HELP!

[CocoaKid1950]

  Hello to all.  A longtime model enthusiast (mostly cars but airplane as well), I am looking to be part of an online forum on many aspects of the activity. All well and good but, as someone who came very late to the computer/cyber world, I am having a tough time trying to navigate on this forum and hoping to get some help finding how/where to get some help.  Sounds pretty silly (and maybe pathetic) but would appreciate some steerage on the basics.  After reading the Forum rules and protocol, for example, I can't see how to complete my Profile Page.  Is there some way I could get on the phone with someone to present a few specific questions and get acquainted with some of the references such as "Adding tags to a post" and/or what is the often-seen invitation to "View Manual" in PDF form.

  I guess that in listing just a couple of questions as I did above, it'll be apparent how unfamiliar I am with certain parlance and inexperienced with online forums such as this. A frustrating shame because I would love to be able to make use of all the great material to be found there as well as excellent contact with like-minded model enthusiasts.  I will very much appreciate any suggestions that would help me get used to the terminology and how to find the right pages to post certain items. I apologize for my limited abilities along these lines and grateful for any help.  Kind Regards, Kim Rilleau

    

[Russell C]

Don't know if this will be much of a help but instead more of a reassurance that you might be reading too much into what the requirements are for participation here. Myself, I have 1500-ish posts since 2013, I occasionally see notes sometimes saying my Profile is only "50% complete", but since I have no idea what that means, I've just ignored it. It's as complete as I need it to be.

Regarding "Adding tags to a post", I think that means when you post your own startup topic (as opposed to simply replying in an existing thread) there's an option under the title box to add tags to the topic you want to post. I've made use of that feature a few times, but since I've never seen any benefit from seeing tags, I don't actually know what good it is.

Finally, after all these years of posting here, I can't think of any time I've seen the "invitation to 'View Manual' in PDF form" you mention. Where did you see that? What manual?

[stitchdup]

the tags are there to help with the search function i think. i have never used tags on any of my posts and if you look at the thread titles the tags show up behind them in the lists of threads. the thread title will be in black bold writting while the tags would be in boxes behine the title. from this i would say dont worry about the tags as they are rarely used now.

also your profile seems to show as much info as mine does so i think your going to be ok there as well.

it will take a few days to get used to the forum but it will soon become second nature. It seems daunting at first as theres so much information and things to see when your new to computers but it does get simpler fairly quick. I'm sure if there were any problems with your profile the admins will point it out and help you if needed too. Theres a good bunch of folk on here with knowledge on almost anything you can think off so its worth hanging around just for that. if you do have problems everybody will try to help if they can, and it just takes another post in this section.

[CocoaKid1950]

Greetings Stichdup!  Thank you for your encouraging message and the notes on my wonder about "tags". If you wouldn't mind taking the time, could you explain what is being asked on the Profile page, which "Website URL"? I am a lifelong Leathersmith and have a small website for that commercial venture but no other site.  Is that what I'm supposed to put in that box?   Also on that page, there are boxes for Yahoo, Skype and Facebook.  I have a Yahoo e-mail address but don't use Skype or Facebook.  Do I just leave all that empty? 

  And one other: I have come to the point (73 years) where I am looking to sell much of the vintage, unbuilt models in my collection and wondering where on the forum I would ask what would be best format to do that...Model Car conventions or eBay or something other.  So I'm wanting to post questions about that on the right page on the Model Car forum but don't want to violate any of the protocol in doing so.

  I'll appreciate any steerage on any of that and will dig deeper into various parts of the forum and wind my way to a better navigational understanding.  Many Thanks...K i m

[CocoaKid1950]

Hello Russel C !  I hope I'm typing this in the right box to respond to your supportive message. I'm guessing that this will be posted on the thread begun with my call for help last night and not to you only?  S'pose I'll find out where it goes once it's sent.   Thanks for the feedback on the items I'd inquired about...yes, I keep getting notice that my Profile is "Only 50% complete but confused about things such as I mentioned in reply to Stitchdup like the Website URL. The "offer" to download the PDF Manual pops up each time I open the Forum pages.  When I click on it, it looks like it ants me to download the software for access to manuals but I have no clue what that's to do with the Model Car Forum...maybe just a pop-up ad?  Along that same line, there come ads for some site called Temu or something, with a pretty good part of the page taken up by photos of various products from that site.  Any clue why that happens and/or what to do about that annoyance?

    Any input along those lines is much appreciated as I feel my way around this new layout.   Kind Regards...K i m

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, CocoaKid1950 said:

The "offer" to download the PDF Manual pops up each time I open the Forum pages.  When I click on it, it looks like it ants me to download the software for access to manuals but I have no clue what that's to do with the Model Car Forum...maybe just a pop-up ad?  Along that same line, there come ads for some site called Temu or something, with a pretty good part of the page taken up by photos of various products from that site. 

You do NOT need to complete your profile in order to get 100% functionality of the site.

AND NO ADDITIONAL "MANUALS" NOR ANYTHING ELSE IS REQUIRED TO USE THIS FORUM.

Do NOT be suckered into clicking on any of that rubbish. Do NOT download ANYTHING.

Unfortunately, some advertising is allowed here to cover expenses, and it can be intrusive and in some cases scam-based. The management tries to limit the advertising intrusiveness, but it's continually evolving and often defeats whatever limits are put in place...for which you can thank Google in large part.

You can eliminate seeing popups and ad gibberish covering posts by employing an ad-blocking extension for your browser.

Some of us have expressed a willingness to pay for access to the site in order to offset the need for revenue from intrusive advertising, but nothing has happened on that front so far.

 

 

Edited April 9, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy

[stitchdup]

1 hour ago, CocoaKid1950 said:

Greetings Stichdup!  Thank you for your encouraging message and the notes on my wonder about "tags". If you wouldn't mind taking the time, could you explain what is being asked on the Profile page, which "Website URL"? I am a lifelong Leathersmith and have a small website for that commercial venture but no other site.  Is that what I'm supposed to put in that box?   Also on that page, there are boxes for Yahoo, Skype and Facebook.  I have a Yahoo e-mail address but don't use Skype or Facebook.  Do I just leave all that empty? 

  And one other: I have come to the point (73 years) where I am looking to sell much of the vintage, unbuilt models in my collection and wondering where on the forum I would ask what would be best format to do that...Model Car conventions or eBay or something other.  So I'm wanting to post questions about that on the right page on the Model Car forum but don't want to violate any of the protocol in doing so.

  I'll appreciate any steerage on any of that and will dig deeper into various parts of the forum and wind my way to a better navigational understanding.  Many Thanks...K i m

for websire url I just have another forum i am an admin on. I dont think it is really a requirement though as not many people have a link under their siganature line. I dont know much about the  socialmedia boxes, i dont think i have any ticked any of those boxes either but it was a long time ago. Unfortunatelly i cant help with selling off your kits but there are a few threads on here where other people have askethat could guide you

[CocoaKid1950]

  Thank you Stitchdup for the input on the Profile boxes to do with social media. To do with the pathways to put collection items for sale, I wasn't necessarily expecting to list them on this forum, since I kind of assumed that would not be permitted but would like to post something requesting suggestions for smart venues for me to persue that endeavor.  Once I get a better handle on how to navigate this site I will likely do that soon.

  If it's OK to  address more than one post in the same response here, I'll also send hearty thanks to Ace-GarageGuy for your unequivocal information regarding the "offer" for software to download PDF Manuals and some insights into the ads that show up on the pages when I open them.  I guess I'll just get used to them as part of the learning process here.

   OK...once again my thanks for the steerage addressing my limitations working my way into this much appreciated support forum.  As a youngster and into my early teen years, I happily lost myself building car models in various forms and have been very much looking forward to reliving those untroubled times, having assembled a rather large collection of models of that era (1960-1966)...long waiting to reach a place in my Life that would afford sufficient unpressured time to do that.  Now at 73 and dealing with a couple of forms of arthritis I'm finding it necessary to "buy" some pressure relief by putting a proportion of the collection for sale and be able to actually get the time to start unboxing one classic model or another and relive those earlier days, getting the smell of the Testor's glue and/or the smell of the fresh coat of Red Candy Apple paint.

     I hope that last paragraph doesn't come off as a sales pitch of any kind regarding sales of some of my collection...was just posting something of the current circumstances of my Life as relates to Model Building...and a short glimpse of how it played into my earlier years.  I'm guessing that many here have similar tales to relate.  Closing here with ongoing thanks.  Kim 

[Russell C]

12 hours ago, CocoaKid1950 said:

... hope I'm typing this in the right box to respond to your supportive message. I'm guessing that this will be posted on the thread begun with my call for help last night and not to you only?  S'pose I'll find out where it goes once it's sent. ...

Yup, when you type into the "Reply to this topic" box at the bottom of any thread, your reply then appears for all to see and isn't restricted to just one person.

6 hours ago, CocoaKid1950 said:

  ... hearty thanks to Ace-GarageGuy for your unequivocal information regarding the "offer" for software to download PDF Manuals and some insights into the ads that show up on the pages when I open them.  I guess I'll just get used to them as part of the learning process here. ...

Somehow, ads that appear at people's websites generate pennies of revenue for the websites, but I don't know how. While I would like to support this MCM site that way, the growing number of ads I saw several years back just became too intolerably obnoxious to see (like what you seem to be describing about the "offer to download the PDF Manual"), so I went to the AdBlock website ( https://getadblock.com/en/ ) and clicked on their button to install that application on my computer. It's free, and it absolutely kills every ad there is that appears in this forum.  ALL of them. I know there are ads because every once in a while when I am out of town, I use the borrowed smartphone I have to log into the forum, and there's no AdBlock on that thing, so that's when I see what other members here have been complaining about.

[modelercarl]

I have read your post with some interest.  I just turned 82 and have been a model builder for many years, enjoying the hobby for  giving me the satisfaction of filling idle time while doing something constructive.  Due to advancing age the eyes are not as sharp as they used to be, the hands are not as steady as they need to be, and I am beginning to experience the effects of arthritis.

This past January I began the process of selling off my "stash". I did not want my kids to face this daunting task and at the same time wanted to recoup some of the cost incurred in buying the kits.  For probably 20 years I have used eBay for buying and selling model kits on a limited basis with great success.  I decided to use eBay for this latest task.

I have sold 65 1/25 scale model kits (cars and trucks) for $1,534.  An average of $23.50 each.

You can go on the eBay website and click on Selling and this gets you into the proper area.  A box will appear asking what you have to sell.  Enter the description of what you are selling, ex:  Revell 1957 Ford Hardtop, 1/25 scale, factory sealed, and a screen then opens with a template for a previous listing done by a previous seller.  You can modify this template.  If there is no prior listing available for this kit, a message will indicate so and a blank box will be displayed for you to re-enter the description.

You will then see a template for you to enter required data to describe in detail what you are offering for sale.  It offers many options, but you only fill in data that you feel is warranted to describe the item being offered.  If eBay thinks that you might need to fill in a specific box that you skipped over. they will prompt you for the info.

It took me about 4 or 5 listings to become comfortable with the process, but I was soon listing kits in about 10 or 15 minutes each.

A couple of things that I did to avoid complicating the selling effort were offering shipping to the contiguous 48 states only, no combined shipping, and USPS Parcel Select shipping (reasonable cost and 2-3 days delivery)

There are a lot of help buttons on the website (I think too many that can create confusion) but the process is relatively simple with experience.  

Sorry for the length of this post but I felt that you have a sincere desire to address a problem that I have gone through with success so I should share how I did it.  Unfortunately, it seems that on this forum there are some members that have a real animus toward eBay and there has to be positive postings to balance the negative. 

[peteski]

8 hours ago, modelercarl said:

I have sold 65 1/25 scale model kits (cars and trucks) for $1,534.  An average of $23.50 each.

Carl, I'm curious, is that after or before deducting the eBay fees?  Even then I really have no good insight into how valuable your kits were. I guess the bottom line is that the kits are out of your house and you have cash instead.  I used to sell on eBay long time ago and I know there have been many changes since then. For example will eBay send you tax forms (not the state taxes they collect automatically, but for your own personal income tax)? 

Kim, I would not worry about your personal profile.   If you are posting messages that means you are an active member. You already provided enough personal info.  If you are curious how other member's profiles look like, just click on any of the member's avatar (picture) on the left of any post.  That will bring up that member's profile.

[stitchdup]

22 hours ago, CocoaKid1950 said:

  Thank you Stitchdup for the input on the Profile boxes to do with social media. To do with the pathways to put collection items for sale, I wasn't necessarily expecting to list them on this forum, since I kind of assumed that would not be permitted but would like to post something requesting suggestions for smart venues for me to persue that endeavor.  Once I get a better handle on how to navigate this site I will likely do that soon.

  If it's OK to  address more than one post in the same response here, I'll also send hearty thanks to Ace-GarageGuy for your unequivocal information regarding the "offer" for software to download PDF Manuals and some insights into the ads that show up on the pages when I open them.  I guess I'll just get used to them as part of the learning process here.

   OK...once again my thanks for the steerage addressing my limitations working my way into this much appreciated support forum.  As a youngster and into my early teen years, I happily lost myself building car models in various forms and have been very much looking forward to reliving those untroubled times, having assembled a rather large collection of models of that era (1960-1966)...long waiting to reach a place in my Life that would afford sufficient unpressured time to do that.  Now at 73 and dealing with a couple of forms of arthritis I'm finding it necessary to "buy" some pressure relief by putting a proportion of the collection for sale and be able to actually get the time to start unboxing one classic model or another and relive those earlier days, getting the smell of the Testor's glue and/or the smell of the fresh coat of Red Candy Apple paint.

     I hope that last paragraph doesn't come off as a sales pitch of any kind regarding sales of some of my collection...was just posting something of the current circumstances of my Life as relates to Model Building...and a short glimpse of how it played into my earlier years.  I'm guessing that many here have similar tales to relate.  Closing here with ongoing thanks.  Kim 

i didn't mean you could list them here sir, just that there are threads regarding disposing of kit collections that have some good advice on the different ways. appologies for any confusion

[modelercarl]

20 minutes ago, peteski said:

Carl, I'm curious, is that after or before deducting the eBay fees?  Even then I really have no good insight into how valuable your kits were. I guess the bottom line is that the kits are out of your house and you have cash instead.  I used to sell on eBay long time ago and I know there have been many changes since then. For example will eBay send you tax forms (not the state taxes they collect automatically, but for your own personal income tax)? 

Kim, I would not worry about your personal profile.   If you are posting messages that means you are an active member. You already provided enough personal info.  If you are curious how other member's profiles look like, just click on any of the member's avatar (picture) on the left of any post.  That will bring up that member's profile.

Peter, The dollar figure is my total cash receipt after eBay fees.  The kits were the usual AMT, Revell or Moebius kits that I had purchased from a variety of online vendors and eBay over the years.  They will not send me tax forms as I have never furnished my SSN or any other information for that purpose (I did not receive tax forms for 2022).  I searched completed sale info on the eBay site to establish reasonable costs for my listings, usually going to the higher past sales cost figures and used the USPS noted in my post to Kim and am satisfied with what I received for the kits.  Was it full cost for the original purchases?, no and I never expected that.  The big driver for doing the sales was to save my kids the task of stash disposal and recoup some of the cost while doing so.  BTW, the funds were deposited in a bank account I keep for eBay/Paypal purposes only, in 2 business days max.  I was amazed at that!  I think that if you do your research and stay within the listing template parameters, eBay can be a worthwhile way to sell on eBay.  I read that the proposal to collect income tax on eBay sales over $600 in a year was put on hold and was not enacted for 2022 tax year and probably for 2023 as well "while it is studied in more detail" 

[Bills72sj]

Welcome to the forum. I agree with pretty much everyone has shared so far.

Don't worry about your profile. You are in.

Selling on ebay is viable if the kit has enough value to be worth the time and effort.

A kit that 50 other people are selling for $17 is not worth the time, effort or trip to the Post Office.

If you posses somewhat rare kits, which in your 60-68 range may very well have, then you can definitely acquire some cash.

If you have an upcoming model show in your area, then setting up a table will permit you to sell off a bunch in a hurry.

As far as the ads go, my son put uBlock on my PC years ago. I have NEVER seen an ad on this website.

(Like Ace, I would have no problem contributing cash from time to time as this forum give me a little joy and some good info every day.)

You will find this forum a welcoming place and will learn A LOT!

[iBorg]

I sent you a message. In the upper right there's an envelope. Click on it and you can read it. Messages are a great way to have a conversation between two people.

[peteski]

20 hours ago, modelercarl said:

I think that if you do your research and stay within the listing template parameters, eBay can be a worthwhile way to sell on eBay.  I read that the proposal to collect income tax on eBay sales over $600 in a year was put on hold and was not enacted for 2022 tax year and probably for 2023 as well "while it is studied in more detail" 

Carl, thanks for all the details you provided (I only quoted a small part).  Very helpful.