I've got a sale threads

[renscharms]

Hi, I think the original question was regarding whether or not it is a good idea to celebrate sales in the forums and to what impression this would give to new buyers/sellers, Going back to this question my answer is this....

When I was looking into whether or not to sign up to sell on this site (in the not to distant past) my view was slightly tainted after reading sellers comments on the forum regarding lack of sales and I think, as a prospective seller at the time, that if I had read more comments on sales and the steady increase that sellers have seen, I would have been much less hesitant. The comments I read were mainly sellers complaining but if I had read more comments on good sales/increasing sales I would not have been concerned and I definately think this is the same for other would be sellers.

I think the more sellers share their success on the forums, the more prospective sellers will have confidence in the site, thus increasing the variety of products available which will lead to more people buying from the site (a knock on effect if you like).

[kreativebargains]

Hi, I think the original question was regarding whether or not it is a good idea to celebrate sales in the forums and to what impression this would give to new buyers/sellers, Going back to this question my answer is this....

When I was looking into whether or not to sign up to sell on this site (in the not to distant past) my view was slightly tainted after reading sellers comments on the forum regarding lack of sales and I think, as a prospective seller at the time, that if I had read more comments on sales and the steady increase that sellers have seen, I would have been much less hesitant. The comments I read were mainly sellers complaining but if I had read more comments on good sales/increasing sales I would not have been concerned and I definately think this is the same for other would be sellers.

I think the more sellers share their success on the forums, the more prospective sellers will have confidence in the site, thus increasing the variety of products available which will lead to more people buying from the site (a knock on effect if you like).

And there we have the best reason for posting about sales - it makes a difference. Not only that but if it contains information that would help a prospective seller to repeat that success then it is doubly valuable as it might not only gain eBid a seller, it might gain them a successful sellr who is more likely to stay the distance.

[Ebideclectics]

I was surprised to find that forum is open online. I don't think it should be. I kinda think of it as personal between members. I also think it should only be open or usable by members. Is that wrong? Maybe there could be a seperate place for public remarks? Have a Super Week End!

[damian_steele]

..... then why blame sellers only ?

I do not want to "blame" anyone, which was one point I was making, which you seem to have missed.

Had you stopped at "Why blame sellers?" that would have been clearer, but you wrote "Why blame sellers only?" which implies that there IS blame to be spread around beyond just the sellers. So I am sorry if your poor written English has caused me to miss a point you failed to make.

[westlondoncarparts]

#33 I think that your idea is good – having the forums available to eBid members only for these kinds of postings and not open to the whole internet would be a step in the right direction. Although the Forum is now much better than it was years ago, I feel that some of what gets posted undermines the credibility of the site in the eyes of the outside world. The most valuable asset of this site is the eBid brand image and this should be protected.

If it is necessary for advice to be available for newcomers to the site, it could be posted to one highly visible place as an information resource and left at that without all these threads.

To go off topic on a slight tangent but still related to these kinds of threads, on one of the Automotive Forum threads yesterday an eBid member who has started selling on eBid again after a break of around 3 years was making comment that there does not seem to be any more buzz around the selling of car parts for classic cars here now than previously. I always try to check out facts when listening to what people are saying. I looked through a lot of the classic car parts listings and was somewhat stunned to see that on the many pages of classic car parts that I scrolled through almost of all the auction listings have live bids on them. Although the starting bids are low and for some below general market price and although I do not know if there are likely to be many bidding wars, there is evidence of good bidding activity on listings in this category. This would not have been the situation three years ago when the particular eBid member was last trying to sell here.

So away from the Forum where only a few people are posting regularly and where their personal experience of eBid might not be representative of all the selling categories on this site, the overall real state of play on eBid could be different to how it is presented in their postings - in which case the Forum threads accessible to everybody on the internet could be misrepresenting the eBid situation to the outside world with negative consequences.

[damian_steele]

So given that the forums currently are visible, it makes sense to counter the negative threads with positive ones.

[kreativebargains]

#33 I think that your idea is good – having the forums available to eBid members only for these kinds of postings and not open to the whole internet would be a step in the right direction. Although the Forum is now much better than it was years ago, I feel that some of what gets posted undermines the credibility of the site in the eyes of the outside world. The most valuable asset of this site is the eBid brand image and this should be protected.

If it is necessary for advice to be available for newcomers to the site, it could be posted to one highly visible place as an information resource and left at that without all these threads.

To go off topic on a slight tangent but still related to these kinds of threads, on one of the Automotive Forum threads yesterday an eBid member who has started selling on eBid again after a break of around 3 years was making comment that there does not seem to be any more buzz around the selling of car parts for classic cars here now than previously. I always try to check out facts when listening to what people are saying. I looked through a lot of the classic car parts listings and was somewhat stunned to see that on the many pages of classic car parts that I scrolled through almost of all the auction listings have live bids on them. Although the starting bids are low and for some below general market price and although I do not know if there are likely to be many bidding wars, there is evidence of good bidding activity on listings in this category. This would not have been the situation three years ago when the particular eBid member was last trying to sell here.

So away from the Forum where only a few people are posting regularly and where their personal experience of eBid might not be representative of all the selling categories on this site, the overall real state of play on eBid could be different to how it is presented in their postings - in which case the Forum threads accessible to everybody on the internet could be misrepresenting the eBid situation to the outside world with negative consequences.

As Damian says. As the forums are live and visible to all then you or other members had the perfect chance to counter the negative bias. By posting on that thread that there are items available and most of them had bids would turn a negative posting into a positive one that should be available for all to see.

To me it makes no sense to keep peoples views hidden behind locked doors. It would give the impression that there is something to hide and as far as I am concerned there is nothing to hide on eBid. Negative posts are far better responded to on an open forum so that anybody can see that this site has a lot to offer. There are weaknesses on the site and that too should not be hidden, but the only way of addressing them is by bringing them out into the open. There is plenty to shout about on eBid, not least the fact that it is improving every year, so lets share this with whoever wants to listen and hope that they join us and help to keep that momentum going.

[adruml]

So given that the forums currently are visible, it makes sense to counter the negative threads with positive ones.

As long as they are in fact positive ones and not attempts at clever stabs.

[crafters_corner_2]

To all those advocating a 'private' forum:

There is no need for anyone to look at the forums before deciding whether or not to spend their money on joining eBid. They have only to look at Trustpilot which is there for all to see.

The reviews are, in the main, enough to put anyone off joining.

[kreativebargains]

To all those advocating a 'private' forum:

There is no need for anyone to look at the forums before deciding whether or not to spend their money on joining eBid. They have only to look at Trustpilot which is there for all to see.

The reviews are, in the main, enough to put anyone off joining.

I posted on there a few days ago, but as you say most of it makes for depressing reading. The problem with TrustPilot and other similar sites are that people who have a problem are far more likely to do something about it and also that many of the worse comments are way out of date and things online can change rapidly. For example 4 years ago I would have given a far better write up regarding eBay than I would now, but people will take note regardless of how long ago the comment was made.