swfan said:
I don't post a lot, but I like to read what's going on and I see threads come up in the Wanted/For Sale section often that I don't think should be in here and sometimes the person who started the thread will apologize for putting it there to begin with.
Didn't you know that if you apologize ahead of time, that makes it ok to do it? It's like if you start a statement with "No offense, but..." you can't take offense to that statement. It's in the rules!
swfan said:
When do you tell yourself it's not going to sell or maybe give ebay a try.
I think eBay is getting more and more scary lately. I'm sure many of you are up on eBay's happenings, especially those who frequent the W/FS section. Now with the recent changes, sellers can't leave a buyer anything but positive feedback. And Paypal has made some changes too. Basically the way they have it set up to "protect the buyer" you can easily buy a cue, pay for it, receive it, then say you never got it and Paypal will refund your money. It's then the seller's resposibility to PROVE that the buyer received the cue in good condition. And if it still goes south, the seller can't even leave negative feedback to let other people know the guy is a scammer. Ridiculous.
Hell I don't even totally mind the concept of raffling a cue. I used to do it every Friday and Saturday night when I ran a room in Dayton. I'd pick a cheap cue and pick a time when I had a packed house and plenty of bodies in the room. I'd sell $5 a shot tickets until I got retail for the thing. And then I'd pick a random neutral person to mix up the names and draw one from a hat. It was a great way to guarantee a few cue sales on the weekend.
The difference is those people saw the cue. They saw the drawing. They saw their opposition. They saw the guy shooting with his new cue and walk out the door with it. The whole process was done right in front of everyone. Nothing went to charity, so yeah, I was in the wrong, but it was fair and everyone's chances were very clear.
But I guess that's why I'm not impressed when people talk about a new and creative way to sell a cue. Hell I was doing it 5 years ago. I know how easy it would be to rig a raffle. I also know that I started doing them on a weekend that I was desparate to sell an extra couple of cues to make up the difference in rent that month.
To me it's the same as putting "Guess who made this cue" as your title as a way to get more people to see your cue. It's been done. The first time, yeah it was cool, but a week later when EVERYONE thinks it's new and creative for them to do the same thing everyone else is doing, it just gets old.
But on a positive note...if raffles help you guys to sell a cue, I sincerely wish you luck in your sale. The market is dry and if that moves cues for you then more power to you.
Opinions were solicited...now you know mine.
