TDR member for sale forum

[Bertram65]

Could there be a members only for sale forum where anything could be sold? I frequent some boat sites and many of them have it, the classifieds are great but a pain to look through and having non members listing stuff in there you have no idea if the source is reliable.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

The classifieds are specifically designed for dealing with for sale items. Ads are shown whether they are from members or non members (asterisks to the right of member ads on the ad listing and at the bottom of each ad it says whether it's for members or non members) - so you can easily tell whether an ad is from a member or a non member. They are categorized, there is a search engine that is optimized for searching classifieds, and you can even have it email you when specific items are listed. With the volume of items for sale that we have a forum based for sale section just wouldn't work.



How are the classifieds a pain to look through? Do you have suggestions as to how they could be improved? We're always open to suggestions. Putting it into a forum all you'd have is a description in the subject - which you have now in the classifieds. I can't see how putting it into a forum would be an improvement of any kind.



-Steve

 

[Bertram65]

I know the asterick for members / non members, but you cannot quickly see what has been added to the classifieds, you have to go to them, then drill down through several sub catagories to see the items. Perhaps there is a way to view new items for all catagories and I do not know it. If it was like Pay it Forward you can just open the forum and see all the new posts and know instantly what is new. Just a thought, not a critizism of the current classifieds.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Go to the classifieds and then click on "Browse Ads" just below the search for. That will give you a listing of every classified ad (all categories) with the newest ads at the top. Or you can go to the advanced search and specify how many days back you want to go and list all of the ads for the last x days.

 

[paccool]

I guess I'm with Bertram65 on the member/nonmember issue. I scan the adds to see what is available and if something catches my eye, I look to see if it is a member or nonmember. If a nonmember, I go to the next add. I don't buy from nonmembers for the same reason he doesn't.



How 'bout a search option for members adds only?

 

[Dl5treez]

To be frank my classified experiences with members has been worse than with non-members, in regards to payments, stated item condition, etc.



I've been taken for a ride more by members than not, and like the fact that the classifieds are open to more people than just our member base. If I were to base an individual's reliability on whether or not they are a member, then in my experience I'd rather buy from non-members.



There are many folks who "lurk" on this website, read the forums, use the classifieds, etc and end up becoming members eventually.



I just bought some items from a gentleman in Missouri who isn't a member, but has more knowledge about Dodge diesel pickups than many on this site, and IMHO I could care less if they're a TDR member or not, as long as the deal goes down correctly.



Just my 2 cents, but the classifieds should stay as they are.

 

[bmoeller]

I have purchased 2 items that were in the classifieds, both happened to be members. Both went smoothly.

 

[paccool]

Like I said, an OPTION for a "members only search". That way I can look at what I like and others can look at what they want. Then everyones happy!



Stan

 

[MJawsman]

I would be open for a change to the classifieds too. I sold more stuff with just a single post in my local chapter forum than in the two weeks I had the items listed in the classifieds. Just my $. 02.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Like I said, an OPTION for a "members only search". That way I can look at what I like and others can look at what they want. Then everyones happy!



Stan

Only 17 of the top 100 ads right now are non member ads. You can easily see right on the listing of ads whether an ad is a member or non-member ad - if there is a red asterisk on the right it's a member ad. If you don't want to look at the non member ads just don't click on that one. You are the first person to ever request that and given the amount of programming necessary to implement it just doesn't make sense - my time can be better spent elsewhere.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

I would be open for a change to the classifieds too. I sold more stuff with just a single post in my local chapter forum than in the two weeks I had the items listed in the classifieds. Just my $. 02.

MJawsman - the classifieds do get a TON of traffic. Users have made it clear that they do not want the forums to become plastered with for sale items - which if we don't keep a clearly defined line they will. In your case you advertised your items (against the guidelines I might add) in a thread about a local event that was about to happen in your area - pretty focused and they were smaller items which would explain why you got a good response. With the amount of traffic that we have a forum for classifieds would never work. I'm on another site that has it's for sale items in a forum and they have 1/10th the traffic we do and it's a mess for the moderators (and for the users - I hate browsing for stuff there). The classified software is specifically categorized and searchable on things you would want to search for in ads - forums wouldn't have that option. With the classified software you can put in search terms for items that you are interested in and it will automatically email you when people post items that match that search - the forums couldn't do that. Ads are automatically expired - the forums won't do that either. The classified ad software is simply set up much better to handle for sale items. Any time we edit out for sale items we get the "complaint" that NOONE reads the classifieds and noone knows they are there. That couldn't be further from the truth. In the month of august 220,232 ads were viewed from the classifieds. In the month of september so far there have been 44,035 ads viewed (over 9,000 yesterday alone) - there's currently 498 ads in there so you can see that each ad is getting multiple views (average of 18 per day per ad).

 

[paccool]

Steve, Don't worry about it. I have learned to glance at the adds to see if they are member or non-member.



I'm one of the guys that felt the non members should not have access to the classifieds when they first went "public" and I lost that argument too!



I look at the adds everyday just to see what may be new.



Stan