BC's new classifieds section - your opinions please

[mcnach]

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1354623363' post='1888176']

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
[/quote]

I would say "cool!" to all of the above.
I do prefer the forum format, so:

1) carrying on with marketplace in a forum format is good, in my opinion

2) yearly subscription to be able to post items to sell?
It's fine. But the amount of items for sale might decrease a lot. On the other hand it seems fair. I would offer shorter/cheaper subscriptions too to not scare away those who might only want to post something there occasionally. I think many people are more likely to spend £2 ten times than £20 once.

3) I have no problem with bumping... but if others do, the button seems like a decent way to enforece the 36h rule if it's easy enough to implement.

4) Thumbnails would be nice... but not a big deal for me. I'm happy without them.

5) It can be an interesting thing as it would allow sorting by location, etc... But until the traffic grows to about 5-10 times what it is now, the current system works perfectly fine for me.

[mcnach]

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1354627724' post='1888309']
I see that people like discussion in for sale threads, but also don't want them jumping to the top in less than 36 hours. I don't see how the two are compatible?

The bump button is a good idea, but as soon as anyone posts in the thread it will be bumped anyway
[/quote]


is bumping such a problem?

I haven't paid much attention, and I am sure some bump a lot... but I never had the feeling that it was a problem.
Some forums like "basses for sale" get a lot of traffic, and there's only so much space on the first page, so you're not going to stay there long.

I don't know. It never bothered me so far.

[mcnach]

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1354632281' post='1888397']
As for the 36 hour bump rule - would it be (easily) possible to implement a 36-hour lockout so that no posts could be added to a marketplace topic for 36 hours? This might encourage sellers to be more careful about their posting - like including their location in a 'collection only' ad, before having to be asked.

A 36 hour lockout shouldn't stall any buyer iinterest because people could still send a PM to the seller.

[/quote]

A lockout will remove what I like about it: the fact that people can treat the thread as any other thread, add comments etc.
Not what I'd like to see.

[Prime_BASS]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1354658056' post='1888920']


is bumping such a problem?

I haven't paid much attention, and I am sure some bump a lot... but I never had the feeling that it was a problem.
Some forums like "basses for sale" get a lot of traffic, and there's only so much space on the first page, so you're not going to stay there long.

I don't know. It never bothered me so far.
[/quote]

I haven't really noticed a problem, for me there are just a lot of the passers by, not users, who have only registered to put their item for sale from Europe or where ever.

I like both the forum style and the 'eBay' style of the classifieds section, and I'm sure with some refinement it will be a lot better and easier to use. Although the furom way feels a lot more friendly, with conversations about items as such happening. The classifieds section is a bit formal.

The yearly subscription?
It would stop a lot of the passers by from Europe (or even the UK) adding there threads with a few lines and some contact details. Also it might reinforce a stronger standard of thread i.e price, pictures, info etc.

Although, I have sold a lot on here, I don't sell and buy stuff all year round on here, so a £20 yearly fee would be unreasonable. I appreciate the forum no end, I have had some great gear come through there.
It may be better to have an 'donation' which grants access to the marketplace forums which has a base rate.

[rushbo]

Firstly, thanks to Ped and Kiwi for all they do. Thanks to all the tasty treats in the 'For sale' sections, my kids are now constantly barefoot.

Anyhoo...this is me:
£20 (or therabouts) buys you all the ads you can eat for a year and a few other titbits ('Members only' section of the site, discount merch blahblahblah)

£2 per ad for items over £50

Free ads for items £1-£50

I can't say the bumping issue is a big deal for me, but the 'bump button' is a great idea and sounds like a lot of fun.

I'm not a fan of the new stylee classifieds thing, but it is nice to see all the freshly posted ads (from all sections) in one place.

I love it here.

[mike257]

I'm in favour of the old Marketplace too - partly for the often insightful and useful discussion and partly as I mainly access BC from my mobile.

I'd agree with those who've pointed out that the Marketplace is a huge driver for traffic and new members and making this less accessible will only impact negatively on the growth required to sustain a site like this.

I'd say a price-per-ad is a good way to go and would suggest keeping the price of entry as low as is feasible for you guys. Every bit dearer it gets, the chance of take up lessens. Toasted's maths a couple of pages back were a great example of how much revenue you could generate like this.

The yearly subscription is a nice idea and one that I'd happily go for, but you'll notice that.most people endorsing this are long time BC members who are invested in the community already - somebody just discovering the site for the first time would be much much harder to convince.

You guys do great work here and I, like everyone else here, am grateful for this wonderful free resource. It should be able to generate enough revenue to be self sustaining and profitable, but not at the cost of jeopardising the future growth and membership of the site - a tricky balancing act indeed!

Edited December 4, 2012 by mike257

[phsycoandy]

Old forum style vote from me. I do donate but probably not enough so count me in.

[tauzero]

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1354634349' post='1888437']Please make sure you look at my last post where I explain why a % fee isn't actually very easy and where I suggest items below a certain cost are free.[/quote]

As regards the % fee - how easy would a hybrid system be, where the Classifieds form (or a variant thereof) created a thread in the appropriate For Sale forum (and that was the only way to create a new thread there), entering the price and location into the subheading? That would allow a %age to be charged at thread creation time. Presumably ATM the Classifieds form creates an entry in one table, Start New Topic creates an entry in another, so the principle would be fairly simple.

[mr zed]

If bumping is an issue, is it possible to add the 36 hour bumping button, but rather than not being allowed to bump within the 36 hour time frame, leave it up to the seller whether he bumps or not with the proviso that if they bump within 36 hours a bumping fee of say £1 is charged. In fact, if you have a £2:00 advertisement fee (which is very low IMO), charge £1 per bump anyway. This will not only generate funds for the site but will encourage people to bump economically. One advert + 8 bumps = £10 - still reasonable compared with ebay. You could go further and charge £1 to edit the original post thus hopefully getting a better quality of information first time. I think this would help to allieviate some of the issues discussed. A £20 subscription fee should cover all ads & bumps. The system also needs to be simple - like Amazon's 'one-click' charging system. It should also be in the original 'for sale' section not the new classifieds as this promotes good feedback from the community. Free bumps from others should still be allowed and their value will be greater than ever for the seller - thus imparting a greater community - relationship building - ethos. There we go chaps - sorted

Edited December 5, 2012 by mr zed

[Toasted]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1354641514' post='1888605']It's their site, their idea.[/quote]

How quickly the memory fades!

[ped]

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

[Ruiner]

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.

EDIT: Posted before I saw Ped's reply above

Edited December 5, 2012 by Ruiner

[ped]

[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.

[Gareth Hughes]

I'd be happy with a subscription fee to list items. Works out about the same as a donation anyway so all good.

[benthos]

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1354623363' post='1888176']
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

[/quote]
Hi Ped,

Seems entirely reasonable to me - happy to pay a sub, as I feel it's the decent thing to do to donate when I make a sale through here.

I prefer the old forums but acknowledge the limitations

[Steve G]

I would say don't create a members area as having seen this on other sites it does promote cliquieness (sp?) as there will always be underlying jokes or whatever that leech into the main areas and leave a lot of less frequent users out in the cold. It almost becomes an Off topic 'off topic' page. The banter and long term users mixing it up with the newbies is what makes place like this great. As a member of a lot of forums I really do think this place has something unique that sets it way above all others, long may it continue!

I don't use or peruse the ads enough to have much of an opinion either way tbh and can see the benefits of both. I do have to open all the ads as I have no idea what an 'Ibanez SRI turbo manglewurzel', or whatever, might be, although being able to sift on price is a bonus.

[ShaunB]

My 6 cents... (probably been said before) - keep the old style "Forum" Classified sections. I love the interaction a sale creates and you get a feel for who you are dealing with.

Charge a yearly subscription. £20 seems very fair. I think it will do away with the people that simply join to list/sell.

It's a great community and the Sales forums are a valued part of my learning experience along with all the associated forums (forii?) ;-)

If we had to pay for individual ads I would miss the likes of "Capslock Key - Available again" which has livened up a few grey mornings.

cheers, ShaunB

[karlfer]

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.

[ped]

[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

[discreet]

[quote name='ShaunB' timestamp='1354706798' post='1889304']
...along with all the associated forums (forii?)[/quote]

fora.

[ped]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1354709103' post='1889350']
fora.
[/quote]

In between Flora and Fauna

[ShaunB]

...and that's why I lurve this place! Barking!

(not Barking near Reigate)

[Geddys nose]

Always like the Talkbass supporting member idea, £20 a year is not a lot for advertising privileges IMO also to support the site.

[tedmanzie]

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

[Happy Jack]

Plus a special forum for gingers, of course.