Is it time for Facebook ?

I feel like there has been quite a noticeable drop off in the vintage for sale section over the past 6 months. I am not sure if this is purely my perception or if something else is going on.

I met Rob recently to trade some bits & he noted the rise in Facebook selling, even noting some of the more active sellers on the forum now sell elsewhere.

I don't "social media" very much & have a perception of Facebook = wastebook, however is the collecting path only that way now ? I had a look on Etsy & lots of vintage sellers there now, but like e-bay you have to trawl the **** to find something worth looking deeper at.

If selling is going on elsewhere, where should we to go for the best possible options.

I too was against joining and wasn't a massive FB user but have picked up tons of stuff whilst off loading plenty of surplus items that I'd picked up over the years.

Selling was becoming slow on the forums and FB groups are buying/selling platforms but you need to be quick because things don't hang around for long which can be a little frustrating. I'd say prices on FB are also mostly higher than the likes of here and ebay.

The major downside is your feed is clogged up with lots of irrelevant posts.

Facebook is excellent for selling. Second to none in my opinion.

It is also ok for buying, although the loose figure and accessory market has gone through the roof. I have picked up some cool bits but for figures, it's just expensive.

Mocs are ok though. Facebook mentality is not to bother reasearching so Mocs frighten a lot of people.

For idle chit chat it is mind numbing. The same questions over and over. Look what I brought and what's in the box pics. There is the odd good thread though. The smaller, niche groups tend to spawn those, but for the big groups, nothing. But again, the bigger the group, the quicker an item will sell and for closer to its asking.

I think you can join a group and turn all the background noise off by unfollowing it. You will then be able to sell without having your timeline clogged with ****.

damn may have to go to the dark side to get my fix by the sounds of it

I imagine most sellers simply go where they can clear stock for the best price as fast as possible which is pretty much Facebook.

Plus side is that facebook is free. Downside is that posts get buried. After a day or so the post for whatever it is is so far down. That's what I like about posting on a forum

Fb is a good place to sell- stuff is always overpriced and always seems to go. I'm an evilbayer myself. Love the hunt.

FB is the place to buy and sell, although be prepared for the odd weirdo asking stupid questions or strange comments in the post.

Think this has been said many times but for me FB and this place go together very well indeed. The forum has it's strengths and so does FB - that is the way it's gone for me.

I think you need to get on there and see for yourself

SublevelStudios said:

FB is the place to buy and sell, although be prepared for the odd weirdo asking stupid questions or strange comments in the post.

Think this has been said many times but for me FB and this place go together very well indeed. The forum has it's strengths and so does FB - that is the way it's gone for me.

I think you need to get on there and see for yourself

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what mark said. bang on!

I agree with the above. The forum 'for sale' section has slowed right down. The regular moc dealers don't seem to offer much at all anymore. I turned to fb when I needed to shift a few MOCS last year because it was a much easier platform to set up the adverts and I ran out of patients trying to upload photos of my mocs on the forum. That's not a dig at the forum but it was my experience of selling on here.

Forum wins hands down for general info / knowledge, etc.

Ps - the figure of the year thread is the best thing on this forum ever. Bloody brilliant

Believe it or not I am actually a big fan of Facebook. It is great for buying/selling and 'right now' moments like latest acquisitions etc. It has its flaws but so do forums.

edd_jedi said:

Believe it or not I am actually a big fan of Facebook. It is great for buying/selling and 'right now' moments like latest acquisitions etc. It has its flaws but so do forums.

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Alright, what have you done with Edd?

Totally agree with mark.

This place is home. Always will be.

I know some of you would like a divorce but I'm staying put for the sake of the children.

Every now and again and have a wee look at some of the facebook groups but always come away thinking what a bunch of wankers e.g. Ongoing discussion about fake baggies and you've got bellends mouthing off about how stupid it is to even want to collect baggies. Jez was his usual lovely self pointing out the scope of collecting but I just don't have patience for that.

There are some great groups out there but I'm still of the opinion that this forum is a sanctuary from arseholes.

I used to be on the FB sites like a shot several times a day, but so were many others, and pieces got snapped up way to fast. I think this leads to prices ending up more than on here and eBay, so clear why it's the go to place to make money on your stuff. This is probably due to people not wanting to procrastinate because big spenders will snap it up fast enough, so most just pay the asking, despite knowing most sellers start at 10-15% above the market rate ready for "will you take such and such an amount?"

It's also full of "Admin please remove if not appropriate" posts. Then they post something nothing to do with the point of the group - selling, showing what you've bought, or your home display. They'll post photos they've found related to the film, or a news story on one of the films, even though it's a "Vintage Collecting" page. Have a "Star Wars" group where you can post everything related, and the leave the vintage pages for just that.

I now prefer the hunt on eBay. 99% of items are silly money BIN - $19.500.00 for a POCH Yoda right now. But When an auction comes up, you end up with half a chance of getting a cheeky little deal.

db94 said:

Every now and again and have a wee look at some of the facebook groups but always come away thinking what a bunch of wankers e.g. Ongoing discussion about fake baggies and you've got bellends mouthing off about how stupid it is to even want to collect baggies. Jez was his usual lovely self pointing out the scope of collecting but I just don't have patience for that.

There are some great groups out there but I'm still of the opinion that this forum is a sanctuary from arseholes.

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Totally agree with the above, especially the last line.
Having come back to collecting after 20 away from it, there was no FB or internet when I left, so this is all reasonable new.
This forum wins hands down everyday...

Can't for the life in me bring myself to do the FB thing.

Fully understand that the market for SW Vintage will be a healthier environment for buying and selling on FB, social media site so has massive engagement but with that comes the very things I can't do with, inane babble, pointless white noise etc. etc.

For me this forum has a backbone of collectors that have an interest in the wider Vintage arena, who are always prepared to learn, discuss, and advise. There is a feeling of comradery on here and a feeling of "safety" where people look out for each other. Much more comfortable for a "Jabbas pipe and slippers" member like me :lol:

Horses for courses as with everything in life, everything has pro s and cons to it.

I'm happy here

Facebook is fantastic for selling and ok for buying.

My own personal view is that I don't need Facebook. If others like it then good for them, but this forum wins hands down in every meaningful respect for me