Administrators and Members... Just an idea... MEE- Bay???

[Bronxboykev]

Good afternoon all

Just Thinking out loud...

I was just here perusing thru E-Bay when I thought to myself this may work here in the Museum for us. I know there is an Auction Watch and a Marketplace but sometimes stuff gets burried on the back pages of the threads and could become time consuming trying to find what it was that you were looking for to begin with. Yes I know there is a word search but they can be a bit much to look thru as well.
So why not create a thread or a sticky or even a link within the Museum and call it our MEE-Bay... You can do it by Member name he can list what he has for sale or even have the buyer do a search of the item they are searching for to see if there is one available, Members can even set up watch lists in the event they are interested in something that they can not jump out and get at that moment in time. I know some members would welcome a relief in some of the e bay fees. I know Some members give the Museum Members first crack at sales anyway and will still continue to sell on e bay anyway, that doesnt have to change, And if there were a minimal fee it would go by way of helping fund the site the way the Mego Meet auction does. I hope I am not overstepping any bounds here... is this doable???... is it a good idea???

Just throwing out an idea and seeing if it would stick against the wall.

[Toyman_Chris]

I like the idea. Not computer savvy enough to know how difficult making it a reality would be.....

[thunderbolt]

how do you make certain stuff gets sold paid for and delivered??

[Bronxboykev]

how do you make certain stuff gets sold paid for and delivered??

I am not computer Savy as well... but if developed it should... Like any buy and sell site give you payment receipts , confirmations, as well as tracking and delivery information.

[megocrazy]

I am not computer Savy as well... but if developed it should... Like any buy and sell site give you payment receipts , confirmations, as well as tracking and delivery information.

That would be awesome. I assume you would be fine with paying fees like ebay charges, to cover the cost of designing such a site.

To make it like ebay would be way to difficult. Possible but not feasible. A classified ad set-up would probably be easier. Kinda like craigslist, where payment and delivery are settled through the buyer and sellers own personal communication. The use of Paypal would control the lack of worry if your item was not shipped as long as you honor PP's rules and don't use the gift option to circumnavigate the fees. My wife uses a facebook posting as an online yard sale and sells items locally. It works but it is limited because it wasn't built for that particular use.

[thunderbolt]

^^^ Outside of throwing out the gift option, it would be the same as the Marketplace now.

[ODBJBG]

I hate to be "that guy" but I think we already have this... It's called the Marketplace.

Seriously, while that system is far from perfect, it's about as good as it gets. People list what they have for sale or trade or want and others respond. It's a pretty good system. Thousands of good transactions and generally I think everyone has a pretty positive experience in the marketplace.

Just my 2 cents, though.

[Bronxboykev]

I hate to be "that guy" but I think we already have this... It's called the Marketplace.

Seriously, while that system is far from perfect, it's about as good as it gets. People list what they have for sale or trade or want and others respond. It's a pretty good system. Thousands of good transactions and generally I think everyone has a pretty positive experience in the marketplace.

Just my 2 cents, though.

Your not being "That Guy" This was put out there for opinions and thoughts.
I have taken into consideration the Market Place and the Auction Watch threads, And I have had good results with both, but for someone who hasn't been on from day to day and week to week stuff can get buried pages in in even a short span. I just thought something like this would keep prosoective buyers and sellers a bit more out in the open. Even for benefit of new members they won't see what might be buried on page 7, 18, 37 of the marketplace.

[palitoy]

You're not overstepping bounds in any way by throwing out an idea that is meant to positively impact the place. Honestly, I wish more people contributed in the positive.

The trouble is and it's been alluded to here, such a project would take time and a certain savvy with programming. Honestly, we have neither, especially time. There is a lot going on behind the scenes (websites, books, magazines, podcasts) and this isn't something I can see happening.

The marketplace is what it is and my biggest gripe with it is the stuff I miss.

[johnnystorm]

I think it may be more trouble for the management ...do you really want to monitor condition disputes and nonpayment issues? Complaints about auction sniping?

I think the marketplace is good as it is, maybe you could just break out want to buy listings from the for sale pages...maybe even three rooms, buy, sell, & trade only... or even a fourth room called make an offer.


Maybe just adding some type of comment section to each members profile page would help out, then instead of pages & pages of names on the good trader list, we could comment directly to a member we dealt with, both as buyer & seller. Then you would only have to monitor the comments upon request if an abusive or unwarrented comment was posted on the profile page. A person interested in buying from one of us could check our "feedback" comments...straight up comments too, no stars & points etc. Just brief, "Excellent trader", "Paid me right away", " never heard from him again", " etc, etc.figure was damaged or figure was great" etc, etc.

As far as items getting buried pages back, when I list in the marketplace, I try not to bump too much, and I delete the thread if there's no interest after a couple days. Could we somehow work out a limit to bumps & relistings? Is there a way to keep the thread from bumping to the top everytime you leave a comment...I mean, is there a way to bump it up only on demand, so that everyone could see if someone is a serial bumper?

There are a couple threads that show up all the time, and obviously no one wants those particular items. Re-threading it over & over is really a waste of time, so maybe limit new sellers until they reach a good trader limit of say ten positive comments, might eliminate the "just joined to sell" crowd from hogging the forum. Maybe a system allowing greater access to longtime members, similar to the Lounge area...or set up another marketplace thread there, just for Lounge access only members to use.

I know I'll search the mkt back pagesfor an item if I'm looking, but sometimes they are so far back that i figure the item is gone by then and I don't want to bother a member for something he listed 6 months ago. So maybe sellers need to update a page to say still available or just remove the sold stuff. Clean it up a little.

I know I'm also guilty of using cutesy headers,so I'll stop doing that and be more accurate. Saying exactly what you are selling in the thread title will help.