Wanted/For Sale Forum Rant

Gmanpoke said:
I was not making misguided assumptions in regards to competition. Very quickly in this Thread contributors were recommending limiting competition by requiring membership or charging fees. Its always amazing to me how dealers rationalize their actions and then claim they have nothing against competition or they invite competition. As my dad use to tell me "don't listen to what people. If you really want to know what people think, watch what they do"

Isn't it interesting that the contributor making the recommendation to require membership or charging a fee are the ones with a larger number of I-traders. HUM

Steven
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OK... it seems I may have to spell this out a little more clearly for you. Let's take the "Membership Fee" or any other "Pay to Play" off the table as that was not my main point of starting this thread. I thought it may, however, offer the owners of the site an opportunity to engage in a little free enterprise and capitalism.

What I would prefer to discuss is limiting the amount of bumping and non-contributing chatter in the threads.
 
My phone # is on every post,,,,I do not think you are picking on me ,,I just think a simple phone call if you want the item can get it done,,e-mail or pm ,,then if you serious CALL it is simple,,i never once closed a deal though just email or pm and i am sure not many have you alway like to hear a vioce to the buyer or seller and i do both very serious if i contact you 99% of the time i buy it,,,if you contact me ,,feel to call,,,

Let get back to what makes money this thread does not ,,

WHO WANTS TO REALLY BUY A CUE ,,SZAMBOTI , HERCEK,SCHICK, MANZINO AND ECT FOR SALE 40 CUES IN STOCK COME AND GET THEM,,,267-257-8323

Best
Ken
 
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Worminator said:
OK... it seems I may have to spell this out a little more clearly for you. Let's take the "Membership Fee" or any other "Pay to Play" off the table as that was not my main point of starting this thread. I thought it may, however, offer the owners of the site an opportunity to engage in a little free enterprise and capitalism.

What I would prefer to discuss is limiting the amount of bumping and non-contributing chatter in the threads.
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Jamie,

I don't need you to spell out anything or make anything more clear to me. Its very clear what you are proposing. But, now the rationalization begins.

by the way, whats wrong with the continual bumping and (as you would call it) non-contributing chatter in the threads? Does all this move your Threads to the 4th or 5th page and that is the root of this whole discussion? And, isn't "non-contributing chatter" subjective? I mean, maybe that "non-contributing chatter" is valuable to some members. I'm sure any discussion or information added in a competitor's Thread is disruptive to your Thread.

And, this is the last comment I'm making in this Thread or about this topic. So, you can have the last word. I just hope everyone watches what people do not what they say. Also, remember there is usually an underlying reason someone wants a change. Usually, that underlying reason is to their benefit.

Steven
 
Yes constant bumping is annoying, and yes this is a old discussion that has been brought up since before I ever created a user name.

Being forced to be a member to sell stuff just leads to people feeling entitled. Doesn't change anything without rules. I'm sure there is a way to limit posting in the same threads over and over causing constant bumps.

My opinion is that people that are selling items every week should be members under the current system. Most of them already are. The twice a year sellers should be allowed to list something for free. Either that or the whole site should be required to have memberships in my opinion. Just because I'm selling something, doesn't mean I use up any more bandwidth than someone that posts 200 times a week. And certainly doesn't mean I'm making a profit, its hard to make a profit on a lot of cues anymore.
 
Not looking to just get the last word in Steven. For whatever reason, you seem to have a short-sided view of this discussion. That I'm am making these suggestions for my own benefit and my own interests alone. Those who know me well know that nothing could be further from the truth. I'm talking about people who have "watched" as you would put it.

I have had a much different experience on a custom knife forum's for sale section. One that I believe is superior to the how the W/FS section is here. I have not sold a thing off of that forum, but IMO they have a cleaner system.

I think we would all agree that the knife market is much larger than the cue market, and I believe they have spent more time refining their process. All I am doing is making some suggestions that seem to make their forum run smoother... no more, no less.
 
Newspapers rely strickly on advertising... without it they fail. They are dropping like flies all across the country. The main reasons are the cost of advertising and the internet.
 
Bumping is an issue on AZ IMO.
I have used to W/FS forum for 4 cues and one case.
Just as a point of fact on my sells:
Two cues sold from AZ forum
One cue sold locally
My case sold on Ebay
One cue I decided to keep.

I have been guilty of bumping to much myself but because
of the way it is currently set up, if you don't bump everyday
You sale get pushed 10-15 pages back very quickly.

I would love to see:
1. 48-72 hour rule on bumping.
2. No replies/posts allowed on a "For Sale" thread,
all questions or comments on an item can be handled
through emails, PMs, or Phone calls.
3. 5 free "For Sale" Threads per year after that a posting
fee should be applied. Maybe something like $3-$5 per FS Thread.
IMHO :thumbup:
If you are an pool nut like most of us and you are just looking to
buy/sell a couple of items a year that's great but if you are a
Retail Pool Business Owner making a living off us pool nutz
IMO it should cost you a few Beans. "cost of doing Business"
 
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Gmanpoke said:
You probably are not personally looking to knock out competition, but restricting or limiting access to a market will result in knocking out competition.

I'm sure the market conditions are really bad for you cue dealers. And, god knows I would hate to try to make a living buying and selling cue. But, limiting competition is not the answer (trust me on this).

Nothing is free in life especially "free enterprise systems" and "Capitalism". Maybe our cost of having a good AZ for sale forum is we have to put up with jerks who keep bumping their Threads (is it really that bad?). Believe me the market rules. By that, I mean the market will take care of the sellers who continue to bump their Threads. I think most buyers will look at a Thread that has several pages of the seller bumping his Thread and say "Hum, there must be a good reason this cue isn't selling. I believe I will move on."

For the sellers who continue bumping their Thread, maybe you should buy some marketing books and study marketing a little. Test the market for 30 day (without continually bumping 3 or 4 times a day). If the cue or other product does not sell, take it off the market (let it rest) try again in 3 to 6 months. And remember, the market rules.

There are no bad assets just bad pricing.

Steven
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Steven,
As you said in another post, if the powers that be required that a membership be necessary to post, that would also be "free market". Reading your posts you obviously believe that sales is just sales, and everything someone does or reccomends MUST be of benefit to them or they wouldn't post it. This is not the case, Jamie, I am sure is not loooking to limit anyone. He is, as I and others have suggested, ways to maximize the experience of buying and selling.

JV
 
Simply put, the proposed limits and membership fees is nothing more than a tax. A tax when times are hard and sales are slow. It doesn't make sense to try and limit exposure and raise costs in these hard times, which is the effect the OP's proposals would have . The old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" rings true for the AZ W-F/S section.
 
hangemhigh said:
The old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" rings true for the AZ W-F/S section.
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There is always room for improvement :thumbup:
Maybe no fees involved but
1. 72 hour band between bumps
2. No comments allowed

IMO This would clean up things and make it easer to Buy & Sell
A. As the Seller your Thread won't get pushed 20 pages deep
in two days time.
B. As a Buyer you don't have to sift through the same Threads
over and over again to look at something new.
If you need to make a comment, have a question on an item
send a PM or if provided send an email or a phone call.
 
jmurphy said:
There is always room for improvement :thumbup:
Maybe no fees involved but
1. 72 hour band between bumps
2. No comments allowed

IMO This would clean up things and make it easer to Buy & Sell
A. As the Seller your Thread won't get pushed 20 pages deep
in two days time.
B. As a Buyer you don't have to sift through the same Threads
over and over again to look at something new.
If you need to make a comment, have a question on an item
send a PM or if provided send an email or a phone call.
Click to expand...


The fact that you are worried about posting a thread and it getting buried 20 pages deep shows how fast the forum moves, so why slow it down and as a result slow sales? Doesn't make sense.
 
I am a frequent participant in a photography website called Fredmiranda.com. THey have a buy/sell forum there that is very successful. They charge like $25 or $50 a year in order to have selling privileges there. Also, the site has some excellent features. 1. No topic can be bumped more than once per 24 hours (the site does not permit it). 2. Sellers and buyers can rate each other on their transaction and provide comments for others to view. This works similarly to the way Ebay works, but in the context of a much smaller community and provides a lot of comfort when you are dealing with someone with a good history on the site. Implementing these features might well provide both added value to the users and added revenue to the forum owners. Just my .02. I am primarily a lurker here as I am a beginner at pool, but thought my experience in photography equipment selling might be relevant to the discussion.
 
Luvwine said:
I am a frequent participant in a photography website called Fredmiranda.com. THey have a buy/sell forum there that is very successful. They charge like $25 or $50 a year in order to have selling privileges there. Also, the site has some excellent features. 1. No topic can be bumped more than once per 24 hours (the site does not permit it). 2. Sellers and buyers can rate each other on their transaction and provide comments for others to view. This works similarly to the way Ebay works, but in the context of a much smaller community and provides a lot of comfort when you are dealing with someone with a good history on the site. Implementing these features might well provide both added value to the users and added revenue to the forum owners. Just my .02. I am primarily a lurker here as I am a beginner at pool, but thought my experience in photography equipment selling might be relevant to the discussion.
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Welcome to our forum, glad to have you. Your experience with the photography forum is a great tool to use in comparison to your future experiences here.

AZ does not consider it necessary to charge selling fees, nor does it limit the number of bumps in the W-F/S section. The forum is vivacious, fast moving, and intriguing the way it is, so take a while to soak it in and you just may like it fine.

The forum does have an excellent vehicle to rate buyers and sellers though, it is called i-trader. This allows both sellers and buyers to rate individual experiences with each other on deal they have in common. It is a great tool when making a decision to buy or sell, but not the be-all end -all here. Combine the i-trader with the search feature and asking questions publicly or via PM will make your experience a more pleasant one.

Again, welcome to the forum and enjoy pool!
 
It ain't broke...don't fix it.

We could all be a little better stewards of the forum. All we need to do (each of us) is to limit our posts here to those that actually have something to sell or WTB, self-limit the number of items that we list to a very few at a time, and bump less frequently.

Maybe, after the items get a few days old, we should just roll ALL of the items into one new thread with links to the old and just bump that one.

The guys running AZB have made it popular and the best pool-related forum based on the way they do things now. There is no reason that I can see to change it.

I fully support AZB paid membership...it helps our forums help us.

Thanks,
Joe
 
My own opinion is leave it alone. I have quite a few ITraders as proof that I've bought a lot more than I've sold... and I became a member almost immediately. You can indeed see threads buried 8 to 10 pages deep in a day. My only suggestion may be to limit the number of items for sale simultaneously, that seems to be a point that is abused.
I'm always suspect of adding & changing the forum rules as a whole to solve rather isolated problems. If you have concrete instances of abusive bumping or multiple sale threads, then point to those via the Mods.
Bottom line... Does anyone think they aren't making sales because of what's been put forth here, or is the more likely culprit that times are just slow in general.
My 2 cents...
 
Worminator said:
So what you are saying is... You would be perfectly fine if I posted up every cue I have and bump each one several times a day?
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Jamie, as a member here, it is your perogative to do just that. I would not even consider telling you how to conduct business here. The only persons who have a say in that have left good enough alone, and their silence speaks volumes.
 
bump bump

I don't like some things either. ( I would like a watch list.) But let AZ do their thing. I am sure they have reasons for the way things are done. You could try to buy AZ out and set it up the way you want it. OR, go talk to AZ about it.
 
LPCUSTOMCUES said:
I believe that everyone that sells on AZ should at least have a AZ Club Membership.
I also inquired about a banner on here but the price was way out of my league.
The Club membership doesn't cost that much and would certainly help this forum.
Take a look at the main page. See how many club members there are. They are colored blue. I was amazed at how few they are.
My point is people that have ten or twelve cues for sale on here should atleast have a club membership.

That's my .02
Lee
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i disagree with that. i'd buy a membership if a couple of things got changed. if members got some say in how situations get handled i'd buy one
 
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