How does one on this board discuss sales, or can't it be done.
Richaard
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The rules of Stamporama (posted on the upper left hand side of this screen under the heading 'Stamporama-Rules-New Member Please Read!' specifically states "NO Advertising! This Message Board is for discussion purposes. Blatant commercial ads are prohibited and will be deleted as soon as seen by a moderator, so you would be wasting your time posting."
The auction is the place to offer philatelic material for sale. Sales solicitation is not to be posted on the Discussion Board by any member or by any non-member and neither is the membership database to be used for sending sales solicitation messages or emails to our members.
Liz
Moderator - Stamporama Volunteer Committee
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It is my understanding that personal emails concerning sales was the way to handle it for
members of SOR. Not that I do it or particularly
approve of it but I do not see it clearly stated in the rules that private email solicitation
is prohibited. I know I don't do it as a mass
solicitation sales bulletin. I have however, contacted a member concerning a specific item.
(as have other members). Using the membership
base privately to solicit is a really broad implied restriction and should be clarified.(I
know what you are trying to prevent, though, I have a guy on Stampwants/Bidstart that is bugging the H*** out of me). Of course, like I say,
"I'm just a 260 lb. gorilla in the room."
(Message edited by Stampaholic on April 22, 2010)
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I'm glad the topic is on the table. Liz is quite correct in quoting the rules. I'll add a quote from a line in the bylaws (also available for a read on the left side of the home page) that says, in detailing activities subject to discipline (meaning expulsion for repeated offenses):
F.Using the membership list or any other collection of Stamporama member email addresses (i.e. from the Discussion Board, or the auction) for the purpose of sending unsolicited mass e-mails. (It is a mass e-mail if you are mailing the same email to many people who have not expressed a specific interest in what you are offering).
I think the best way to think about things is to consider the organic development of transactions. Buy something in an auction and talk a little and find out there is more interest in, say, Canadian Precancels from Quebec. Many of my auction sales have resulted in these conversations, and few of these conversations have resulted in subsequent sales or trades. That's organic.
But offers to sell anything on the DB is just bad form. If a member has expressed an interest in acquiring something, Use the membership database to contact that member; DO NOT post the availability of said item on the DB.
I don't know how others feel about focused queries (in which a member inquires about another member's willingness to buy something based on the latter's stated interests in the directory or in a discussion). Perhaps the best to ascertain this would be for each of us to include a note, in the membership description, of our willlingness to be contacted for trades, sales, etc.
I just did it with mine.
David
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I would think that a direct response to someone posting a wanted to buy in the appropriate section of the discussion board would be one way. The organic scenario spelled out above would be another. Beyond that, I'm not sure any offers to sell outside the auction would be appropriate, at least as a function of this club.
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Perhaps I am the guilty party, as I contacted two members of this board who have an interest in China.
I was under the impression that if I did it privately, and not through the general discussion, that it was ok to do so. No mass emails.
How else is a member able to build their collections?
One cannot really get everything they want through a trade.
Richaard
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i think the best way to approach this, Richaard, is if someone says "I want" you can contact them back channel. But to be really clear, if a member hasn't asked for offers of sales, do NOT assume they want offers of sales and do not solicit them.
David
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I have only contacted the people who stated they were interested in a certain country.
I know not to solicit in general.
Richaard
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I can only assume that they also said that they wanted someone to contact them to sell them stamps, too. If not, I was not really clear in my earlier post.
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RGNPCS sent me a direct email (to my home email address) soliciting that he wanted to sell me stamps just days after I joined Stamporama and mentioned that I collected Mint Canada. I didn't express any interest in being contacted. Also, he has emailed me numerous other times when I posted about collecting B.C.
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Yes, I did send one, perhaps two a year ago, before rules were made clearer, and as per this discussion rules are still not clear as many have stated.
No direct emails are going out anymore unless under "wanted" party states that they want to buy a certain country.
My message to Kmoorhead,which I can no longer find, and I have gone back to May 31, 2009,probably welcomed him to SOR, and stated that I have Canada for sale.
There were NO numerous other times, unless he responded, and I can no longer see anything.
Richaard
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I did a little bit of more searching, and found two messages from Kevin, in which he asks me to send my price list dated 9-12-09. I sent him scans of Greenland stamps, based on his request, and he answered on 9-15-09 stating he only collects full sets.
Frankly, I do not like being accused of something I did not do.
At 87, I have enough problems.
Enough said on this matter.
Richaard
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To be perfectly honest, it appears to me that the
stampgiftshop is more solicitation than anything I have seen on here. It seems to be a bit of a double standard. In addition there are possible
copyright violations involved (which I mentioned several days ago and have seen no response). If you are to enforce rules for one, you enforce rules for all.
(Message edited by Stampaholic on April 23, 2010)
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I think that I have the simple answer how not to confuse Trading, & Wanted to Buy.
Just separate the categories.
Richaard
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Hi Carl,
I don't see any double standard here. The rules are that we don't have solicitation on the discussion board. The Auction is there for selling stamps and stamp related material. Stampgiftshop has posted stamp related material in the Auction the same as lots of us have. I can't comment on any copyright issues in what he is doing.
Regards ... Tim.
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re: Do not use membership list to solicit sales!
How does one on this board discuss sales, or can't it be done.
Richaard
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Auctions - Approvals
re: Do not use membership list to solicit sales!
The rules of Stamporama (posted on the upper left hand side of this screen under the heading 'Stamporama-Rules-New Member Please Read!' specifically states "NO Advertising! This Message Board is for discussion purposes. Blatant commercial ads are prohibited and will be deleted as soon as seen by a moderator, so you would be wasting your time posting."
The auction is the place to offer philatelic material for sale. Sales solicitation is not to be posted on the Discussion Board by any member or by any non-member and neither is the membership database to be used for sending sales solicitation messages or emails to our members.
Liz
Moderator - Stamporama Volunteer Committee
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Auctions
re: Do not use membership list to solicit sales!
It is my understanding that personal emails concerning sales was the way to handle it for
members of SOR. Not that I do it or particularly
approve of it but I do not see it clearly stated in the rules that private email solicitation
is prohibited. I know I don't do it as a mass
solicitation sales bulletin. I have however, contacted a member concerning a specific item.
(as have other members). Using the membership
base privately to solicit is a really broad implied restriction and should be clarified.(I
know what you are trying to prevent, though, I have a guy on Stampwants/Bidstart that is bugging the H*** out of me). Of course, like I say,
"I'm just a 260 lb. gorilla in the room."
(Message edited by Stampaholic on April 22, 2010)
Login to Like
this post
re: Do not use membership list to solicit sales!
I'm glad the topic is on the table. Liz is quite correct in quoting the rules. I'll add a quote from a line in the bylaws (also available for a read on the left side of the home page) that says, in detailing activities subject to discipline (meaning expulsion for repeated offenses):
F.Using the membership list or any other collection of Stamporama member email addresses (i.e. from the Discussion Board, or the auction) for the purpose of sending unsolicited mass e-mails. (It is a mass e-mail if you are mailing the same email to many people who have not expressed a specific interest in what you are offering).
I think the best way to think about things is to consider the organic development of transactions. Buy something in an auction and talk a little and find out there is more interest in, say, Canadian Precancels from Quebec. Many of my auction sales have resulted in these conversations, and few of these conversations have resulted in subsequent sales or trades. That's organic.
But offers to sell anything on the DB is just bad form. If a member has expressed an interest in acquiring something, Use the membership database to contact that member; DO NOT post the availability of said item on the DB.
I don't know how others feel about focused queries (in which a member inquires about another member's willingness to buy something based on the latter's stated interests in the directory or in a discussion). Perhaps the best to ascertain this would be for each of us to include a note, in the membership description, of our willlingness to be contacted for trades, sales, etc.
I just did it with mine.
David
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this post
re: Do not use membership list to solicit sales!
I would think that a direct response to someone posting a wanted to buy in the appropriate section of the discussion board would be one way. The organic scenario spelled out above would be another. Beyond that, I'm not sure any offers to sell outside the auction would be appropriate, at least as a function of this club.
Login to Like
this post
re: Do not use membership list to solicit sales!
Perhaps I am the guilty party, as I contacted two members of this board who have an interest in China.
I was under the impression that if I did it privately, and not through the general discussion, that it was ok to do so. No mass emails.
How else is a member able to build their collections?
One cannot really get everything they want through a trade.
Richaard
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this post
re: Do not use membership list to solicit sales!
i think the best way to approach this, Richaard, is if someone says "I want" you can contact them back channel. But to be really clear, if a member hasn't asked for offers of sales, do NOT assume they want offers of sales and do not solicit them.
David
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this post
re: Do not use membership list to solicit sales!
I have only contacted the people who stated they were interested in a certain country.
I know not to solicit in general.
Richaard
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re: Do not use membership list to solicit sales!
I can only assume that they also said that they wanted someone to contact them to sell them stamps, too. If not, I was not really clear in my earlier post.
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11:02:48pm
re: Do not use membership list to solicit sales!
RGNPCS sent me a direct email (to my home email address) soliciting that he wanted to sell me stamps just days after I joined Stamporama and mentioned that I collected Mint Canada. I didn't express any interest in being contacted. Also, he has emailed me numerous other times when I posted about collecting B.C.
Login to Like
this post
re: Do not use membership list to solicit sales!
Yes, I did send one, perhaps two a year ago, before rules were made clearer, and as per this discussion rules are still not clear as many have stated.
No direct emails are going out anymore unless under "wanted" party states that they want to buy a certain country.
My message to Kmoorhead,which I can no longer find, and I have gone back to May 31, 2009,probably welcomed him to SOR, and stated that I have Canada for sale.
There were NO numerous other times, unless he responded, and I can no longer see anything.
Richaard
Login to Like
this post
re: Do not use membership list to solicit sales!
I did a little bit of more searching, and found two messages from Kevin, in which he asks me to send my price list dated 9-12-09. I sent him scans of Greenland stamps, based on his request, and he answered on 9-15-09 stating he only collects full sets.
Frankly, I do not like being accused of something I did not do.
At 87, I have enough problems.
Enough said on this matter.
Richaard
Login to Like
this post
Auctions
re: Do not use membership list to solicit sales!
To be perfectly honest, it appears to me that the
stampgiftshop is more solicitation than anything I have seen on here. It seems to be a bit of a double standard. In addition there are possible
copyright violations involved (which I mentioned several days ago and have seen no response). If you are to enforce rules for one, you enforce rules for all.
(Message edited by Stampaholic on April 23, 2010)
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this post
re: Do not use membership list to solicit sales!
I think that I have the simple answer how not to confuse Trading, & Wanted to Buy.
Just separate the categories.
Richaard
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10:42:06pm
re: Do not use membership list to solicit sales!
Hi Carl,
I don't see any double standard here. The rules are that we don't have solicitation on the discussion board. The Auction is there for selling stamps and stamp related material. Stampgiftshop has posted stamp related material in the Auction the same as lots of us have. I can't comment on any copyright issues in what he is doing.
Regards ... Tim.
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