ped

Looks like fun to me.

Guys .. I've said a few times now, items under £100 or so will be free to list. Adverts will be visible to all, and free to reply to. No change there at all. In terms of tiered arrangements, we're looking into what's possible. It's most likely, though, that we'll have one price to list items over the free threshold.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1354741033' post='1889963'] Ped - any initial feelings on wether a voluntary contributing member scheme (a la TB) would work? A big donate button, a star or two contributor's avatars, occasional posts every now and then reminding everyone how nice it would be if you got a few more donations... It might just work. I'm not sure paying to use the classifieds is the way.. BC is more than that. [/quote] One thing we want to avoid is a hierarchy of different member groups. The only fair way to do it is through the marketplace. If some people think its unfair, and I think it'll be a minority, they can sell elsewhere - and either pay more or reach fewer customers. We'll see how it goes, but due to limitations it's pretty much the only way available to us. Thankfully many think its fair and will support what we're doing. Any system where members have to pay is going to be controversial but I'm glad this has been met with overwhelmingly positive feedback. Soon it'll be over to you... Cheers

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1354731307' post='1889770'] Honestly, I'm not very keen on the idea of paying to place ads. I'd rather see regulars contribute to the site because they want to---perhaps, before implementing such massive changes, it might be worth contacting the whole membership and saying "Look, we can't continue to run basschat as it is for free. If you enjoy the site, please, contribute some cash to the pot, otherwise we'll have to start charging for placing ads" or similar. I'm aware that you already (sort of) do this, but I think a much more explicit request might have some sway. You've got nothing to lose, either---you could try it and see what happens! [/quote] We already have a message to every seller to ask for a donation, and unfortunately it doesn't work. Shame, but there you go!!

[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1354727819' post='1889688'] The idea above of a tiered pricing structure based on item value is the best solution I can see, if implementable. As a very occasional user of the marketplace, I wouldn't pay £2 to list something I only expected get £25 for. And those types of low-cost ads are great for the 'community spirit'. Require everyone to put a trade value in on their trade items and treat them the same in terms of pricing. A flat per-item fee for listing will kill the marketplace IMO - once it's only worth listing for higher-price items then the user-base as a whole dwindles, and people'd be less inclined to list the expensive stuff so it all spirals down. You've got a great brand here that has taken so much time and effort on your part to build up, be such a shame if a wrong step now damaged it. Just my 2p! [/quote] Please read my posts!

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1354726680' post='1889661'] Plus a special forum for gingers, of course. [/quote] Too much competition, we're not touching that.

[quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1354722695' post='1889597'] I joined this site purely to sell a bass I'd had lying around for years. Zero post newbie guitarist. I made all the newbie mistakes - no price, no pictures, no other posts. Thanks to the friendly encouragement of the other members I soon listed price and pictures, and the bass was sold, a feedback thread was started, etc. 6 months later i've got two new basses, bought and sold many pedals, and have met several very nice chaps when collecting/trading. My guitars are gathering dust... So that's what the old style classifieds has going for it! I'd prefer it to remain free, or possibly £2 a lisiting. Here's another idea - keep it basschat, but create a guitarists sub-forum and guitarists classifieds?! Why not drummers too? Just an idea. Ted [/quote] Hi Ted I bet everyone would prefer it to be free unfortunately that just isn't possible if you also expect BC to be fast, reliable and updated. We are opening two new forums soon, Guitarchat and Drumchat. These will be the same format and be the place for other players to start their own communities. We'll try and make it so that if you are logged in to any one of the sites owned by the 'Chat Partnership' you'll be registered and able to post on any of the sites under our company. I know lots of bassists play lesser instruments on the side, so this would enable some crossover. Cheers ped

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1354709103' post='1889350'] fora. [/quote] In between Flora and Fauna

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1354707420' post='1889314'] To my shame I have sold/traded quite a bit on here and not made one donation . Why? Lazy. Please feel free to pan me, but I bet I'm not the only one. I would be happy to be made to pay £2/£3 per ad, better value than the free on Bumtree and Freeloved. £20 subscription? I think you will lose a lot of members, not just the rarely active. I am sure the Mods have done a lot down the following avenue, but to me, an advertising spend, with their own page, for the likes of Fender, could be strongly looked at? Say Fender had their own page on here, at £10,000 pa, it is costing them 50 p pa per bass player, as we have about 20.000 I believe? No doubt I am being my usual simplistic self. Karl. [/quote] Hi mate Ideally we want to move away from advertising as much as possible. I don;t like 'affiliation' with a brand via a forum, either - BC's strength is it's independence from manufacturer bias. Cheers ped

[quote name='BarnacleBob' timestamp='1354647082' post='1888716'] Just wound to original spec. There was a delay in the repairs because I actually tried to locate 2 replacement pups from Vigier - Ben (the rep) said they would be difficult to get as an old model but Patrice in reply to me on the forum said they were available but the trail went cold eventually. Had them rewound at Bareknuckle after trying Wizard who couldn't do it BB [/quote] Ah right, OK. Those original pickups sound great, though. Bet they sound nice now they've been sorted. Really love these basses... keep them coming, any other owners on BC?

[quote name='Ruiner' timestamp='1354700433' post='1889200'] I don't think a subscription is a bad idea, but personally would be in favour of also having the option to pay for a one off ad also, or a shorter, say month long subscription. [/quote] That's the plan, however as we're limited by the payment options available then we'll have to go with what we have, initially.

Hi guys Thanks for all the extra ideas - as great as some of them are, again, simplicity is the key, at least initially. I'm sure we can customise things as soon as we start turning a profit, though. I'm speaking to the new web developer later when Steve has finished going through the small print on the contract. Initially it's probably going to be just a subscription fee and a one off fee if possible. Cheers, more updates as they come.... ped

[quote name='BarnacleBob' timestamp='1354645853' post='1888693'] 269 - which makes it an '86 I think. BB [/quote] Very nice.. did the pickups remain single coil or have you fattened those up?

Looks great!! Serial number?

Things under a certain price would be free.

[quote name='longtimefred' timestamp='1354640973' post='1888592'] i know it attracts people here but if the only people allowed to use the for sale section for sales were subscribers then it could be one more bit of security for buyers/sellers avoiding potential pain in the bottom deals. [/quote] I think as long as users are always careful, the benefits of being able to advertise to EVERYONE far outweigh the advantages of selling to a select group. It's also one of the main things that brings folk to the site.

[quote name='Toasted' timestamp='1354640484' post='1888572'] So it's not just about covering costs, it's also about making profit? Seems fair enough. [/quote] We're taking it one step at a time as there are lots of things we want to fix/upgrade but yes long term this site is becoming more and more a full time job. I should put as much effort in at my ACTUAL job!

[quote name='Toasted' timestamp='1354639772' post='1888556'] How much money do you need to raise? [/quote] How long is a piece of string? Obviously as this is a business and something Steve and I want to develop we're looking at what's fair.

[quote name='Toasted' timestamp='1354639133' post='1888542'] I'm confused. Is the point of all this to: 1) raise funds for Basschat (every "solution" involves users spending money that they currently don't) 2) reduce workload for moderators (moaning on about people bumping / not posting a price) 3) provide some sort of "user experience" which we're not currently getting (thumbnails of dubious quality) [/quote] 1 and 2

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1354635897' post='1888472'] The main problem with adding features to support good ideas like this is that unless your platform was designed to cope with extension in this way, you can quickly end up with an unmaintainable system that consists more of exceptions than rules. And doing it 'the right way' isn't cheap. [/quote] Yeah, precisely. We're limited to some extent by the platform. Even the classifieds add on was a third party 'hook' made by someone to fit into the software. Unless we hire our own person to totally code something from the ground up, these bolt-ons are never going to suit us perfectly. This has been proven in the feedback thus far about the new section. [i][u][b]So do we all like the sound of a single payment for a one off advert and the option of a single yearly payment?[/b][/u][/i]

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1354635645' post='1888463'] I made the assumption that it would be the same procedure as banning people from OT, (for eg.) ........ ........though that does have the knock-on effect of also banning the user from several other areas which they may have been able to make useful contributions to. [/quote] Yeah, that would be very hard to keep track of and to moderate. It would also mean we'd have to get involved in every sale and confirm the status of the deal,etc. Simplicity is the key, I think.

[quote name='Wooks79' timestamp='1354634830' post='1888448'] How about a subs benefit of 1 days preview on all sales threads before it goes on free full view to all members? Might help some people grab an elusive piece of kit or bargain? If say that, plus every sale thread has a £1 insert fee would be a great plan [/quote] Again, simplicity is what we need initially. Things like this sound easy but are actually very difficult (and expensive) to maintain and code. Nice idea though

[quote name='woodyratm' timestamp='1354634728' post='1888446'] I'll admit - I've been lazy and haven't read this whole thread! But... I've just had my first proper nosy at the classifieds section. I quite like it, adding a "bump" button would be pretty cool. My main (and currently only!) issue is that I tend to just hit "New Posts" and read the results (and before anyone says - I know I can select Classifieds in the search criteria) - I like reading the posts without needing to change my search (I don't just read the for sale posts currently, I jump between). If we could get the classifieds incorporated into that type of thing and get rid of the "for sale" section (so not having both) - then I'd be totally happy. I like the idea of prices being added from the get go! [/quote] Thanks - yeah one of the issues with the classifieds 'module' is that it appears under different criteria in the search. I too use the 'view new posts' as my home page.

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1354634341' post='1888436'] a simple % of the selling price is paid on a sale being made, anyone not forwarding said amount is blocked from future sales until it is. [/quote] Hi mate Thanks for this - remember the key is simplicity, though. This would be very difficult to enforce with basic software. I still like the suggestions thus far of a fee to insert a single ad, or a single fee for unlimited posts a year.

Hi guys More good feedback. Please make sure you look at my last post where I explain why a % fee isn't actually very easy and where I suggest items below a certain cost are free. £20 was just a comparison to TB, so don't get too hung up on the actual cost yet. I think it's clear that the new section could be scrapped. I'll talk to the web guy and see what our options are in terms of 'packages' - Ideally I'd like a single price per advert as you lot suggest, and offer an alternative yearly fee too. Thanks guys ped