I don't understand why it is a requirement for a member selling something to list an asking price:

Marketplace Guidelines -- PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

3) When placing an item or vehicle for sale please indicate the asking price and best means of contacting you.

.. and yet vendors can advertise products for sale and not include pricing. Statements like "PM me or email me for prices" or "Please call if interested" because the prices are "too low" are very frustrating to me and seems to be a bit of a double standard. Is it just me?

 

No, I agree with you. I don't wanna play those games. When I see that stuff, I immediately get turned off. Be honest, tell me what I need to know. No BS.

 

We don't have the same policy for vendors as there are multiple avenues to obtaining pricing information from the vendor. The information may be included in their post, in a discussion on the site, on the vendor's web site, or via a call. With a private seller the only avenue is either through using private messaging to communicate with the person or if the person includes pricing information in their post. With the high volume of marketplace posting its difficult to always enforce the pricing policy on each and every post. That said, if you don't see pricing information post a follow up to the thread and request it. The seller is notified via email that there was a follow up and it will pressure them to include it.

Mark

 

Except that it isn't possible for regular members to post to a Vendor Announcement.

 

Nothing is holding you back from starting a new thread. It happens with almost every part that is announced in the vendor announcment thread.

About an hour after a part is introduced via a vendor thread, someone has posted a thread about the part linking to the announcement and asks for a discussion. So you could just ask the price there...easy as that.

The rule makes sense to me. I don't mind having to ask or wait for a vendor price...it's buisness. The marketplace is about things for SALE. The announcments are just news.

 

I have to disagree. The vendors are using the announcement area for multiple things:

1.) Announce new products
2.) Announce events
3.) Provide updates on situations, products, and testing
4.) Announce sales on products

All I think are valid. The tease comes in when they announce special pricing on existing items but some do not disclose the special pricing, instead requiring a member to contact them for it. I think if they are advertising a sale on something, they should be required to state the sale prices or at least provide a link to a valid webpage with the pricing.

 

I would label 1-4 as "news" still....I'm a bit confused where we disagree there?

And although i'm not quite sure of any specific examples of what you are talking about, they may not be ALLOWED to list the prices. Many of our vendors are currently working to sell other companies' parts....the company that produces the part lists a minimum advertised price that they can offer. So when a company wants to sell for less than that price, they must ask the buyer to email or call for that price info. You will see this a lot if you shop for expensive wheels like HRE or iForged...many places sell for less than the MSRP and can't advertise those prices.

Again, i don't see why there is an issue with shooting a quick email or making a 5 second phone call to simply say, "Hi, what is the price of this?".

 

In a broad sense I agree, yes they are all "news". I am talking about a particular type of "news" a sale on an existing product. If you would like to see a few instances, simply do a search in the Vendors Announcement area, I found two pretty easily.

1.) It is not a practice that I like as a customer and generally stay clear of vendors who work this way. There are vendors (not necessarily those here) who use this as a fishing technique for bait-and-switches or up-sales. "Oh, I am sorry, I only had 5 at that special price and they are sold out. How about product X instead?"

2.) I think it is a bit of a double standard to require one group to list pricing when selling something and another not too. I realize the vendors have other special treatments because they are vendors, as they should they paid for the privilege and I have not. In the end this may just be another one of those privileges, but it does not change the fact that there are members (I am one) that dislike this policy.

 

As a vendor I would rather post the price and get a "few" calls that were orders than to get 500 calls saying, "How much is it?".

Earl

 

1.) Fair enough, I'm sure most people DO use it as base...and I don't really like that either. But it is their right to run their buisness however they see fit. If you don't like it, don't buy from them. Easy as that.

2.) I'm a little confused about what you want. It would make no sense to allow users to post For Sale threads without a price...so that is out of the question. So are you just asking to require vendors to post a price? It just seems like you like the ease of having a vendor who puts the price in front of your eyes....but just because that is YOUR preference certainly doesn't warrant a change. NAM will never make 100% of the people content...especially on such little topics. Luckily there are lots of vendors on this site who don't practice the price-less advertising...so you can use them. To ask that they change everything because "you dont like it" is a little silly

 

All companies are run differently. I would probably prefer your method if i was a vendor too, but obviously those vendors who do it other ways see some sort of benefit in how they run their company.

I doubt anyone is doing it simply to be different or weird...they have their reasons

 

Well this section is for Site Feedback and I was providing it. The feedback once again is:

I do not like the fact that members are required to list prices for items for sale but vendors do not. I would prefer it that everyone had to provide pricing on items when they are advertising them for sale on NAM.

Weather or not any policies should change is not our call. We as members can simply provide feedback regarding particular issues on NAM thus bringing them to the attention of the powers that be. They make the calls on this kind of thing based on what they think is best for NAM as a whole. Its not "silly", its the way things are brought up and discussed. Just that simple.

 

If it hasn't already been said, most vendors have a MAP to deal with, thus no public posting of what price they can offer. Fact of life, though I wish it were different.

 

That's very true. In fact, some VERY well known companies (Sears, Bestbuy, Amazon, Crutchfield?) even list items on their websites without the current price and you have to add it to your shopping cart to see the sale price.

I don't know whether ANY of the vendor listings you're thinking of fit into this category, but it's definitely a possibility.

 

I would also add that if a vendor isn't providing pricing and you would prefer that they did then just private message them and provide them the constructive feedback. All of the vendors on NAM would like to do buisness with you so providing them the feedback will certainly help them serve you better.

Mark

 

So how does it make sense tohave vendors do just that?

I think it would be nice to see everyone play by the same rules. But thats idealist thinking, and therefore highlt unlikely. Each vendor conducts business in their own style and I respect it, I just don't nessicarly endorse it.

And for those too lazy to look this was in the top 5 of the Vendor annoucements