there is one other way i can think of that would bring the reality of safer trading in LYN closer.

my suggestion: do away with the members stores, bulk and garage sales section and instead, replace them with dedicated section with e-shops for rent. yes...FOR RENT. think of it as on online commercial real estate, or an e-shopping mall.

ok, basically it's something like the current member store section, but u'll have to pay for it and go through certain procedures.

here's how it works:

1) in order to set up shop in LYN or conduct any form of trading, one must apply for an e-shop. setting up sales threads anywhere else in the forum will be banned.

2) the trader must supply all relevant personal information, including a current IC photo(compulsary), IC no., address, tel. no., bank accs, etc. to LYN authorities. LYN will somehow verify the details of the trader. (not sure how it's gonna be done, but it's possible). also, the potential trader must be at least an active member who has joined LYN at least a minimum of 6 months plus have at least minimum 500 post counts (maybe that's not so important). this is to ensure that no-one will join LYN just to do sales but is inactive in all other aspects of the forum.

3) once details of the trader are verified, the trader will proceed to pay for his/her e-shop. rental should be reasonable, maybe around RM50-100 per month. most importantly, the trader has to pay an extra month's deposit (refundable) to LYN. (this will deter most conmen) maybe se7en could establish a maybank acc for LYN.

4) once all these are done, the trader can proceed to hawk his ware in his very own e-shop. heck, maybe LYN could even sell small advert links/banners on the main page for a very small fee, like say, RM10 a month. (like what LYN is doing now, only that the e-shops require just a small advert). the way the trader does his business is up to him, be it doing bulks, COD, etc.

5) LYN will limit the number of e-shops (eg. maybe around 100. so it's a first come, first serve basis). and perhaps set up new rules and regulations. (current ones will not be adequate). anyone caught abusing the system or perhaps get many complaints from customers regarding the services offered and quality of the products sold (i.e. fake goods, etc.), LYN reserves the right to evict the trader and keep the deposit for its own. and if con cases do turn up, at least LYN will have the conman's personal details.


IMHO, i think this is the easiest and safest system LYN could implement without much hassle. ok, maybe that'll give the mods/admin more work to do, but besides keeping potential conmen away, LYN could also make some side-income to keep down its expenses or perhaps use them to expand and improve itself. i've actually come across a few forums (not local) implementing a similar system. (i can only recall one selling books and the other selling software). i know most forummers will hate the system, but hey, there's no such thing as a free lunch. at least u're giving a little back to the people who actually made trading in here possible in the first place.

however, this system should only be for traders who intend to do numerous sales.

if a forummer decides to personally sell his PC/IPod/etc, another section will be created and the only limit to this section is that the entire sales value should not exceed a certain amount (eg. not more than RM500). that means total goods sold by the seller should not exceed that amount. so even if conmen decide to strike here, the damage wun be significant. anything higher than the limit, he'll have to get an e-shop, and if there r none available for rent, he can try his luck and ask an owner to let him tumpang (with a small fee of coz). of coz, if the owner unluckily lets a conmen tumpang, the owner shall bear all responsibility)

lastly, if a forummer and a seller does not want to follow the system and does a sale (maybe via PM), so be it. but if the seller cons him, he'll have no where to turn to and complaining to mods/admin will do him no good.

phew...long post. so, how about a trial run, eh??

or any other ideas on improving this system?

EDIT: i know LYN does not practice collecting personal info of traders, but it's worth a shot to stamp down on con artists in LYN. besides, the info does not have to be published for the public's scrutiny.

cheers.

This post has been edited by deathbringer: Jun 9 2006, 05:42 PM

DON'T QUOTE LONG POSTS UNNECESSARILY. -wK

1) Conman also can pay first(lose first) and gain later don't they?
2) And how you gonna verified all the details given? Nowadays, with photoshop, everything can be change with an ease, and conman also can send fake details. And how are LYN gonna verified it? Tell me.
3) conman can pay once and con more than that amount, don't they? Looks at those few thread at Trade Dispute.
4) And all those link, ain't that will be annoying if look on long term? When everyone pay to add a link, then imagine if there is 1000 referal links. So what you gonna see is referal link? Is that what you come to Lowyat.net for?
5) And with limiting it, some forumer will not satisfied. And you could see havoc in all the thread. Fishing each other customer, complaint on helpdesk, and all adds to the burden of admin/mod.

6) So, if i decided to sell off my one whole set of PC at price more than RM500?Expect me to open at least 5 thread alone, times other forummers, and you get a --answer it yourself--. And all this tumpang thread with payment does not benefit the seller, and LYN but to the rent owner itself. Ain't that what we called one sided benefit?

This post has been edited by wKkaY: Jun 9 2006, 07:37 PM

Its all a bit complicated isn't it? For the very reason that I see nothing wrong with what we currently have, I see no reason to make wholesale changes.

True, there may come a time where we introduce "e-shops", but that won't mean we'd remove our current Garage Sales/Bulk Orders.

And I repeat this - No collection of personal information. No collection of personal information. No collection of personal information.

stevanistelrooy: as i said, my plan is not perfect. but i've seen it being put into action on several forums. but one thing i forgot to mention is that traders are limited to the US of A. and yes, they do collect personal info from the sellers (i did try to apply b4)...social security number and stuff like that. they even validate ur bank account first (wonder how they do that). though i saw that response was not very good (not many sellers like LYN), but everyone can trade in safety there. some even said it was better than eBay.

yes, there's nothing wrong with the current system, but there's plenty of room for improvement, but not to the extent of becoming a full-fledge trading site.

well...at least it's good to hear that the "e-shop" concept is being considered.

It is very important to remember that trade thrives on convenience first. We all enjoy the excitement of being free to browse and buy on the spur of the moment (even if it is risky). This is something LYN offers right now, and that is why it is successful.

Because increasing security/safety is always at the expense of convenience and privacy, implementing too much red tape in the interest of safety may drive people away and cause people to lose interest in taking part in the activities here.

I think the admin/mods will always have a difficult job monitoring the Forum for abuses. But they are doing it well, IMHO.