Discussion Forums - DVD Bazaar

Hi all!

I don't post here very often, but I do wander through looking at the deals!  Today I happened to be reading the Red Sticky Thread and saw this rule:

***Postable Wish Listed DVDs cannot be offered as incentives for ordering DVDs from your Tower. Postable Wish Listed DVDs should be entered into the general system with no strings attached. This is a rule. ****

Now, I don't remember seeing this before but, as I said, I don't post here much so thought maybe I had forgotten.  I did ask a more regular poster if it had always been there and I just didn't remember...the other poster didn't remember it, either.  So, we rather agreed that maybe it should be pointed out since a lot of people might not realize it is no longer OK use Postable WL DVDs to get orders from our towers.  :-)

Thanks Beth!

This has always been a rule since the beginning but sometimes people don't follow it in the bazaar. Hopefully those people will see your post though

Thanks for the info...I had no idea either...I'll delete my post.

I had been foregoing selling wishlisted items on ebay (which, face it...most dvds are on folks' wishlists because the titles are above and beyond the cost of commonly circulated titles on the site...and yes...it makes financial sense,in general, for members to sell wishlisted items because of this...rather than post them into the system. Practical, common sense.) 

My thinking on the matter was that I could use such titles to...yes...help clean up my tower...save on shipping...but, also...to add more desired/desirable titles into site circulation...not directly...but the wishlisted items end up going to members all the same...and may end up coming round to others as well...the likelihood is increased. There may be some other things which I am not considering here. Seems to me this rule may be, perhaps, more than a little counterproductive to the goals of Swapadvd? Of course...if folks have to divide shipping up between a larger amount of items...it certainly doesn't line members' pockets, eh? 

I have been doing it to help me get the credits for other wish listed movies on my wish list. If I see one of my wish listed movies here in the bazaar I would gladly order it with an order from their tower to save them on shipping and to give them credits and I get my movie faster.

Never realized it was a rule as I have been seeing people doing it for a long time.

I guess I will not get that that extra credit when I list wish listed movies anymore.

Don't like the rule, but have to obey.

Thanks for letting us know.

So only Unpostables WL'd DVD's can be offered as incentives in the Bazaar then?

How about intentionally damaging a wishlisted item into unpostable condition so you can offer it as an incentive?...LOL!

Here is another thing folks have done here...How about putting several postable wishlisted items up for grabs in the bazaar to save on shipping?

...How about putting several postable wishlisted items up for grabs in the bazaar to save on shipping?

We have been given permission to do this.

  It may seem like the same thing, but I think the difference in the minds of the powers that be may be that saying "I have WL DVDs X, Y, & Z to offer, but I can't afford $15 to send them seperately" doesn't alter the "value" of DVDs X, Y, and Z.  Where saying I have WL DVDs A, B, and C available, but only if you order 2 DVDs from my Tower, actually raises the "value" of the WL'ed DVD by 2 credits.  Really, it's the same as saying "you can have my WL DVD for three credits."  It's a fine line,  but it's their line to draw...

 Really, it's the same as saying "you can have my WL DVD for three credits."

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The individual is, in reality, still getting 3 postable dvds for 3 credits.  One is the WL item...Perhaps the other 2 selections are ones they wanted as well or are curious about...perhaps not.  I've ordered some selections just to broaden my horizons in deals like this...quite often, I've come across some nice keepers.  If it's not my cup of tea, I post it on the site again.  All good.

I am glad there is a rule about this--and offering a WL item w/ an order of one seems like a great deal to me "to save on shipping," of course. But when the conditions are raised to ordering more than one more, particularly when the selection is limited, it is hardly worth it. I do not see that it raises the "value" of the WL'd item, though, because you are still getting 1:1. I am also glad someone has pointed out this rule because I think the bartering for WL'd items was getting out of hand. That is just my two cents, I hope I'm not the only one to think that.

Some people never post WL'd newer releases, but only post directly to someone's WL. I suspect many people take their WL'd items to the games vs. posting them. I tend to post WL'd ones that are some oldies but goodies, and take the newer releases elsewhere to trade, not sell. I have also posted a few in the bazaar to save on shipping, too, but will not be doing that again. A WL one is worth more to me to trade out 1:1.

"when the conditions are raised to ordering more than one more, particularly when the selection is limited, it is hardly worth it.  I am also glad someone has pointed out this rule because I think the bartering for WL'd items was getting out of hand"

Yes it was getting out of hand, I mean everybody wants to save on shipping but if that was always the case why not make a new rule that says "in order to be on this site you have to order more than one dvd from an existing customer"

not trying to make anybody angry, just my own opinion! have a great day everyone!  :)

I second that it was getting out of hand.  I've noticed this and assumed that the tour guides would point this out earlier.  Using postable wishlisted DVDs to get people to order off your tower bypasses and nullifies the system, where people wait in line to receive wishlisted movies.  This is an important rule to maintain order on SwapaDVD and should not be ignored.

I must admit, I've been guilty  of this, but ONLY once (and I almost felt bad aobut it, even so much as forgetting the "order from my tower" part..right Kat ;o), I tend to add a little "discount" if something is offered off of my tower half the time, attempting to make the deal a bit more enticing, but I've seen a lot of "order 2 things off my tower and its yours" stuff going on which is a REAL turn off, especially with my credit count not all that high at the moment, I mean HEY, we're ALL trying to get rid of our commons, but holding a highly WL'd item "hostage" by ordering 2 or 3 more things is a big...outrageous.

Let's speak the "troof" here...the "save on shipping" thing is a HUGE loophole to the original OPs rule findings above. In all honesty, some are legitimately trying to save on shipping...some are just trying to move their towers...sorry if it sounds harsh, but I calls 'em like I sees 'em.

I Wish the practice would stop!  Not fair to those of us who been waiting & waiting & waiting....  Post them there WL DVDs sheesh   BTW Most members Do order more DVDs IF there IS something we want!  But Forcing us to me is Rude & Blackmail!  

I'm pretty sure this rule is new.

At the risk of (virtual) tomatoes thrown in my direction, I'll say that I don't really see what the big deal is. (I've done it a handful of times myself, but no more, obviously.) Doesn't it increase circulation in those titles? It's basically trading time - requestor gets a WL title earlier than they normally would have and the price they pay is that they pick up an extra DVD that will sit on their tower for a bit before they can unload it.

No one is "forced" to do anything - you don't have to take it if you don't like the terms.

I honestly dont see the difference between this and being able to send out multiple wled dvds to save shipping. I have done it both ways, and its saved me a lot of money on shipping. I generally dont have the money to send out single dvds except for for games, so I will generally not be able to post single wled dvds through the system. And it has to be a relatively new rule, as I've thoroughly read the rules for the site before and never remember seeing this.

No tomatoes thrown at Rachel here, she makes an EXCELLENT point, if no one likes the terms of the trade, they really don't HAVE to. I don't mind so much if its "order 1 from my tower" for the 1 DVD...especially if its one of my HIGH wants...more then that...gets a little "greedy" in my eyes...

Has told me they will adress this issue in the next newsletter. They are still working on the rule. They do not want to punish anyone that has postings up right now. So hopefully it will get answered in the newsletter. Thanks everyone.

It is a new rule.  I have referred to the bazaar rules fairly often over the years and I haven't seen that one before.

My understanding is that this is a new rule as well.  I've been guilty of this, but it honestly was to save on shipping costs and only ever asked for one tower order, not 2-3 like some people have.  Usually when I ship out one item I just use the automated machine at the post office, however when I ship multiple items I use the site shipping for the delivery confirmation which in turns benefits the site.  I've seen quite a few people do this over the last year, even Tour Guides, so I thought it was okay.  If no one wanted the WL'd item after a few days I'd just post it to the system and let the first person in line get it.  When you're mailing out 40-50 DVDs a month, shipping can get a little spendy... 

Quote : "BTW Most members Do order more DVDs IF there IS something we want!  But Forcing us to me is Rude & Blackmail!  "

I have sent out hundreds of DVDs through the system, and 99% of those did NOT order anything else from my tower.  No one is forcing you to do anything - like Rachel said, if you don't like the terms, don't order it!   It's not rude or blackmail and calling it that is just silly.

I don't care either way about the rule, but if something is allowed that is to my advantage, I'm going to do it.  If it's not allowed, then I won't. 

"When you're mailing out 40-50 DVDs a month, shipping can get a little spendy... "

Exactly - I dont know about you guys but I cant afford high volumes of trade like that. Based on my records I have spent over a thousand dollars in shipping on this site alone, and I've been here how long, 9 months? Edit ok 11 months :-P Now imagine if I hadnt ever tried to save money on shipping....

"I have sent out hundreds of DVDs through the system, and 99% of those did NOT order anything else from my tower"

Yep. I've only had 2 people out of all my transactions order something extra. Personally, I don't do it either unless its someone that I trade with frequently and like.

I'm with Jessy as I'll obviously follow whatever the rules are.  I do know that chances are I'd be less likely to trade highly WL'd titles if I didn't have the option of packaging them with something else.  It's not that I don't want it, it's just that I usually buy them just to swap them out on the site.  If I can find a WL'd DVD for $3, then spend $2 to mail it, it's cost me $5 for a credit that I can buy in the bazaar for $3.25.

I'm with Jessy, Kathryn & Shawn.  If you don't like the deal, wait in line longer and maybe someone who took the deal will post it.  In my experience, most members do not order more when a wish is granted.  I'll follow the rules, but I thought it was okay to do too, I think I asked a TG when I first saw it in the Bazaar, and was told it was okay to do this to 'save on postage'. 

It does move tower dvds, as I've taken deals like this before and checked other's tower for the order one requirement and selected something I would never have thought about requesting and the movie proved to be entertaining.  I've also not taken deals offered because I didn't find anything on the member's tower that I was even remotely interested in.  I don't feel my arm is 'twisted' to take a Bazaar deal... and I just hope someone who took it would post it or offer it on the bazaar and maybe their tower would have something I'd be interested in.

Can I offer a list of postable WL movies and require a minimun of 2 or 3 be selected to save on mailing?  Similar to what I've done on PBS?

How i undetstand it is EVERYTHING must be wishlisted if there is an order requirement.