It's "change" folks, expect nothing less. I for one am glad all the "feelers and WTB's can now only be seen on demand in a separate forum. Further if we have to charge the guy selling a $1200 frame a buck and a half for access to our market I say why not. It's not even worth counting all the spammers going for 25 posts, or the shameless bumping some of us are guilty of. Really if it's under $50 (most of what I buy/sell) the buck and a half might seem steep but it keeps out the real crap out there.:?: Hell there are no fees currently to have a swap meet at fully every other month or so.:-k
Do you see how many ads are on that site? #-o Thanks for the comments. I'll look over all of them after work.
yea that site gets a ton of visors and racks a lot of revenue from the advertisers. im not saying you should have 50 advertiser banners all over the site. all the ads are in the home page, and some small ads on the actual forum. you should see how huge their advertiser section is, it works really well. i wouldn't be surprised if zilvia profits from all their advertisers ride monkey doesn't charge normal users pinkbike, etc etc str != ebay
I really like the new system. My ads don't get buried back to the 2nd or 3rd page after only a day, and I no longer have to use my limited brain power to come up with clever ways to bump my ads without being too blatant. I'm sure all the bike shop owners and other bike-related small business owners are all trying to figure out who is making "tens of thousands" off STR members these days. Particularly when many customers seem to feel they deserve a discount simply because they post on a message board.
A firestorm of commentary regarding a $1.50 classified fee was so predictable. [-X In the scheme of things, $1.50 is a pittance. For that matter, so is $40 (wait, $30 now) in order to subscribe to this site for a year and show one's support. I for one have received far more here than sufficient to justify the subscription fee! I agree with both the $1.50 charge to non-subscribers and the 25 post-count minimum.
IMO the change is way overdue. What Art said, I can not believe that a small charge would cause someone's participation or attitude towards STR to change. If it was up to me I would charge all you whiners, useless posters, social commentators and political hacks $30 a year just to be part of the site, but there again I am not as nice as Jorge. Personally I have bought many more things from STR's swap meets than from the Marketplace. Dean
you've been present and a part of those discussions (part i bolded) DB, i believe change is around the corner...
My Thoughts I am not asking for, but rather suggesting, that maybe one or two free listings a year might in order. I for one, enjoy reading this forum everyday. I enjoy the feel of the swapmeet. I have not bought or sold anything here other than my STR T-shirt, but I like that you can find all sorts of cheap deals here. I do think the guy, or gal, who has a couple of slightly used tires or gloves that might not fit quite right, can sell them here for next to nothing. Those deals will surely disappear. I feel like we will lose something here if you take away the ability to place these crappy litlle ads. Money needs to be made to maintain this site no doubt. Banner Ads are fine. Fees for Sellers who want to sell their wares via the classifieds are perfect. Sellers, defined as a user who lists more than 2 (?) ads a year. I don't think you should allow all ads to be free just because you own a doo-hickey. I do think you might allow those that do have a doo-hickey more sales per year, but I don't think you should cheat yourself, $30 a year, from the guy who list 100+ items a year. Just a quick example: Any member with 25 posts, 2 free listings (1 garage sale) per year, $1.50 per item thereafter. Any member with 25 posts and a doo-hickey 10 free listings (1+ garage sales) per year, $1.50 per item thereafter. I am definetly not saying this is a fix all, just something I'm sure others are thinking as well. :-k
yeah, like Reddhead on the front page with his 10 threads going. i'm sure all 10 are valuable posts, though... right?
This was asked before, but i didn't see an answer? What will happen to the ads that were already up before the change?
ok, did some looking around... i don't get it? theres a classifieds section but the marketplace forum is still operating like normal?
If you go back and read Georges'(lbmtb) note,he said that the current market place ads will stay for a while but you won't be able to post ads in the market place anymore.-Lloyd :wave:
There are alternative sites one can post for free still that are local if paying a fee is a problem financially or in principle. When George started this place I'm sure it was with intentions to have a local type watering hole for all the socal mtn bikers...well there are a lot of mtn bikers in socal so the site has grown like weeds. I've run a forum and know the cost associated with buying vbulletin about $300 for the license then the time spent customizing. Then there's hosting...i dont recall how much i paid for some pretty generous bandwidth but it $$. So he asked for donations it was a no brainer, helping a guy out that put out his own money out to run the site etc. Now, like others have said it's a money making business that's turning a dam good profit. I'm only envious that i didnt think of it! $30/yr for say 1000 members donating is INSANE. Then you figure you can get 100 ads a month @ 1.50 that's a $150/month. George can start paying these hard working moderators or kick them down with a year end thank you gift card to The Path or something you know you would take it dont lie. Anyway, do it make the $$$ then SELL the site when you're ready to move on!! If you're really opposed to the fees there's Craigslist...you just have to deal with REALLY bad lowballers and Nigerians lol
Lets keep all parts in circulation! I like the new classifieds. They really seem to streamline everything. I had a lot of the same concerns mentioned by many when first hearing of the new system. Mainly, I am worried in which way the new system may impact trade of low priced items within our local community. You know, the stuff we use to build beater or friends bikes. Or, a part we need to get a bike back on the trail while money is tight. I really appreciate the site and those who maintain it. I had previously donated to the site because I felt I got a lot out of it and thought it was only fair to share the cost of keeping it running. I wasn't sure at the time if I would make it a yearly ritual though. The cost now seems kind of steep considering the extra revenue the classifieds will eventually create. It worked out great for me right now because I have a bunch of stuff I need to get rid of and the ads are currently free with my doohicky. I'd still like to chip in but, I think in the future I may just consider my occasional classifieds fees as my donation. A lower membership may change my mind though. The garage sale ads and the free want to buy ads seem like an ok measure in keeping the flow of low priced items going. But, what happens to the random sub $20 part that someone just has laying around? Not everyone has enough stuff to sell in order to justify the cost of a doohiky or a garage sale ad. At $20, $1.50 taxes the sale at 7.5%. That's right up there with Ebay and Paypal fees. What happens when the item doesn't sell? What about $10, $5 parts? I think the new fee system is going to take a lot of parts out of circulation. This could affect the potential of bike builds and new riders. Like I said, I don't mind chipping in. But, I'd like to suggest a different fee system for lower priced items. Maybe charge a SMALL percentage instead of a fixed fee for items under a certain price. Or maybe everyone can have 1 or 2 free ads per month for items under a certain price. A yearly free "swapmeet" maybe for these same parts? I know, we have the Fully swapmeet, but the whole of SoCal can't get there. I'm hoping that the software allows for any of this to happen. Ultimately, keeping more ads in the classifieds could give the site more credibility, which in turn could bring in more paid ads. It could work out for everyone. I can't comment on how to police who gets to sell because eventually, anyone that wants sell will figure how to get past any hurdles. :?:
I had the same question, but instead of just bumping my old marketplace thread, I bought an ad in the new classifieds and put it where it belongs.
So question for the mods, I guess I got my BR posting in before this deadline. If I want to bump because it got buried in 2-3 days in the marketplace am I now required to buy classfied space to properly post.
The same posting guidelines as always apply to existing Marketplace ads. No bumping before 1 week has passed since your last post in that thread.
