I wouldn't say that man...But there was a good stretch of years when I made it a point to know who was behind the sourcing name and who they were actually getting their product from. Wanting to find out as much as I could about what goes on behind the scenes in this game...A lot of which most will never know!
I've seen it a couple of times only...I have even seen an instant where a source helped out their competiton after a bust. No other reason for either other then except that they could.
I slightly agree with this...Only to the point of the forum owner "could" police what the new sources are allowed to price their products at (not their responsibility though, even in the slightest). But it doesn't matter at the end of the day because the customer/member makes the choice, which is why these sources have gotten out of hand. To say that an owner shouldn't allow new sources to sponsor makes no sense...If that were the case only the same 2-3 sources would have only been available and everyone else would be getting their shit from the gyms for $150/vial. Everyone from member to source starts at the bottom and has the opportunity to build a reputation.
No one said that back in the day members had to use all of these new sources popping up...Many of those guys were Vets, Mods, VIP's, etc from all over the community, so they already had solid reps and decided to break into sourcing for some extra cash. Most of which are no longer in business and several of those guys are the reason for the homebrewing prices (one I can think of really heavily pushed the movement under a few different names over some years and every single one of his names ended up scamming customers because he couldn't manage his business properly and always ended up in the hole with his customers and suppliers). But by your post, it is the forum owner's fault because he should have never allowed those guys to source but others should be allowed?! What would be the conditions?! Where do you draw the line?!
At the end of the day, the old school sources should have banded together and keeping their pricing consistent to whether the storm, because like I said, where are all those sources now, gone! Instead they took the bate that these fly-by-nights put out there and it has gone down hill since. Shit many of them spent time trying to undercut each other to steal business away...Very few have shown the mentality that the pie is big enough for everyone to get a piece.
Like I said, it would have been cool to have price tiers that maybe people voted sources into...Obviously would never happen but different check points like: Quality, Communication, Shipping T/A, Customer service, etc. Where a source ranks is what they should be allowed to offer their price range. But again, the same as you and I already know, guys will use a source that doesn't communicate well or has slower delivery because his pricing is much cheaper then the next guy and then just bitch to the Mods when he has to wait a month or more for his order, crying scam.
ill try to address as may points here as i can... im on limited time...
i agree with some of what you say as well but ill say this...
when i said it was also on the forums owners for allowing too many guys to source.. i was referring to the fact the pond has gotten so small now compared to years past that everybody cant be a big fish... you cant have a town of 1000 people and have 10 walmart, 5 targets, 8 costcos, and 20 sams clubs.... not enough people for all those business to thrive... same thing here... you cant have a thriving source forum of the 100 sources and only have 500-1000 of the same members online at one time.... 5 -10 guys making orders for each source spending pennies isnt good business except for the forum owner collecting ad fees... thats all im saying. the guy making all the money in this situation is the board owner charging 300,500,1000,2000 or whatever a month for forum space.... im all for the forum owner making as much money as he can.... if i was a forum owner i'd be doing the exact same thing... dont care if the source sells 1 vial or 1000. not my problem... everything i said was merely from a speculation standpoint...
now you said my point about a forum owner not allowing new guys to source here makes no sense because then the same 2-3 guys would be making all the money.... thats basically what the outcome would be with your price tiers you always talk about... forcing sources the price their products at a certain price because of their T/A, communication speed, etc... eventually you would have the same 2-3 guys making all the money because they would have the lowest prices.... becuase they have met all the qualifications... how would sources with a 5-7 day T/A make any money over a guy with 2/3 days T/A? what if the mail is slow where the source is stationed at.. is he going to get penalized for external things outside his control...? Do international guys get screwed for being in europe vs the USA? it would be a perpetual prison/purgatory some sources could never get out of and the same handful of guys would make all the money because they have the lowest prices based on the tier scheme you mentioned.
in the end if everybody kept thier prices the same.. then what seperates once source from another...? pretty labels? brown vials vs clear ones? in the end this is a business. everybody is trying to sell the most the can to make the most the can... in the time they have available here...
you say the old school sources should have just kept thier prices the same.. why? they lose money doing that? bodybuiders are notoriously cheap... i mean so cheap they want you to give them free gear AND money back too and thats still too expensive.... that cheap. do you really expect those old school sources to stand by and watch the new guys pop up with the lower pricing and steal all the customers away and do nothing...? thats wishful thinking... nobody wants to lose business... and thats exactly what happens...
i think in the end with my comment about the board owners not letting so may guys source... and you with your price tiers... the end result is the same...
certain people who take all the risks should be rewarded the heaviest... and i agree with that...
ill come right out and say it... i dont care. i have no ball in the game... im on the sidelines.... i just watch but... its an illegal business... you can lose you life and liberty for this.. if you're an old school source who has been here for 10-20 years like marsell, or rbb, or alin, or IP gear... if im them.. im pissed.... im used to making a certain amount of money because the competition was smaller and now every broke ass with 1000.00 extra can buy a kilo ov test and make a quick buck takes money out of my pocket....
and you know the guys im talking about... the ones that get busted.. the redneck in west virgina in his trailer... or the meth addict looking husband and wife that get busted with a lab in thier apartment... or the group of college douchebags who band together because the watched the movie "blow" or scarface one too many times and think they can be the tony montana of steroids.... those guys ruin it for the real sources... guys who used to really risk liberty for reward vs what we have today... china guys having USA remailers so no customs worry no nothing. just buy, bake , and sell...
at the very least... these china guys should be told to stick to selling just powder... thats it... these china guys with thier 5.00 for a bottle of test enanthate 300.. na na... outta here with that... if the forum owners told them stick to powders... it might go a long way to helping out... but as a source how do you compete with 5.00 for a bottle of test 300 when it costs 3.00 to make it?