Need opinions about businesses selling on our site...

dang

dang

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I need some input about how to handle businesses selling on our site. As everyone knows, we don't advertise and don't have sponsors, just member donations that pays for the site. I've always warned businesses/members that join the forum to get access to the coupe owners here, reminding them that everything has to be in moderation. In other words, as soon as it feels like they're abusing the opportunity I slow them down and kick them out.

On the other hand, I think its important for us to see what's available for our coupes.

What do you guys think? Should there be a limit? If so, what should that limit be? If a vendor is posting to the forum and has set prices, I feel that they should just run ebay auctions and sell them that way. There's no benefit to the members here and the vendor will have a better chance of selling the parts on ebay anyway.

What do you think?

Dan
 
I am in favor of having an area for CN, CK, CG et al who offer hard to find parts to be able to list stuff. Maybe have a For Sale By Member and For Sale By Dealer or some such. Keep the turf strictly separate and transparent if desired.
 
I know nothing really about how to program a site but maybe if there were a parts/search box in the parts section then when someone is looking for a part it would link to the sellers site, if there were multiple sellers it could list the site(s) by product price. I think the forum should get a click-through whenever a commercial site is visited. Same could be done for cars wanted. Maybe, just some thoughts. I like the site without ads but if support is lacking, well we'll have to sacrifice.
 
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This forum seems to be self policing and as you point out they are representing coupes. I think they are fine as ling as they don't abuse, grossly misrepresent, or try to conceal that they are part of a retail operation.
 
Dan,

i also have zero problem with the guys like LJI, CK and CG ... they all have taken care of me at different times and offer good things for us, they have run specials for us on different things. some members have also made things for sale that many people have taken advantage of - which has also been helpful (but they aren't really businesses)

i think that anybody else who is in the business and is new to this site should have a signature that lists their retail business / website. if they do not give coupers a special deal, then they should become site sponsors and donate a percentage of their sales to the site. i think this should be added to the forum rules

my 2 cents
scott
 
I'm an evil car dealer during my work week, and I sponsor forums. I have tens of thousands of posts across numerous forums, but I'm a rare entity.

I post because I'm an enthusiast. Being an enthusiast who happens to sell things is good for business. That being said, most people from businesses aren't like me. They post to sell ****, and honestly, I don't come here to be sold. It's a bad venue for sellers unless the person doing the selling only cares about being one of us who happens to sell things.

Think of it like sfdon, hackmechanic, Carl Nelson, or others we already respect. I do what they do on other sites, and a low key "hey guys I'm one of you" approach works great.

Monetizing a community for non conformers does really detract from the appeal of a group like this though. We already know who is here to help us and also benefit their business. Adding people who spend $500 a month for banner ads to push their services doesn't help the community IMO.
 
This site is ******* awesome there is no need to change ****. I think the interaction between merchants and community is great here and better than any other ***** e-commerce site. If any ******** gets out of line the folks quickly tell him to ****-*** and the proper etiquette is restored.
 
How about a bring a trailer style car auction?Members have to register for auction, seller approves who can bid, and seller pays a fee. That would help raise money for the site.
 
Arde said:
This site is ******* awesome there is no need to change ****. I think the interaction between merchants and community is great here and better than any other ***** e-commerce site. If any ******** gets out of line the folks quickly tell him to ****-*** and the proper etiquette is restored.
Click to expand...

+1
 
By allowing businesses I mean those that sell coupe-specific reproduction, used, NLA parts etc. Not the mobile tradition dealers and other multi-marque suppliers we all know and frequent. I will do anything not to resort to banner ads etc. NFW. Just look what the 2002FAQ has become with Autozone popping up.
 
I came to this site after nearly 15 years of using a similar 'forum' for Porsche 928 owners (www.Rennlist.com/forums/ ). That site has separate forums for 'off topic', For Sale member to member, Wanted by member, etc. Then of course a forum for each of the different Porsche models. It works well, and Dan, you might take a look at it. I like it better than a couple of MB forums I also follow.

The Rennlist specific model Forums have one or two 'sponsor's, but it only shows as a statement at the top of the forum. Membership costs about $20 to start, with occasional donations above that. Non-members can read and browse, but only members can post. The 928 'sponsors' are dedicated to serving the 928 community with new or used/recycled parts. They occasionally 'post' a special item, special discount (e.g. 928 International, the recycler who dismantles 928's and stocks serviceable parts posts a 50% discount sale every December). There are only 3 primary sponsors, and the owners of each company own and drive Porsche 928's.

Just posting this for info and comparison.
 
I like the subscription model

I think one would be willing to pay for the privilege of posting in the classifieds. Paying an annual fee would entitle individuals (not businesses) to post as much as they want in classifieds.
Ferrarichat makes you subscribe to do so. Subscribers get a few other perks like extra space in their PM box, etc. "Subscribed" goes next to your name, too.

25 dollars a year for 200 subscribers equals 5k per year. Would that cover the nut?

I would let non-subscribers post and read otherwise.

I am not in favor of display ads, and it is too hard to distinguish what sellers to "allow" on the site.

Dan, we have not met, but thanks for organizing. Maybe I will see you at Legends this summer.

Scott
 
I am with Arde and Myfemurhurts. At least as I read them. I don't believe we need the money. If we do just ask, Dan. I don't see the need for a special go-to place for people like Carl and CK. We know how to find them. This site offers me everything I need. The support, the comaradarie(sp), the resources, and the depth and breadth of knowledge and expertise found no where else. It works. Don't screw it up. Steve
 
Thanks for the input guys, a lot of very good points. Its not a question of whether we need sponsors, you guys pitch in enough to keep this place going, no issues there. This is concerning the line drawn in the sand. If we let some advertise and not all, its a judgement call on where that line is drawn. Again, this place is awesome because you guys make it that way, and maybe I'm making a bigger deal out of this than I need to, but we usually decide things by committee around here! ;-)

I'll allow business advertisements for now, with the expectation that I'll hear about any abuse, or anything that needs attention. It hasn't been a big problem in the past but recent posts by Jonathan (Qthegenius) made me nervous about how many is acceptable and how I would respond to other businesses that say, "They do it, why can't I?".

Dan
 
I think a specific suppliers page where members can also post feedback. The ability to do this improves performance.

There are many suppliers of parts or services that cannot afford for us to find them. Offering a cheap method would benefit both sides.
 
How about an X number of strikes and your out system if there are complaints about a particular merchant from members?
This would have to be condition accepted by a merchant before joining.
 
Hi guys,

Running an own internet forum in a completely different area we also for a long time didn't allow any sponsoring and kept the site a float by membership donations.

This changed a couple of years ago. We decided to go for limited sponsoring and contacted the best business in our area. They all agreed to sponsor and we now have 8 sponsors. No more are allowed unless some of the early sponsors decided to stop sponsoring.

By only allowing the best companies to sponsor until now we were able to limit complaints to an absolute minimum. Whenever there was a problem we were always able to find a solution that suited both member and sponsor.

We work with 8 banners grouped on the bottom of each page you open on the forum.
 
Perhaps look at the craigslist model.

Parts for sale by Owner
Parts for sale by Dealer.

The definitions are fairly clear. An individual selling off unneeded parts on an irregular basis.
A dealer has a continuing supply.
If you don't want to look at dealer inventory- don't click on that category.
 
one of the good things of this forum is that there is no other distraction, no banners, no adverts, nothing

the stucture is good and you can find what you want to see

i participated in other local forum until they decided to go for banners and adverts, i felt too many sticks in my wheel to be free to participate satisfactorily, i gave up

if you want to leave a space for business adverts, just create a subforum, the sort of thing you decide to see or not, it might be in the classifieds

if we need money, i will be happy to donate better than being molested by banners or adverts

my 02 !;-)
 
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