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Proposal: Require Vendors to Lv Threads Open

by rbowen
7 replies
Hi!

First, my apologies if this is not where I should make such a proposal, but I honestly looked everywhere & couldn't figure out where else to post it - or whether it should somehow (but how?) be sent to an Admin.

Anyway, I think we'd all benefit (more) from the WF instituting a new policy: Require all threads be left open (for a period of at least 3 months, if not longer), even if/when the Vendor has closed the WSO & stopped selling it.

That way we Warriors can leave reviews of how well (or poorly) the WSO has worked out for them - which oftentimes takes a while longer than the typical week or so the WSO is kept open to find out.

Also, those of us who need help but haven't be able to get it from the Vendor or his Support Staff, can try to get it from other Warriors who've bought the WSO, had the same/similar problem and figured out a solution or work-around.

Finally, I, personally, would like to know before I buy a WSO from a Vendor I don't know, what the Warriors who have bought and used - and tried getting help with - his previous WSOs think of him and how responsive and helpful he was. Sometimes the past *is* a good indication of future behavior.

The only reason I can see that Vendors shut down their WSO's thread after they stop selling it is to prevent any negative feedback being posted about that WSO that might interfere with future sales of his next WSO. Maybe a bit cynical, and certainly not true of most guys selling on the WF - but not of all, unfortunately.

Just my 2 cents' worth.

BTW, what *is* the procedure for getting

Thanks,
Richard Bowen
#open #proposal #require #threads #vendors
  • Profile picture of the author Mark Singletary
    Can't you still post even if they delete their ad?

    The vendor doesn't have the ability to stop someone else from posting - they can change or delete their ad, put on a closed sign, etc. but you can still post unless a moderator locks the thread for some reason.

    Mark
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    • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
      If a seller asks us to close it and we don't see noticeable amounts of outstanding issues, we will usually close the thread for them. There are a number of nasty things that can happen with offers that aren't available any longer, especially if they were really popular.

      Threads with a lot of views attract cookie stuffers and other spammers, for one thing. They also tend to get posts from competitors pimping their "you can't get his, but I have this other" pitches.

      And you'll get people who don't use the off-forum support systems starting cascades because the seller isn't responding to requests in threads they believe are dead. Or the inevitable few who aren't happy with something and use access to the threads to slam the seller for things that are often the customer's own fault.

      Or the crazed types who will take what started as a small issue and blow it up into an excuse to go to every thread someone has posted and accuse them of ridiculous extremes of badness. This happens a LOT. The most common reason is a seller not offering a refund policy, and a customer deciding they're going to get their $14.32 back so they can buy another WSO and demand a refund for that, too. They don't care if they destroy a legitimate seller's reputation in the process.

      That is not a fictional example, by the way. I changed the cents part of that figure, but the rest is real, and happened this week.

      If you let those idiots play that game, they'll get other people believing the garbage and repeating the posted claims as though they were true. If you find out what's really going on and delete the posts, the idiots will run around claiming the mods are getting paid off by sellers to keep them from "warning honest members about the scams."

      The vast majority of people here are sensible. Still, it only takes one person who can tell a credible lie and muster up the IPs for a few sock puppets to get things started. Then the overly gullible types who want a cause jump in and run all over the forum accusing anyone and everyone they can imagine might possibly be involved of murdering puppies in out-of-state hotel rooms while doing drugs with prostitutes.

      So, how does a legitimate customer deal with a repeat seller who jumps from one offer to another and fails to deliver products, honor refunds, or respond to support requests? Report it to the mods. We will close the current offer or warn the seller to fix the problem or lose their access. Provided, that is, there's enough evidence.

      Now, if there's a pattern of support issues with a produce when we get a request to close a WSO thread, we just refuse to close it until the problems are addressed. I've had some ... animated ... discussions with WSO sellers who were not at all happy with that response.


      Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author rbowen
      Originally Posted by Mark Singletary View Post

      Can't you still post even if they delete their ad?

      The vendor doesn't have the ability to stop someone else from posting - they can change or delete their ad, put on a closed sign, etc. but you can still post unless a moderator locks the thread for some reason.

      Mark

      Unfortunately, no ... which goes to the heart of the problem.

      For instance, check out [link removed]

      Also, see Admin's post, above.

      Richard
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
    Richard,

    I am not Admin. He owns the joint. I'm just one of the moderators.


    Paul
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    Stop by Paul's Pub - my little hangout on Facebook.

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    • Profile picture of the author rbowen
      Paul -

      Thanks for your earlier reply, above. I guess there's more to it than I realized.

      I've downloaded your WF Guide - Thanks! - and I'll read through it later.

      Meanwhile, I take it that I shouldn't post a comment in the next WSO thread he opens, asking him why he didn't support his last WSO ... and will he support *this* WSO, huh? :rolleyes:

      The problem is, like I mentioned earlier, that oftentimes a WSO is closed before you can register a problem with a WSO in its thread before that thread is closed. Then what do you do?

      You suggested contacting the Moderators if/when a pattern of non-support & the like develops with a vendor. But what about the vendor who has only been unsupportive once .. as far as I know, because this is the only WSO I've bought from him. Besides, why would I want to continue buying WSOs from a guy who doesn't support me on the first WSO I buy from him? And if I don't buy any more WSOs from him,, I won't be able to know if there is (or would be) a pattern, right?!

      I take your point - your many points, earlier - that you/the WF can't realistically keep WSO threads open for a long time. But couldn't you keep a thread open for a minimum of, say, 30 days after the vendor's no longer selling the WSO?

      And if you did that, you could also have the WF system automatically send an email or PM to everyone subscribed to the thread announcing that the WSO is closed & that the thread will be closed 30 days from now. Or is that more of a problem than I realize?

      I'm tempted to try creating a FB page for the vendor/author of each WSO I buy. But I realize that would be a huge undertaking and an impossible, if thankless, undertaking. Besides, FB wouldn't allow it, in all liklihood. Even so, how would you keep it from being abused by "nut jobs" or, for that matter, the vendor's competitors?

      Oh well, Caveat Emptor, I guess.

      Richard
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      • Profile picture of the author sylviad
        At best, you can seek a refund if you used Paypal, for instance. Simply report the problem to them and you should get some satisfaction monetarily at least.

        Otherwise, whenever you buy a WSO, check it out immediately and ask for a refund right away if you are dissatisfied with it.

        As far as warning other buyers of bad operators, there's not much you can do other than become obsessed with it, which is not healthy. Let it go. Their bad deeds with come back and bite them in the butt eventually.

        Sylvia
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        • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
          Richard,
          Thanks for your earlier reply, above. I guess there's more to it than I realized.
          You would be amazed at what goes on behind the scenes. Or disgusted. Or both.
          Meanwhile, I take it that I shouldn't post a comment in the next WSO thread he opens, asking him why he didn't support his last WSO ... and will he support *this* WSO, huh?
          We allow those occasionally. It isn't appropriate for someone to get away with ignoring support issues by closing an offer and opening a new one.

          If you do that, you need to first make sure you have used the seller's suggested support channel(s), and got no response within a reasonable time frame. 3 business days is something I'd consider reasonable. And please keep the time differences in mind.

          If you get no response using the suggested channel(s), state in your comments what you did, specifically, and that there was no response, or if the response was a blowoff, copy and paste it in.

          Don't hijack a thread over it. If it continues to be ignored, go to YOUR post and report it, with a note explaining that the issue continues to be unresolved. If your post was deleted (there are 6 people who handle these things, and the threshold is obviously somewhat subjective), report the initial post in the thread and repeat your concerns.

          Handling these things in a businesslike fashion will get you a lot more attention than going nuts on someone. Not your style from what I've seen, but a fair number of people seem to think that throwing tantrums is a useful tactic.
          You suggested contacting the Moderators if/when a pattern of non-support & the like develops with a vendor. But what about the vendor who has only been unsupportive once .. as far as I know
          Report it. That's the only way we can see patterns. And some failures are serious enough that a single incident is enough. For example, failure to honor a posted refund policy.
          But couldn't you keep a thread open for a minimum of, say, 30 days after the vendor's no longer selling the WSO?
          As a hard and fast rule? No. That would just inflame the previously mentioned idiots. It might be worth considering requiring that they generally be kept open for 30 days from the initial posting date, though.
          And if you did that, you could also have the WF system automatically send an email or PM to everyone subscribed to the thread announcing that the WSO is closed & that the thread will be closed 30 days from now. Or is that more of a problem than I realize?
          That could create nightmares for some sorts of offers and some sellers, no matter how legit they might be.


          Paul
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