Official Luthiers Forum!

That's how The Gear Page does it, so it's possible.

I have to agree , and the other question would be , how would it affect sponsors? would you be creating a issue there ?

$12.00 a yr is best deal on the planet . Able to read for free , post and buy ... pay $12.00

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

I see I see. Hmmm well I'm up for the proposed changes to the classifieds as long as rules are in place to assure things aren't getting sold by PM to individuals who haven't paid their $12. That's a very small price to pay for the benefits of using that area. I don't want I see the OLF lose out on funds ya know.

I agree with that, and it has to work for the sponsors, for sure!

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Maybe there could be something like: anyone could see the auction items, but only those who paid could see who the seller was and the comments.

That way, when that sweet set of flat sawn, worm hotel , Brazilian rosewood from someone's private stock comes up for $149, everyone will jump in.

_________________
Pat

I think it's fine the way it is. Ebay already exists. If a seller wants to ebay something and sell it here at auction, a potential conflict exists.

Can Ebay sellers post a link to their auction in the classifieds?

That would solve the whole question.

_________________
Old growth, shmold growth!

I like the classifieds as is. There are some pretty interesting and informative discussions that take place in the classifieds that many members are missing out on. Paying the $11.88/yr. is worth what you can learn from questions asked and answered about tools and tonewood. Plus there are some real bargains to be had!

Alex

_________________
"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Speaking of auctions, our fine sponsor Aaron Hix just had an awesome set of Madagascar rosewood on ebay... and whoever got it got a total steal, because I'm stupid. I should know better than to try to snipe things I really want, but no, I looked away for a few minutes, looked back, and the timer was at 1 second. I'm depressed. Sorry Aaron, I wish I could have paid you more for it

I wonder if the lucky buyer is a member here

So you are suggesting that only sellers would have to pay the fee?

Sell or BUY .... If you can post to sell you cant buy either

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

If people can read but not write to the Classifieds how will they post their interest or intent to buy within the thread?

_________________
George :-)

that is how it should be. I just feel like unless there is some sort of rule that all transactions must be done on the thread then it's possible for someone who has not paid the subscription to just PM the seller to buy. There is a lot of buying that goes on through PM now and if everyone could access the classifieds you could PM the seller and buy without posting on the thread therefore not having to pay the subscription fee. It's a loophole that should be figured out before opening the classifieds to open viewing. At least I think so.

Lance would ad a Join Now button - which immediately invoices the user the $12 fee.

I like the idea of being able to read the classifieds - I have been to lazy to join and haven't needed to purchase much lately, so I haven't. But I am also sure I am missing out on deals.

_________________
It's this new idea from recent decades that everyone gets a participation award. - MUX

Exactly! That's the hook that might create more activity in the classifieds.

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Well, like I said, if you could hide the sellers identity from people who were just browsing they would need to join in order to post or pm us seller.

And, I agree that if there were some sort of instant sign up, more people would be compelled to join.

_________________
Pat

The way the classifieds on The Gear Page work are that you pay to have permissions to start a thread, but anyone can read or post.

My concern is that the number of sellers wouldn't outweigh the total number of subscribers now. Read activity might increase, but it could be a loss of revenue overall.

I personally hate auctions and auction sites. I want to know the price for an item, decide whether or not I'm willing to pay that price, then purchase or not.

I'll even avoid auctions on e-bay and just go to 'buy it now' items - pay my money and I'm gone.

_________________
Thank You and Best To All

by paying the $12.00

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Talkbass.com has a pretty successful/active classified section, where you pay (become a member) if you want to post something for sale, everybody else shops and buys for free. They have a pretty sensible set of rules in place, too. The best thing is they have a eBay-style feedback system built into the forum software, but they are using vBulletin, not phpBB. I bet there is a plugin for phpBB. Acoustic Guitar Forum also has classifieds where you pay to be a member, but shopping and buying is free.

_________________
______________________________
Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

Personally, I'm happy to pay the $12 a year just to participate in the Classifieds, as many others are. I have never posted anything for sale there, but have gotten many bargains on wood and tools. I probably save my $12 every month or so. That said, some folks just don't want to pay to play. I think looking is fine for free, but there has to be a rule that all purchases start in the thread, not via PM or email or any other method. Then if there is a sign up button a person can pay-up and post in the thread and buy the item he/she is interested in. After that, they have a years worth of browsing and/or selling. I believe sellers would voluntarily follow the rules to keep the Classifieds and OLF going. If not it will surely die.

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars