My Disappointment

[EK9]

^^ i was just referring to the feedback

if there were fraudulent sales here, i'm sure ozhonda would step in (banned!). but we're not talking about fraud here anyway...

[JasonGilholme]

Wouldn't it be easier to pass the responsibility onto the poster and remove any responsibility from ozhonda's plate?

i'm sure its possible. Why do you think contracts are pages upon pages in length. they're not just outling the act again, they stipulating requirements and drawing lines of responsibility.

I should know, every job i do i have to sign a contract.

[JasonGilholme]

^^ i was just referring to the feedback

if there were fraudulent sales here, i'm sure ozhonda would step in (banned!). but we're not talking about fraud here anyway...

fraudelent/misleading is what happened to joe.

Further in that thread there is mention of people signing up and selling (for example) spoon wheels and shipping the buyer steelies.

Would be very easy to get half a dozen sales under your belt before being found out. $1500 x 6 is a very good way to make a quick buck.

[bennjamin]

problem is we dont know the other side of the story with EGJOE's situation. What if the seller is selling under consignment ? Or the good sent where 100% quoted , but swapped in transit etc? I know these situations arent plausible , but thats what a court is supposed to work out.

[EK9]

fraudelent/misleading is what happened to joe.

Further in that thread there is mention of people signing up and selling (for example) spoon wheels and shipping the buyer steelies.

Would be very easy to get half a dozen sales under your belt before being found out. $1500 x 6 is a very good way to make a quick buck.

i feel like we're going in circles here... lol

at the end of the day, if someone wants to rip ppl off, they will. there's no stopping me from doing what you just mentioned - selling half a dozen fake rims at full price then disappearing - even with my "good" rating and "reputation". if that happened, there is absolutely no way anyone could have prevented it - they can only stop me from doing it in future, ie banning me.

that's just the way things are... it is the internet, ppl for some reason can't see that anymore. they make a transaction online and expect everything to be perfect. but there's a risk - from the type of seller, shipping, anything can go wrong.

i duno... ozhonda try to do their best in preventing these things from happening - from members needing to have "contributed" to the forum before selling and i'm sure there's some kind of criteria traders need to meet before coming on here. but like i said earlier, 1 bad experience compared to a huge amount of good experiences and this trader is getting done for it. if it's who i think it is, i have traded with them on 2 occasions - all good.

[JasonGilholme]

Lets not forget that the members are the most important thing here, seeing as though we are the ones that are 'building' this community.

If the members were the most important part of this forum, then there would be more pressure on the traders to provide a quality service to us. Obviously there are some great traders on here that do their job well, work hard at getting good products for their customer base, and are generally cool to talk to and ask car related questions.

However, there are some poor traders which offer nothing new to us and, IMO, aren't anywhere near as capable as the higher end traders. Now, i understand that the traders are the main income for ozhonda, and as such they take up a large portion of the forum, but, wouldn't it be better for ozhonda mods to be chasing down good/reliable traders that would offer more to us rather then editing posts left right and centre to avoid legalities.?

That way we would have more selection of traders (therefore more competitve prices), a better incentive for traders to keep their reps up (therefore better quality to members), and hopefully less threads with people voicing their opinions on traders in a negative way.

it just seems like the goal of having the traders is to provide income for ozhonda, rather then providing a good service to its members and enhancing the environment.

I sure would have loved to spend the last 6,000 on my turbo parts with ozhonda traders rather then ebay stores\online stores..

[bennjamin]

to the above - time will filter out the good guys to the bad guys. Im sure Wyn only asks for a ABN , money to pay the fees and then thats all a person needs to have to become a trader. If they are dodgy they will get caught out. the trader in question isnt dodgy. He has a near perfect history. But if he continues to do so he will get the boot im sure.

[JasonGilholme]

so money > quality

so much for members being of importance..

[bennjamin]

we are going around in circles here.

Do tell how WE as moderators or the sites owner are supposed to determine who is a quality trader and who isnt ? This entire forum is for the members , this is why the traders have their own sub forum for members to browse without over-saturation of advertising.

[EK9]

^^ I can fully understand what you mean. Definitely some of the traders on here do an amazing job compared to others.

But i can't comment on how, y or who is chosen to be a trader. I think it's difficult enough to find traders, let alone chase down better traders to do business here. Wyn and the rest of the guys run Ozhonda purely for the community and their love of cars and all in their spare time. It would be great to do what you mentioned, but imo too difficult when this place is driven by it's ppl, members & admin - and not for business/profit purposes.

i think we (i definitely do) should be grateful that this community is even here... without the traders and the marketplace, i definitely would have struggled to get certain parts/things. we know it's not perfect, but the guys do their best with what's here and all in their spare time, without any personal benefit to themselves.

[JasonGilholme]

well if the only requirements are an ABN and money then theres alot more that is doable to ensure that the trader is 'worthy' of trading on the forum and able to provide something good to the members (which are important to both parties - ozhonda & the trader).

Simple questions like:

what would you be selling on the forum ( just wheels, performance parts, asthetics etc)

what previous/current trading activities do you have? ( ebay, other forums, actual shop front etc)

how do you plan to operate? (regular restocking, importing containers from over seas (grey import - very important to members, authorised dealer etc)

what policies and procedures do you have/implement in your sales (refund procedures, complaint handling etc)


Any person that runs a serious business should be able to answer those questions without any difficulty.

Those questions should be able to give wyn/mods a good start in knowing whether the possible new trader is going to be a benefit to the community or just a potential pain in the ass for members.

That should be a good start in weeding out the pros and the cons.

EDIT: I am grateful that the community is here, and understand that its not a right and is a privilege to have, but does that mean that it can't be made better?

[EK9]

^^^ i think they do have some kind of criteria, who wouldn't. i think every trader would benefit the community, whether their services are amazing or crap. the more competition, the better it is for the market.

but like Ben said, time will only tell. it's hard to judge a trader before they begin trading. if over time they start to suck... no doubt they will be gone. traders are ppl at the end of the day... sooner or later we'll find one that's a pain in the ass, can't help it. lol.