Marketplace Change Poll

[skene]

ooohh oooohhh reading posts all day... sign me up!
but let's talk about pay... :lol2:

 

[rookie07]

Sorry I should rephrase my above statement. I feel that in order to use the market you should be a donor to the site with a minimum donation of $20/year.

I think that is a great idea!

I know i hate it when i see someone who only sells on MR, and contributes nothing to the "community"

 

[bigcapct]

That sounds like the worst idea I've read in three pages.

Why would you charge people? I think you will see a massive decline in over all MR posts and users. I agree that a lot of people just use the market, but isnt that the point of a market - to be open for all to use.

What is your argument for charging people to use it? I know a lot of people that come here everyday and post free, but would never pay to sell anything on this forum. I would just go to RC and give them the traffic.

If you charge for the 'privilege' to sell something, you will come off as greedy and i can see nothing positive in the long run coming from it except a decrease in traffic and a hit to the community.

Thoughts?

+2. Not cool

 

[Paolissimo]

I don't like the idea of charging money to sell. I have never sold anything in the market place. But as I buy newer equipment, i'll sell my old equipment, not to make a profit but to make a few dollars to buy a frag or two with equipment that is not being used. By you charging money, it will mean that i might have to raise the price a bit, just to cover whatever fee or "donation" you will want me to pay. Also I highly doubt a fee or "donation" will stop stealth sellers.

 

[smoq]

There is one more thing that can be implemented that I've seen on the FW forum I used to be on- when you post a sale thread, the system forbid you to bump your own thread in the next 24h. If you do that, the message shows up saying "You have xxx hours yyy minutes until you can post in this thread". 24 hours is maybe overkill, but I think there should be a 12h timeframe before a seller can bump his own thread.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

No. 24 hrs is the rule here too.

 

[tunicata]

-Hm, the placement of vendor space vs hobby seller space does not matter to me.

Of the sites I use for information, etc this is the site I use the most because of the community feel.

However,:

I often see some of the for sale threads here and think to myself..."hmm...so, you've set up an extra (few) frag tanks for frags you did not want in the first place??? You've let them grow out (for less than 1-2 months i.e. quick turn around)...and now you are selling them (not the whole piece but a frag of the mother you said you did not even want)." or " Sooo, when you bought that coral at $100 an inch, you thought about it as an investment opportunity? So, if you treat it well, in about 1-2 months you can make the $100 back, and from there just hope to get another $100 each frag?"

That's sketchy, especially when some folks have frags for sale every time I really look at the marketplace section. It's usually the same excuse, and oftentimes when they post pictures it really looks like an at home grow high volume grow out station.

Another scenario:You bought a bunch of reefing equipment that...you didn't really want or need (maybe came as a package deal or was listed at a price you couldn't bypass despite not needing it)...and a few weeks later you are selling them for more than than the previously advertised deal."

I do not see the difference between that and a resale store or at best, a for profit version of a thrift store where the charitable cause is the newest non-reef related bill you need to pay. (I know what people spend their money on is not my problem/issue/business nor is it anyone else's but the site does have rules governing sales. That ensures that the principle is at least something I can express my concerns/feelings about). This is not a job if you're not a vendor here, why be concerned with profit or what the true market rate is????

I mean...during vacation, someone gave away a bunch of RBTA's. Another reefer, and myself included, missed the "first come first served" deadline. That other reefer stated
" well, I guess I will wait until they come up on the for sale thread tomorrow" (they said something like that)

And...I laughed and told my partner about it because it was true, it seemed the likely outcome. I had that same thought/expectation: that SOMEONE (since there seemed to be no tracking of who was actually picking up these free rbta's of various sizes i.e. different resale values) would likely turn around and sell it for profit at some point (since it wasn't in the DBTC).

That bites.

Anyway, this is a long post...obviously I'm ranting and have some 'feelings' about this.

*please note that my sentiment towards the blurring of the lines between hobbyist seller status and vendor status is primarily reserved for high turn around/ traffic/volume non vendor sellers.

I also go to a site that has an open Want to buy and For Free forum, but only Donors are allowed to put up for sale threads (donor price is $20 per year and comes with a little card that you can show to vendors to get a percentage off, etc). It works for me because I have only had to sell items when I broke down my tanks or when I have stuff i do not need and need to get some other equipment (so I'm usually open for trades).

How many unique hobby sellers do we have per week for people with a decent post count/are active members?

Why are people constantly bashing mods and their volunteer duties??
:sigh:

Anyway, MR, thank you for constantly thinking of ways to enhance the site and our overall experience. Especially, considering you take the time to poll/ask us our opinions.

 

[tunicata]

Also, the donor bar ($20 per year) is not likely to stop the illegal sales. If they are making enough money then...that's not a heavy price to pay. That's like...2-3 medium-large sandwich bags of cheato...(you know the stuff that can grow without any real effort).

Unfortunately, it would have the negative effect of reducing the amount of activity from folks that are active in other ways too. Either by the way of reducing their ability to sell within the rules, and/or because people will feel that they are being forced to pay for something they do not need.

While that is not actually true...feelings, regardless of how irrational they may be, are all that matter for some folks. The principle is important as well. Paying for something that used to be free that is also something they (feel) can get elsewhere for free.

Also, it's very likely that some illegal sellers are reasonably active members.

(the sites that I go to that charge to participate in for sale threads are pretty slow. That is likely due to many variables, but those variables are unknown to me so I am not suggestion causation)