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Post by exoticimports on May 14, 2015 11:22:43 GMT -8
Where are all these people who constantly post in the classifieds? Most don't participate in the forums, but they don't mind using the site to sell.
I have surplus to dispose of, but if I post it in Classifieds it will roll off the front page in a day. So I don't bother.
Why is there a separate classifieds area? Why not just have a topic in the forums? I'm sure there's a good reason, I just don't see it.
I don't buy much, but what does drive me nuts is when I do see something interesting, more often than not, there's no price, it's a link to Ebay or some other website. That's where I quit. I'd like to see prices right in the title.
Just some thoughts.
Chuck
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Post by jshuey on May 14, 2015 11:50:51 GMT -8
I agree - there is a lot of third party advertising for eBay sellers here. And when someone is actually selling or trading their own material is pretty rare anymore. Plus, no-one ever sells what I’m looking for! (someone must have neotropical skippers with solid data out there)
But I will say this - the few times I've listed good bugs (at a good price), they were mailed out in a few days. I think there are people who check this every day (besides me).
John
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Post by admin on May 14, 2015 13:54:19 GMT -8
The problem with having time-sensitive 'for sale' ads for specific items in this Forum is that Forum members may forget to delete their posts once an item is sold - and there is no way I myself can keep track of that. Thus the Forum will likely become cluttered with obsolete ads. The beauty of the Classifieds is that the users can edit, delete, or renew their own ads, plus the expired ads are purged automatically by the program. Not to mention the EXCELLENT categorization and search capabilities of the Classifieds. (Try the Advanced Search and you will see what I mean.) Also, due to malicious spamming in the past there is no self-registration in the Forum anymore. Each applicant is vetted more carefully than before, so for a new person who wants to sell something it is much easier for them just to post in the Classifieds. But it is still OK to post generic 'for sale' ads here, such as "I sell goliathus beetles on a regular basis.. please contact me for more info". Or post a link to your web page if you have one. Use the Announcements section. Just remember that if you post an ad in the Forum for a specific item for sale you may be contacted years later about it if you forget to delete it, after the item is long gone!  Hope this helps. |
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Post by admin on May 14, 2015 17:48:41 GMT -8
I have surplus to dispose of, but if I post it in Classifieds it will roll off the front page in a day. So I don't bother. The front page in the Classifieds (Newest Ads & Most Popular Ads) is a widget from the Classifieds vendor that I don't have much control of and as you can see there is limited space to make it longer anyway. The Browse mode is where I usually go to see what's happening in the Classifieds. Just now I have increased the Browse mode to display twice as many ads on one page than before. I had it set to 100 for many years, now it is 200. This will help a little. |
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Post by admin on May 14, 2015 20:10:03 GMT -8
I don't buy much, but what does drive me nuts is when I do see something interesting, more often than not, there's no price, it's a link to Ebay or some other website. That's where I quit. I'd like to see prices right in the title. Just some thoughts. Chuck Chuck, I hear you. Some more sophisticated Classified programs have a dedicated field for the price of an item for sale. You have to enter a price in order to post the ad. I can't enforce price posting with my version of the Classifieds, but I can do better on enforcing the correct Caption Header. From now I will disallow the caption header FOR SALE in an ad that is actually a redirect for an auction. Nothing against auctions, as long as they are upfront about it. This should help us all to maneuver more efficiently in the Classifieds. See my new rule here: insectnet.proboards.com/thread/6323/new-rule-auction-ads-classifieds |
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Post by africaone on May 14, 2015 23:55:36 GMT -8
in my opinion, classified an forum are two completely different things. one is more commercial the other more for passionates. This is probably why the trading report and his cortege of complaints has a bad influence on the forum (particulary these last times), because it is a mixed zone between the two. Just a personal POV ...  |
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Post by wollastoni on May 15, 2015 0:04:40 GMT -8
I think Clark's new rules are good.
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Post by mikelock34 on May 17, 2015 8:08:14 GMT -8
Where are all these people who constantly post in the classifieds? Most don't participate in the forums, but they don't mind using the site to sell. I have surplus to dispose of, but if I post it in Classifieds it will roll off the front page in a day. So I don't bother. Why is there a separate classifieds area? Why not just have a topic in the forums? I'm sure there's a good reason, I just don't see it. I don't buy much, but what does drive me nuts is when I do see something interesting, more often than not, there's no price, it's a link to Ebay or some other website. That's where I quit. I'd like to see prices right in the title. Just some thoughts. Chuck One I have "enjoyed" in the past is trying to explain to buyers why I do not always put the price in an advertisement for a certain specimen. I let them know that if I buy the specimen for $5.00 and list it for $10.00 to cover the costs of shipping/permits/inspection/loss from bad quality specimens in the mix, the seller will see that price and want $10.00 the next time he sells one to me. Then when he sees that I am selling it for $15.00 he now wants $15.00 because to him that is what it is worth now. He saw it on the internet. Now when I list that specimen for $20.00 he wants $20.00 for the next specimen as he has seen that is what it is worth on the internet. And on and on. If someone does not list the price, just contact them to get their price to help avoid this scenario. Michael |
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Post by exoticimports on May 18, 2015 5:49:46 GMT -8
Michael,
That is an unfortunate element of the internet. I faced the same problem many times. When I explain to them that the $2 coconut crab sells for $120 in Hong Kong and that I pay US$50/kilo for tuna they start to get the idea. I also explain the cost of licenses, permits, risk of damage, costs incurred when USFWS decides to impound a shipment, etc. Pretty easy to show how a $5 bug in-country costs $20 in USA. And "I have cash right now" beats them trying to sell it to somebody and get ripped off.
Hey Clark, I see you have a new photo. Granted I've not seen you in ten years, but what happened to your hair?
Chuck
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Post by admin on May 18, 2015 14:10:27 GMT -8
Michael, Hey Clark, I see you have a new photo. Granted I've not seen you in ten years, but what happened to your hair? Chuck Lol! I donated my hair to the less fortunate. |
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