Sorting is Hurting Commerce

Hi,

After noticing that rules have changed in the marketplace, I wanted to make a thread against it.

Here is why sorting(no bumping) is a problem:

-Price changes, which are technically new offers according to contract law/UCC, go unnoticed

-Open threads get the same publicity as closed/sold threads

-Less publicity of open sales threads means less commerce, which is a disincentive for sellers who cannot offer the same low price on paid forums or Amazon or Ebay

-Less incentive to sell here can mean less forum traffic

Have you not discovered the "Last Post" sort order? Avid MarketPlace users tend to use the Last Post sort order to keep abreast of the latest activity.

Contract law has no bearing here. The rules are established by the private owner of the Forum, if you cannot abide by the rules here you are free to not participate.

The POTN MarketPlace is offered as a free service to our members who are free to sell their equipment wherever they want.

When the new Forum software is ready there will be changes, not until then. No code shall be released before it's time.

The avid users argument is valid, but it still reduces the number of potential buyers nonetheless. That's the heart of the problem, reducing the number of potential buyers or making it harder for them to find open/fresh threads.

I'd bet that a majority of users are not those who use the more advanced features such as changing how forum posts are ordered.

I understand and accept that POTN Marketplace is a free service, and that I am obligated to follow house rules per se, I am just expressing my opinion that I think the change has had or will have a negative impact on commerce here.

Additionally, I imagine there is no way to quantify the amount of sales that happen on the Marketplace in a given time period, so it makes sense that the Admin have no way of knowing whether the decision to change the sorting made the intended impact or had/has any negative consequences.

I've sold two item there in the last two weeks, worked fine for me.

if this were a commerce site I could see your argument, but POTN isnt in the business of selling other peoples stuff.

jcw122 wrote in post #15318532
Additionally, I imagine there is no way to quantify the amount of sales that happen on the Marketplace in a given time period, so it makes sense that the Admin have no way of knowing whether the decision to change the sorting made the intended impact or had/has any negative consequences.

And the same can be said about You! You have no way of knowing if that change which has been in place for years has any negative effect on sale. Its all speculations on your part.

I guess the solution here is to re post stuff over and over until it is either a)Sold, or B) I give up.

How much is bandwidth worth these days?

I've sold many items in that particular forum. But, I have also not sold many items too. They are still listed for sale, but on what page...I don't know.

I recently tried to sell several items to finance the purchase of the 5DIII you see in my signature. Even when going in and adjusting prices to get some stuff sold, my post just drifted further and further back.

You're not alone JCW122. This has been a small thorn in my side as well. Maybe the new Forum software is ready, we'll see a change. I'm sure it'll be kept in mind.

BlueLabel wrote in post #15319162
I've sold many items in that particular forum. But, I have also not sold many items too. They are still listed for sale, but on what page...I don't know.

At the rigth price I am sure your items will sell.

In other words, maybe your price is too high or maybe limiting the possible buyers is the problem. FYI I have in past bougth a lens from a member in Canada (I am in Denmark). Of course its your own choice only to sell to North America but please don't complain over not selling items when you yourself put limits on which countries you will sell to.

Surely you must agree Tommy, that the majority of users on here selling and buying items, are from the US? I am not sure how I could possibly be limiting myself by offering my items for sale to the people who easily buy and sell the majority of the items on this site. Offering my items to, the world I guess, was somehow going to make all the difference.

Besides. I have bought several items from people who stated in their post that they would only ship within US. I just simply sent a PM and asked if they'd be willing to ship to me. The answer on several occasions (5dc, 70-200IS II, 16-35L..) was a yes. Which leads me to my next point. My price, which you mentioned.

I pick my prices carefully, Tommy. I research what that item has sold for in the past, on this site, and what condition it was in when it sold (Shutter actuations, scratches, Mark 1,2,3 etc). Then, I pick a fair price. The majority of the time, I am correct. If someone thinks its a little high, then all they have to do is ask. Much like I did when I purchased those items from folks who were set on selling their item within their home country.

Please, stop trying to blame my items not selling because of my price, or who I choose to sell to, and lets bring this back full circle to the OP's point. The forum does not sort properly. That is my opinion.

tommykjensen wrote in post #15319082
And the same can be said about You! You have no way of knowing if that change which has been in place for years has any negative effect on sale. Its all speculations on your part.

I have no way to quantify it, yes, but I think the suggestions that I made above all hint to the fact that it creates a disincentive for sellers, and makes it harder on buyers. I don't see any arguments suggesting that the current sorting would promote trade.

I don't think everyone uses the Search feature. In this case I don't think they will be heading to page 10 to find an open sales thread. Again, making it harder on buyers, not just sellers.

BlueLabel wrote in post #15319897
Surely you must agree Tommy, that the majority of users on here selling and buying items, are from the US? I am not sure how I could possibly be limiting myself by offering my items for sale to the people who easily buy and sell the majority of the items on this site. Offering my items to, the world I guess, was somehow going to make all the difference.

My point is that you do not know an item would not sell to somone from Europe, Australia, or anywhere outside USA, sometimes i really think that some americans think there is nothing outside USA. Also believe it or not some people actually take what you write in the ad for good and when it says USA only they goto the next ad and not bother asking if you would sell outside USA. I certainly would not bother asking if a seller has taken the time to specifically state "USA only". Then I assume that is firm and non-negotiable. And I am sure others do too.

The marketplace forum sort correctly since it sorts the way the owner and moderator team WANTS it to sort.

As for price. Of course your price can be incorrect despite your research. Market changes constantly. I have a few items for sale too here in Denmark and have also researched the going used price on similar items and set the price accordingly. Still they are not sold. Remember there is a financial crisis in the world so people migth be keeping their money more tigthly. I do not beleive the sorting order is the cause of your items not selling.


EDIT: So I went to check the price on the lens you got for sale. Your price is $425. The new price on B&H is $599 with instant rebate of $50 making it $549. Maybe $125 saved is just not enough for people to risk buying a used lens.


So please stop blaming this forum that your items is not selling. The fact is if you want your items sold quickly you can certainly do that despite the sorting order.

I think the bigger issue is lumping everything together in one massive section. If we had bodies, lenses, and accessories separated it would be much better, and maybe Canon and non-Canon as well.

That's a possibility for the new software; under vBulletin it would be entirely too unwieldy to administer.

It would be even better if buyers used the search function.

In order to optimize your item showing up in searches be sure to describe the item in a number of ways. A Canon 300mm F/4 L IS also need to be 300 mm. Those that query 300mm will not find the 300 mm and vice-versa.

I have clear plans how to improve the marketplace. The execution of those plans will not happen until new software is tested properly. Originally marketplace upgrade was to happen with launch but I have since made a decision to delay it because marketplace is not crucial and the upgrade depends on many "services" and features the new software provides - it makes sense to put all the time on finalizing and testing those services and features first.

PS. The improvemens will include full item, brand, location etc. listing divisions, and lots of automated visibility for your "ads" inside the forums, among many other new features.