How to make For Sale/Trade work better for all?

3702 Views 66 Replies 26 Participants Last post by lauraleellbp, Sep 16, 2012

Seattle_Aquarist

Discussion Starter · Sep 13, 2012 (Edited)

First a request to our Mods; please moderate this thread heavily. Posts that to not adhere to the following restrictions please remove, or I will 'flag' them and ask them to be removed from this thread.

Hi All,

We have had several discussions since the Swap and Shop (SNS) sub-forum was closed; regrettably mostly lamenting its closure. That is not this thread, this thread is about making our current For Sale / Trade (FST) sub-forum better and why.

Please offer your ideas as to what would make the current FST better and why. (I don't want comments like "make it like SNS" or "bring back Powerseller"; I will flag those posts and request the Mods remove them.)

Two ideas that have been presented by others that that hopefully could be incorporated into our existing FST guidelines are:

1) Allow comments in an FST thread without creating a 'bump' - it would allow comments and feedback that are visible to all but would not move the thread back to the top of the list/page/sub-forum.

2) Allow the OP to do a very limited number of 'bumps', maybe one every few days or just once a week. I just visited the FST sub-forum and the oldest thread on the first page goes back to 9/10 and on the third page goes back to 9/6 (a week ago). It is obvious that allowing once a day bumps was very excessive; threads could move off of the 1st page in a matter of hours but it seems that 'no bumps' has made the FST sub-forum seem lifeless. There is probably some number between daily and never that would be optimum and trial and error might be the best way to determine it.

What are your thoughts on improving the existing FST sub-forum without causing increased moderation effort or manpower and keeping the amount of hassles our Mods have to deal with to a minimum?

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oldpunk78

· #2 · Sep 13, 2012 (Edited)

Personally, I think the for sale forum should be split up into three categories:

Live stock
Plants
dry goods

That would keep you on the 1st page a lot longer. I guess it would be great if we could bump it a couple times too. Other people's feedback on what you're selling would be great also. Maybe the forum could be set to where replies didn't bump thread up to the top...

HighDesert

· #3 · Sep 13, 2012

I think creating a separate category for trade threads and perhaps limiting them to three or so a month (and not have them count against sale thread quotas) would be nice. This would allow people to freely trade without having to worry about using up their sale threads. A lot of us would much rather trade than sell if we're not in it for cash flow.

DogFish

· #4 · Sep 13, 2012

Roy - My post from the other thread:

To the Mods - Not exactly to topic but, I feel relevant. I went on SnS a few minutes ago and noticed how many SOLD posts are taking up space on the 1st few pages.

I limited my search to "Plants" and even then, after two pages and two sips of coffee I was bored with the process. Just no way I'm going to run through that whole Sub-Forum.

I would offer instead of having people mark their sales threads SOLD, just have them delete the the post. That would at the least remove the clutter and automatically bump the remaining posts a little.

Nubster

· #5 · Sep 13, 2012

Here are my thoughts:

I don't disagree with the limit on threads however I don't like that you are limited to a certain number per 30 days. I think that it should stay at a certain number of active threads at any given time, when a thread closes, you can post a new one. Like I said in the other thread, kinda like Netflix...only a certain number of DVD's at once, but when you send one back you get another, no limits per month.

Bring back the power seller section. I thought it was great. You are able to keep those that are in it to make money separate from hobbyists that are just trying to rotate stock. Just make sure to keep strict to keep power sellers from spilling over in to the "hobbyist" section and also to keep hobbyist from crossing the power seller line.

wkndracer

· #6 · Sep 13, 2012

posts allowed without position bumps for Q&A

wastedtime

· #7 · Sep 13, 2012

Nubster said:
Bring back the power seller section. I thought it was great. You are able to keep those that are in it to make money separate from hobbyists that are just trying to rotate stock. Just make sure to keep strict to keep power sellers from spilling over in to the "hobbyist" section and also to keep hobbyist from crossing the power seller line.

+1

I am fine with the changes for the sell section. Users who are not here to make money of their sales can still use the For Sale/ Trade section and can be limited to a certain number of sale/trade threads and a bump limit.

To me power sellers fulfill the gap between hobbyists and the big sponsors. They are the guys who bring new stuff in. For eg. If Liam hadnt ordered several glass intakes/ outtakes from his supplier overseas and sold it to us for what it cost on fleabay and $3 in shipping. We would be stuck with paying an additional $20 in shipping and waiting over 3 weeks for things to arrive from Hong Kong.

While I can see the argument that power sellers should become sponsors, I dont believe that is right. Sponsors have very limited product lines and bigger operations than most powersellers will be comfortable with.

I also like the fact that things keep getting refreshed with powersellers because they dont have a huge backlog of inventory to get rid of.

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Seattle_Aquarist

Discussion Starter · #8 · Sep 13, 2012 (Edited)

Hi All,

Good suggestions!

@oldpunk78 - we can search various categories in the FST now; if it were split up into three different sub-forums each sub-forum would receive fewer views and if I was looking for a cool plant I would not necessary see your thread on CO2 check valves. The fewer the sub-forums the more traffic in each one; that is why most successful forums have fewer sub-forums and seldom add new ones.

@HighDesert - I like to trade as much as the next person and I have traded with many on this forum. Trades are fine but if I listed a special crypt (see below) for trade wouldn't someone wanting that plant possibly contact me to purchase? Then my Trade thread acts like a For Sale thread.

@DogFish - Interesting suggestion, but let's say I just closed a thread on Cyptocoryne 'Flamingo' and you were looking for some. If you saw my closed FST would you PM me anyway just to be first in line for my new rare 'Flamingo' crypt?

@Nubster - The old Powerseller sub-forum and SNS are dead...period. Thank you for wanting to share but I am going to flag your post and ask a Mod to remove it from this thread because it does not adhere to the guidelines.

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Seattle_Aquarist

Discussion Starter · #9 · Sep 13, 2012

continued

@wkndracer - pretty much what I said in the first post. It would make the threads more interesting and add more information without giving the thread an advantage over others.

@wastedtime - again, the Powerseller and old Swap and Shop sub-forums are dead. I appreciate you wanting to contribute but we are only talking about improvements to the For Sale and Trade sub-forum. I'm afraid I am going to ask that you join Nubster.

oldpunk78

· #10 · Sep 13, 2012

Seattle_Aquarist said:
Hi All,

Good suggestions!

@oldpunk78 - we can search various categories in the FST now; if it were split up into three different subforums each sub-forum would receive fewer views and it I was looking for a cool plant I would not necessary see your thread on CO2 check valves. The fewer the sub-forums the more traffic in each one; that is why most successful forums have fewer sub-forums and seldom add new ones.

@HighDesert - I like to trade as much as the next person and I have traded with many on this forum. Trades are fine but if I listed a special crypt (see below) for trade wouldn't someone wanting that plant possibly contact me to purchase? Then my Trade thread acts like a For Sale thread.

@DogFish - Interesting suggestion, but let's say I just closed a thread on Cyptocoryne 'Flamingo' and you were looking for some. Would you saw my closed FST would you PM me anyway just to be first in line for my new rare 'Flamingo' crypt?

@Nubster - The old Powerseller sub-forum and SNS are dead...period. Thank you for wanting to share but I am going to flag your post and ask a Mod to remove it from this thread because it does not adhere to the guidelines.

I know, Its just that no one uses it. The 1st page is still where Its at.

Wasserpest

· #11 · Sep 13, 2012

Seattle_Aquarist said:
First a request to our Mods; please moderate this thread heavily. Posts that to not adhere to the following restrictions please remove, or I will 'flag' them and ask them to be removed from this thread.

Sorry, but you are posting on a public forum. Only posts that conflict with our forum rules will be considered for removal.

We will read these sort of threads and consider/discuss suggestions and opinions. The problem with opinions... everybody has one, and it is difficult (or should I say, impossible) to create something that will satisfy every single member.

Nubster

· #12 · Sep 13, 2012 (Edited by Moderator)

Seattle_Aquarist said:
Hi All,
@Nubster - The old Powerseller sub-forum and SNS are dead...period. Thank you for wanting to share but I am going to flag your post and ask a Mod to remove it from this thread because it does not adhere to the guidelines.

If the people want the power seller section back and the admin/mods feel that it is worth another try, that's THEIR decision. Not yours. Bringing it back is MY opinion on making the current situation a little better. My opinion.

lauraleellbp

· #13 · Sep 13, 2012

SECOND MODERATOR NOTE-

If people can't keep this discussion about IDEAS rather than just fighting and calling each other out, this thread will be locked as well.

Seattle_Aquarist

Discussion Starter · #14 · Sep 13, 2012

Hi All,

In the future I will ignore all posts that don't adhere to the title of the thread which is

"How to make For Sale/Trade work better for all?"

For those of you who have comments with regards to how to improve the existing FST sub-forum without reverting back to the unworkable systems that have been terminated please continue to post your ideas.

Aben314

· #15 · Sep 13, 2012

Is it possible to make the default number of threads shown higher on the for sale section?

Extending the first page so that it takes longer to be booted off.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2

chad320

· #16 · Sep 13, 2012

Explanation of SOLDthreads remaining: Its so you can go back and find a thread to leave an iTrader rating, thats all.

Seattle_Aquarist

Discussion Starter · #17 · Sep 13, 2012

@Aben314 - Yes, up to 40 posts per page. Go to your User CP, 'Options and Settings'; 'Edit Options'; and scroll down to 'Number of Posts to Show Per Page' and set it to the number you like.

Seattle_Aquarist

Discussion Starter · #18 · Sep 13, 2012

@chad320 - makes sense; you need to access the thread to get the URL to post the rating...thank you

rainbuilder

· #19 · Sep 14, 2012

I think that the bumping whenever there is a comment by anyone in the sales thread within a set period of time. I think every 48 hours or maybe a little longer would suffice, and only if the seller posts after that time period. So like the old bumping system where you had to wait to post a new comment, except it doesn't bump if the seller posts before the time limit. Does that make sense?

Also, I like the wtb forum being separate from the sales, because wtb's would always get buried under so much other stuff.

I know that the super quick bumping was a problem for me, I couldn't seem to keep my thread visible for very long, and it would help other 'just hobbyists' as well.

Seattle_Aquarist

Discussion Starter · #20 · Sep 14, 2012 (Edited)

@rainbuilder - interesting idea but from what I remember about the vBulletin / Jelsoft software it isn't that versatile and writing a sub-routine is probably out of the question. I think it can handle X = # of bumps and it can count days. K.I.S.S. makes it easier for the Mods as well.

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