I regularly follow the great BST section on this forum in the hope of scoring one of the knives I really long for.
This thread/topic, however, is the result of a couple of listings I've seen recently(not necessarily just related to knives I'm interested in) which have left me wondering about what is acceptable behavior, both from the part of the seller and prospective buyers like myself.
I have read the BST guidelines and I'm fully in agreement with what is stated there.
There are nonetheless some instances where I feel it's difficult to judge if I would be in violation of rules/etiquette of commenting(negatively) by posting comments or questions that relate to the state and condition of the item being listed.
As an example, let's say a seller lists a knife as "like new in box" or "never been sharpened" and describes the knife as either very lightly used, while on the other hand the pictures in the listing shows eiher heavy thinning or tip repairs have clearly been done, or the finish on the blade road is completely different from a new example of the knife.
In the BST guidelines it's stated that "It is not uncommon for posters to leave out key information for purchasing decisions such as blade height, length, steel, etc. Questions to clarify the item being posted are welcome."
To me at least, the condition of the knife and the work that has been done to it is certainly "key information for purchasing decisions" even if it isn't specified in the BST rules. It won't make me less interested either necessarily. In my example above, if I were to ask the seller how he had gone about thinning, how many times it's been done etc, then I would directly contradict what they had stated in their listing. Would I be making a clearly "impugning comment on the perceived quality of the knife or perceived defects" as stated in the BST rules, or would they be clarifying questions that could potentially make me or others want to buy the knife?
I'm aware that questions can be posted via PM, but I also feel that forums like these are about open information that can benefit everyone. I completely agree that negative comments about a maker, the price of an item and so on should be kept off a BST listing, but I also think a listing should be as up front as possible(even if buyer beware always applies).
This thread/topic, however, is the result of a couple of listings I've seen recently(not necessarily just related to knives I'm interested in) which have left me wondering about what is acceptable behavior, both from the part of the seller and prospective buyers like myself.
I have read the BST guidelines and I'm fully in agreement with what is stated there.
There are nonetheless some instances where I feel it's difficult to judge if I would be in violation of rules/etiquette of commenting(negatively) by posting comments or questions that relate to the state and condition of the item being listed.
As an example, let's say a seller lists a knife as "like new in box" or "never been sharpened" and describes the knife as either very lightly used, while on the other hand the pictures in the listing shows eiher heavy thinning or tip repairs have clearly been done, or the finish on the blade road is completely different from a new example of the knife.
In the BST guidelines it's stated that "It is not uncommon for posters to leave out key information for purchasing decisions such as blade height, length, steel, etc. Questions to clarify the item being posted are welcome."
To me at least, the condition of the knife and the work that has been done to it is certainly "key information for purchasing decisions" even if it isn't specified in the BST rules. It won't make me less interested either necessarily. In my example above, if I were to ask the seller how he had gone about thinning, how many times it's been done etc, then I would directly contradict what they had stated in their listing. Would I be making a clearly "impugning comment on the perceived quality of the knife or perceived defects" as stated in the BST rules, or would they be clarifying questions that could potentially make me or others want to buy the knife?
I'm aware that questions can be posted via PM, but I also feel that forums like these are about open information that can benefit everyone. I completely agree that negative comments about a maker, the price of an item and so on should be kept off a BST listing, but I also think a listing should be as up front as possible(even if buyer beware always applies).