Another BST section for a paid seller?
 

I posted this in Frank's thread but it really deserves it's own.

What if a large ebay seller wants to sell on the BST AND since they don't want to hog up the live auction section, or other sections, they pay to have their own BST subsection? There would be 0 cost to our members and no markup on the buys there. It might go into effect as soon as today......If it is implemented it will be on a trial basis.

NO OTHER BST sections will be affected at all, nadda.


And here is another response from the other thread that addresses a few things too...

If we implement that "seller paid" BST section it is going to be on a trial basis. That seller will have their own section for listing whatever they want to, however they want to...as they are paying a substantial fee to do it. Until that type section is proven I wouldn't want any other sellers to have a section. If it works, then we can go from there. But we aren't talking a small charge, it would be significant. So a private seller would still want to utilize all of the other BST sections that are free, and will be free, to post in.
To reiterate there would be no additional cost to buyers...so if there was an auction that ended at $50, the cost would be $50 (plus a non-jacked up shipping charge)

sounds good to me since it would be a seperate section from the regular BST. If they have lower BIN prices than EBAY I assume they would sell more.

John Keating

Sounds OK to me--a trial run can't hurt anything, that I know of!

The seller would rather deal with our collective nut cases than ebays :). I don't blame him. If there are no roadblocks, obstacles or issues we haven't thought about that aren't overcome-able, this new section, under the Live Auctions and above the 19th Century, could be in effect as soon as this evening.

Let me reiterate NO CURRENT BST SECTIONS will be affected at all. No member will ever have to pay anything to be on this board. No member will ever be charged for selling something. However, this is different and would be a captive commercial BST place for one seller and for all members to frequent, should they desire (and anyone on the BST probably would want to check it out).

Does selling retail space affect your license for the site?

Worth a shot......can you say who it is?

does his name start with Prob...and ending rhyme with Mean?

It sounds to me like a good idea.

Sounds good to me. I always like it if I can support the advertisers that help keep our site in operation.

For full disclosure, it would be myself and Greg Morris who would be running auctions/news/promotions/our own section. We are trying to figure out what sort of 'promotion' to add for net 54 members and if this does go into place I would like input. We were thinking a 1% rebate on won auctions on both net54 and e-bay or something along those lines.

Thanks guys.

Edit for clarity:
Auctions - we would run auctions similar to the auction section, just our own stuff so we don't clog up other sections
BST - We would post our buying threads and selling threads in their own section so we don't clog up other sections
News - Our recent pickups, what is happening in the hobby for us
Promotions - Giveaways, Kickbacks, you name it we are open to trying it.

We would never get where we are without you guys as collectors and buyers, so we would like to listen to all reasonable suggestions and actually make implementations rather than refrain from posting at all or giving dodgy answers.

how about 34% off?

Interesting idea and I see a couple ways this could go.

I'm assuming Leon would hand choose all sellers, as its his site, but would there be a set list of standards to be able to sell on the site they would have to meet? Is there a feedback system associated with this? Who handles complaints and problems with transactions?

"let`s run it up the flagpole" , been waiting years to say that .

Auctions...news...promotions, etc under it's own BST section. Doesn't really sound like a BST at that point.

Will this additional revenue for Leon help to lower our membership costs here?

I guess my question to Leon would be, is it YOUR section, or just a new section that you guys would be the first to inhabit? If you guys are wildly successful and others want to jump in, would they move into the "paid" section or get their own? I.e. could we possibly down the road have 20 paid guys with their own sections? That seems cumbersome.

Not trying break balls here - I've had several good experiences with Greg and welcome a new idea....just kicking the tires.

I completely understand and have to leave this one for Leon to answer, I believe that is the purpose of the thread (and a trial) to drive the 'what-ifs' and questions that need to be answered along the way.

54%?:)

Sound good, a trial cant hurt

Isn't a paid section just like having a banner at the top to an individual's website that I can click on and see what they are selling? I don't see why a section on here would be needed if they are already an advertiser either way I have to click on there looking for something to buy.

Another thought is would the posts keep popping up when I click on the "New Posts" tab? I use this tab because I like looking at all the posts across the forum, but it seems like it might be a bit much sifting through 100+ posts of what is for sale by one individual. At that point I would have to go to each section avoiding the paid bst section that I am wanting to avoid.

Well, you are correct. That is why it is under our member's free Live Auction section in the BST hierarchy. The current Live Auction section isn't technically a BST area either.

The seller(s) in the proposed section are not unlike any place else on this board. While I don't think I want any rules per se', I feel whomever the seller is will need to behave in an ethical manner. Haven't we always tried to police it that way on our BST? If I get a complaint I am sure it can be handled. If I get more complaints or headaches, then there won't be a section like that any more. It can go up and come down without going to Congress (*not mean to be a political statement). I spoke with Sean a few times already and he (hey Sean) knows that the plug can be pulled at any time, if we decide to go forward with a trial.

And Andy, I just saw your questions. They are good questions. Let's see how that plays out.....we don't want it to be worse than it is now :)

and one other thing too, the discussions have mainly revolved around selling in that space.....the other things are possible but less discussed so far...

+1

I brought this up in the other thread. It would potentially make the "New Posts" results useless as the volume of paid BST posts increases.

This seems better planned than the Affordable Health Care Act. For those who are worried if will affect your current use of N54, don't. If you like visiting your existing BST forums, you can keep visiting your existing BST forums.

All kidding aside, let's give it a try.

If this goes into effect (sounds like it is headed that way), I wonder if we will see a sharp increase in the number of board members as a result.

If it wouldn't affect the current B/S/T area, I don't see the harm in giving it a shot.

Sincerely, Clayton

Same here. I love the B/S/T section, so long as it doesn't affect that area, I'm all for it as well. And as long as it is in it's own subsection, I can browse it if I want, or ignore it if I choose. I like options! :)

Leon's job as owner of this board is to do his best to monetize the time and effort he spends doing this.

If I understand the concept correctly, what I would do if I were Leon is to do one of two things

1) To put the PAID BST Listings in BOLD and put them on top of the listings.

2) Create a NEW link, similar to the BST link and let them really have some pub,

MOO

Rich

Thanks for the suggestions Rich. So far I still like the idea of having the section being proposed be 1 BST section just like the other 9 BST sections. It would be below the current Live Auction section and above the 19th Century BST section. That way if people want to ignore those 2 top sections it's easy to do. And I like having the Live Auction one at top as it needs more attention, again, imo.... Always open to listening to good suggestions so thanks again...

Would the new paid seller be excluded from posting in the other BST? Would we see advertisements referencing his listings on his page? Will this new deal significantly effect the amount of outbound email from Net54 ie) the new seller is running a sale so a mass email gets sent to all members?

I wouldn't expect them to list in the other sections. So that won't be an issue of advertisements elsewhere unless they are extraordinary in nature. The seller(s) will not have the ability to send emails from the system. They would have no more allowances than other members in that respect.

If it helps the site, great.

My thoughts are go for it. I have had many dealings with Sean, and they have all been positive. Might be a very fresh addition to our forum.....

The thread format is really terrible for auctions. Unless the format is different it will be a mess and I would probably avoid it.

1) I think it's awesome - and that the proceeds should go towards increasing the PM inbox size! :D

2) Sean is young - but he's becoming a real hobby mover, shaker and play maker!

Poof.....the PM inbox is now 250 for all registered members, instead of 100. If there are system issues (I doubt there will be) I reserve the right to set it back.

Awesome Leon!! Thanks

:):)

Leon, you are the man!

You mean all I had to do was ask!?!? I've been cursing that limit for two years :)

Best news I have heard all week! Thanks Leon!

Jeff

Very much appreciated. Thank you, Leon.

Best regards,

Eric

Its a way for them to get closer to the people buying stuff, and circumventing the fees of:

1) Auction software, particularly the high price that simple auction site charges
2) Ebay listing fees
3) Paypal fees

It makes it cheaper for you, better for the board and better for the seller while keeping the same format that currently exists.

If you had to ask me. The end game is to have seller based auction listings with real auction software like ebay has, rather than through postings.

There are a number of free scripts out there to accomplish this and might be a better route than simply making threads with auction listings.


Kevin

I agree with Kevin. I very much welcome something new and if Leon is good with it, I feel he would know best. It's on a trial basis, so if it doesn't work out, it will disappear.

thumbs up
 

Thanks for asking our opinions. To me this sounds like a mutually beneficial relationship, net54 gets an influx of product and the seller avoids ebay and has the attention of a dedicated consumer base.

Personally, I'd love to see ebay go under. If this is one small chink in their armor, I see that as a bonus.

Yes
 

I like the idea and think it is worth a shot.

Sounds like the seller will save some money and pass some of the savings along to the buyer, and the forum gets some too win win win.

This trial has been implemented. We'll see how it goes and I do wish Sean and Greg the very best of luck with it. And thanks for all of the feedback too. A rolling stone gathers no moss :)......

+1

Actually, that MYTH got busted :D:D:D

Gone already? :(

I'm sorry it didn't work out. I received my winnings earlier this week, everything looked great!