Barter Town, or Other Selling & Buying Venues

Tinkerbelle

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So, you are considering selling or buying some equipment and do not know where best to sell or shop for your product. You have heard about AudioKarma Barter Town but cannot yet see it; you have looked at other options but do not know if they are a better venue than Barter Town. How do you decide? This post is intended to help you with that decision.

Barter Town is a private forum on AK where you can sell, buy or trade all types of audio or non-audio gear. It is available only to AK Subscribers. It is essentially a mini online selling/buying/trading location where members post want-it ads, for-sale, for trade and occasionally for free. You can see some typical types of thread postings in Barter Town Preview forum at this location:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=177

Barter Town is set up differently than some other sites and it does not normally run auctions where the price can keep going up and up, except where used to benefit charities or AudioKarma. In contrast, the selling & bartering in BT are far more interactive and real-time friendly, much like you might find when buying or selling at a market.

It costs $25 a year to become a subscriber and you have many benefits with that subscription vs. a regular member. The extra benefits can be seen here:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=4633315&postcount=3. There are no additional costs, fees, or handling charges.

In addition to the benefits, you get to support this fine site and more easily meet some of the more regular members in these subscriber-only forums.

The Marketplace Classifieds section is a public place where you pay a small fee per item for an ad to buy, sell or trade your products or services. This is seen by the whole online viewers, so it is to a much bigger audience. All AK members can post in the AK Marketplace. For a limited introductory time, the listings are free to AK members. To start a new listing in The Marketplace use the Marketplace link in the main navigation bar at the top of every page.

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The best option will much depend on what you plan to sell or buy over the coming year or so. If you only ever want to sell one item and would like as many members or non-members as possible to see your ad, then you might want to consider the Marketplace. If you plan to buy and sell a few times or want to have the opportunity to trade up/down or different in your audio or other equipment, then you might want to consider a subscription and using Barter Town.

Another consideration is that AK subscribers in Barter Town are generally more well known members and so there can be a little extra feeling of comfort dealing with that smaller number of persons. The AK Marketplace is frequented only by AK members, so again it is for persons interested in the same hobby and with whom you could well be familiar rather than the general public at large, like you would on, say, eBay, Craigslist or a local newspaper ad. However, there is no guarantee that that will be the case either way. It is always good to do a search on members in the Feedback forum: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=43

Hopefully this gives you a little more insight into your options.

Thanks again for considering AK.

Tink

Update: Please see this later post for status update on Marketplace (current as of 12/2022).
 

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When you paid did you do this using the Pay button or the Subscribe button? Normally it clears through quite quickly unless you used the Pay button, which is used when members want to send extra payment for support rather than subscription.

Please send a PM to AK Admin luvvinvinyl and he will square this away for you. Refer to this post: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=7046367&postcount=424. If you need any further clarifications just PM me and I will work it for you.
 
As with jeffpaletz above, using the Pay button instead of the Subscribe button will allocate the funds to support donation rather than subscription. AK Admin luvvunvinyl will address this for you.
 
How do I access Bartertown

Joined tonight to look for some goodies and support the site which I am enjoying quite a bit.

How do I access Bartertown, or is there a waiting period once I subscribe?

Thanks, Chris / Flaps
 
Thank you for subscribing and helping to support AK!

You are showing now as a subscriber and have the red Subscriber banner below your screen name.

When you log in you should see an added section containing several forums at the top of the forums page. This is visible only to subscribers. If you do not see this, then log out, clear all cookies and log back in and you should be good to go.
 
Yes, what luvvinviyl said - look at the top of the forum list under the "The Subscribers' Section".

You might have to refresh your screen or clear cache if you just signed up.
 
didn't know where to post this, but regarding Barter Town - are the majority of sellers in the US/North America?
*asking because I'd want to put a wanted ad for a European product.

MODS: apologies in advance if I posted in the wrong section/thread.
 
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Yes, the majority of activity is N. America but we have some subscribers from around the world with access to BT. Some members are willing to ship international provided the buyer pays the appropriate charges.
 
I had posted in the Speaker forum a pair of vintage speaker cabinets that I had to get rid of quickly, and was offering for FREE. The listing got pulled by a moderator, with this explanation:

"Sorry, even free offers are not allowed in the forums, only in Barter Town"

This is ludicrous.

"Barter Town" is only available to subscribers who pay $25 per year. Do you really think that I'm going to pay $25 just so I can GIVE AWAY a pair of speaker cabinets?

Furthermore, the description for Barter Town states that it is for "buying and selling". I was trying to do NEITHER. I wasn't even trying to barter anything; they were FREE. Well, if the mods here want to keep such things from their members, so be it. I put them up on Craigslist where I'm sure they will fly out of here, more to the loss of AK's members.

Fora such as AK don't just benefit through advertisers and subscribers, they depend even more upon members building-in value by providing content and freely communicating. By pulling an ad where I was doing nothing but trying to benefit the AK community by giving something away, the moderator(s) have suggested that their real intention isn't to serve their community but to be punctilious.

Way to extend good-will to new members, moderators!
 
I had posted in the Speaker forum a pair of vintage speaker cabinets that I had to get rid of quickly, and was offering for FREE. The listing got pulled by a moderator, with this explanation:

"Sorry, even free offers are not allowed in the forums, only in Barter Town"

This is ludicrous.

"Barter Town" is only available to subscribers who pay $25 per year. Do you really think that I'm going to pay $25 just so I can GIVE AWAY a pair of speaker cabinets?

Furthermore, the description for Barter Town states that it is for "buying and selling". I was trying to do NEITHER. I wasn't even trying to barter anything; they were FREE. Well, if the mods here want to keep such things from their members, so be it. I put them up on Craigslist where I'm sure they will fly out of here, more to the loss of AK's members.

Fora such as AK don't just benefit through advertisers and subscribers, they depend even more upon members building-in value by providing content and freely communicating. By pulling an ad where I was doing nothing but trying to benefit the AK community by giving something away, the moderator(s) have suggested that their real intention isn't to serve their community but to be punctilious.

Way to extend good-will to new members, moderators!
Let's clarify a few points here:
  • The owner of AudioKarma (AK) is an administrator, Grumpy. The moderators do not own AK nor do they make the Rules or decisions; they interpret and enforce them.
  • AK is free for your use. The owner/administrator pays for the server, internet hosting and upkeep and lets members use it for free
  • The Owner provides additional services, which do cost more, but asks for a $25 fee to help support those added services and features. Those that pay get to use them; those that don't pay don't get to use them
  • AK is about sharing and respect - All audio, No attitude
  • To put it in perspective:
    • imagine this is Grumpy's house and he pays the mortgage, taxes, insurance & utilities for it.
    • He takes pride in his house and organizes it so that it is welcoming and comfortable.
    • He allows visitors who share similar audio interests to come into his house and rooms so that they can also share their experiences and knowledge. Anyone off the street walking by can come in and use the open rooms in his house.
    • Some visitors are more regular and enthusiastic; some appreciate Grumpy's generosity and want added features and are willing to help support. So Grumpy opens a few more parts of his house to those who support with rooms and play areas where they can do extra activities, including buy, sell, trade & have closer knit sharing.
    • Some visitors decide to start putting post-it notes or local ads to suit their needs on the walls in Grumpy's regular rooms, causing clutter. The moderators remove the clutter in accordance with the owners wishes and tell the visitors this is Grumpy's house and he doesn't allow that in the regular visitor rooms.
    • The visitor gets belligerent and complains that he should be able to do what he wants in Grumpy's house because he will do it for free.
    • The visitor complains about the moderation, which the owner has clearly stated in the Rules posted at the entrance that commenting on moderation in the visitor rooms (open discussion forums) is not allowed.
So, now here we are. If you want to post something for free somewhere on AK, please have respect to the owner and send a message to the administrator or you can do so to a moderator who will be more than willing to pass on the request. Do NOT comment on moderation in the discussion forums.

FWIW,
  • there was the AK Marketplace open for free buying, selling & giving; that facility has not yet been re-opened since the recent software change. Time will tell whether and when that might be re-instituted.
  • Grumpy has the Auctions for AK area available and has supported requests for freebies to be posted - however, where and how they are posted are governed by him. So, again, respectful requests are the way to approach this; not by unsanctioned actions and outward protests.

Respect, please.
 
Here is the relevant part of the AK rules

Advertising:

No advertising of any kind (even give-aways) is permitted on AK except under these rules, which are strictly applied:
  • You cannot advertise or promote any business without pre-approval as an AK Vendor.
  • All ads or offers to sell, buy or trade anything must be in Barter Town.
  • Non-Subscribers cannot make offers to buy, sell or trade anywhere on AK.
  • No personal pleas of any kind are allowed in Barter Town, and don't reference ads elsewhere.

From: http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/audiokarma-rules.301366/

Also from that page:

All questions on AK policy, moderation or staff members must be addressed via AK's Private Message function to a moderator or admin, and comments on moderation may never appear in the public boards.

You don't have to agree with the rules, but to be on AK you must respect them. They have been developed through long experience with the things that can go wrong in these forums.
 
I just re-subscribed after about a two year hiatus. Is Bartertown still the place to post items for sale? I recently came into quite a bit of vintage gear that I need to move.

Thanks in advance...
Wayne
 
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