Greetings Everyone,
I'm not sure where this should go so I decided to give it a shot here. First let me say that the OGR Forums are a wonderful asset to the model railroading community. I am associated with several other forums related to my other hobby interests so I think my suggestions pertaining to the "FOR SALE or TRADE Forum may have some merit. Understanding that all sales are "First Come First Served" perhaps the seller should include in his advertisement that the order of intent to purchase will be determined by the "time stamp" of the buyer's sent email. Here is the problem with that. According to "For Sale" FORUM RULES, it is "illegal" to post "email sent" (which is perceived as "bumping") so there is no visual record within the sellers listing to indicate any "intent to purchase" for other potential buyers to determine what may or may not still be available. I personally have been disappointed more than a few times after sending an email to a seller only to find out later that the item(s) I wanted to purchase were not available as a result of a surreptitious email sent prior to mine. That being said, perhaps the "bumping" Rule could be modified so that it would be beneficial to all. My suggestion would be for the interested buyer to be able to send an "intent to purchase" post which would contain the items the buyer wishes to purchase but not necessarily just the phrase "email sent". Regarding the "Intent to Purchase" post, the only fair way of determining who gets first pick would be via the time stamp on the email sent to the seller, meaning that the order of "Intent to Purchase" would be irrelevant without a timely email confirming the purchase. I totally agree that the "window shopper" and the "I might be interested if....." postings should be immaterial to the absolute "I will buy it" email. However, it would be nice to know that the items a potential buyer might be interested in have already been spoken for. Further, it is the duty of the seller to Up-Date their listings in a timely manner so potential buyers may see, at a glance, what is still available. And please, if your item(s) are sold be sure to indicate the status in the banner that we all see when perusing the "FOR SALE or TRADE Forum. 
Chief Bob (Retired)
