Guidelines for Posting a Knife for Sale for B/S/T or Vendors

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Bill13

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Yesterday I started thinking about ways to help eliminate or at lest reduce misunderstandings between buyer and seller; and reduce the back and forth of prospective buyers having to ask sometimes basic questions about knives for sale. Just like there is a questionnaire for when you want to buy a knife, why cant we have the same for when vendors or individuals want to sell a knife? I have listed what I want to know when I am looking at a knife for sale and am interested in what others think.


1. Type of knife - starting with the obvious here which everyone pretty much already includes
2. Length of blade - again, usually already included
3. Overall length or length of handle plus handle dimensions; smallest and largest diameter.
4. Height at heel - I'm surprised at how often this is left off.
5. Steel type and lefty or righty
6. Type of grind
7. Thickness of blade at heel and midpoint or at least a general description like laser or workhorse
8. New or Used and if used how much.

Anything I'm missing?

And then for vendors their return policy should be clearly stated on their website or if they don't have a website cut and pasted on with each offering. I'm not saying they should be offering to take knives back just whatever their policy is it should be clear.

Maybe this is too cumbersome, and would only be "self enforceable" or whatever but I can't help but think it would be helpful to both buyers and sellers.

Thoughts?
 
I think this is an excellent idea Bill13 .... my $0.02 would be add a line whether (if used) the knife has been sharpened/stropped (& on what / how much) and might be useful to stipulate what "typical photos" that should be included (not sure of this but photo's certainly often are asked for) such as coil shot and handle.
 
Lolz. Half the listings in B/S/T don't even have working images in them. These are the guys who use outdated and clumsy relics like Photobucket and Flickr, and still manage to break the tags.

Any time you get one of these knuckleheads to write more than "used knife STOP sharpened once STOP," I call it a win. Gotta crawl before you can walk. :)
 
All good. Would like to see more comments.

But the forum as an entity does not want to do more than facilitate transactions between members or between vendors and members. Any unresolved questions about the item for sale should be addressed as questions within the thread or through pm. The forum of course cannot warrant any transaction nor become involved in any disputes about a transaction.

Good etiquette demands that performance characteristics be described, any flaws be detailed, any questions be resolved and any disputes be private.
 
Handle material I think is nice info to provide. Though I'm sometimes guilty of forgetting wood types myself when selling.
And I'm also surprised to see heel height left out on some threads.
 
And this may fall under sharpening history but mention if it's been thinned as well?
 
Agree with daveb WRT the asking question approach. Not everyone has callipers and unless they are well versed may not know the grind on the knife. Additionally if something like a Shig appears most would have a good sense if what they're getting.

Further, although technically against the BST guidelines, I think asking legitimate clarifying questions is okay, as the seller will respond to the posts (or PMs) in the thread, to the benefit of all. Spammy BST posts such as:
if I had the $ I'd buy this
Click to expand...
this knife is beautiful, I wanna have *** with it
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GLWS
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should be discouraged, it's not fair to those who play by the rules. I remember when they were not tolerated in BST.

Just my $0.02 – actually in Canada we abolished the penny so everything rounds to the nearest $0.05, so my thoughts are worthless :D
 
Yeah I'm guilty of posting on bst when something really cool comes up. I just get really excited sometimes.
:bliss:
 
Doesn't bother me really when people add some 'spammy' posts, like 'beautiful knife, glws' etc, as I think it's pretty natural for people to get excited seeing things, express some enthusiasm, start a little discussion, etc. Rules to prevent this, I think, are a bit too controlling. If BST were to be set up like classified ads it'd be different, but stuff is listed in threads and that can invite discussion, which can also be fun. Sometimes you might see something which catches your eye, even if you won't buy, and feel like commenting. Sometimes people like to support interesting sales or sales from members they know or trust. If you're a buyer, it might also be nice to get a sense of this.

James said:
Might be nice if images had a ruler (or banana) for scale
Click to expand...

I'm all for the banana thing, so long as they're not Cavendish. ;)

banana+varieties.jpg
 
tjangula said:
Further, although technically against the BST guidelines, I think asking legitimate clarifying questions is okay, as the seller will respond to the posts (or PMs) in the thread, to the benefit of all. Spammy BST posts such as: (Remarks don't show in quote)

should be discouraged, it's not fair to those who play by the rules. I remember when they were not tolerated in BST.

:D
Click to expand...


Quick point of clarification.

Asking questions within the thread that relate to the item for sale is not against any rule and (speaking for myself) encouraged. Clarification good.
Nothing in the rules precludes the "spammy" posts. It's fine to say you would have sex with a knife. Pls don't send pictures.:groucho: I've added positive remarks about a knife or a maker when I have first hand experience to cite - a potential buyer may find it reassuring and it's a free bump for the seller.

The only remarks that are censored is anything derogatory about the item for sale or the seller. I don't care if you think it's a fatty, think the profile has been hosed, think the handle looks like crap or if you can buy the same knife new from xxx for 20 bucks cheaper. It don't fly and reporting such posts is encouraged.

Hugs.
 
or if someone wants more than market value you can send a polite message, I did that just this week with a certain deba someone was trying to sell for what the knife is going for new... I just politely let him know he's probably not going to get the price he's looking for and provide a link to the vendor who's selling at x price...
 
spoiledbroth said:
or if someone wants more than market value you can send a polite message, I did that just this week with a certain deba someone was trying to sell for what the knife is going for new... I just politely let him know he's probably not going to get the price he's looking for and provide a link to the vendor who's selling at x price...
Click to expand...

Just to be clear, that's ok in a p/m; not in the sales thread itself.

Also, it is required that any knife posted for sale or trade must have either a "sell for" price or a realistic value estimate associated with it.
 
Whoops beer = poor reading comprehension. Redacted. I misunderstood the content of daveb's post.
 
Most importantly, remember the old dictums "there's no such thing as a stupid question" and "it doesn't hurt to ask".
As was well stated previously, sales on B/S/T aren't from commercial retailers and the average seller may not be able to measure dimensions with extreme precision. Not everyone has a Starrett banana!
 
Bill13 said:
Speaking of calipers, I bought these off Amazon about18 months ago when giving Mikey R. handle dimensions. At only 15 dollars it was a no brainer. Since then I have used it occasionally with SV to determine the thickness of whatever I am cooking. /QUOTE]

I've had the same ones for couple years. Like em a lot. They do suck some batteries though.
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One thing I would value to,know is where the seller is located. I would never (...well...) purchase a knife again from outside Europe after an experience with custom charges and the €@@#^** additional handling fee of the courier. Easily adds up to 45 euro. So I am looking out for sellers in the EU.
 
You are right Daveb. Plus I just found out I can click on the username to see were he/she is located. I guess my brain opposes any barriers to instant gratification and wants to know NOW!
 
Boynutman said:
One thing I would value to,know is where the seller is located. I would never (...well...) purchase a knife again from outside Europe after an experience with custom charges and the €@@#^** additional handling fee of the courier. Easily adds up to 45 euro. So I am looking out for sellers in the EU.
Click to expand...

daveb said:
Ask?
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Require that the member update their profile to include location when posting in the B/S/T?
 
"Requirement" is a strong word. I like "should" instead of "shall". And come back to, if it's important to you - ask.
 
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