Deleting old For-Sale posts from Member history.

There was a time at Photo.Net, one could see all the For-Sale posts a member had put up for sale.

These days, they are deleted when seller deletes them, and one can not even go back and see what the Ad was!

This is not good particularly when there is a mis-representation in that For-Sale post.

Photo.net should keep the expired/deleted ads for at least 6-12 months. We get to see the user history that way.

And we also can hopefully stop fraud this way.

Thanks

<p>Well, an easier scenario is that you personally print-and-save <strong>or</strong> print-as-pdf-and-save the ad/listing/etc. of things that <em>you</em> buy. That way you have the copy in hand if a dispute arises.</p>

<p>I routinely do this for all on-line purchases I make. The little pdf files don't take up much disk space anyhow. I keep the listing together with PayPal records of transactions, etc., which I also save in the same manner.</p>

<p>I haven't got around to selling things on-line yet, but I would save copies off the site listing of everything I had offered in the same way.</p>

<p>I personally don't buy or sell on Photo.net, but have been tempted. The idea of keeping ads around for a while, however, appears a good idea for another reason.<br>

Besides verifying the representations made in a particular sale, I may want to know how many sales or offerings that person has made in the past six months or a year to see how active a seller they are. If someone is a very active seller that tells me something about the person; some members may be part-time merchants; others just lively sellers/buyers as some photographers are who trade/exchange cameras/lenses accessories often, and others are not active at all and may require some care in dealing with, especially if it's their first time dealing with a sale -- sale newbie on any forum are more of a wild card -- they have been avoided or get lower asking prices on the huge auction site, for good reason, and especially if they come from some god-forsaken country with lax law enforcement (such as where I am now?). <br>

I prefer the CList offerings, where you meet a buyer/seller in person and any 'red flags' can be dealt with in person, but aside from that and personal inspection, there are important indicia of reliability that can be gleaned from sale offerings that have not been 'cleaned up' for a guaranteed amount of time.<br>

And of course, member feedback on the worst who offer stuff is very valuable; even though I presently don't participate, I still read that stuff and if one day I do decide to participate, I will certainly be on the lookout for warnings, etc.<br>

I think it would be a good idea to keep sale listings posted for one year, and they need not be prominent - they could be by link, such as our photo ratings now are accessible only by a link and are no longer so prominent (a good move I think, possibly because mine are so low?)<br>

Others may have different views. One thing about retaining listings for awhile, is it does allow those who are looking for victims (thieves) an opportunity to target those with a certain caliber/brand, etc. of equipment e.g. Leica, long lenses, etc. and that can be a big negative, if several expensive items have been the subject of listings . . . . and it appears there are more.<br>

I always try to think security/It's very hard to identify my whereabouts because of equipment I might carry; I learned that lesson the hard way once! I often post where I've BEEN, not where I AM just for that reason. (once bitten, twice shy.)<br>

John (Crosley)</p>