Yeah. That a really good point.
After I wrote that I started thinking about the idea it may also envite grifters in.
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FWIW Eric Iāve found in other forums I visit and one I moderate that having a Classified Forum allows those who are buying or selling to have one place in which to do it. Any member can then post a thread listing that specific item or items and receive PMs regarding it kinda like a CL or FBMP within the main forums. The individual separation of listings seems to be more efficient is all.
JMHO
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While I understand your point Mike and I respect the opinions of the majority I can also add that moderating a classified forum is not all that difficult or time consuming. I do it all the time. All it requires is some simple rules to follow.
Attracting those who simply want to use the forum as a personal showroom or to grift is easily enough dealt with by requiring a minimum number of posts actually contributing to the forums knowledge base prior to approving a classified posting. I favor that to being a $$$ supporting member for cash.
In any event thank you allowing me to state my own thoughts and opinion.
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I respect your thoughts, @soulman.
I have owned and moderated a guitar user forum in the past, so I know what youāre saying. Setting rules is indeed easy enough, but moderating users who might not share or otherwise have a genuine interest in maintaining the delicately civil environment that BassBuzzers self-regulate is my concern.
This forum is very much the exception to the rule when it comes to forums like talkbass, Reddit, etc. While passion and strongly held opinions are shared by all, including here, other places sometimes tend to revel in unnecessary disrespect and generally rolling around in crap for, apparently, its own sake.
Again, these are solely my opinions. I donāt pretend to speak for everyone here. Whichever new threads the majority collectively chooses to suggest for inclusion remains to be seen. But, ultimately, what does or doesnāt happen on this forum is solely the decision of @JoshFossgreen.
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There are many forums who for whatever reason seem to become cesspools of opinionated thinking and inept moderation which in effect encourages it as opposed to limiting it or simply extinguishing it as much and quickly as possible. Most want $$$ support as well to which I always say for what?
Around 5-6 years ago a group of like minded bassists left TB to start our own self-moderated forum based largely on our love of G&L basses. Iām 100% certain TB felt weād fail quickly. We didnāt and we even have a single thread entitled āThe Stupidest Post on Talk Bassā which as you can imagine get updated almost daily. There truly are some senseless disputes there.
So I honor smaller forums who choose a different path and who can for the most part self-moderate because they are populated by adults many of whom are experienced players and/or tech savvy enough to willingly share knowledge with others. The Epiphone Talk site I moderate is very much like that. I would not have agreed to my role as moderator if was not that way.
This is a very differently constructed site which is one reason Iām here. To learn from others as I always have and to also pass along whatever useful knowledge and experience I have paying it forward as we as musicians must do if our genres are to survive and thrive in the future.
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Thatās very cool. Kudos for leaving the wasteland and creating places that are actually worthwhile.
I know there are a lot of players, even on some select talkbass brand/model/topic-specific threads, who value non-asshole discourse. I was a member of two of them (Sire and Chowny) before I signed up for B2B.
For sure, even here, some members have butted heads more than once, but itās in the general respect of being all in the family. God knows family members disagree all the damn time! 
But @booker_t made a very valid point: Historically, people here have very infrequently posted basses/gear for sale. It might just come down to: If it aināt broke, donāt fix it. Just my unsolicited opinion.
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If we were to add one I think we should use KVR as a model. Very strict guidelines, everyone is civil, and quick bans for bad selling behavior.
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KVR?
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basically, TalkBass for synthesizers. But with a sane and balanced selling section.
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Absolutely. I police our classified forum on EpiphoneTalk and even before I approve of a listing from a brand new member with no previous posting history I contact them via PM about their intentions. If they express no interest in becoming an active member I respectfully decline to approve the listing. We are not a commercial site either.
We want to promote transactions between active members who through frequent participation know and trust one another. In that way our members have exposure to some of the best gear for sale at better prices than they may pay elsewhere when sales tax, shipping costs, and selling fees factor in. I have yet to see any dispute between our members.
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But is it possible that without a separate Classified Section members are not getting the responses from other members they expect because their listing are buried in a thread that doesnāt as efficiently display them? Why list anything somewhere it wonāt be seen enough to result in a sale?
With all due respect to both booker_t and yourself there two sides to that coin. Mine might simply be donāt knock it if you havenāt at least tried it based solely on what might happen not countless experiences of what did happen. But the lack of it doesnāt mean I enjoy the site any less either. Just making a suggestion is all and providing some of my own logic behind it.
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I understand what youāre saying, but itās above my pay grade.
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I do understand some of the why we donāt and they are not wholly invalid so hereās my final thought on it.
I can see many members here who are just getting into learning to play and who come here for help with that through tutorials, videos, and direct suggestions from other members. Some of those same members are also looking for help buying gear and/or upgrading what they now own.
What better way to serve that need than to have a Buy/Sell section in which only committed members can list or buy? You can even divide it into one for Sales and another for Looking To Buy. A member creates a thread in the appropriate section listing their gear for sale or what theyāre currently looking to buy. Make it self-serving such as when at item is sold or bought the member simply deletes the thread or states that it has been sold or purchased.
If Iām gonna cut someone a better deal I would much rather see it go to a fellow member looking to build their rig with better gear than some low baller on CL or FBMP or have a need to factor in sales fees and processing costs via Reverb or Ebay sales. That is sincerely my only true motivation for even suggesting this because I sense it could help many members here. JHMO.
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Thanks for putting it eloquently @booker_t. We are pretty small bass community and whatever buy and sell happening so far as been ānot so much for profitā itās great for beginners which suits our community well. In addition, we are not exactly spring chickens anymore, 
@booker_t gotta be in the late 30s maybe even pushing 40s.
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Iāll call myself an old spring chicken, because I can and my wife isnāt here to call BS on me.
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To me late 30s and early 40s are so far in my rearview mirror theyāve disappeared over that hill I crested at age 60. Now theyāre in the last state I passed through. LOL So you all are āspring chickensā.
Maybe itās because we are a small community that I feel as strongly as I do about this. Look at it a bit like a neighborhood swap meet or yard sale where weād prefer our neighbors get the better deals by inviting them in for an early look around before the public arrives but without the public at all.
Iām sure Iām not alone in periodically having some top shelf gear to sell at a very good price or to trade with someone for something they would like to move on from. My suggestion was intended to help facilitate that in a more efficient and orderly way. It would be a members only place to transact not an open marketplace. Those exist elsewhere. Maybe one reason why forum classifieds are less successful is theyāre often an after though and not well promoted or maintained.
Itās amusing to me when I read so many posts in forums complaining about prices being too high in these marketplaces yet we resist solutions that can help us to resolve it through our own sales or trading systems. Anyway, just chalk all of this up to an old guy saying this is how we used to do it and dog gone it it worked pretty well back then long before CL, FB, Reverb and Ebay were ever even thought of. In some ways the old school ways werenāt bad.
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Thatās a good point and Iām all for good deals. I guess we just have to take small steps toward that goal. I was pretty active on the MTBR mountain bike forum and found that the activity keeps the hobby awesome. I bought things from members here before and it was great.
Oh! Spring Chicken reference was an inside joke. Iām pretty young here at 53, lol.
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I thought we were at the final point, but indeed @Al1885 was joking. Forget 30ās and 40ās, Iād give three of myā¦ no, three of his basses to be his 53 again.
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Great discussion yāall! I think there are solid entries in the pros and cons columns for having a more formal classified sectionā¦ definitely something Iād consider but not on my radar for the immediate future, only because of limited time and energy!
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