What happened to the WRX classifieds?

[handicap122003]

I see one or two or three new as a day there used to be dozens.

Do people just go to eBay?

[hoosier84]

You need to cursor down below the pinned posts to see most of the new posts

[Hattie Pants]

Site change —> feedback system went away ——> BST is now a shell of its former self

[dhen9]

Agreed. Last several transactions I've netted more on eBay. Here's the rundown:

Item listed for "X" and offers of would you do 60% of "X"

I'll take it, followed by 24 hrs of silence.

PayPal and :15 mins later want tracking

Pay and 2-3 hrs later asked for refund.

 

I always like looking but I'm kinda over the BST board.

[handicap122003]

Thanks for the feedback it’s disappointing.

[Cjetblack]

I have noticed that as well, but I have also noticed that there isn't as much generally on ebay as usual. Maybe because of everything going on? Not sure. I used to frequent 3 balls golf, and they have a fraction of what they currently carry.

Of course, I have also had more luck selling on ebay recently (even though fees are killer). Maybe with all of the OEMs dealing with delays, people are turning more to used equipment. I don't know.

[AC in TX]

WRX Classified was based on community trust - the feedback system provided that assurance. I bought and sold a lot of clubs and a few bags, balls, rangefinders, headcovers, etc. the first 8 or 9 years of my membership. The decision to eliminate the feedbacksystem fundamentally changed WRX Classified. I really reduced buy/sell activity since the change. Whomever owns the decision owns the demise.

[EaglesGolf99]

Kinda glad to see this thread.

 

I was thinking the same.

And I feel the same.

 

I visit the Site, itself, probably as frequently as before, but I don't visit Classified nor Want To Buy nearly as much.

 

- no feedback system

- few and far between on successful leads, promises, transactions ("ghosting", ill transparency)

 

Honestly. Pains me to say it, but in the end selling became too much of a hassle. And the Want To Buy section is just a joke.

[NotromJRH]

100% agree, it used to be great, but it's a joke now.

[nsxguy]

FYI, and for the record, according to the boss it was NOT a "site decision".

It was a failure on the software development company. They made promises they couldn't fulfill.

[ProjectX]

It's been hit or miss for me. I don't see near the quality stuff that I used to see on there so I mostly sell more than buy at this point. The feedback system going away was a big disappointment. One of the things I hate most is the absurd amount of pinned ads at this point. People have to scroll through 30(not exaggerating, I counted) pinned ads before getting to the new posts. There used to be like 3-5 at most. Second has already been mentioned but the lowball offers and general lack of educated buyers or people not paying attention. I had a guy buy a wedge from me thinking he bought a totally different grind even though there were multiple pictures of the grind and written descriptions he still thought he bought something else. Had another guy complain that my clubs were 3* upright even though I listed that in the specs along with the exact lie angle for each club. These are things I would have reported in the old feedback system but can't anymore. All in all GolfWRX has gotten a lot more corporate which has been both a good and bad thing. In the case of the BST forum it's been a very bad thing.

[Carolina Golfer 2]

Maybe it's not the volume of the past. But I have sold a few items this summer and yes I did get a few offers below what I would take. I politely said no and stayed patient. And all sold usually within a week.

Granted in the past I had some sell within an hour or two of posting. Must have priced those too low.

[Nixhex524]

I'd still much rather deal here but mostly with those that have been around a while. Not having the feedback system is definitely a downer, it was (IMO) something that really sets this site apart from other sites in an effort to protect its users. The posts FS do seem to be a lot less than normal but that could be for a number of reasons in these times.... Just never pay F&F and try and vet who you deal with, lots of great people around here...

[SUPERG]

Used to be cool (I had a different user name a few years back and a great feedback score) ppl would send decent offers and be polite. Just last week a guy low balled me AND THEN wanted me to ship it nearly overnight because he had a tournament and made it seem like it was me who was being difficult. Hard to sell sometimes when you know the goons on here won’t respect the asking price/ and also want you to basically do the impossible to get it shipped to them in time for their Saturday scramble.

[EaglesGolf99]

So true!

[Bushwood Country Club]

Not to mention the search feature is practically useless now....

[setter02]

For me it was about searching for people in Canada to have faster shipping and not deal with people over charging for shipping up here. Ebay is just plain embarrassing for over charging for shipping, more so since the PB merger.

[NotromJRH]

Yes the pinned posts are irritating, they created this by making the rules to post overly strict, 1/2 the time people are banned with out warning, ads randomly deleted with out explanation, they don't know what they did wrong, or make a minor mistake, so people just pin their ad now. But they may as well scrap it as far as im concerned, but im sure they collect a decent amount of revenue from it so it behooves them to make it difficult for the free ads. I get the reason for the rules and I understand why they exist, but sometimes its a little overboard. Its become a pain in the ass to deal with, I too, have turned to eBay instead and seem to be having better luck both buying and selling there. I just make sure what I sell it for covers the fee as well.

[Christen_The_Sloop]

I haven't sold anything on the BST in a while. Didn't know there were any problems. It was pretty decent before. I was thinking of listing a few sets of old Japanese blades and I'll probably still do it. E-bay seems to be a little bit of a hassle.

[Soccerrick10]

Don’t underestimate the impact of both TaylorMade and Callaway offering 150% trade-in value plus free shipping. I re-did my and my son’s full bags with things we just didn’t get around to putting up for sale.

 

 

[KT35]

The search function kills me. Can’t find anything now.

[nsxguy]

Search function isn't great but what are you trying to find ?

[AC in TX]

Have been in IT for many years, the failings of a SW development company delivery invariably go back to the Client, the requirements, and the service agreement or contract for services ... and to things like user stories and proper User Acceptance Testing before final payment ... I do acknowledge that was yesterday and we have what we have today ...

[MattM97]

I made my first transaction here just after the feedback system went bye bye and funny enough I got burned on a trade, I should have called it quits after that but being a lefty finding stuff for sale isn't easy, just look at the lefty page it's 2 maybe 3 pages of gear where the RH location is just pages of it, sometimes page 1 is 50% pinned posts. I've seen just stuck to sellers with a good history and the lefty golfer community you kinda know who is good and who isn't, plus not hard to shoot someone a PM and get feedback.

 

Like others have said the no feedback hurts, but being a lefty options are limited on where to buy so I kinda just have to tread carefully.

[stickfish]

Ding, we have the winner. With responsibility comes accountability, true in a time many ages ago as well as today. The problem (as I see it FWIW) is the hierarchy platform in that many here believe they (we) are mortared in at the top as internal customers. Not sure the current business model supports the definition.

[nsxguy]

I have 30 years in IT, specifically mainframe computer software.

Firstly, other than being a member here I have no dog in this fight.

That said, I might agree with both of you if it wasn't for the FACT that, along with a fair number of very basic features ANY forum software NOT working pretty much from Day 1, many "improvements" and bug fixes since have gone by the wayside and shown up again after they'd been addressed. Add to that "floating" bugs that come and go. And some that are inexcusable. And a few almost simplistic things never working (see Search below).

Want an example or 2 ?

SEARCH - Click on the spyglass in the upper right. Anything typed in there SHOULD either carry over to the advanced search page OR just simply do the search. Clicking on "Advanced Search" simply went TO the advanced search page with NOTHING that was typed in carrying over to the subsequent page. This has been happening for at least a YEAR. Several other "features" in the advanced search itself have NEVER worked.

And tonight, just now in fact, I clicked on the spyglass. The box popped up but the second I tried to type anything in any box, nothing was accepted, the search box just DISAPPEARED when I hit a key.

I "hover" my mouse over the "Forums" link in the black bar near the top. The drop down appears. I slowly move the mouse down to click on the forum I want and the drop down DISAPPEARS. Only way I can click on any of items in the DD is to use my mouse to scroll down a bit to get the pointer into the DD - then the box doesn't disappear and I can click. Other ways ? Jerk the mouse pointer down to the DD very quickly - that usually keeps the drop down in place. Same things happen with the "Home" and "Links" in that black bar.

Take a look at the 2 pics below. This is a relatively new "feature" LMAO. Without doing ANYTHING the links below the black bar along with the description/URL to the page I'm on (Home - Participated Discussions in this case) simply DISAPPEAR. This is relatively new - been happening at least for the better part of a month.

Net-net, while I'm sure there was some confusion on user specs (there ALWAYS are), the software is a POS. And yes, the "user acceptance" was a big FAIL. That said there were unusual (read "urgent") time constraints on the new software release.

So no, "the failings of a SW development company delivery" do NOT "invariably go back to the Client, the requirements, and the service agreement or contract for services".

Add to that the explosion of need for computer software programmers and more and more INexperienced and downright poor programmers pressed into service, and you get even MORE GIGO.

 

[dwb7272]

If you have something very marketable, you might be ok. Hate to say but a new type of clientele. Will offer much less. On another subject have told members on WTB posts I have something they may want, and never hear back. I guess the sign of the times.

[sbjinx]

Did we ever get a reason why they did away with the feedback system.

[Red4282]

Ebays products have been pretty scarce too, 2020 can just be over with already

[leftygolferessex]

Honestly, this is one of the only reason I am on here, the lefty BST is the only one around. I've tried to sell a few items recently on there, but it was very slow (especially as I felt I had put some really nice and quite rare clubs on there) I do think that the rating system was probably a way of just confirming that you were buying from a decent seller