SCF Must Send First Rule Reminder

[mikesilvia]

Ashley and Mike,

We do value hard working, small business owners like yourself getting involved in our community. I understand how tough the sports card industry can be on stores like yourself and I truly want to help. I can promise you that 20 transactions will come and go before you know it.

I would hope no one would be deceptive when dealing with you, but I'm simply closing a loophole that would exist if I allowed members to write their own caveats to our rules.

Good luck with your sales as I know you will do well and get past this MSF rule fairly quickly. I've seen people give great discounts and create 20 transactions in just a day. So, getting 20 transactions can take as little as a week factoring in shipping time. We have 3 members that have had 100+ transactions in a single month.

Good luck!

[FIRSTPITCH]

Mike it is no problem. We will not break any rules.
Ashley has instructed us to refuse trades with anyone who has a rating above 20 until we ourselves hit that mark. That way the playing field is level and within your rules. Plus we will be helping others like ourselves get their ratings up. So a win win for everyone. We look forward to getting to 20 ratings so we can trade with all members of this community.

Mike Wiggins

[Taliasen]

Wow. That is all I can say on this. I understand the purpose of this "rule" but the bottom line is, folks will decide who to and who not to trade with.
All of this noise regarding this rule which to the best of my knowledge is unique to this site is great but as long as two people agree on the terms of the trade including shipping, nothing else matters.
Smart people know how to verify the name and address of the person they are dealing with. Phone calls can be exchanged if needed. Ship anything of value insured with tracking and if you run across a scammer you have the USPS and the authorities to act on your behalf. Common sense is all that is needed. If you are not comfortable trading with someone, whether they have reached a magic number or not, don't make the trade.

Ashley Combs
Owner

I am a member of two other sites and a staff member on one of them. This identicle rule is in place on those other sites.

Tal

[FIRSTPITCH]

Ok. That is great.

[Ryo1549]

Fair enough. It is our intention to be an asset to any community where we transact. Those we deal with will be pleased that they did. My name and reputation mean enough to me that little pieces of cardboard are not going to tarnish it.
Goodnight all. a 140 card order of Tony Gwynn cards just came in from the website and I am going to be up for hours pulling it. UGH

Ashley Combs
Owner

Seriously, you come off as pretentious. If you're as trustworthy as you say you are you would have no issue following the rules until its your time. I have done 200 trades and hundreds upon hundreds of transactions from the collectors group on beckett, but i will not come to another board and try to make my own rules. That does not present a good reputation at all.

[Bondsaway]

OK we can go ahead and get pass the discussion of this. Everyone is aware of the rule (I hope) and does not break. Simply put lets move on to more pressing issues like getting some of you over 20 feedback. Feel free to browse my site and have fun and happy trading.

George

[FIRSTPITCH]

Re Post 45:
I guess you must not have read post 42. If there is a rule prohibiting under 20's from only trading with fellow under 20's until they break the 20 mark please show me.
Re Post 46: George we do look forward to dealing with you once we break the 20 mark.
I think this thread has served it's purpose for us. Time to move on to trading instead of going around about this. See you guys on the trade floor.
Ashley Combs
Owner

[gladdyontherise]

being this has been not so informational as it has turned to a rant, everyone should know i have to put in my 2 cents...

when i joined back in december, i had no problem sending first, my only thing was i wouldn't deal with other new members because i didnt trust them as much as people with proven and established feedback. with that being said. FIRSTPITCH, from the way the words come off your posts, it seems like you think you are better than everyone else by trying to get passed the MSF rule. Even the site owner Mike had to send first! it looks more shady when you refuse to send first rather than just following the rules. this is a rule on most every trading site you go to. i'm sure your not a scammer and everything but its a rule, and if one starts to not follow the rules, others will see and start to not follow them either. this thread has been turneed into a huge debate through the night? i sure missed alot while sleeping...lol

in conclusion, you are making more nemies by coming off like your better than us, because you feel you don't need to follow the rules while we all had to.. thats my 2 cents andfor everyone's enjoyment. my favorite banner

[FIRSTPITCH]

Ok.
Point taken. But since you are the second person to accuse us of not following the rules, can you please show me a rules that says we HAVE to do deals with over 20's when we are under 20?
Otherwise as our previous post stated, we are simply going to follow the rules and deal with under 20's until we hit the 20 mark. Doing so will benefit both ourselves and those we transact with. That is not a bad thing I don't think.
I don't think we are better. I do think we are different in that we are retailers and most people on this site are collectors (although I hope to add to my personal Blue Jays collection as we transact here). Being retailers and new to this trading environment I think actually puts us at a disadvantage because you guys are more experienced in this area of the hobby.
I admit we are not used to sending anything out until we have payment in hand because that is normally how business operates except for a few customers who we send some stuff to "on approval".
So even sending stuff out at the same time is a new concept for us but we want to try it because I believe it can help our business both from an inventory and customer standpoint.
In conclusion (I hope),
#1 We like this site and want to be a part of it because I believe it can be a mutually beneficial (and fun) relationship
#2 While we have been in retail for 15 years and some of my staff have as much as 28 years experience, trading as a company is new to us.
#3 If our plan to get to 20 ratings is a violation of the rules then let us know. Otherwise I hope you will let us build our rating to 20 in the way that works for us and then feel safe trading with us when we hit the magic #
#4 Most importantly, I apologize if myself or my staff came across as unprofessional or unfriendly. We enjoy dealing with people from all over the world and it is that "cyber contact" that keeps me going in this business.

Ashley Combs
Owner

[maddogg]

I do not see anything wrong with what FirstPitch is doing. We as traders have the right to choose who we trade with. As for the breaking the rules if a trade as been posted and they do not send that is one thing but if they choose not to trade with anybody with 20+ trades how is that breaking the rules. Just my opinion.

Bobby