i dont think it should be because for me im not a paying member (was) and never will be due to not been able to get on the site for ages when i was a paying member and after been advised by a mod to message an admin which i did and never got a reply it made me see that admin dont seem to give a s**t about non paying members or members that had been paying members and had problems. also im not a paying member but wouldnt dream of scamming anybody on here and if scoobynet wantedmy details without me becoming a paying member i would happily give them.

andy

 

I am a paying member, but quite new and don't have any feedback. Stopping non-paying members from selling, buying, PMing, or viewing the wanted may decrease the number of rip offs slightly, but it won't discourage the hardened fraudster. A lot of people find the wanted section really useful - doing this would take away a very helpful resource.

Like has been mentioned previously, having to spend a few quid on membership doesn't make much of a dent into the profits of a non-existent engine sale, and besides, anyone who's doing this sort of thing is likely to be untraceable whether they've had to give a few details or not.

When buying or selling, everyone should just use their common sense - it's not difficult ffs. If you're buying something for a grand, surely it's worth going to collect it yourself so you can make sure it works and it's not damaged. If you have to travel, then budget that into the cost of buying it.

Check out the feedback of the person selling. If it's someone with loads of posts and good feedback then chances are they're not a scammer; but if there's a newbie with zero feedback then you should be more cautious. Just weigh up the risks and buy accordingly. Pay via paypal and pay the fees yourself if it's something you want! If someone's genuine then they won't mind you paying the safest way, going to collect, and sending you more pics, video and 16 different measurements!

People will always try and rip others off - hopefully karma will see them hit by a truck in the close future, but banning a LOT of people to minimise risk by a couple of percent seems like a step in the wrong direction to me.

 

i been here for 3 years and now you want me to pay to pm people, not a chance pal, just another example of scoobynets change from an enthusiasts site to a commercial revenue stream!

 

Not at all, it wasn't Scoobynet's suggestion to do that.

Scoobynet have made users pay to advertise but that isn't really unreasonable is it. It costs money to run any website and why should you have the right to advertise something for free? It's still cheaper than eBay & Autotrader

I don't mind paying my subscription because it's giving something back to the site where I have gained lots of information, met lots of friends, and bought and sold lots of cars & parts

 

Bump.

The outcome of this will purely be down to what the users in the sales sections want; There is no financial incentive other than to stop scammers using the PM system to ply their trade and rip people off.

Only 153 votes The sale sections that many hit in less than an hour!

 

No - don't do away with it.

'Buyer beware' in all cases and if you are not sure then do not buy from x, y or z. Do not remove experience, common sense and gut feeling from the equation by simply shutting down an useful section which helps many many users.

 

Depending on the extent that admin want to be involved in this, one idea would be to have a paypal account registered to Scoobynet where payment is held until parts are received.

If all parts are sent by recorded delivery confirmation of receipt would negate any claims that they werent sent. If the buyer is satisfied then the funds can be released to the seller.

Would mean slight delay but would put a stop to scammers.

 

Bump: Need more votes