I've said it before but the rule should be changed to 6,417 posts and 4 years and 8 months of membership.

 

Blind DIBS !

 

Also a good option. And the OMEGA forum will become the most inaccessible)))))

 

In my opinion 200 posts gets you the privilege of listing a watch for sale, but doesn’t mean you’ll actually sell any watches. If the watch/price isn’t right then it doesn’t matter if you have 200 or 2000 posts.

Conversely I’ve seen new members post “what should I do with my grandfathers vintage Speedmaster, Zenith A384, etc” and after 6 posts they’re never heard from again and presumably no longer have said watch. The community is harsh on attempted sales below 200 posts unless you have something really nice

 

I could live with the "200 posts plus one year of membership" rule in order to sell a watch.
It took me about 3 months to hit 200 posts.
There are a lot of non-watch threads for a newbie to post in (sunsets, music, cars, etc.) so it isn't too hard to post several times a week.
I joined in June 2020, so I would still need to wait another 4 months.

I've purchased 4 watches since joining OF, a few of them from fellow OF members.
And I still don't have a watch I want to sell.

 

THAT is a very good average!

 

200 post rule is good. But could it also be tied to a restriction on receiving PM’s (unless say from the admin team). Because what really happens is a “I’m new, can I have help with this - what’s it worth?” post still generates a sale interest by the back door.

 

I would fully support this.

 

Although the slight problem is you would struggle to purchase off the Sales page. You would have to PM with an alternative contact and communicate off forum. I purchased prior to 200 and looking back this would have been difficult.

 

200 for getting messages would seem really harsh and unrealistic,
when I first joined I was doing research on certain types of UG chronographs and I contacted certain members with technical questions on chronos they owned and had posted.
They kindly replied and one of them has become a good pal.

Not too long after I joined and started posting I received very kind private messages of support and encouragement.

I would say restrictions on sending and /or receiving pms are conceivable but I would limit them at around 15 or 20 so as not to become unconscionably restrictive.
For a chatty person like myself 15 or 20 is not much of a big burden, but for a shy person it’s already quite significant.

 

Yes, I understand that is a possible issue.

But this doesn't just protect the members here, but also the people trying to sell, as not all are dealers trying to subvert the rules. Some just have a nice family watch, have no idea what it's worth, and could get lowballed by people. This is why we see people warning those with nice watches in threads here to do their research and not take too little or the first offer.

I'm not hopeful that a rule like this would come to pass. There are several members here who do PM people who post watches here and buy them, and have admitted it openly. They would have a bit to loose if a rule lie this came to pass. Really if they stopped buying, it wouldn't be such a problem, but money rules.

 

Talking about which, I’ve noticed there are some members who can be quite harsh on first time posters posting a random gold plated « grand father » or « uncle » watch, but they’re oh so sweet when the grand father watch is an early Speedmaster in barnfind condition.
The intent for the OP may be exactly the same but it’s quite a gap in the reception.

End of drift.

 

Of course, one is being slammed, and the other possibly being courted...no surprise there.

 

I don’t think we/this forum/mods should get into policing people’s PM activity. Although I agree with the intent of protecting unsuspecting newbies from being taken by a low ball buyer, and I equally find the veiled WTS inquiry abhorrent (just come out with it!!), it’s not our job to be their guardians.
It would be like someone walking into a bar and saying -hey, who wants to come home with me and have unprotected sex!!?? I’m not gonna stop the person that takes them up on the offer- that would be me applying my morality onto their behavior.

 

Yawn...

 

Well, we could apply that same logic to the sales forum, and eliminate the 200 post restriction, and tell people "buyer beware" and be done with it. After all, it's not our job to be their guardians, right?

Note - just to be clear I'm not advocating this...

 

Although what you say regarding "back door sale" may be true, such restriction would be real PITA.
I've received a lot of help through forums, but I also had a few nice conversations and got some advices through PMs!
Joined almost 2 years ago and I didn't even hit 100 posts. I enjoy reading OF, but I don't have much knowledge to share and I rarely post BS (like this one ), so it'll probably take me another 2 or 3 years to start WTS or WTB thread.

Now, one step closer...

 

Posting a publicly visible sale item is different than private correspondence. I have PM’d many new members to offer advise and many have PM’d me looking for advise based on a comment or information I offer in a thread- it’s part of what this place is about.

 

As do I - I get PM's from people all the time asking for help, many who don't ever actually post here. But that's not the point really. Your previous post seemed to be against "protecting" people. But we already do that by requiring the 200 post rule.

As I said previously, many people post watches innocently asking for help, and I'm quite sure people are trying to poach those via PM. To me, those people are worth protecting.

 

Not against “protecting”, just policing PM’s specifically.