ped

Yeah, it didn't really have the legs. Never mind. We tried it and listened to your feedback. I expect it to disappear soon to ease confusion as to where to list items. It was certainly interesting to try, and through working on it we have met some new people who will help us with future developments so it served a purpose. Cheers

[quote name='Shonks' timestamp='1355253985' post='1896041'] and ......i have several ads in the classifies and apart from 'my content' not displaying my ads, I was just pm'ed with a question on one of them because I wasn't notified of a question to an ad which I hadn't answered ......because I didn't know it was there.....how could I????!!!!!!!!!! [/quote] Classifieds show in the 'new content' if selected. Also you can have notifications of questions on your items if you set it via your preferences.

It's important that we get the BIG things right. Realistically there are VERY few problems on the sales forums as long as users check the T&Cs, and it's that loose vibe that makes it a natural extension of the forum. We're looking at implementing the subscription fee, one off fee and free listings section asap, so we'll probably hide the new classifieds section soon as to ease confusion. The transition has been a bit messy, but when we're working full time on top of this it's not going to be 100% smooth! As it stands I'm meeting bank people next week to set up a card payment system so those of you who don't use Paypal can use that (though you can also use a card through our paypal as it's a business version). So things are moving on. Thanks for all the detailed replies, it's given us a lot to discuss in terms of additional support as we go on with (hopefully) some cash to throw as the site. ped

That's what this is! To be honest as I've said we're limited to what we can do by software and funds so to a certain extent opening it up to a free for all wouldn't be productive. When we can afford to we'll see if we can adapt things further, but going on the TB model seems the best route right now.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1354887764' post='1891642'] I've just realised that TB's classifieds were restricted to supporting members - didn't know that...! I suppose the classifieds thing has never been a driver for me to contribute either here or TB - I just do it because I'm grateful. [/quote] Yes it didn't used to be, but I was talking to the owner about it and they have found it's been useful - at the end of the day you can't compare something like eBay of Gumtree to a forum setup, for better or for worse. All have their advantages.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1354885229' post='1891594'] This would be my preference too, but Ped has said they don't want to create any sort of membership 'hierarchy'. I'm not sure it would be a problem - it works fine elsewhere. [/quote] It'll have to be compulsory. If you look at TB, it's compulsory there, and if you donate the minimum you get extra benefits, all of which you get here for free anyway. In the future we may be able to offer extra benefits for a larger fee but all in all I don't think it would be fair to expect some to pay and others not to. Anyone can use the forum as they wish, but if you're selling something worth more than £100, it's fair enough to expect some payback for that. If that puts some people off then we'll have to accept that, but I wonder where else would represent such a good chance of selling their item.

Looks like fun to me.

Guys .. I've said a few times now, items under £100 or so will be free to list. Adverts will be visible to all, and free to reply to. No change there at all. In terms of tiered arrangements, we're looking into what's possible. It's most likely, though, that we'll have one price to list items over the free threshold.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1354741033' post='1889963'] Ped - any initial feelings on wether a voluntary contributing member scheme (a la TB) would work? A big donate button, a star or two contributor's avatars, occasional posts every now and then reminding everyone how nice it would be if you got a few more donations... It might just work. I'm not sure paying to use the classifieds is the way.. BC is more than that. [/quote] One thing we want to avoid is a hierarchy of different member groups. The only fair way to do it is through the marketplace. If some people think its unfair, and I think it'll be a minority, they can sell elsewhere - and either pay more or reach fewer customers. We'll see how it goes, but due to limitations it's pretty much the only way available to us. Thankfully many think its fair and will support what we're doing. Any system where members have to pay is going to be controversial but I'm glad this has been met with overwhelmingly positive feedback. Soon it'll be over to you... Cheers

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1354731307' post='1889770'] Honestly, I'm not very keen on the idea of paying to place ads. I'd rather see regulars contribute to the site because they want to---perhaps, before implementing such massive changes, it might be worth contacting the whole membership and saying "Look, we can't continue to run basschat as it is for free. If you enjoy the site, please, contribute some cash to the pot, otherwise we'll have to start charging for placing ads" or similar. I'm aware that you already (sort of) do this, but I think a much more explicit request might have some sway. You've got nothing to lose, either---you could try it and see what happens! [/quote] We already have a message to every seller to ask for a donation, and unfortunately it doesn't work. Shame, but there you go!!

[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1354727819' post='1889688'] The idea above of a tiered pricing structure based on item value is the best solution I can see, if implementable. As a very occasional user of the marketplace, I wouldn't pay £2 to list something I only expected get £25 for. And those types of low-cost ads are great for the 'community spirit'. Require everyone to put a trade value in on their trade items and treat them the same in terms of pricing. A flat per-item fee for listing will kill the marketplace IMO - once it's only worth listing for higher-price items then the user-base as a whole dwindles, and people'd be less inclined to list the expensive stuff so it all spirals down. You've got a great brand here that has taken so much time and effort on your part to build up, be such a shame if a wrong step now damaged it. Just my 2p! [/quote] Please read my posts!

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1354726680' post='1889661'] Plus a special forum for gingers, of course. [/quote] Too much competition, we're not touching that.

[quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1354722695' post='1889597'] I joined this site purely to sell a bass I'd had lying around for years. Zero post newbie guitarist. I made all the newbie mistakes - no price, no pictures, no other posts. Thanks to the friendly encouragement of the other members I soon listed price and pictures, and the bass was sold, a feedback thread was started, etc. 6 months later i've got two new basses, bought and sold many pedals, and have met several very nice chaps when collecting/trading. My guitars are gathering dust... So that's what the old style classifieds has going for it! I'd prefer it to remain free, or possibly £2 a lisiting. Here's another idea - keep it basschat, but create a guitarists sub-forum and guitarists classifieds?! Why not drummers too? Just an idea. Ted [/quote] Hi Ted I bet everyone would prefer it to be free unfortunately that just isn't possible if you also expect BC to be fast, reliable and updated. We are opening two new forums soon, Guitarchat and Drumchat. These will be the same format and be the place for other players to start their own communities. We'll try and make it so that if you are logged in to any one of the sites owned by the 'Chat Partnership' you'll be registered and able to post on any of the sites under our company. I know lots of bassists play lesser instruments on the side, so this would enable some crossover. Cheers ped

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1354709103' post='1889350'] fora. [/quote] In between Flora and Fauna

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1354707420' post='1889314'] To my shame I have sold/traded quite a bit on here and not made one donation . Why? Lazy. Please feel free to pan me, but I bet I'm not the only one. I would be happy to be made to pay £2/£3 per ad, better value than the free on Bumtree and Freeloved. £20 subscription? I think you will lose a lot of members, not just the rarely active. I am sure the Mods have done a lot down the following avenue, but to me, an advertising spend, with their own page, for the likes of Fender, could be strongly looked at? Say Fender had their own page on here, at £10,000 pa, it is costing them 50 p pa per bass player, as we have about 20.000 I believe? No doubt I am being my usual simplistic self. Karl. [/quote] Hi mate Ideally we want to move away from advertising as much as possible. I don;t like 'affiliation' with a brand via a forum, either - BC's strength is it's independence from manufacturer bias. Cheers ped

[quote name='BarnacleBob' timestamp='1354647082' post='1888716'] Just wound to original spec. There was a delay in the repairs because I actually tried to locate 2 replacement pups from Vigier - Ben (the rep) said they would be difficult to get as an old model but Patrice in reply to me on the forum said they were available but the trail went cold eventually. Had them rewound at Bareknuckle after trying Wizard who couldn't do it BB [/quote] Ah right, OK. Those original pickups sound great, though. Bet they sound nice now they've been sorted. Really love these basses... keep them coming, any other owners on BC?

[quote name='Ruiner' timestamp='1354700433' post='1889200'] I don't think a subscription is a bad idea, but personally would be in favour of also having the option to pay for a one off ad also, or a shorter, say month long subscription. [/quote] That's the plan, however as we're limited by the payment options available then we'll have to go with what we have, initially.

Hi guys Thanks for all the extra ideas - as great as some of them are, again, simplicity is the key, at least initially. I'm sure we can customise things as soon as we start turning a profit, though. I'm speaking to the new web developer later when Steve has finished going through the small print on the contract. Initially it's probably going to be just a subscription fee and a one off fee if possible. Cheers, more updates as they come.... ped

[quote name='BarnacleBob' timestamp='1354645853' post='1888693'] 269 - which makes it an '86 I think. BB [/quote] Very nice.. did the pickups remain single coil or have you fattened those up?

Looks great!! Serial number?

Things under a certain price would be free.

[quote name='longtimefred' timestamp='1354640973' post='1888592'] i know it attracts people here but if the only people allowed to use the for sale section for sales were subscribers then it could be one more bit of security for buyers/sellers avoiding potential pain in the bottom deals. [/quote] I think as long as users are always careful, the benefits of being able to advertise to EVERYONE far outweigh the advantages of selling to a select group. It's also one of the main things that brings folk to the site.

[quote name='Toasted' timestamp='1354640484' post='1888572'] So it's not just about covering costs, it's also about making profit? Seems fair enough. [/quote] We're taking it one step at a time as there are lots of things we want to fix/upgrade but yes long term this site is becoming more and more a full time job. I should put as much effort in at my ACTUAL job!

[quote name='Toasted' timestamp='1354639772' post='1888556'] How much money do you need to raise? [/quote] How long is a piece of string? Obviously as this is a business and something Steve and I want to develop we're looking at what's fair.

[quote name='Toasted' timestamp='1354639133' post='1888542'] I'm confused. Is the point of all this to: 1) raise funds for Basschat (every "solution" involves users spending money that they currently don't) 2) reduce workload for moderators (moaning on about people bumping / not posting a price) 3) provide some sort of "user experience" which we're not currently getting (thumbnails of dubious quality) [/quote] 1 and 2