Since it’s been stated that....
“ At the present time, the Club and the volunteer managers have determined that we lack the staff time and knowledge to support parts sales.”
I would like to suggest the following. On the Suzuki VL1500 forum, which I am a long time member, the following rules for selling are on that forum:
“” A quick rundown of the forum "selling" guidelines.
1. Seller must list a price. No "make me an offer" stuff please. A seller must POST PICTURES WHEN LISTING. if you don't know how ask someone to show you how. It is easy. Without pictures, you put the sale in limbo.
2. keep all transactions on the forum. Please do not ask for replies by email or private messages. Or offer to email pictures to buyers, email them to a moderator and they can help you with the pics. That way everything is documented and time stamped right here for all to see. Much less confusion that way, and perspective buyers will know where they are in line, and whether or not the item has been sold yet.
3. As it stands today the first responder has first rights. But they must be clear with their intentions. Say something like I WANT IT, Or SOLD!. Don't just ask a question. Say what your intentions are. Or someone else will. And you will find yourself out of the running.
If someone has to post an inquiry as to what size, what color, can I see a picture?..ect......AND MEETS THE CRITERIA ABOVE, that person should get first consideration after you reply with an answer. The interested party must reply back you your answer within 24 hrs with a "sold" or, if not, go ahead and make the deal with the next responder. The way we see it, if a responder shows interest in an item, then he/she needs to hang around the thread to close the deal one way or the other and not leave the seller hanging (unless prior arrangements are made to mutual satisfaction). This time line also holds true for the buyer to respond to the seller. In other words, if you know your gonna be away for a few days don't post your stuff until you get back. As a Seller be prepared to visit your thread often for at least a week to deal with potential buyers. That is the fairest system we could devise but it's up to the members to make it work. OK?
Pics are a must. There is no way around this. The seller needs to take a couple of pics of the item, or have a friend do it. Before he lists it on here for sale. Nothing works without pictures and an honest description of the item. Go to
www.photobucket.com or somewhere that is free, and upload those pics (before listing the item here) and post a link to the pics. You do not have to be a Delphi plus member to post pics, or at least a link. Then you don't have to go into all that "I will email you pics" nonsense. That takes forever, and it also immediately takes the sale off the forum. Please take the time needed to get pics together for when you post. If you need help posting them, contact one of the mods and they can post them for you. Or ask a member to help. We all benefit from the for sale folder, lets do our part in helping it run smooth.
If you don't know how to use a computer to post links, ask someone here to help you. We have a hundred guys who watch the for sale folder religiously, and most will be delighted to help you get the pics on the forum. This would be a huge help.
And please, no multiple threads for the same item. Even if you didn't start the thread but suddenly you offer something for sale in another thread then stay with it in that thread until its completely assured no one there is going to buy it. If you must start a new thread, then ask a Moderator to delete the other postings before it's re-listed.
All this will do nothing but make it speedier, and fair all the way around. “”
Now this may be a little bit of a long read, but the rules are simple. Why do I bring this up? It’s because BOTH FORUMS have a lot in common.
We both have vendors who support our forums.
We both have motorcycles which are no longer made.
We both provide insight and assistance to anyone who needs help with our brand/model.
Interesting thing is, no one on the VL1500 Forum has to monitor or moderate sales unless something goes bad. I think that’s happened maybe 4 times in 20+ years.
We also find that the members themselves help enforce the rules. How? Well if someone posts an item for sale and doesn’t meet the rules, say, they post an item for sale and say “what will you give me for it?”, the members remind the seller what the rules are and most of the people fix their error.
Another thing we have is we have a Vendor’s section on the VL1500 forum. So if Terry has a sale he could post in the Vendor Section and provide links to the sale items, which benefits the vendor positively. If it’s a service, or a coupon, or clearance on a few final items, they post in the Vendor section. And our vendors don’t have an attitude of, “I keep you afloat” because the vendors don’t contribute a dime towards the forum. It’s a mutually symbiotic relationship.
I think it’s foolish to say Don’t offer parts for sale here. It doesn’t hurt our vendors. It DOES hurt our members. How many of you have bought a part that was represented by the seller to be exactly what was described and you recieved it and it wasn’t what was described?
If we allowed our members to post items for sale, and made it a paid members of the club only access, we would have a good supply of parts which would probably get bought up in a short period of time, from members who know EXACTLY what they have and to members who know what they need.
We could even have a section of parts donated to buyers for a contribution to the club. No members would have to monitor it, it would all be heres what I have and I’ll mail it to you for a $20 donation to the club, or what ever the selling member feels is a fair donation.
Surely we can come out of the dark ages on this issue. I for one, would be willing to help set it up and watch it for a while to remind people if they “miss”a requirement.
Again. This is in no way an attempt to short a vendor, or drive business away from them. Seems to me if people need a part, it may even be a part folks are having more and more trouble finding. Here’s an example:
How many of the members have 1,2, 3 or more shifter covers which are 1 down 4 up? These are becoming more $ more difficult to find. Why? Because many people don’t want to jump from a Toad or a Super Combat with a standardized shift pattern, and then get on an Ace and have to remember the shift pattern is opposite. I don’t remember if it was 1972-73-74-75 when the world decided to standardize in a 1 down 4 up pattern, but lots of manufacturers, including Hodaka, performed the retool for it.
Same thing with Hodaka CDI ignitions. Or with Harry Taylor exhaust pipes, or a number of other parts which are difficult to find and folks may have them lying around not being used.
It also provides a way for forum members to maybe beat back the price gouging which seems to be happening on sites like eBay. Just the other day I saw a guy advertising an “original Hodaka tool kit’”. Not NOS, not used once & put away, used, but complete. His Asking Price for this perceived rarity? $220 plus shipping. I recently purchased a tool kit for $25 and stuck it in one of the tool boxes. He replied to me, “If I knew where to buy tool kits for $25 to tell him & he would buy them all. I didn’t respond back to him.
Anyway, I think I’ve made several good points here. This is one of the few motorcycle forums to which I belong, which does not allow members to trade/sell parts with each other. I think it’s time we do. That’s my 2 cents & if it pisses anyone off, all I can say is, sorry you don’t agree.
Oh and it appears to be working very well on the Hodaka Facebook page and I have only seen one sale in 5 years where someone offered a frame for sale and the shipment either fell thru or got delayed. So there’s another situation to show that it doesn’t require full time volunteers to monitor the sales.
Victor