NASIOC, the SVX Network, Facebook, and other recreational internet activities. Maybe sometime after I graduate I will become a truly active member again. Only time will tell that. But at the moment I have too much going on in my life to post quite like I used to (some of you will remember the days when I was probably one of the biggest post *****s on here)...

As for this whole scam that is going on in the "Wanted / For-Sale" thread at the moment... I have no clue what is actually going on. I was recently notified that someone has the same IP address as me. I'm not sure how that is possible since I only access the SVX Network from home and from school. Maybe the person is actually a student at NC State??? I have no clue. I do know that I am the only SVX in the local area though. Haven't seen anyothers in about a year almost. But if there is anything I can do in my 1% free time, I hope the mods will contact me and let me know how I can help.

As for teh GreenMarineSVX... My baby is still running just fine. It's been my daily driver for the last 7 months now since I sold my Volkswagen to a forum member in Tenn. (Gads)... Recently the front struts were replaced under warranty from Koni. I also discovered why some of us are leaking out of the adjuster nipples... I raised my ride height up about 1/2" and no more leaking. The car rides better than it ever has before and supprisingly doesn't look any different. My radiator exploded about a month ago. Luckly I was about a mile from my parking garage at work so I could limp it there and park it. Replaced the radiator with an ebay one (looks just like the stock ones and has a limited lifetime warranty! all for $189) and all is well once again... A whole bunch of work was done to the front suspension (ball joints, tie rod ends, CV boots, etc) over the summer so hopefully they will keep right n lasting. Other than that I haven't had any problems with the car. I am actually going to be taking it off te road for the next year because I can't really afford to drive it at the moment. Plus there really isn't a need to drive it anywhere since I am right on my school's bus system and the only places I go are to school and the shopping center, which is right across the street.

Anyway, I hope that these seller issues get worked out soon because I have a few things that some members might want and I also need a few things that some other members might have. However I am not going to get all tied up in trying to sell something while there is someone floating around out there with the same IP address as me scamming people...

~ Chris

[YourConfused]

I'm not too down w/ the license info deal, but I don't trust many people anyway. example: I got 8 quotes on getting a 4.44 rear diff. Being analytical and a stickler for details I found svxfiles to be a strait guy after just one conversation w/ him. After checking this site for hearsay on him I felt comfortable in completing a transaction with a guy I have never seen for a part I haven't touched. It is a gamble still, but a little research has given me enough faith to send money.
I amm all for the other ideas posted in this thread, but I have no avitar, or personal pics, so this might keep me from all the goodies here as I read it. I did just scan some of the stuff so I might be a little off.
Being a admin seems like a second job that pays nothing, so Cheers to all of them out there!

[ensteele]

In the next week or so there is going to be a feature that may help with all of this. Wait and see if this works.