Forum traders

[Yiannis197]

Guys what is the story with the forum traders? There was a time when we had lots of them who they were active, doing group buys and generally promoting their business through here.

Currently the trading activity is seriously poor on this site, is there a reason for this? I guess now with facebook and other forms of social media is much easier for them to manage their business rather than having to log on every single forum etc but I would still expect to see a number of traders in a car enthusiast forum.

 

[turkie172]

I agree the for sale section should be cleaned up as well if something has sold then it should be deleted or at least archived, and if someone says they are buying an item first then it should be sold to them unless they don't pay or delay. The moderator approval for adds I think is unfair as it gives an unfair heads up if the item is cheap or desirable but I do agree with the basic info and picture requirements. I'm not saying it has happened but it leaves the possibility maybe some way of unapproved up coming items with no way of knowing who is selling or way of replying before moderator approval would fix this.

 

[Chris]

Guys what is the story with the forum traders? There was a time when we had lots of them who they were active, doing group buys and generally promoting their business through here.

Currently the trading activity is seriously poor on this site, is there a reason for this? I guess now with facebook and other forms of social media is much easier for them to manage their business rather than having to log on every single forum etc but I would still expect to see a number of traders in a car enthusiast forum.

There is currently wheels in motion of new forum traders being added, if you look in the appropriate forum of site traders you will see 3 in the last week.

I agree the for sale section should be cleaned up as well if something has sold then it should be deleted or at least archived, and if someone says they are buying an item first then it should be sold to them unless they don't pay or delay. The moderator approval for adds I think is unfair as it gives an unfair heads up if the item is cheap or desirable but I do agree with the basic info and picture requirements. I'm not saying it has happened but it leaves the possibility maybe some way of unapproved up coming items with no way of knowing who is selling or way of replying before moderator approval would fix this.

All for sale items that are sold, are marked as sold, don't see what's confusing about that.

There is currently no system of moderator approval, the new forum software doesn't carry this feature.
The moderator approval on the last forum was in place as we got tired of having to PM many individuals on a daily/weekly basis to put pictures and have a decent explanation of the item. It was put in purely for that reason and in no way to gain "first dibs" or "heads up". End of story on that impression.

 

[turkie172]

That's great for that explanation of how the system works and the work admins have to put in to keep it going. Keep up the good work and let's see it expand as we go on. It's just when you go to the for sale section there are pages of items that are sold and it would be cleaner if the top items on the list are still for sale with no sold items in between them and less likely that someone needs to bump their item. Maybe if the different forums are owned by the same people megane, Clio sport.net an this forum should combine even on a new site and could create a mega Renault sport parts site like a mini gumtree.


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[Yiannis197]

Thanks Chris. Glad to know there are plans in the pipeline

Unless i'm looking elsewhere there are 4 traders in total. Steve Murr who predominantly sells cars so no real interest to a clio owner and regular visitor in here (but really handy for someone who is looking to buy as his examples are always immaculate), greenlight insurance whose quotes are unreasonably expensive so in no use, opie oils who always runs offers if you go to their website anyway so again nothing to be gained and engine dynamics who is a solid trader and pleased he is around.

Finally there is an official part supplier but in all honesty I can get OEM parts cheaper or same price elsewhere so am I right to think that they are around mainly for member's convenience and not for getting any real life discounts?

I hope you guys don't get the above as criticism but as feedback. What I would really like to see is some traders offering services (bodyshops, wheels refurbs, trimmers, specialised garages etc), or selling after market products or any track day organisers etc

 

[Jimmy]

Thanks both for your feedback, we always appreciate member input

With regards old adverts remaining on the site, we are now beginning to delete any ads (open or closed) that are over 3 months old. This will reduce the total amount of ads appearing in the classifieds section.

As Chris has said, the Trader part of the forum is under review and all traders were approached about their continuing association with the site. Many of them have now gone as they did not wish to continue. More will be added in the future, all being well, and we hope that there will be a good spread of what is on offer. Getting feedback as to what people would like to see will be very helpful in this regard.

Please don't hesitate to continue to give your feedback and ask questions, this is exactly what we would like from our members.

 

[VolumeX]

I came across something like this last week were there was a custom part made and now its no longer happening due to various reasons, but for out of towners like myself an up to date trader section would help dearly. But your group buys are legendary...

 

[turkie172]

I would like to hi-light that Steve Murr I have bought several things from him as he buys and sells cars he offers parts quite a bit I got a gear knob , full leather interior, and a week ago cup rear shocks and springs and feel real good that someone like him is watching the wanted forums trying to help people. What I'm not so happy about is paying for the forum while unpaid members post questions and get free answers and access info and for sale items why would they pay. I see posts more and more with no paid member status.


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[Chris]

The forum is a free utility available to anyone who wants to use it. What the paid membership is for is the classifieds and how to, and there is also an element that your more likely to get a question answered if you are a paid member.

As you said, you being a paid member have benefited by finding items you want from other members, a luxury unpaid members do not have!

Also worth noting that any questions asked by an unpaid member that has a how to on, I won't answer it, merely guide them that the answer is in the how to forum... (not all do this though)

 

[turkie172]

Ok then no problem I'll do that but how about stopping them from asking a question in the first place so the forum users don't have to not answer or maybe the staff deal with them hidden from the main users so they get the right forum benefit response.


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[Jimmy]

We can't alienate non-paying members by blocking their questions - it would defeat the object of having a public forum. In an ideal world, everybody who joined would become a paid member and help support the site, but we aren't a paid-access forum. Our continued growth and success is down to us being an accessible and welcoming forum.

Generally, a person visits the forum in the first instance to find out information they need to know (technical questions, buying guide etc, etc). If this person sees that the forum is a helpful place, they are more inclined to join as a paid member and stick around. However if their queries are blocked from the off, then they will go to another forum for their answers and we will not enjoy the benefit of their membership, paid or otherwise.

 

[Pav]

i remember when I joined..had no clue how this forum was run and what info i can get..but the best thing (as an established member) is to guide/advise new members that there is an option of becoming a paid member,which has all these benefits..
thats the way i have always done it..

 

[turkie172]

I said nothing about blocking unpaid members just that the staff should deal with them more so they get the right answer that benefits the forum and them, for me I would tend to think since they are posting they are a member and answer the question to find out after they are not a paid member. Its only a suggestion and I'm not trying to be negative, but in my case being in Northern Ireland there is not much chance to get to an event without major time, distance and travel costs and group buys / discounts have extra postage costs so getting the forum a new member has not much direct benefit. Good job cleaning up the parts for sale section but it needs another run through its a lot easier to see what and how many items are live for sale.

 

[Chris]

None paid members are not a different species and have the right to ask questions and use the forums as everyone else, in fact there are many none paid members that have been members in the past and contributed before.

We encourage people to pay to be paid members so they can access the entire forum, and support the site. As Jimmy pointed out, we start to alienate new members and they won't want to join as a paid member.

I will just add that being a staff member here doesn't make you official question answerer, we are here to moderate and tend to the forums. In terms of car related questions we are in no way different to anyone else in directing people to answers. We just choose too to support the site and community.

 

[turkie172]

Chris please take it easy I'll say no more about the site. Jimmy and pav I'm also sorry to you guys as well you all work very hard on the forum and no disrespect was intended again I'm very sorry.


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[Chris]

No disrespect was taken, just making it clear what goes on about descisons on the site.

 

[Jimmy]

As Chris says, no need to apologise and no disrespect taken at all - we encourage feedback, positive or negative, and we appreciate you taking the time to do so. Hopefully our answers have clarified a few points.

 

[turkie172]

Thanks very much guys

 

[Pav]

as above..feedback is welcome no matter what nature it is...

 

[VolumeX]

I just gotta get me brother off his ass and pay you guys (he lives i the UK) and then I can upgrade my status!