[META] Please stop posting "Great Finds" without reseraching

[Karura]

Just wanted to point out that lately, a lot of the deals posted in Great Finds regarding keyboards are very misleading, and really not so great deals.

For example, there have been many G81-XXXX keyboards with Cherry MY switches, one of the least desirable/worst switches out there, posted in here as a great find.

Another example, there are people completely guessing/speculating about the keyboards, such as posting a Cherry keyboard with White on Black keycaps as "rare and uncommon Charcoal grey keycaps."

I apologize in advance for being so blunt regarding these problems, but I really dislike seeing misinformation, as it contributes nothing to the community, and might even mislead a newbie into making a terrible purchase.

How can this be solved?

The Deskthority Wikipedia is one of the best resources on the net regarding Cherry keyboards and other vintage keyboards. They literally have information to help you decipher the exact specs of Cherry keyboards, right down to the colour and materials used.

GH also has a lot of knowledgeable and helpful members that are happy to help answer questions in CptBadAss's "Simple Questions and Simple Answers" thread.

Check your info and confirm the goods before posting.

I appreciate that some of you may be very eager to post and contribute to the community, but please stop spamming this forum with misleading information.

Please make an effort to confirm that whatever you're posting is indeed a great find. You have more than enough resources at your disposal, so please use it and help prevent the spread of misinformation.
Let's try to be a helpful and informative community that does our best to make sure our information is accurate and correct, otherwise it is not helpful.

[missalaire]

Meta? Is this Reddit now?

And you're wasting your breath. I've mentioned this before only to fall on deaf ears. Unfortunately such posts cannot simply be downvoted into oblivion.

[demik]

what are you, the great finds police?

[engicoder]

Some G81 keyboards are very desirably for the caps and case. Maybe you should do your research before posting 

[lolpes]

The g81 you where talking about was labeled charcoal gray g81, not because of the caps but because of the case, the op never mentioned charcoal gray caps. You just assumed it.

[SpAmRaY]

People shouldn't blindly buy things.

Maybe we need a thread telling people to make sure they understand what they are buying before they buy it.

PS: I have no idea what 'meta' means, I tried researching and just got a bunch of random gifs.

[fohat.digs]

Also, avoid posting auctions with low starting bids, because they sometimes/often/usually end up getting bid up to "not so great" prices.
 
An exception would be something very rare such that the great "find" is that it is for sale at all, regardless of price.

Perhaps we could also start a sub-thread for "interesting" or "unusual" finds that was more about curiosity than money.

[E TwentyNine]

Also, avoid posting auctions with low starting bids, because they sometimes/often/usually end up getting bid up to "not so great" prices.
 
An exception would be something very rare such that the great "find" is that it is for sale at all, regardless of price.

Perhaps we could also start a sub-thread for "interesting" or "unusual" finds that was more about curiosity than money.

Single megathreads defeat the purpose of a forum.

The description of this forum is: interesting deals/listing/etc at your favorite online retailer or auction site (eBay, Amazon, NewEgg, etc)

Nothing to do with price.

A low price on a common item can be a great find.

A rarer item with a higher price can also be a great find - e.g. beamsprings, barcode M's, early Cherry's, even that black apple keyboard.

The instance of people posting items I personally don't consider valid for this forum is low and manageable.

If someone does, mention it in the thread.  Nothing needs to be changed.

[harlw]

Occasionally there are duds posted but "interesting" is defined by the individual and I, for one, find most of these posts interesting even if they are not good buys or end up being a mistake. I enjoy learning about the existence, variance, and nuances of boards current and historic and of course I enjoy the occasional good deal and have made some fun purchases based on posts here.


Just an alternative view to consider.

[Karura]

I'm well aware that there are lots of keyboard that may be desirable for different reasons, just wanted to provide a reminder and some sources to obtaining that information.

Also I'm well aware G81 has MX compatible caps, as I've got a huge collection of G81 that I salvaged caps AND cases from; that said, a lot of the G81 posts do not even have desirable caps.

Just trying to be informative, remind people that we have lots of great resources around us, and it's not so hard to find good information on most keyboards.

[bcredbottle]

holy **** Apple Model M w/ magenta Alps springs for $20 shipped

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-OEM-Apple-II-Keyboard-M0487-with-Cable-Tested-Working-/361413430674?hash=item5425eb4d92:g:qHoAAOSw9mFWJ6~Q

[heedpantsnow]

Maybe we need a Great Finds Therapy thread?

[Karura]

holy **** Apple Model M w/ magenta Alps springs for $20 shipped

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-OEM-Apple-II-Keyboard-M0487-with-Cable-Tested-Working-/361413430674?hash=item5425eb4d92:g:qHoAAOSw9mFWJ6~Q

My jimmies are so rustled. :/

[SamirD]

Just wanted to point out that lately, a lot of the deals posted in Great Finds regarding keyboards are very misleading, and really not so great deals.

For example, there have been many G81-XXXX keyboards with Cherry MY switches, one of the least desirable/worst switches out there, posted in here as a great find.

Another example, there are people completely guessing/speculating about the keyboards, such as posting a Cherry keyboard with White on Black keycaps as "rare and uncommon Charcoal grey keycaps."

I apologize in advance for being so blunt regarding these problems, but I really dislike seeing misinformation, as it contributes nothing to the community, and might even mislead a newbie into making a terrible purchase.

How can this be solved?

The Deskthority Wikipedia is one of the best resources on the net regarding Cherry keyboards and other vintage keyboards. They literally have information to help you decipher the exact specs of Cherry keyboards, right down to the colour and materials used.

GH also has a lot of knowledgeable and helpful members that are happy to help answer questions in CptBadAss's "Simple Questions and Simple Answers" thread.

Check your info and confirm the goods before posting.

I appreciate that some of you may be very eager to post and contribute to the community, but please stop spamming this forum with misleading information.

Please make an effort to confirm that whatever you're posting is indeed a great find. You have more than enough resources at your disposal, so please use it and help prevent the spread of misinformation.
Let's try to be a helpful and informative community that does our best to make sure our information is accurate and correct, otherwise it is not helpful.

Since you've taken the effort to call you my posts, let me address this right here and now.

A great find to me is something significantly below market value that may be of interest to someone in the keyboarding community whether it is for parts, usage as a whole, a trade, something to try, or whatever they may please.  If there needs to be a stricter definition, then it needs to be posted and addressed the by the creators of the site and those who maintain that definition in the sticky thread which states the following:

Simply put, Great Finds is for posting links or other leads that will assist a Geekhacker in obtaining what you're posting about. As such, if you post a link to a product on a website, it should ideally be direct to the product, be viewable without needing to log into the linked site, and be an active listing or one that is significantly likely to restock.

• Please do not post links to your own items for sale. We ask that you instead create a Classifieds post.
• If you are a larger scale vendor, please contact iMav regarding a vendor subforum.
• It is encouraged to post links to listings which are still open and available. If you find something really neat which has already sold and want to post it for information's sake, that's not a huge problem, but do make sure you check the first couple pages of great finds to make sure it hasn't already been posted when it was still for sale.
• If you recently bought something that you consider a 'great find' and want to post about it, that would be more appropriate for it's in the mail or what did you get in the mail today? as these subforums are intended to showcase your stuff.
• Do not post referral links (where someone viewing or buying via the link you provide will cause you to benefit in some way). If they are in a format where the referral code can be removed from the URL, they will be edited. If they are in a format where the referral code cannot be removed from the URL, your post will be edited or completely deleted as appropriate.
• Keep your posts relevant to the item being discussed in the thread as much as possible.
• If you know of coupon or discount codes, it's OK to post those along with the link as long as the vendor does not have a policy against this.
• If you know of an in-person (that is, there is no link to view it online) great find, that may be appropriate so long as you fully describe how to get the item or where it is, etc.
• Try to be descriptive with your thread titles. If there's room, try to hint at the location and site/retailer - for example, "eBay US" for items listed on eBay in the United States. This isn't required, but is a courtesy to other members as we have users from across the globe.

I read these rules very carefully before my first post.  No where did it state that if it's not of interest to user Karura, it should not be posted.

[Karura]

Wall of text

Excuse me? I'm sorry, but I'm not sure why you feel that you are being called out.

I made this thread, to inform and offer uninformed people a way to get informed on these vintage keyboards, and hopefully make more informed posts regarding "Great Finds", as I felt a lot of the threads were more in line with "I found this keyboard, it is on sale, but what switches do they use?" rather than "Hi I found this vintage Cherry G81-1800, with MY switches (bad), but MX compatible White on Black keycaps, and the fact that they're Winkeyless makes it an extra great find!". You see the differences?

There is a wealth of information on both DT and GH, and I do my best to point people in the right direction so we can have more informed posts.

Edit: Of course, this is only my opinion and my guide serves as just a guide. You are free to post whatever you'd like.

[SamirD]

Wall of text

Excuse me? I'm sorry, but I'm not sure why you feel that you are being called out.

I made this thread, to inform and offer uninformed people a way to get informed on these vintage keyboards, and hopefully make more informed posts regarding "Great Finds", as I felt a lot of the threads were more in line with "I found this keyboard, it is on sale, but what switches do they use?" rather than "Hi I found this vintage Cherry G81-1800, with MY switches (bad), but MX compatible White on Black keycaps, and the fact that they're Winkeyless makes it an extra great find!". You see the differences?

There is a wealth of information on both DT and GH, and I do my best to point people in the right direction so we can have more informed posts.

Edit: Of course, this is only my opinion and my guide serves as just a guide. You are free to post whatever you'd like.

Again, I'm not sure who died and made you the God of Great Finds.  You're free to read other threads and visit other topics in the forum. 

If you don't think MY switches are good, great, that's your opinion.  Getting the same switches for $25 is a bit of a deal for someone looking for them, even if it is just for the caps.  I don't think it is fair for your personal definition of what are 'good' switches and what are not to override what the rules are for the forum.

You've pissed on not only my finds but another valued member.  If you don't like our finds, do the work and post your own.

[Karura]

Why do you think this is all about you? lol

No one ever claimed that I am the God of Great Finds. I am free to post my guide, just as you are free to post your great finds.

[SamirD]

Why do you think this is all about you? lol

No one ever claimed that I am the God of Great Finds. I am free to post my guide, just as you are free to post your great finds.

what are you, the great finds police?

Not just me. 

I understand you tried to be a little less critical and more encouraging in the latter part of your post, but by that time the reader was already too offended to care.  I still read it and don't disagree with what you're suggesting, but your approach definitely ruffled some feathers, especially mine after you posted in my finds threads and then singled out the products posted here.  Definitely not the best approach to get me on your side.

[Karura]

Why do you think this is all about you? lol

No one ever claimed that I am the God of Great Finds. I am free to post my guide, just as you are free to post your great finds.

what are you, the great finds police?

Not just me. 

I understand you tried to be a little less critical and more encouraging in the latter part of your post, but by that time the reader was already too offended to care.  I still read it and don't disagree with what you're suggesting, but your approach definitely ruffled some feathers, especially mine after you posted in my finds threads and then singled out the products posted here.  Definitely not the best approach to get me on your side.

I am sorry that you feel that way. Lesson learned for me. No hard feelings?

[fohat.digs]

I enjoy this thread and have found some great things here. I feel that I have also pointed out many good things to other people.

Very early on, I posted an ebay auction and was thoroughly cursed and called a "rat bastard" by one of our Aussie friends for calling attention to an auction he was hoping to win on the down-low. I did learn a lesson from that and rarely post any auction sales.

Personally, I would rather see more stuff here than less, just in case it happened to be something that I was looking for.

[Tym]

People shouldn't blindly buy things.

Maybe we need a thread telling people to make sure they understand what they are buying before they buy it.

PS: I have no idea what 'meta' means, I tried researching and just got a bunch of random gifs.

"Meta" is kinda like the current state of things or the current generation, its actually really hard to explain to someone who doesn't know what it is, a really loose example would be that the iPhone 6s is the current meta of Iphone, but its more making a reference to something that is currently happening/recently happened

[E TwentyNine]

I enjoy this thread and have found some great things here. I feel that I have also pointed out many good things to other people.

Very early on, I posted an ebay auction and was thoroughly cursed and called a "rat bastard" by one of our Aussie friends for calling attention to an auction he was hoping to win on the down-low. I did learn a lesson from that and rarely post any auction sales.

Personally, I would rather see more stuff here than less, just in case it happened to be something that I was looking for.

I've gone through this from both sides.  I have been on an auction with zero watchers hoping it didn't show up on here/DT and when it did I'd grumble, the price would get driven up, but I understood that's the nature of the game.  And the few that didn't I snagged on the cheap.

I also no longer post anything but BIN's or very rare items because I understand the feeling and I do recall a tirade or two on some of my earlier contributions.  My feeling is someone who is actively looking for something will find the auction, whether it's here or not.  For BIN's the price is the price (you might BO it), if someone didn't snag it when they saw it they can't complain of it showing up here.

[E TwentyNine]

"Meta" is kinda like the current state of things or the current generation, its actually really hard to explain to someone who doesn't know what it is, a really loose example would be that the iPhone 6s is the current meta of Iphone, but its more making a reference to something that is currently happening/recently happened

Meta refers to meta-discussion.  It's literally a discussion about the discussion, or in this case, a discussion about this forum.

[HoffmanMyster]

Wall of text

Excuse me? I'm sorry, but I'm not sure why you feel that you are being called out.

I made this thread, to inform and offer uninformed people a way to get informed on these vintage keyboards, and hopefully make more informed posts regarding "Great Finds", as I felt a lot of the threads were more in line with "I found this keyboard, it is on sale, but what switches do they use?" rather than "Hi I found this vintage Cherry G81-1800, with MY switches (bad), but MX compatible White on Black keycaps, and the fact that they're Winkeyless makes it an extra great find!". You see the differences?

There is a wealth of information on both DT and GH, and I do my best to point people in the right direction so we can have more informed posts.

Edit: Of course, this is only my opinion and my guide serves as just a guide. You are free to post whatever you'd like.

Aren't we all keyboard enthusiasts though? I'd expect most people here to know what MY switches are, or at the very least they are responsible enough to make their own decisions. If someone wants to buy something purely because someone else made a thread about it with doing no additional research, that's on them. We can't be expected to hold everyone's hand throughout this whole process.

[SamirD]

Why do you think this is all about you? lol

No one ever claimed that I am the God of Great Finds. I am free to post my guide, just as you are free to post your great finds.

what are you, the great finds police?

Not just me. 

I understand you tried to be a little less critical and more encouraging in the latter part of your post, but by that time the reader was already too offended to care.  I still read it and don't disagree with what you're suggesting, but your approach definitely ruffled some feathers, especially mine after you posted in my finds threads and then singled out the products posted here.  Definitely not the best approach to get me on your side.

I am sorry that you feel that way. Lesson learned for me. No hard feelings?

Deal.  No harm, no foul. 

[digi]

All we need to do is have iMav redirect url requests on "Great Finds" to eBay and Slickdeals.

[rowdy]

I enjoy this thread and have found some great things here. I feel that I have also pointed out many good things to other people.

Very early on, I posted an ebay auction and was thoroughly cursed and called a "rat bastard" by one of our Aussie friends for calling attention to an auction he was hoping to win on the down-low. I did learn a lesson from that and rarely post any auction sales.

Personally, I would rather see more stuff here than less, just in case it happened to be something that I was looking for.

A dilemma I face from time to time, especially as "great finds" on eBay Australia are few and far between, and those in the know are generally already aware of them.

[missalaire]

All we need to do is have iMav redirect url requests on "Great Finds" to eBay and Slickdeals.

While a lot of deals I post are from Slickdeals, a good number of them aren't. I spend more time than you probably think looking for deals

[digi]

All we need to do is have iMav redirect url requests on "Great Finds" to eBay and Slickdeals.

While a lot of deals I post are from Slickdeals, a good number of them aren't. I spend more time than you probably think looking for deals

Find me a GTX 980 for $250 hehe

[absyrd]

All we need to do is have iMav redirect url requests on "Great Finds" to eBay and Slickdeals.

While a lot of deals I post are from Slickdeals, a good number of them aren't. I spend more time than you probably think looking for deals

Hey... because of you I don't even check slickdeals anymore. You're like my personal filter. I don't mind at all.

And if people wanna post MY links in here, go right ahead. If nothing else, do it for moose.

[Karura]

Aren't we all keyboard enthusiasts though? I'd expect most people here to know what MY switches are, or at the very least they are responsible enough to make their own decisions. If someone wants to buy something purely because someone else made a thread about it with doing no additional research, that's on them. We can't be expected to hold everyone's hand throughout this whole process.

People shouldn't blindly buy things.

Maybe we need a thread telling people to make sure they understand what they are buying before they buy it.

I completely agree that people shouldn't buy things blindly, and should be doing their own research. We also have a lot of newer keyboard enthusiasts that might not know to look at the DT wiki, but still eager to participate and buy things nevertheless. All in all, I strive to inform, and hope to create a more informed community, whether it's more informed posts, or more informed buyers.

While a lot of deals I post are from Slickdeals, a good number of them aren't. I spend more time than you probably think looking for deals

You're doing god's work, son.

[jdcarpe]

Not saying it's ever been posted here, but a G81 with lasered keycaps is not a great deal at any price.

I'm in the camp with E TwentyNine and fohat.digs, I don't think it's good practice to post auction links, even with a low starting price. It just encourages bidding wars between forum members (and forum lurkers). BIN are fine to post, however.

[Snowdog993]

Not saying it's ever been posted here, but a G81 with lasered keycaps is not a great deal at any price.

I'm in the camp with E TwentyNine and fohat.digs, I don't think it's good practice to post auction links, even with a low starting price. It just encourages bidding wars between forum members (and forum lurkers). BIN are fine to post, however.

That is part of the reason I backed off the "Great Finds" too.  It seems to hurt more than help.
I also agree about the BIN posts.  Even so, someone or anyone will object to something. 

[alienman82]

removed.

[Photekq]

Not saying it's ever been posted here, but a G81 with lasered keycaps is not a great deal at any price.

Some of them can have useful components, even if it's just a cable. For instance, a NIB G81 with a long beige coiled cable would be worth $10-25 to a lot of people. Also, the thick POM and PBT keycaps are quite nice, even if they are lasered.

[jdcarpe]

I did post a g81 with lasered caps, but I stated how the case and spacebar were still useful.  Hopefully this wasn't directed towards me.

No, it wasn't. But if it were me, I wouldn't have posted that one, simply because it was an auction, and not a BIN eBay sale. Someone was trying to win the auction without it being noticed, and now those chances are probably ruined.

[ander]

Karuna, suggestions like these just inhibit sharing.

It's obviously subjective what a "Great Find" is. Just because something doesn't interest you doesn't mean it won't interest anyone else.

I'm a professional writer and editor, but I'm not paid to post here. I do it because I like GH people. They share fun stuff with me, and I want to try to return the favour. I use my own time to take and process screenshots, write comments and supplementary info, and embed links.

When I see something I want to post here, it's not always just because it's undervalued. It may be an unusual or rarely seen item with a fair asking price. It may be something that wouldn't interest most people but may interest a few particular people. Or it may just be something I think is cool, and I'm willing to take the chance someone else may think it is too.

Occasionally, it's also something I think is so silly, it could entertain others to see it. Maybe you've been taking some of those posts seriously? That would explain a lot.

Rather than taking it upon yourself to tell us what to share and what not to share, here's a better idea: If you don't like a particular "Great Finds" post, stop reading it. Problem solved!

IMHO, it's also ludicrous to suggest only BIN listings be cited here. The idea is to inform each other of potentially interesting stuff, not just stuff we can buy immediately. Otherwise, why would any of us ever bother bidding on anything, whether we heard about it here or not? Sheesh. Really.

[ed_avis]

I rely on Geekhack fact checking to make sure that only genuine Mandolin crystals are posted in Great Finds.

[jdcarpe]

IMHO, it's also ludicrous to suggest only BIN listings be cited here. The idea is to inform each other of potentially interesting stuff, not just stuff we can buy immediately. Otherwise, why would any of us ever bother bidding on anything, whether we heard about it here or not? Sheesh. Really.

Several of us have suggested that only BIN listings be posted, not because it's stuff we can buy immediately, but rather because it sucks to be bidding on (or sniping) something that is currently "under the radar" with a low bid, only to see it show up here in Great Finds where everyone will see it. Just because you personally aren't interested in bidding on something, and think it might be of interest to other Geekhackers, doesn't mean that someone out there isn't trying to get a great deal on something and hoping that no one will notice before the auction ends.

[ed_avis]

It sucks to be bidding on something and see someone else bid the price up.  But it also sucks to miss out on something altogether because you didn't know about it.  If something is likely to be of interest to Geekhack members, let's post it and let everyone have a chance to bid on it.  Unless you think it is somehow unfair that people reading the great finds page should be allowed to bid on "your" item on an equal basis to those who found it for themselves by searching Ebay.

[jdcarpe]

let's post it and let everyone have a chance to bid on it.

Let's not. Why do we want members here bidding against each other for something?

[ed_avis]

Many years ago I used to follow the Usenet group for IBM PS/2 (MCA bus) hardware.  When bidding on Ebay, members would sometimes post a link to the auction with a request so that others in the group could refrain from bidding up the price.  I didn't do so myself, since I don't think it is really fair to ask others to stand aside from bidding just for me (they don't owe me any favours), but this allows those who want to form a buyers' cartel to do so.  Another thing that happened was to post your Ebay user id and name so that others in the group would recognize it, but this is less useful now that Ebay obscures the identity of bidders.

So I think we should post the great finds, whether auction or buy-it-now or whatever, but if a member is bidding on an auction they could post a reply noting that.  Again - it's not for me, I would prefer to let everyone have a go at bidding and let the highest bid win, but I understand that some will feel differently.

[HoffmanMyster]

Many years ago I used to follow the Usenet group for IBM PS/2 (MCA bus) hardware.  When bidding on Ebay, members would sometimes post a link to the auction with a request so that others in the group could refrain from bidding up the price.  I didn't do so myself, since I don't think it is really fair to ask others to stand aside from bidding just for me (they don't owe me any favours), but this allows those who want to form a buyers' cartel to do so.  Another thing that happened was to post your Ebay user id and name so that others in the group would recognize it, but this is less useful now that Ebay obscures the identity of bidders.

So I think we should post the great finds, whether auction or buy-it-now or whatever, but if a member is bidding on an auction they could post a reply noting that.  Again - it's not for me, I would prefer to let everyone have a go at bidding and let the highest bid win, but I understand that some will feel differently.

They don't owe you any favours now, but maybe they will when they post something and you don't bid on it.

[jdcarpe]

Just to put all these in one place:

Also, avoid posting auctions with low starting bids, because they sometimes/often/usually end up getting bid up to "not so great" prices.

Very early on, I posted an ebay auction and was thoroughly cursed and called a "rat bastard" by one of our Aussie friends for calling attention to an auction he was hoping to win on the down-low. I did learn a lesson from that and rarely post any auction sales.

I've gone through this from both sides.  I have been on an auction with zero watchers hoping it didn't show up on here/DT and when it did I'd grumble, the price would get driven up, but I understood that's the nature of the game.  And the few that didn't I snagged on the cheap.

I also no longer post anything but BIN's or very rare items because I understand the feeling and I do recall a tirade or two on some of my earlier contributions.  My feeling is someone who is actively looking for something will find the auction, whether it's here or not.  For BIN's the price is the price (you might BO it), if someone didn't snag it when they saw it they can't complain of it showing up here.

I'm in the camp with E TwentyNine and fohat.digs, I don't think it's good practice to post auction links, even with a low starting price. It just encourages bidding wars between forum members (and forum lurkers). BIN are fine to post, however.

That is part of the reason I backed off the "Great Finds" too.  It seems to hurt more than help.
I also agree about the BIN posts.  Even so, someone or anyone will object to something. 

[Coreda]

let's post it and let everyone have a chance to bid on it.

Let's not. Why do we want members here bidding against each other for something?

I've never really understood what the Great Finds etiquette is meant to be. The sub-forum is clearly about posting great (or often just amusing) finds that are currently available but it's obvious for some items that someone else would have been watching it and planning to bid.

As such the OP mustn't want (or afford) the item, otherwise they wouldn't have posted it, so it occupies this strange space where potentially desirable items that others were watching become exposed more broadly (or merely gives that impression, who knows maybe the same number of people were watching it all along).

If the point wasn't to allow for others to bid though what really is the point of the sub-forum?

[HoffmanMyster]

let's post it and let everyone have a chance to bid on it.

Let's not. Why do we want members here bidding against each other for something?

I've never really understood what the Great Finds etiquette is meant to be. The sub-forum is clearly about posting great (or often just amusing) finds that are currently available but it's obvious for some items that someone else would have been watching it and planning to bid.

As such the OP mustn't want (or afford) the item, otherwise they wouldn't have posted it, so it occupies this strange space where potentially desirable items that others were watching become exposed more broadly (or merely gives that impression, who knows maybe the same number of people were watching it all along).

If the point wasn't to allow for others to bid though what really is the point of the sub-forum?

There are plenty of excellent non-auction deals posted in the subforum.

[heedpantsnow]

I for one would love if people post a low starting bid auction.  If someone posts, "I'm trying to get this, please don't outbid me" I would hope people would honor that.  I know I would (and it would be kindof dumb to bid if you know you're just going to get in a bidding war with sby).

The reason why I think it's helpful is education...when people who are more knowledgeable about, say, Model M's post these type of auctions on a regular basis, those of us who don't know as much start to learn what to look for, etc.  I think the rest of us would learn a lot.

Just my $.02.

[jdcarpe]

I for one would love if people post a low starting bid auction.  If someone posts, "I'm trying to get this, please don't outbid me" I would hope people would honor that.  I know I would (and it would be kindof dumb to bid if you know you're just going to get in a bidding war with sby).

The reason why I think it's helpful is education...when people who are more knowledgeable about, say, Model M's post these type of auctions on a regular basis, those of us who don't know as much start to learn what to look for, etc.  I think the rest of us would learn a lot.

Just my $.02.

That is great if everyone always wants to pay full market value for everything. I, for one, like to snag a great deal when I can, and not pay full market value for everything.

See fohat.digs' very informative thread: Ebay Buying Advice - you asked for it


Also, I know you just used the Model M as an example, but if you are looking for a standard Model M, eBay is NOT the place to be looking. The prices are just too high, compared to what you can get for next to nothing elsewhere. E-waste recyclers are where the value is at for Model Ms.

[ander]

That said, I do think it's a good idea, when possible, to reserach anything before you post about it. Reseraching is important.

[FrostyToast]

To be fair, there are going to be a lot of new members of the community here and simply calling a find "great" may be slightly misleading.
Many members might not know what exactly is great about the item and make some assumptions on what makes it great; sometimes it is still not easy to see something's value despite research.

Most of the posts in the "Great Finds" section of the forum simply contain the link in the OP without any sort of description.
Considering the lackluster descriptions of items in eBay listings, it would be nice if the OP were to type out a synopsis listing the good and bad qualities of the item.

For instance:

Cherry G81-1236
Pros:
-Attractive industrial grey NCR top case with off-white bottom
-Like new Cherry doubleshot keycaps compatible with MX switches and known to be of extremely high quality

Cons:
-Keycaps are UK ISO with a winkeyless bottom row and stepped caps; a relatively uncommon layout not found in most modern boards
-G81 keyboards use Cherry MY switches; these are considered to be extremely terrible and useless
-For use with normal Cherry switches, a G80-3000 PCB, or replica PCB must be transplanted

Something like that would be useful.
Perhaps a comment about the pricing of the listing should also be mentioned.
I do agree that the effort put into how "Great Finds" posts are structured is fairly lacking right now.

[SamirD]

To be fair, there are going to be a lot of new members of the community here and simply calling a find "great" may be slightly misleading.
Many members might not know what exactly is great about the item and make some assumptions on what makes it great; sometimes it is still not easy to see something's value despite research.

Most of the posts in the "Great Finds" section of the forum simply contain the link in the OP without any sort of description.
Considering the lackluster descriptions of items in eBay listings, it would be nice if the OP were to type out a synopsis listing the good and bad qualities of the item.

For instance:

Cherry G81-1236
Pros:
-Attractive industrial grey NCR top case with off-white bottom
-Like new Cherry doubleshot keycaps compatible with MX switches and known to be of extremely high quality

Cons:
-Keycaps are UK ISO with a winkeyless bottom row and stepped caps; a relatively uncommon layout not found in most modern boards
-G81 keyboards use Cherry MY switches; these are considered to be extremely terrible and useless
-For use with normal Cherry switches, a G80-3000 PCB, or replica PCB must be transplanted

Something like that would be useful.
Perhaps a comment about the pricing of the listing should also be mentioned.
I do agree that the effort put into how "Great Finds" posts are structured is fairly lacking right now.

Since one of the most important factors in making a find 'great' is the value based on the price, I always include that.  And my rule of thumb is that if it's not more than a 30% discount off of the cheapest you can find otherwise, it's not really a great deal.

[ander]

Look, guys, before you expect people to take what you're saying seriously, consider:

• Not everyone has that kind of detailed knowledge yet. Indeed, that may be why they've come here. Even new members want to try to be of some value while they learn from the rest of us. I think that's great and that we shouldn't inhibit them. There is a lot of crap out there that's not obviously crap. While it may seem annoying to some of you, bringing it up here is a great way to learn about it—assuming you can get polite and helpful feedback, not just shortsighted criticism. I've sure learned a lot that way.

• Even experienced members don't always have the time to type out the volume of detail you're referring to.

• If there's anything questionable about something here, most of us either know enough to add any missing points, or to post questions about it. I don't think there's much danger of someone seeing something here, rushing off and buying it, then feeling they were mislead. I can't remember actually seeing that happen, at least.

• If something really is a Great Find, and it's BIN—as you apparently prefer—the faster someone can post about it here, the less likely it'll be snapped up before they can tell us about it. Setting these kinds of requirements for Pros and Cons, etc., will either delay that process, or make the potential poster think, "Aah, why bother?" (I've had these feelings myself, especially after being pounced on for sharing something with good intentions.)

Frankly, it sounds to me like you're being somewhat picky and demanding. Maybe a bit controlling, too.

What's really important here? Trying to be strict about what people post, or encouraging them (that is, not discouraging them) to share potentially great stuff we wouldn't know about otherwise?

[E TwentyNine]

If someone wants to improve the quality of the posts here, be the change you want to see.  Make better posts.  Beat the person making sub-par posts to the punch.

Contribute.

[hwood34]

Look, guys, before you expect people to take what you're saying seriously, consider:

• Not everyone has that kind of detailed knowledge yet. Indeed, that may be why they've come here. Even new members want to try to be of some value while they learn from the rest of us. I think that's great and that we shouldn't inhibit them. There is a lot of crap out there that's not obviously crap. While it may seem annoying to some of you, bringing it up here is a great way to learn about it—assuming you can get polite and helpful feedback, not just shortsighted criticism. I've sure learned a lot that way.

If there is ever something I might buy that I don't have information on, I post in Simple Questions, because it fits there. Not here.

• Even experienced members don't always have the time to type out the volume of detail you're referring to.

• If something really is a Great Find, and it's BIN—as you apparently prefer—the faster someone can post about it here, the less likely it'll be snapped up before they can tell us about it. Setting these kinds of requirements for Pros and Cons, etc., will either delay that process, or make the potential poster think, "Aah, why bother?" (I've had these feelings myself, especially after being pounced on for sharing something with good intentions.)

Frankly, it sounds to me like you're being somewhat picky and demanding. Maybe a bit controlling, too.

So people really can't take at most a minute out of their day to ensure what they're posting really is a "great find" and give some insight into why? And like that minute is often going to make a difference?

What's really important here? Trying to be strict about what people post, or encouraging them (that is, not discouraging them) to share potentially great stuff we wouldn't know about otherwise?

If they know it's great, post it here. If they think it might be but aren't sure or need more information, ask somewhere that isn't here.

[jonathanyu]

Just my opinion, I think the name of this section should change to interesting finds instead of great finds.

The description of this section:

interesting deals/listing/etc at your favorite online retailer or auction site (eBay, Amazon, NewEgg, etc)

it said nothing like "great deal" or "great keyboard at cheap price".
Some stuff on ebay, amazon,etc may not interest you, but it may interest someone else.

I agree there are some post of "great finds" are quite annoying because those are not great finds at all, but I don't see those post hurting this section. I don't think someone would buy something just because it is posted here.

[HoffmanMyster]

Look, guys, before you expect people to take what you're saying seriously, consider:

• Not everyone has that kind of detailed knowledge yet. Indeed, that may be why they've come here. Even new members want to try to be of some value while they learn from the rest of us. I think that's great and that we shouldn't inhibit them. There is a lot of crap out there that's not obviously crap. While it may seem annoying to some of you, bringing it up here is a great way to learn about it—assuming you can get polite and helpful feedback, not just shortsighted criticism. I've sure learned a lot that way.

If there is ever something I might buy that I don't have information on, I post in Simple Questions, because it fits there. Not here.

• Even experienced members don't always have the time to type out the volume of detail you're referring to.

• If something really is a Great Find, and it's BIN—as you apparently prefer—the faster someone can post about it here, the less likely it'll be snapped up before they can tell us about it. Setting these kinds of requirements for Pros and Cons, etc., will either delay that process, or make the potential poster think, "Aah, why bother?" (I've had these feelings myself, especially after being pounced on for sharing something with good intentions.)

Frankly, it sounds to me like you're being somewhat picky and demanding. Maybe a bit controlling, too.

So people really can't take at most a minute out of their day to ensure what they're posting really is a "great find" and give some insight into why? And like that minute is often going to make a difference?

What's really important here? Trying to be strict about what people post, or encouraging them (that is, not discouraging them) to share potentially great stuff we wouldn't know about otherwise?

If they know it's great, post it here. If they think it might be but aren't sure or need more information, ask somewhere that isn't here.

All great points.  If you're not sure of the potential value an item might hold to someone, it's best to ask elsewhere before posting. 

And a good guideline would be to explain the value / why you're posting something in the OP (unless it's really obvious I suppose - but if you're posting a cheap board with bad caps/switches that's only good for the case, maybe mention that).

[SamirD]

So people really can't take at most a minute out of their day to ensure what they're posting really is a "great find" and give some insight into why? And like that minute is often going to make a difference?

Yes, it can.  I've made flights with less than a minute to spare.  And when GH is one of my only outlets for my keyboard interest (and that's a part of my life) posting here can be as important as a flight.  Sometimes the balance requires cutting a few corners.  (I usually just don't post until I can, but sometimes I get interrupted and have to post what I've got.)

[SamirD]

Just my opinion, I think the name of this section should change to interesting finds instead of great finds.

The description of this section:

interesting deals/listing/etc at your favorite online retailer or auction site (eBay, Amazon, NewEgg, etc)

it said nothing like "great deal" or "great keyboard at cheap price".
Some stuff on ebay, amazon,etc may not interest you, but it may interest someone else.

I agree there are some post of "great finds" are quite annoying because those are not great finds at all, but I don't see those post hurting this section. I don't think someone would buy something just because it is posted here.

I think this is an excellent idea.  It broadens the field of posting and gives us 'interesting' deals  as well as ones to buy.

[E TwentyNine]

So people really can't take at most a minute out of their day to ensure what they're posting really is a "great find" and give some insight into why? And like that minute is often going to make a difference?

You're complaining about people who take the time at all to post a great find that they're not taking enough time?

If they know it's great, post it here. If they think it might be but aren't sure or need more information, ask somewhere that isn't here.

Nope.  If they think it might be great, post it here.  I'd rather have some not-so-great finds that miss one that is.  The threads that aren't great will die quickly and the good ones will rise to the top.

[fohat.digs]

I'd rather have some not-so-great finds that miss one that is. 
The threads that aren't great will die quickly and the good ones will rise to the top.

This is my feeling.

Although I can sympathize with someone trying to win an auction on the cheap if fewer people notice it, this is a public service thread.

[1391406]

In my opinion, if you don't know whether something is a 'great' find, do a bit of research and/or inquire about it in one of the other sections before posting it here. If it turns out to be great, go ahead and post it.

[nubbinator]

I don't care if they aren't great deals if they're uncommon.

What does annoy me is that 90% of the deals being listed in here are just deals yanked from the front page of slickdeals.net and they're not deals people dug up.

[SamirD]

I don't care if they aren't great deals if they're uncommon.

What does annoy me is that 90% of the deals being listed in here are just deals yanked from the front page of slickdeals.net and they're not deals people dug up.

But if it's a good deal/something of interest, what does it matter where it comes from?