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Bumped Posts in the For Sale Section


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Is it just me or does anyone else hate the quantity of "bumped" posts in the "For Sale/Wanted/Recycling section on Shetlink.

 

If there are no responses to an advert placed in that section of Shetlink, it could it possibly mean that nobody wants the item that is for sale.

 

It could also mean that the advert's wording is poor, the items description is not sufficient/vague/false/misleading, the item is overpriced, has no photo's or it is just plain old rubbish that really needs to be thrown in the bin.

I fail to see how writing "Bump" as a reply to get the post back up to the top of the list is going to sell something, that is described in above manner, any quicker. If the replies are thin on the ground, revise the advert, add more pictures or reduce the price to try and drum up more interest.

 

It would also give newer posts a better chance to be seen by more people as they will stay in the first page of adverts for longer. I suspect that a lot of people only glance through the first page of posts and don't trawl through all of them.

 

Looking through the first page of adverts (49 in total) in the F.S. section i have found 10 bumped posts, some of which have been bumped on several occasions. There are also a few adverts with replies by the origonal poster which are bordering on "bumps" but not quite so blatent.

I entered "bump" into the "search" fuction and i got 113 hits with 69 "similar" hits which were not displayed. Most of which will be in the F.S. Section i bet.

 

Another forum which i regularly surf has started deleting any post which has been bumped and even deleting persistent offenders accounts. It has stopped everyone from bumping posts virtually overnight.

 

I know it will place a lot more work on the admin/mods shoulders if it was implemented on here, and they are already busy enough, but i would like to know their thought on this issue.

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Bumping posts is a forum tradition which, depending on your point of view (and how you search the fourms) is either annoying, vaguely pointless or quite acceptable.

 

I usually look to see how much time elapsed before the bump is made. If it's ridiculously soon, then I'd complain. Otherwise, a month or two later, I don't think there's any harm in a 'Still available' note being added.

 

If there's new information to add, or an update about the item, then it's perfectly ok.

 

At present we don't have a policy on this and, given the principle of 'we all have better things to do than chase folks', I'd rather we didn't need one. However, my eyes remain peeled for particularly obnoxious examples of this.

 

All comments on this subject quite welcome, however. Anyone else finding this a problem?

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If there's new information to add, or an update about the item, then it's perfectly ok.

 

I don't have a problem with anyone updating or revising their posts as this is a vital part of the selling process but what annoys me is people bumping their posts over and over again when they have had no replies and without even trying to update or revise their item description/price/etc.

 

Bumping posts is a forum tradition

 

As for bumping being a forum tradition, just because some people have done something for a while dosen't make it ok.

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My experience (various forums, as staff and member) has shown that almost any form of restriction placed upon forum use is detramental overall.

 

Preventing people from bumping simply produces multiple posts, which then have to be dealt with thus creating an even more messy forum for users and more work for staff.

 

The obvious exception would be someone watching the forum and bumping their post to the top everyime a new one came along, but spamming of that sort can soon be dealt with under existing terms.

 

I'll finish with another forum tradition - if it bothers you so much, why read it?

 

:lol:

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I don't have a problem with anyone updating or revising their posts as this is a vital part of the selling process but what annoys me is people bumping their posts over and over again when they have had no replies and without even trying to update or revise their item description/price/etc.

 

i agree

 

I think if you are trying to sell something and it has gone on to "page 2" of the for sale bit and is still not sold then getting it noticed again is quite acceptable after a few additions, price changes, etc.

 

I am guilty of just "bumping" :oops: but i will lower the price or change the description to sell it, after the first bump

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  • 9 months later...

^ I've merged this thread in with the existing one on the topic. Almost couldn't find it though because 'bump' is such a ubiquitous term. (>_

 

As GR already explained, it helps make the post visible to people who sort by date of last post. The jury is still out whether it is useful, or annoying.

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One of the few advantages of people writing bruck is that it has the same effect as "bumping" the post. It will help it remain near the top of the page.

 

Regularly bumping a thread can be frowned on and it might be better to add more details to the topic in question.

 

For instance if you were selling a car but didn't have a photo in your original post, you could add a photo later on in the thread which would also have the effect of bringing it back to the top. Likewise if you can add a more detailed explanation of what you are looking for or selling then this would be the preferred option rather than needlessly "bumping" the thread.

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