VandTnut needs advice (and help)

[VandTnut]

I am working right now to get the structure in place before I start loading in a lot of stock. I have my store in place for model railroad items and now am working on my store for railroad and model railroad books.
So.....
I check out what categories I should be listing in, sell side first and then go to the buy side to see what is listed and I go to:
Books,Comics & Magazines>Books>Non-Fiction>Transport & Railway

What I find there in addition to the expected books on railroad and railway topics are a hodge-podge of books on Harley Davidson motorcycles, aircraft from world war I to the Concorde, Busses (not too far affield), all kinds of automotive related stuff from parts manuals for MGs to how to pass your driving test.

Some of these items are listed by sellers with feedback well up in 3 digits so are they mis-listing items or am I having a problem with trans-atlantic translational differentiation of the english language?
AARGH.......
ED

[bykimbo]

What part of the list of examples you gave isn't "transport"?

[VandTnut]

Thanks for the fast response.
Well, I suppose it depends on how you define transport.
My problem is, the book categories are so finely divided it appears that the **one** sub category where I can properly list my goods is being used as a dumping ground for anything that moves from one place to another or is related to something that moves from one place to another.
If you consider a device for transporting bombs and delivering bombs as transport then yes this is the category for it, then we can wipe out all the aircraft book listings and put them all in the jumble too. See my point?
The forums have been very specific about admin. enforcing proper listings of items and as I am new here I don't want to put a foot wrong. It makes it very difficult when I go to the area where I need to function and find that somebody is using it for what amounts to a rummage sale from the buyers perspective.
Someone looking for a book on a North American railroad might find a book on british busses of interest but a manual on how to pass a driving test (no matter where) is totally irrelevant, as is anything having to do with aviation. There are enough sub-divisions in the automotive book categories that most of these books should also be able to find a proper home.
ED Banging his head against the keyboard.

[bykimbo]

I think your best approach, if you feel that the categories are wrong, is to propose actual changes. There is a special forum where you can do that. The changes don't happen instantly, but suggestion felt to have merit are done in batches when Gazza gets round to it.

I have to say I think that people tend to search more than browse, so it's possibly not as big a problem as you fear - but I quite see that we all want the categories to be right, or there's no point in having them.

[klj]

Ed - The way this site works, categories are added as people request them, and as admin. gets the opportunity to add them. Under transportation - related books the only subcategories are automotive and space. Before you will find Railways/Railroads/Trains in their own category is by requesting the category in the correct forum (there is a message at the top of the new categories forum that tells you how to make a request). This is how the site is getting built. That way there should be categories for what people are listing, instead of what admin. think we might need.
Learning to drive books should be under the automotive section of books - and if you report them as being in the wrong category they will be removed. What I think you are running into is listings from people who put their books up before the automotive section was added. There's a bit of that around here. A new, more appropriate catgegory gets added, but the people who have already listed elsewhere don't realize it.

[VandTnut]

Ed - The way this site works, categories are added as people request them, and as admin. gets the opportunity to add them. Under transportation - related books the only subcategories are automotive and space. Before you will find Railways/Railroads/Trains in their own category is by requesting the category in the correct forum (there is a message at the top of the new categories forum that tells you how to make a request). This is how the site is getting built. That way there should be categories for what people are listing, instead of what admin. think we might need.
Learning to drive books should be under the automotive section of books - and if you report them as being in the wrong category they will be removed. What I think you are running into is listings from people who put their books up before the automotive section was added. There's a bit of that around here. A new, more appropriate catgegory gets added, but the people who have already listed elsewhere don't realize it.

[Toggle:Happy Dancing Feet/ON] Thank You for the clear explanation of what is going on.
Being new here I naturally am a little disoriented. Being able to ask questions and actually get a rational response from (gasp)a real live PERSON is almost enough to cause a catatonic faint!
I have already requested a change in the way the Transport/Transportation category is organized and there have been a couple of excellent suggestions on how to tweak my proposed change.
Now we shall see how long it takes for the changes to be implemented.
I do know that my request for a T-shirt was dealt with promptly when I subscribed to seller+ so admin has demonstrated that they aren't the black hole that exists on eBloat.
I will take your advice and start requesting the inapropriate listings be moved out.
Thanks again for the help.
ED

[iwiw60]

I'm still waiting for for Books:Non-Fiction:Zoology...aaaaack!!

[VandTnut]

How Long?
ED

[bykimbo]

I don't quite believe you've sent me a question telling me my book on ports - part of the transport system of the world, is in the wrong category! It's called "Transport & Railway" not railway, so asking everybody with a non-train book in there to move it is... weird.

[bykimbo]

Calling V&T. Please stop using the question facility on my listings to conduct a discussion about categories. As you've made such a fuss, I've moved the Malaya book out of "your" category - though I say again the cat is *TRANSPORT* and railyway. The category you want me to move to does not exist. I've found somewhere else for it just to keep out of your way.

I stress again - I am perfectly happy to discuss these issues here, but NOT via my listings!!