BC's new classifieds section - your opinions please

[ped]

Hi everyone.

There have been a few threads about the new classifieds section. The reason behind it was to initially have thumbnails of products next to their regular forum thread. However that was difficult/expensive so we found this marketplace plugin which does that, however in a different format.

Installing and sorting it has taken a while, and it's caused a few problems, too. However it still isn't finished, and I don't know how long it's going to take. It's been quite a difficult transition, limited by budget and time constraints.

Several people have mentioned that they prefer the 'regular' forum layout of the marketplace, for several reasons:

1 - it allows conversations about items
2 - it works better from a mobile device
3 - it's less rigid

However there are also some problems with it:

1 - some people don't state prices, making work for mods
2 - bumping - some people bump more than once in 36hrs
3 - lack of detail in some ads can be frustrating.

BC is YOUR forum, so we have listened to your feedback thus far on the (as yet) unfinished classifieds section. We certainly don't want to do something that you lot don't like. However we also need to make some money for the forum; recent developments with attacks and what have you have reinforced the need for constant top notch security, too.

How would you feel if we:

1 - carried on using the regular marketplace forums
2 - charged a yearly subscription fee to be able to post adverts there (~£20) to help pay for developments
3 - installed a new 'bump' button which only works once every 36hrs on your thread
4 - develop the marketplace to allow thumbnails next to threads for everyone
5 - develop a better form for selling items with fields for things like location, price, etc to make adverts clearer

Feedback greatly appreciated. As you now we're generally tied down in what we can offer at this point because of limited funds, however things can change and be modified and improved as we move onward. Ideally we'd make it all free, but you'll understand that we aren't able to afford that with advertising becoming difficult and the huge numbers we support here on BC.

Do you prefer the old forums to the new classifieds section??

Cheers
ped

[Wooks79]

I much prefer the old style of buying and selling, but think a 36hr bump button would be good!

I'd be happy to pay a sub to use it too.

[ped]

[quote name='Wooks79' timestamp='1354623661' post='1888192']
I much prefer the old style of buying and selling, but think a 36hr bump button would be good!

I'd be happy to pay a sub to use it too.
[/quote]

Thanks - I'll show a link to the plugin later so you can see it, it's literally a button next to 'post' which says 'bump' but it's greyed out for 36hrs each use. It even shows how long left until it's clickable again. Quite neat...

[2pods]

Hi Ped

I certainly do prefer the old for sale forum. Anything I've sold, I've always made a donation, as I think it's the least I can do. I'd like to keep it the way it is, with a price to advertise your item, but I would have no objection to an annual subscription.

Mind you, I'm an old fogie, and have been here pre FBI server heist, maybe the newer members won't agree ?

Definitely the old "For Sale" forum for me.

[discreet]

Part of me is thinking, 'Ha! I just knew that BC ads were going to cost money!' and another part is thinking, 'If I owned BassChat, I would have charged a sub A LONG TIME AGO...'

People don't like change. Particularly BassChatters, who are a conservative lot. The old forums, but with some of the functionality of the new classifieds is a great idea. BassChat has got to be the best place in the UK (if not Europe) for selling bass gear, hasn't it?

A bit of extra funding will make the site better for everyone, surely? Look at the alternatives! eBay, anyone?? Gumtree??

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Edited December 4, 2012 by discreet

[Evil Undead]

I prefer the new classifieds section by far.

However, it's a nuisance that some items are posted in there whilst others are still using the old forum. It's got to be one or the other IMHO.

Adding a 36 hour bump button would only encourage people to get their friends to write useless replies to bump it up instead.

[ped]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1354624141' post='1888207']
Part of me is thinking, 'Ha! I just knew the Classifieds were going to cost money!' and another part is thinking, 'If I owned BassChat, I would have charged a sub A LONG TIME AGO...'

People don't like change. Particularly BassChatters, who are a conservative lot. I support your latter six points completely, Ped. Clear and concise ads sell stuff, simples. Keep the regular marketplace forums for chatting about stuff for sale, and have people link to a proper ad in the classifieds. Then you get the best of both worlds and everyone's happy. I would be glad to cough up a nominal sum for the privilege of using the classifieds - as long as you're not expecting a donation as well!

Look at the alternatives, people! eBay, anyone?? Gumtree?? I don't think so.
[/quote]

Thanks.. yes I'd actually like to try to give free access to recent donators if possible, as a thank you.

[gary mac]

1 I like the regular market place.

2 I always leave a donation if I make a sale and would prefer it to stay that way. I guess though that some don't, so I understand the need for a fee. My donations
have probably amounted to more than the suggested fee .

3 the bump button would work, although not sure if it's necessary really

4 good idea

5 the seller should be free to give what details they want to. If they don't then it's their problem and the item may not sell or if it does, then may be not for the best
price.

[ped]

[quote name='Evil Undead' timestamp='1354624209' post='1888211']
I prefer the new classifieds section by far.

However, it's a nuisance that some items are posted in there whilst others are still using the old forum. It's got to be one or the other IMHO.

Adding a 36 hour bump button would only encourage people to get their friends to write useless replies to bump it up instead.
[/quote]

Yes sorry that was our fault, it wasn't/isn't clear. We'll use one or the other, though.

[ped]

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1354624239' post='1888214']
1 I like the regular market place.

2 I always leave a donation if I make a sale and would prefer it to stay that way. I guess though that some don't, so I understand the need for a fee. My donations
have probably amounted to more than the suggested fee .

3 the bump button would work, although not sure if it's necessary really

4 good idea

5 the seller should be free to give what details they want to. If they don't then it's their problem and the item may not sell or if it does, then may be not for the best
price.
[/quote]

Hi Gary, yes, thankfully kind souls like yourself donate often, which is very kind and has fuelled us thus far. I'll see to it that donators get access in return for donations made, or something like that, because you're right, many have donated in the last few weeks.

[xilddx]

Much prefer the old forum style, but I don't look much these days as I found my ONE bass here last year.

[Earbrass]

Am I the only one who doesn't see any pics in the new Classifieds section? This happens in Firefox and Chrome - I just get grey squares where I imagine the pics should be.

EDIT: I mean the thumbnails - I can see the main images in the actual ads

Edited December 4, 2012 by Earbrass

[Wooks79]

When the new classifieds came along, I did think if it ain't broke don't fix it, and to be honest I've never even looked at them after the first few days.

I mainly read on a mobile and like to log in, click view new posts, and see everything. The new classifieds took that away

I would say go back to how it's been, and charge a sub, it's an active specialist sales area, nobody should mind paying a bit towards that wonderful place

[The Dark Lord]

I much prefer the new classified section to the old marketplace forum.

When people want to sell things - I'm not really interested in all of the stuff that other people say about what they have to sell.

I just wanna see what they have, how much they want, one or more pics .... and then I can manage the rest myself.

Also, it's cleaner and simpler and you can more easily see all the things that are out there in one place - without all of the extra comments that i don't need.

Might also be more difficult for hidden traders to hide.

[ped]

[quote name='Earbrass' timestamp='1354624439' post='1888221']
Am I the only one who doesn't see any pics in the new Classifieds section? This happens in Firefox and Chrome - I just get grey squares where I imagine the pics should be.

EDIT: I mean the thumbnails - I can see the main images in the actual ads
[/quote]

The uploads system is broken at the moment (fix happening at the moment) so it's all grey there at the moment.

[thisnameistaken]

I like the proposals for improving the forum. Maybe some more ideas about how to fund it would be good though - some people are always selling in there and others only sell rarely so it seems like £20 a year to advertise items would be a bit of an unbalanced way to pay for it. I do support the idea of BC receiving money in return for use of those forums though. I'm surprised it hasn't happened before.

[Wooks79]

Small percentage of each sale would be a fair way I reckon.

[Rumple]

Hi Ped,

I vote for keeping the old system and implementing points 1-5 as listed above.

I'd be happy to pay a yearly sub as I tend to use the forum to sell, trade and buy quite a bit but maybe a 'per ad' payment system would be fairer?

Cheers

R.

[Rick's Fine '52]

I fully support all the proposals stated above....

...but also agree that the £20/year fee is slightly unbalanced. Some people may try and sell a £2k bass every month, whilst others may sell a £125 beginner bass just once in the year, meaning they'd probably not bother. Instead of the annual fee, could you not charge say £2 per listing, which, IMO, would not hinder anyone from choosing to list, and would probably generate more revenue than £20/year, as the number of contributors, I think, would be far less.

How will it work with other marketplace listings, such as strings for example, someone trying to offer a fellow basschatter a bargain set of strings for a tenner, isnt going to pay a £20 fee first. Likewise, someone may have an old set of knobs that could really help a fellow bc'er out, but for £5, wont pay a £20 fee, so we users could lose out?

I've recently contributed, following a sale, but accept that many don't, which is unfortnuate, and a shame. Perhaps a listing fee, meaning you cannot hit the 'post' button, until you've paid, would be better, and fairer, so as not to stop the marketplace alltogether...i think a £20 fee would slow it down considerably.

I appreciate the difficulty in striking a balance, and hats off for what is already being done...I don't envy you one little jot. You can't please all the people......etc!

[chaypup]

Liking the new ideas for the Marketplace and I'd gladly pay a yearly sub for it - it may encourage sellers to stick around too.

[ben604]

I prefer the old classifieds section for the following reasons:

1) I can see more threads on one page
2) I don't need to see thumbnails of the gear - I can tell by the brand or model of the item if it's of further interest to me, if I've never heard of it before, I might go into the thread to see full size images.
3) The thread conversation on an item usually has an influence on whether I buy an item or not. People might get a question answered within the thread which may lead to another question etc, a couple of posts down and you've got a history of the item or some important information. That's all visible quickly in the old threads.
4) I don't mind people bumping. They can do it as often as they like, I just move past and ignore that post.
5) Without bumping, price changes/description changes might not be as obvious to potential buyers. With the new classifieds, the threads stay in the same position, you'd have to be actively looking for that item to see if it had changed price etc...

I'd say the best option would be, if it was possible, to adjust the old classifieds to force a price and location, but otherwise, leave it as it is.

Obviously, I'm happy to pay a fee for the privilege as an (all too) regular user of the section!

[Shockwave]

From an administration point of view, the new classifieds are easier.

But from a sellers point of view, I preferred the old way.

I think the old classifieds section with a subscription fee and bump button is a better solution.

1 - carried on using the regular marketplace forums - Yes
2 - charged a yearly subscription fee to be able to post adverts there (~£20) to help pay for developments - Yes or a "by listing" fee.
3 - installed a new 'bump' button which only works once every 36hrs on your thread - YES
4 - develop the marketplace to allow thumbnails next to threads for everyone - No, I dont think it is needed, I would still like the classifieds to look like a forum setup. Less cluttered, more adverts on one screen.
5 - develop a better form for selling items with fields for things like location, price, etc to make adverts clearer - This is something I have been pushing for years, so yes.

[neepheid]

I must confess I prefer the old way, everything under one roof. Sorry, I know you've been putting in a lot of work lately but it seems very impersonal, and I think the fact that it's generally being ignored (takeup is very slow and people are posting new stuff in the old forum regardless) is telling.

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1354623363' post='1888176']
1 - carried on using the regular marketplace forums
2 - charged a yearly subscription fee to be able to post adverts there (~£20) to help pay for developments
3 - installed a new 'bump' button which only works once every 36hrs on your thread
4 - develop the marketplace to allow thumbnails next to threads for everyone
5 - develop a better form for selling items with fields for things like location, price, etc to make adverts clearer
[/quote]

1 - yes please
2 - would have no problem making a small yearly payment of this magnitude, but if it was a per sale charge this would also be fine
3 - won't make any difference to me, I can follow simple instructions/house rules
4 - not fussed, I'm generally looking for a text description of what I want anyway, in fact if possible I'd switch this off if the option was available
5 - this would help fill in the gaps left by some people

I think on the whole the marketplace is self regulating - if someone's selling something you want and the ad is light on details then it's no problem to ask for those details.

Thanks for all the hard work, guys.

[mr zed]

Yep - pay per ad is the fairest way. If someone only sells one item within a year, the suggested £20 fee may be off-putting. If they sell 10 items the £20 fee would be very attractive. How about £5-10 per ad?

[Conan]

I personally prefer the old system and I find some of the discussions about items to be helpful - but some do get out of hand so I can see how this would be a pain in the butt for the mods to police.

I must admit that I never saw any real problem with the 36 hour bumping thing either. Was it ever a really big issue? If sellers consistently break this rule then they should be banned from the marketplace surely? If they are not prepared to bide by the rules...

We've already discussed the possibility of only allowing sale access to members with more than a certain number of posts - is this worthwhile?

An annual fee might be a bit unfair as some people sell far more than others. But maybe charge per insertion in the way that many newspapers do?