Location would be helpful in classifieds

[Mamaposaune]

I've noticed in the classifieds that most members do not list their location although understandably shipping is almost never included in the price.
Am I the only one who would find the location (city, state, or zip code) helpful so I may get a rough idea of what shipping may cost? A buyer may even realize that it is within a reasonable driving distance.

[SimmonsTrombone]

I’d like to see location, too.

[boneberg]

Location would be helpful in the Profile. There could be trombone neighbors out there that I am not aware of.

[Matt K]

In my experience, this is the downside of using a forum vs. a dedicated platform (like eBay). On the other hand, it does allow for more communication and flexibility IMO. Sure, you can technically message sellers in eBay, but it's not the best experience because they go out of their way to prevent you from contacting people outside of their interface (reasonably, for what it's worth).

In our case, it would be difficult to enforce the location be filled. Probably the best way would be to, if you're interested, rather than contacting them directly, to reply directly to the ad. If enough people do it consistently, people will probably start to include that when they post for when it would be relevant. (E.g. not for mouthpieces since they can fit in a flat rate box). People may also be concerned about privacy and I'd hate to see someone not post because we require them to provide breadcrumbs to their real locations on a public form even though the classifieds are hidden away from search engines (require a long). Maybe asking for state (or country) would give people a reasonable enough privacy and give enough info to make a ball park.

That said... I was actually just talking to someone about this. I sent a slide to someone to have some work done and it cost me $30. They, shipping to the same region in the same box cost $80! Similarly, a few months ago I was interested in a case that wasn't all that far from me, but it was going to cost more than the value of the case to ship, but I've received bigger, heavier packages than it from across the country for less than that within a few weeks. So it isn't obvious to me that location would help all that much.

[Kingfan]

I think stating a city and state, or even a region (Northeast Ohio, for instance) would help me decide if something is worth driving to pick up.

[bitbckt]

That said... I was actually just talking to someone about this. I sent a slide to someone to have some work done and it cost me $30. They, shipping to the same region in the same box cost $80!

At the risk of taking the thread off on a tangent… services like Pirate Ship can help mitigate this sort of “surprise” by paying for both labels up front for the same price and including the return label in the box.

[Mamaposaune]

If a seller did not want to put an exact location for privacy reasons, even a general area, i.e. "New England," would be helpful.
And I had not even considered that the TC would require it; I meant it to be a suggestion for those placing an ad.
(I think I have always included NJ in my ads)
Personally, if possible, I would prefer to drive an hour or so to meet up with a buyer than take the time and expense to pack up an instrument. And I know first-hand that no matter how careful I am, damage can still occur.

[Matt K]

That's fair. I suppose we could update the instructions, although in my experience those are often not read by people, even the first time posting given how many people make the same post 10-15 times even though we say it won't appear until mods approve the first 3 !

[WGWTR180]

If a seller did not want to put an exact location for privacy reasons, even a general area, i.e. "New England," would be helpful.
And I had not even considered that the TC would require it; I meant it to be a suggestion for those placing an ad.
(I think I have always included NJ in my ads)
Personally, if possible, I would prefer to drive an hour or so to meet up with a buyer than take the time and expense to pack up an instrument. And I know first-hand that no matter how careful I am, damage can still occur.

I agree with this. Next time a place an ad I'll add my location.

[HawaiiTromboneGuy]

Thankfully my username says it all.

[vincentpersichetti]

I think it'd be useful for tagging people that are in the area for a big trombone meetup. Or maybe they'd just like to set up something small. Or maybe they just wanna hang with people that are like-minded in the the music world. Doesn't have to be transaction based

[Posaunus]

I think it'd be useful for tagging people that are in the area for a big trombone meetup. Or maybe they'd just like to set up something small. Or maybe they just wanna hang with people that are like-minded in the the music world. Doesn't have to be transaction based

So why don't you list your location?

[vincentpersichetti]

I'm in E-town Kentucky

[cfarley]

I was trying to figure out how to add the "location" metadata that appears under the profile information/user avatar photo. I did not see any option for this in the user control panel. I'm guessing this is something only available for fully verified members?

[BGuttman]

I was trying to figure out how to add the "location" metadata that appears under the profile information/user avatar photo. I did not see any option for this in the user control panel. I'm guessing this is something only available for fully verified members?

Location is part of the User Profile and will be displayed only if it is entered into the profile. Note that joke names work (I use Mike Roylance's derogatory name for my state of New Hampshire).

You can add your location to your profile if you fill it out. Your profile is accessed from the menu options under your avatar. I'm not sure where that is in the default "skin" of the Chat since I use a different skin. Maybe somebody else can take a screen shot to show where to look.

[cfarley]

Location is part of the User Profile and will be displayed only if it is entered into the profile.

I think I couldn't see it because I was a new user and my account was not fully verified. Now that I've made the requisite number of posts, a whole bunch of new options show up in the "Profile" section of the "User Control Panel".