Hello everyone,
The moderation team read through some of the ideas that people have come up with recently and came up with a list of ideas to help minimize risk for group buys. We are asking that you read through the list, and give us feedback, as ultimately these changes are for the users of geekhack, and as such we request your feedback.
- Currently we have the same requirements for posting a group buy as we do in the classifieds - 25 posts and 2 months on the forum. We could increase this to 500/1000 posts and 6/12 months on the forum. The rationale would be to have users that are familiar with the site and the users here, and are part of our community. Although this won't necessarily stop someone from scamming, it could help prevent new users feeling overwhelmed from getting over their heads. However, this could also prevent some cool projects taking place here.
- Limiting the amount of group buys that can be run to 1 or 2. Currently, we have an informal rule of 2 group buys per user, however if they are someone more established, who has experience, we allowed them to run more. Lowering the number will limit the amount of assets that someone has at a certain point in time, however it also limits the amount of group buys run by established members. For example, JD is currently running three buys I believe, two GH key buys as well as the JD45.
- Bro Caps made some good points about timing:
1. Require that the GB organizer keeps a short deadline in which orders can be placed , lets say 30 days tops. After that, they must close orders and submit to GMK (or whichever manufacturer)
2. Require a timeframe in which the organizer has to submit funds to the manufacturer (assuming they met MOQ), maybe another 30 days. They must submit proof of the transaction in the OP of the buy thread
3. If #2 isn't met, and the organizer flakes, people should be advised to open a dispute in PayPal to retrieve their funds safely within the 180 day time period in which they are able to do so.
- Putting down a rule regarding updates every 2 weeks. Although this is not exactly enforceable by us, it could be made a guideline. Even an update of "no news" could be an update.
- Have a second person accountable. For example, two users are involved in running the group buy, so that there are two people who can confirm payments have been made, keys have arrived, etc.
Additionally, we want to :
- Change the wording on the rules, clearly listing what we mean by CAVEAT EMPTOR.
- If we decide to create stricter requirements for group buys, we could possibly create a new subforum under groupbuys, in which threads can be created and locked, with a single link to an off-site group buy, such as a group buy being run by a well-known deskthority user, who doesn't post on geekhack enough to meet the requirements. The thread would be locked so that it only acts as an advertisement to off-site group buys.
Geekhack has always been a place of innovation, with some really cool projects coming to fruition. Our goal is to listen to the community, and create some changes to hopefully minimize the possibility of failed group buys. Please let us know what you think of these ideas, and if you have any to add.