The rise of the WTB post

LPManic

Dear TFB,

I don't want to get too heavy on a Tuesday evening, but I worry that there are greater underlying societal ills driving the apparent rise of WTB posts on TFB.

Now, I want to say that I have posted one or two of my own during my short time here, so I am not on my soapbox.

But there does seems to be more WTBs popping up and I wonder if this is indicative of issues that we need to address: such as inexperienced posters not knowing that the best part of buying a new guitar is sending the wife to bed and scrawling through each online guitarshop one by one to see the latest gear; a sign of opportunistic flippers wanting to take advantage of desperate sellers; or, most likely, a rise in pure laziness.

Should we be concerned TFB?

Funkfingers

I don’t know about anyone else on this forum but I start WTB Discussions when I want to buy something - usually, spare parts for discontinued products.

prowla

I did respond to one WTB post where I happened to spot someone looking for a precise item I was considering selling. Deal done; they got it at a good price and I made a profit too.

But generally I skim over them.

sgosden

LPManic said:

 not knowing that the best part of buying a new guitar is sending the wife to bed and scrawling through each online guitarshop one by one to see the latest gear; a sign of opportunistic flippers wanting to take advantage of desperate sellers; or, most likely, a rise in pure laziness.

Vs knowing what you want, that someone on here may have buy hasn't had the time to list yet / has been on the fence about taking the time to list for no interest ? 
With the benefit of reducing screen time before bed, getting better sleep, waking up a generally better person that' doesn't have a miffed off wife  

ICBM

I read them a lot, and very occasionally post one. I’ve sold a few things that I hadn’t really bothered to actively advertise, and I just bought some very specific pickups I was looking for far more quickly and easily than waiting for them to appear on here or Ebay.

ToneControl

I think a lot of people are sitting on gear or parts they are too busy to get round to selling

This forum is probably a good place to post a WTB

I do it when I have already checked all the normal places

fretfinder

I’ve bought and sold from WTB posts so I think they can work well on both sides. And in my experience a WTB post will occasionally turn up some interesting things that maybe you hadn’t thought of, close to what you’re after if not exactly it. Although if I put up a WTB post then, believe me, I will already have googled and scrolled and searched the www far and wide exhaustively! 

markv

I noticed the rise in March/April, I assumed as people chose to pass lockdown by trying out more gear.

Sassafras

If I wanted to buy something I would put up a WTB post.
Why not? If you don't ask, you don't get.

rlw

There are many good reasons for posting a WTB ad and there are many lazy people out there that can't be bothered to look first and there are many people who can't be bothered to respond when you say you have what they are asking for.

chrisj1602

It’s a bit daft when there’s one of said item already or sale on page 1 or 2 of the classifieds but I have no issue with it otherwise. It’s how I got my Deco. 

Roland

markv said:

I noticed the rise in March/April, I assumed as people chose to pass lockdown by trying out more gear.

The balance between For Sale and WTB has been changing for a couple of years. About 18 months ago we had a day where WTB exceeded FS. It became more noticeable during lockdown, which I suspect is people having the time to fix or modify their equipment. I’m pleased because it is an example of the value of the forum. There’s not many other places you can do this.

Of course it brings its problems. We’ve had more than one scammer respond to a WTB with “I’ve got exactly what you want. PM me”.

LPManic said:

.. I worry that there are greater underlying societal ills driving the apparent rise of WTB posts on TFB ...

I thought that recycling was politically correct.

Philtre

LPManic said:

Dear TFB,

I don't want to get too heavy on a Tuesday evening, but I worry that there are greater underlying societal ills driving the apparent rise of WTB posts on TFB.

Now, I want to say that I have posted one or two of my own during my short time here, so I am not on my soapbox.

But there does seems to be more WTBs popping up and I wonder if this is indicative of issues that we need to address: such as inexperienced posters not knowing that the best part of buying a new guitar is sending the wife to bed and scrawling through each online guitarshop one by one to see the latest gear; a sign of opportunistic flippers wanting to take advantage of desperate sellers; or, most likely, a rise in pure laziness.

Should we be concerned TFB?

I’ve got exactly what you want. PM me.

LPManic

Philtre said:

LPManic said:

Dear TFB,

I don't want to get too heavy on a Tuesday evening, but I worry that there are greater underlying societal ills driving the apparent rise of WTB posts on TFB.

Now, I want to say that I have posted one or two of my own during my short time here, so I am not on my soapbox.

But there does seems to be more WTBs popping up and I wonder if this is indicative of issues that we need to address: such as inexperienced posters not knowing that the best part of buying a new guitar is sending the wife to bed and scrawling through each online guitarshop one by one to see the latest gear; a sign of opportunistic flippers wanting to take advantage of desperate sellers; or, most likely, a rise in pure laziness.

Should we be concerned TFB?

I’ve got exactly what you want. PM me.

How much does it weigh?

Funkfingers

Roland said:

Of course it brings its problems. We’ve had more than one scammer respond to a WTB with “I’ve got exactly what you want. PM me”.

Which is where the Trading Feedback section comes in … if folks can be bothered to leave it for each other.

Litterick

People who know what they want are no fun.

sbarker1978

I think the WTB is a very annoying post for anything that can easily be found with an ebay search or reverb search. It is lazy. The only time a WTB post is acceptable is when you want something that is very rare and obscure so that hopefully your post hits the google search engine when someone that owns the guitar you are looking for is having a google about the market for their own instrument and hopefully sees your post. This is extremely rare

Philly_Q

I don't see why people are bothered by WTBs.  You don't have to read them.  Yes, they can go on Google or Reverb or eBay but why is it "lazy" to also visit a guitar forum with a classified section?

(For what it's worth, I've never posted a WTB thread and I haven't bought or sold anything from the classifieds either.)

LastMantra

What amazes me are the "I have money what have you got?" ones. They don't even know what they want. 

ICBM

sbarker1978 said:

I think the WTB is a very annoying post for anything that can easily be found with an ebay search or reverb search. It is lazy. The only time a WTB post is acceptable is when you want something that is very rare and obscure so that hopefully your post hits the google search engine when someone that owns the guitar you are looking for is having a google about the market for their own instrument and hopefully sees your post. This is extremely rare

That's an extremely narrow-minded point of view.

I wanted some pickups that are stupidly expensive new and not that common (or surprisingly, that desirable) second hand, and I had already checked Ebay. So I posted a WTB here and got a pair within a few days, at a price both I and the seller were happy with. Why is that "lazy"?

This is also a community. A lot of the time it makes sense to buy something from someone here who is probably more likely to be trusted, willing to answer questions, post better pics etc, than a random Ebay or Gumtree seller.

axisus

As I've said many times in the past, I'd prefer WTB to be separate to the selling page. I'd still go and look there, but it can be irritating when for sale is overrun with them at times.