Mini-FAQ rec.games.frp.marketplace
Trevor...@acml.com
Here's the latest and almost final version. Need to rearrange section B a
bit, add a few subentries for the longer answers and add a quick bit on
international posting/buying/selling but otherwise its finished. Email
me if you have a question/issue with a specific section. The maxi-FAQ is
at least two weeks off.
Trevor
--------------
Posting: Twice Monthly
Version D1.2
Last Modified: 20/6/97
<-Table of Contents->
I. Introduction
A1) What is this mini-FAQ?
A2) Contributors.
A3) What you need to know.
A4) Lurk first.
II. Basics
B1) Pricing.
B2) Sale vs. Auctions.
B3) Always provide ratings for your items.
B4) Posting guidelines.
B5) This is rec.games.frp.marketplace *not* rec.games.dnd.marketplace
B6) Multiple vs Single posts
B7) NetDealer Postings.
B8) Never Crosspost.
B9) Never Post Magic/Other CCG posts.
B10) When to update.
B11) Post items, not URLs.
B12) Always post a final Auction/Sale notice.
B13) Waiting for the monety.
B14) Notification
B15) Standard shipping costs.
B16) How to bid on items.
B17) Reserve prices.
B18) How make a _successful_ WTB post.
III. The facts of netlife.
C1) Bad Buyers.
C2) Bad Sellers.
IV. In closing.
D1) Keep cool.
D2) Have fun.
<-Introduction->
A1 Q. What is this mini-FAQ?
A. This mini FAQ is a monthly posting to rec.games.frp.marketplace
(hereafter referred to as r.g.f.m). It contains the minimum information
deemed necessary for new users of r.g.f.m. There is a maxi-faq also posted
monthly to r.g.f.m that contains the same information as the mini-faq plus
a bunch of stuff that faq maintainer and/or members of r.g.f.m thought was
useful to new members of r.g.f.m.
A2 Q. Who are the contributors to these FAQs?
A. Currently: Trevor Dewey, Matthias Bock, David Papay(ex-officio
contributions really), Alex Hofelich, Quincey Koziol, Peter Standley,
Michael Cox.
A3 Q. So what do I need to know to be a successful user of r.g.f.m.
A. Over the years a couple of issues have proven to be of most
concern to new r.g.f.m users. In no particular order they are: Pricing,
Rating, Posting Guidelines, and Net Buying/Selling Guidelines. In addtion
to these issues, there is also the usenet-wide issue of Netiquette. We'll
try and cover them all.
A4 Q. Is there a golden rule that will lead me to success?
A. Yes. Lurk before you leap. Before buying or selling any item on
r.g.f.m I recommend reading posts and following auctions for at least one
month.
<-Basics->
B1) Q. How do I find pricing guidelines for my frp material.
A. There are two main sources of pricing guidelines. The best is
without a doubt David Papays AD&D prices guide. Currently located at
http://acm.org/~papay/tsr_prices_intro.html. David keeps track of the last
15 sales of every AD&D/D&D item produced by TSR and sold on r.g.f.m. The
list is updated quarterly and posted to r.g.f.m. David is currently
working on a netprices list for Judges Guild products.
For non-ADD/DD prices the only recourse is to head on over to
dejanews
http://www.dejanews.com and start looking at past auctions/sales on
r.g.f.m. If you're selling an item that is from a small company it is more
than possible their are no recorded sales of that item.
B2) Q. Which is better a sale or an auction? Do auctions generally
make more money?
A. Depends. You might want to take a tip from the Net Dealers.
They tend to sell the more common frp items and auction off the rarer
ones.
B3) Q. How do I rate my items?
A. There are a couple of different ratings systems out there and a
number of r.g.f.m posts without any ratings whatsoever. I believe that
posting without rating is a disservice to the net community. After much
internal debate here is the system I prefer:
[N] - New.
The object you are selling is new. I would only expect net dealers to use
this rating. New items are the only items that you should expect to
delivered shrinkwrapped. New items are usually sold at a premium.
[M] - Mint.
The item is perfect. Anything less than perfect is not Mint. Mint items
are always sold at a premium, usually a significant premium. Very few
items ever qualify as mint. Even New items do not always qualify as mint.
Mint items should be packaged in a way to protect their "mintness".
[NM] - Near Mint.
This item has absolutely minimal damage. It might have minimal whitening
on at most one edge (if a module). Near mint items are sold at a premium
and like Mint items should be packaged in a way to protect their "near
mintness".
[VG] - Very Good
This item has some minor damage. It might have minimal whitening on two
edges (of a module) or perhaps a crease or minor spine damage if a
hardbound book. Most collectors prefer not to buy items worse than VG. And
VG items should be packaged to protect their "very goodness" >:.
[G] - Good.
Good, really isn't. There is some moderate damage to the item. Perhaps
pencil marks, owners signature in pen or similar. The module/book etc
is expected to be completely intact (no tears etc) and not have
"serious damage". Good items are sold at minor discount. Good items should
be playable.
[F] - Fair.
Fair is bad. The item is damaged in some way or is missing maps or other
vital elements. It may have a small tears or tape. Fair items are sold at
a discount. Fair items may or may not be playable--if not playable should
be noted why. Most gamers will not buy items worse than Fair.
[P] - Poor.
Everything else falls into this category. Poor items are generally not
playable as is. Poor items are sold at a large discout.
This system avoids the confusion that arrises with the use of
Very Fine/Fine and Fair.
In addition to the lettering system. You can add finer
gradations by using +/- . For instance an item with minor shelf wear
might be NM- as opposed to NM or VG.
B4) Q. How should I post my auction/sale/notice ?
A. Remeber that you are posting to a group of people whose
knowledgeof the frp market is unparalleled. All they want to know
is: What are you selling and what condition it is in. Unless you're
selling something truly unusual you don't need to go into any more
detail than that.
I suggest using the following template for your
Subject: line.
[Name of Auction] [Auction/Sale] [Game System(s)/Editions/Main Auction
Items] [Highlight Items][Update# if auction]
Joe's Auction: ADD 1st+2nd Ed/CoC inc. T1-4,Arkham Horror, Update #3
Jane's Sale: Dragons/WhiteDwarf Including Dragons #5,15,17-20
WhiteDwarfs #24,50-60
For your actual post please be as concise as possible, using
standard abbreviations and standard ratings Here's an example of
an auction listing.
Item Condition Current Bid Current Bidder
ADD:T1-4 VG+ (Some shelf wear) $10 john...@nowhere.nohow.net
Space 1889:Rulebook G (Spine damage) $2 jane...@nowhere.nohow.net
40k: 1 Eldar Titan M (unpainted/SW) $5 jane...@nowhere.nohow.net
WD156 VG $2 reserve
WD157 VG $2 reserve
Some standard Abbreviations:
1st Ed -- ADD 1st Edition
2nd Ed -- ADD 2nd Edition
40k - Warhammer 40,000
1889 - Space 1889
A1,A1-4,Etc: Old ADD Modules are referred to by Module No.
ADD/AD&D - Advanced Dungeons Dragons
AH - Avalon Hill (Runequest)
BH - Boot Hill
CoC - Call of Cthulu
C&S - Chivalry and Sorcery
DD/D&D - Dungeons and Dragons
GURPS - GURPS :->
FR - Forgotten Realms (ADD World)
FS - For Sale
ICE - Iron Crown Enterprised (MERP, Rolemaster)
JG - Judges Guild
GW - Games Workshop
GDW - Games Designer Workship (Traveller, Space 1889)
MERP - Middle Earth Role Playing (ICE)
META - Metagaming
Mini(s) - "Lead" Miniatures (frp miniatures on this newsgroup)
OOP - Out of Print (as in Out of Print ADD modules)
RPGA - Generally refers to the RPGA series of modules rather than the
actual RPGA assocition.
RQ - Runequest
SJ/SJG - Steve Jackson/Steve Jackson Games
SW - In shrink wrap
TS - Top Secret
TS/SI - Top Secret/SI
WD - White Dwarf
WTB -Want to Buy
B5) Q. If I'm just selling AD&D can't I just forgo mentioning
the gamesystem in the Subject line?
A. Nope. Remember this is r.g.frp.marketplace. Any and all frp
systems are sold and bought here and a number ( a large number) of r.g.f.m
readers do not play AD&D.
B6) Q. Should I do multiple postings for each item in my
sale/auction?
A. Nope. Most usenet users prefer that you post as little as
possible. If you have an extremely large auction (50 or more items) it is
usually acceptable to split the items into two or more postings.
B7) Q. I'm a new net dealer. How often should I post my sales
list.
A. This is acutally a sore point with some members of
r.g.f.m, including myself. My recommendation (to avoid annoying the
bears) is no more than one "main" post per week and perhaps one "special"
post per week. Note also that it is generally in your best interest to
identify yourself as a net dealer.
B8) Q. What about crossposting between the various frp and
marketplace groups.
A. If your sale/auction/post includes less then 20% board
games a crosspost to rec.games.board.marketplace is generally considered
acceptable. Crossposts to any of the other frp groups or any other
marketplace group (with the possible exception of misc.forsale.misc) is
considered the height of net-rudeness. If you have a number of
board games and frp items to sell, its best to split your posts into
two seperate lists. Posting the board games to r.g.board.marketplace
and the frp items to here.
B9) Q. But I've got Magic Cards/PC Games to sell along with my
frp items. Can't I just crosspost to r.g.f.m and r.g.t-c.m.m.* ? What
about rpg PC games and rpg CCGs ? What about AD&D computer games--
can I post those here?
A. I was wrong about B8. This is the height of r.g.f.m net
abuse. The absolutely quickest way to raise the ire of members of r.g.f.m
is to crosspost between here and any of the ccg marketplace groups. It
doens't matter if they're RPG PC games or RPG CCG's they simply
don't belong on the frp groups. Again, AD&D computer games are
computer games and belong on the pc games marketplace groups.
Please post your CCG cards on the CCG groups,and your
PC games on the PC games groups.
B10) Q. I'm a netdealer/regular guy/gal running an auction how
often should I post updates?
A. Remember that usenet is a worldwide network. It takes time
for your initial post to propogate to all the corners of the earth, and it
takes time for your updates to propogate as well. A good rule of thumb is
an update every 2-3 days depending on the "action" of your auction. When
you're down to having one or two people bidding over one or two items its
time to take your auction off r.g.f.m and onto email.
B11) A. I've got a neat website with stuff for sale/auction.
can I just post the URL?
B. No. This is usenet not the web. It's certainly
acceptable to post a sale list _and_ a url with the equivalent
information. Without a complete list on usenet searches through
Dejanew or other usenet search engine will come up empty. You
will potentially miss out on prospective customers.
B12) Q. After my auction is over should I post a notice showing
final prices and who got what?
A. Yes. It provides data for future auctions/sales.
Furthermore there is some vicarious interest for the final prices of the
high-ticket items (Ok Mr. Holte. What did Lost Tamochan go for...).
B13) Q. How long should I expect to wait to get my money? How long
should I expect to wait to get my item? How long does it take a check or
money order to clear?
A. Depending on the location of the buyer it can take one to two
weeks to recieve a check or money order. It can take your bank (in the US
at least) up to six _business_ days to clear the check or money order. You
don't actually have money until the check or money order clears. In New
York City it can take six business days to clear a US check OR US money
order. And up to ten business days or possibly more to clear an
international check/money order (if the bank accepts the international
check/money order in the first place).
Depending on how you bought the item. As indicated in the prevous
paragraph most sellers are not going to ship your item until your check or
money orderclears their bank. This takes up to six business days
(excluding weekends and bank holidays). Once the check clears the seller
will ship your items. Generally items are shipped in three ways UPS or
other service and 1st or 4th class USPS. UPS is either ground (up to
seven days within US), three-day or overnight. 1st Class USPS generally
gets anywhere in the US in five days.
International shipments can expect a minimum of an extra week for
any shipping class. If for some odd reason customs decides to hold your
order (very rare, has never happened to me and I usually buy/send
something International every couple of months) it can take weeks for
your order to complete.
B14) Q. Is it polite to notify when a check or money order is
sent/received?
A. Yes this is simple professional curtesy.
B15) Q. What should I expect to pay for shipping?
A. Depends. Sometimes if your spend enough money the seller will pay for
shipping for you. Usually, however, the buyer will have have to pay for
shipping. USPS priority will ship 2lbs of stuff for $3.00. So thats a good
maximum for modules and the like. COD usually costs an additional $10 on
top of anyother shipping requirements. Most two day sevices will ship a
letter package suitible for a module or two around $12.00.
B16) Q. If I'm bidding on an auction should I email the seller or just
post my bids on usenet?
A. Heavens No! Bids or offers to buy should be emailed to the seller.
You're welcome to abuse the followup command on any of the *.test groups
but please not on rec.games.frp.marketplace.
B17) Q. What is a reserve price ?
A. A very sticky matter on this group.
A reserve price is the sometimes hidden, sometimes explicit price
that a seller sets as the minimum price that he will accept (at auction)
for an item. Reserve pricing is actually quite common in the rarefied
Fine Art world but its still somewhat new to our little corner. Reserve
pricing shows up occasionally in r.g.f.m auctions.
B18) Q. I want to buy a bunch of really rare and expensive items, should I
just
post this list on usenet? I just want to buy one really rare and expensive
item, should I just post that on usenet? Do WTB posts work, at all?
A. No. Maybe. Sometimes. Posting a WTB with a list containing every rare
TSR module, The first 100 issues of the dragon and the like only irks the
long term residents of r.g.f.m. The reality is that indeed once and a
great while the truly rare stuff (Lost Tamochan, Dragon#1 etc ) does
come up for AUCTION on r.g.f.m.
On no account is anyone who reads this newsgroup and owns the item(s)
you're looking for going to sell it to you unless you offer an
obscene amount of money along with the post. I suggest searching the
current Auctions and Net Dealers list before posting WTB. All too often I
see items listed in the WTB that are offered by the Net Dealers or in
current auctions.
<-Other Points->
C1) Q. Hey, Y won my auction with a bid of $X.XX but he never
sent in any money! I sold item Z to Y, but he never sent in any money!
A. Thats the breaks of netlife. Try contacting Y at least once more
by email. Occasionlly people are just late with the money. Alternatively,
you could offer COD via FedEx service for your Auction. Its a bit more
expensive but prevents the check is in the mail syndrome. If Y has backed
out of the auction you can either reopen the bidding or offer it to the
number to bidder at his last offered price.
C2) Q. Hey, I won item Z at an auction and sent in my money but
it never showed up! Hey, I bought Z at a sale and sent in my money but it
never showed up!
A. That sucks. Almost everyone who's dealt on the net has
been hosed once, usually early in their netcareer. The trick is to prevent
it from happening again. Netizens use any of the following methods:
1) Reputation. A few net wheelers and dealers have been around for a good
while and have developed an excellant reputation. Both for quality of
goods and quality of service. You can't go wrong buying from them.
2) Net refs. Most of the smaller dealers (and all the guys in category 1
above) can provide net references. Ask for and check net references before
sending in your check.
3) COD. This is the method of last resort. If the seller is unable to
provide net references, you are within your rights to ask for COD. I use
FedEx COD for high-ticket/large-purchases when I'm unfamiliar with the
Seller and so should you. Be aware that COD does cost considerably more
than regular ol' USPS and in general you as the purchaser are expected to
pay for shipping.
4) USPS. Okay, I lied. This is the method of last resort. If you
don't/can't pay for COD and the seller does not have netrefs make sure you
send your check through the USPS. If he cashes your check and refuses to
send you your purchased items you can contact the USPS Mail Fraud office
and initiate a Mail Fraud investigation of the seller.
<-In Closing->
D1) Q. Anything else I should know?
A. Yes, remember to always keep your cool. It's a big net
and there are some obnoxious people on it. r.g.f.m sees the occasional
pyramid scheme spam, random obnoxoius post spam and other junk. If you
see this sort of crap on r.g.f.m. feel free to email the poster reminding
him or her of the charter of r.g.f.m. DO NOT, however, followup his post
to r.g.f.m. That just creates more junk for the users of r.g.f.m to wade
through. If a poster is obnoxious enough email the
postmaster@<the_obnxious_poster_site> that usually, but not always does
the
trick. Lastly, you and we can try the net-abuse newsgroups.
D2) Q. Whew, anything else?
A. Yes. Have fun. All of us here on r.g.f.m are gamers like yourself.
Many of us our collectors as well and we're happy to see a new gamer and
(one hopes) future collector of frp games and materials. There's still
nothing like a great frpg.
Cheers,
r.g.f.m
<----end----->
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