Should Brokered Deals Be Banned?

lemonwonder · 17-09-2008, 08:03 PM

Should Brokered Deals Be Banned?

Should brokered deals be banned, honestly and utterly... Should they really be banned???

Heres some points about them:

They often have very cheap products

The buyer saves on 1 way of shipping, and possibly saves on the shipping to customer due to local shipping costs.

If the buyer is not happy, they can simply send back to the seller for inspection, in origional packaging, with contents unopened.

Sometimes, and they should state it, brokers have enough money to back up their goods in case of a "sour" deal.

Some newbies come on and decide to broker, get themselves into something, and run off because they are scared.

Brokering is the most common form of scamming, as soon as you take that away, direct selling will be the most common form, you'll wan't that gone too!

My opinions are stated above.

NOW! Should brokered deals be banned??

It is up to you to decide... Experienced brokers and experienced buyers should find each other with no problem...

willhof · 17-09-2008, 08:07 PM

No, but certain products should be monitored more closely.

lemonwonder · 17-09-2008, 08:09 PM

Agreed. Buyers should perhaps *MAYBE* require 100 posts or whatever to buy brokered goods, hopefully by then they have gained knowlege. Or maybe an admin can post a topic on the risks, and in size 14 font the link to that topic must be placed in brokered topics.

willhof · 17-09-2008, 08:11 PM

Posts mean nothing to be honest. I think Anthony should monitor all deals of, you guest it....... Branded Electronics. More rigorous checks should definately be in place when dealing with such items.

greedyboy · 17-09-2008, 08:30 PM

Haven't we been discussing the same thing got the last 3 days?

lemonwonder · 17-09-2008, 08:34 PM

Yes, but the poll posted was biased... both options were yes.
This is a clear way to see the community view on the matter, without biased results.

lemonwonder · 17-09-2008, 08:38 PM

The first "yes" vote, would that voter like to share the reasons why?

greedyboy · 17-09-2008, 08:54 PM

Give me an example of a deal you would 'broker'?

**JGClifton** · 17-09-2008, 09:58 PM

At the moment I have extremely limited storage and a very reliable supplier for the brokered goods. Simply saves me room and I recieve the goods first to inspect then pass them on to the customer. I do not buy the brokered goods with the customers money. I see absolutely no problem with this at all

The problem is usually with branded electronics when someone is way out of depth and can't back the deal with their own funds. I am with Wilhof and think certain products (branded electricals) should not be allowed to be brokered.

**Pete** · 17-09-2008, 10:40 PM

You are not truly "brokering" JG. A real broker never sees the goods, only "puts the deal together" taking a percentage of the deal.

Wiki says - In commerce, a broker is a party that mediates between a buyer and a seller.

You are a buyer and then a seller, if you are taking title to the goods along the line. If they are shipped to you and then resold, you are not a broker.

We are all suffering under different ideas of a broker here.

As it has been used here on the forum in the past it refers to one member, who usually has a fair amount of posts, not a newbie, start a thread stating that he has found a deal, but must buy in a larger quantity than he can personally handle. He will be glad to share this bonanza with others if they will pool their money with his - in his control - and he will order the goods and see that they are distributed upon arrival, or possibly even have them split shipped to each participant.

Whether or not he picks up a bit of profit is not an issue, some may, others may not. The problems all have to do with the goods never coming in and the poor sod who started the thing with no money to pay the others what they invested. They invested on his say-so, taking his word of the deal and he is now responsible to either produce the goods or a refund.

This is what should be banned. I have asked several times to be shown just one such let's call it "Group Purchase" rather than brokered deal, since that's actually what they have been.

Until everyone is on the same page on exactly what is being voted on, they are as meaningless as Greedyboy's yes and yes option vote. He actually had it right, concerning these group buys. They should not be allowed and anyone who proposes one should be beaten off the forum.

Again, JG, you are not a broker. Good intentions, but by taking title and handling the goods you are just another middleman, actually increasing the cost even more by double shipping. You could make the same profit by dealing with trusted suppliers and having the goods shipped direct to your buyer.
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