Cashing in on the Knowledge of Others

PrayingMantis

PrayingMantis

Senior Member
This has come up before, but twice recently I’ve noticed that people gather information from knowledgeable contributors on this forum, only to go and use the information to help sell. It’s happened occasionally in the past but seems to be becoming more common. It rubs me the wrong way, to the point where I feel less inclined to help people I don’t know personally, which is not at all the point of this forum. True the fact that these resellers shared information at all helps researchers here and they so deserve credit for that, but turning around and selling not on the forum and for a higher than market price feels very unethical. It feels like these resellers are exploiting our generosity.
These are my perhaps curmudgeonly gut reaction thoughts. I’m interested to hear the thoughts of others here who contribute often.
 
AN-94 said:
That's a particularly egregious example of this behavior. I'm expecting a $1000 check for my services in 10+ years when it sells lol.
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If the auction is finished, please post a link...maybe we should have a walk of shame thread where we post links to the discussion here, and screen shots of the auction in question (as Ham says, the links go cold after a while) and really call the scumbags out..
 
I agree; it leaves a bad taste in my mouth and if I catch it, they are noted.The worst of folks like this are on the Mod team's radar and have paid a price for their behavior whether they realize it or not.

If someone's on my list; they certainly aren't getting help anymore and they will get called out like Mister $4000 Kar98a a few weeks ago.

I strongly encourage members not to provide pricing information going forward. We can't block people from viewing the content here, but we also don't have to directly answer questions. Freeze them out and they will stop coming here.
 
chrisftk said:
I agree; it leaves a bad taste in my mouth and if I catch it, they are noted.The worst of folks like this are on the Mod team's radar and have paid a price for their behavior whether they realize it or not.

If someone's on my list; they certainly aren't getting help anymore and they will get called out like Mister $4000 Kar98a a few weeks ago.

I strongly encourage members not to provide pricing information going forward. We can't block people from viewing the content here, but we also don't have to directly answer questions. Freeze them out and they will stop coming here.
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100% agree Chris. I've also stopped giving a lot of the 'what's wrong with my rifle' if I suspect they're fraudsters. I know for a fact this has happened before, but not so much very recently.
 
. If an average non gun guy inherits a rifle from a passed relative and has no idea what they have, is it wrong to help them not get burned as they have come to this forum for knowledgeable advice? I missed the K98a incident, how did that go down? I would like to know the scenario as I also frequently help people trying to find out what they have.
 
A somewhat similar situation that infuriates me is someone who copies (sometimes word for word) posted information here and essentially publishes it as their own work. Often to other forums or to an on-line auction description or otherwise. The worst cases are those where you find information posted here verbatimly copied and published in a book, journal, or magazine. Without any citations or reference to the original source of course. @Hambone would know better but to me this is at least plagiarism and/or theft of intellectual property. My thoughts only .....
 
Slash said:
A somewhat similar situation that infuriates me is someone who copies (sometimes word for word) posted information here and essentially publishes it as their own work. Often to other forums or to an on-line auction description or otherwise. The worst cases are those where you find information posted here verbatimly copied and published in a book, journal, or magazine. Without any citations or reference to the original source of course. @Hambone would know better but to me this is at least plagiarism and/or theft of intellectual property. My thoughts only .....
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Copyright violation if the site profits from banners and clicks, which is all of them but us. If you see it Slash, send the webmaster / admins a cease and desist email, tell them you’re an author and to take it down and warn the poster. Then if they don’t abide, shoot me a PM.
 
Mantis, I hear you. It's frustrating as hell to watch. I just want to jump in and thank everyone here that does share information. I don't have much to offer, I would if I did, but, my head is like a sieve and retention is low. Half the time I'll pull something out of a cabinet and ask myself, where the hell did that come from?🤔
 
biggymu said:
I missed the K98a incident, how did that go down? I would like to know the scenario as I also frequently help people trying to find out what they have.
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Here's a link to the thread. You can see what transpired.

www.k98kforum.com

Matching 1918 Erfurt Kar98a Markings/Value?

Hey All, I recently made a trade for this all matching Kar98a. It is actually my first german military Mauser, so I'd like some help deciphering the markings and determining what its worth. The serial numbers match down to capture screws. It is not import marked and does not appear to have...
www.k98kforum.com www.k98kforum.com
 
AN-94 said:
Here's a link to the thread. You can see what transpired.

www.k98kforum.com

Matching 1918 Erfurt Kar98a Markings/Value?

Hey All, I recently made a trade for this all matching Kar98a. It is actually my first german military Mauser, so I'd like some help deciphering the markings and determining what its worth. The serial numbers match down to capture screws. It is not import marked and does not appear to have...
www.k98kforum.com www.k98kforum.com
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Wow, not sure how I missed that one! It’s down to $3499 now.
 
Totally agree, Cyrus. Glad you brought this up. It just seems slimy and it undermines the actual purpose of the forum. Moreover, half the time these sellers aren’t even correct on the restatement of the information used in the ad. The whole reading comprehension thing really throws them.
 
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Hi folks, I’m an outsider on this matter, but why would you give a price estimate to someone you barely know ? I understand you want to be friendly, helpful and attract newcomers to the hobby, but it looks like you faced some freeloaders. What about only giving an assessment on the condition and rarity, without giving an estimate ?
 
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